Exhibit 10.1
EXECUTION COPY
CREDIT AGREEMENT
dated as of
November 12, 2013
among
THE HANOVER INSURANCE GROUP, INC.
The Lenders Party Hereto
JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.
as Administrative Agent
LLOYDS BANK PLC and WELLS FARGO BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
as Co-Syndication Agents
and
BRANCH BANKING & TRUST COMPANY and BARCLAYS BANK PLC
as Co-Documentation Agents
J.P. MORGAN SECURITIES LLC,
LLOYDS SECURITIES INC. and
WELLS FARGO SECURITIES, LLC
as Joint Bookrunners and Joint Lead Arrangers
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page | ||||||
Article I Definitions | 1 | |||||
SECTION 1.01 | Defined Terms | 1 | ||||
SECTION 1.02 | Classification of Loans and Borrowings | 22 | ||||
SECTION 1.03 | Terms Generally | 23 | ||||
SECTION 1.04 | Accounting Terms; GAAP; Pro Forma Calculations | 23 | ||||
SECTION 1.05 | Status of Obligations | 24 | ||||
Article II The Credits | 24 | |||||
SECTION 2.01 | Commitments | 24 | ||||
SECTION 2.02 | Loans and Borrowings | 24 | ||||
SECTION 2.03 | Requests for Revolving Borrowings | 25 | ||||
SECTION 2.04 | Intentionally Omitted | 25 | ||||
SECTION 2.05 | Intentionally Omitted | 25 | ||||
SECTION 2.06 | Letters of Credit | 26 | ||||
SECTION 2.07 | Funding of Borrowings | 32 | ||||
SECTION 2.08 | Interest Elections | 33 | ||||
SECTION 2.09 | Termination and Reduction of Commitments | 34 | ||||
SECTION 2.10 | Repayment of Loans; Evidence of Debt | 34 | ||||
SECTION 2.11 | Prepayment of Loans | 35 | ||||
SECTION 2.12 | Fees | 35 | ||||
SECTION 2.13 | Interest | 36 | ||||
SECTION 2.14 | Alternate Rate of Interest | 37 | ||||
SECTION 2.15 | Increased Costs | 37 | ||||
SECTION 2.16 | Break Funding Payments | 38 | ||||
SECTION 2.17 | Taxes | 39 | ||||
SECTION 2.18 | Payments Generally; Pro Rata Treatment; Sharing of Set-offs | 42 | ||||
SECTION 2.19 | Mitigation Obligations; Replacement of Lenders | 44 | ||||
SECTION 2.20 | Expansion Option | 44 | ||||
SECTION 2.21 | Defaulting Lenders | 46 | ||||
SECTION 2.22 | Extension of Maturity Date | 47 | ||||
Article III Representations and Warranties | 49 | |||||
SECTION 3.01 | Representations and Warranties | 49 | ||||
Article IV Conditions | 52 | |||||
SECTION 4.01 | Effective Date | 52 | ||||
SECTION 4.02 | Each Credit Event | 53 | ||||
Article V Affirmative Covenants | 53 | |||||
SECTION 5.01 | Reporting Requirements | 53 | ||||
SECTION 5.02 | Payment of Taxes, Etc. | 55 | ||||
SECTION 5.03 | Corporate Existence, Compliance with Laws, Etc. | 55 | ||||
SECTION 5.04 | Maintenance of Properties, Etc. | 56 | ||||
SECTION 5.05 | Keeping of Books | 56 | ||||
SECTION 5.06 | Visitation Rights | 56 | ||||
SECTION 5.07 | Use of Proceeds | 56 | ||||
Article VI Negative Covenants | 57 | |||||
SECTION 6.01 | Financial Covenants | 57 | ||||
SECTION 6.02 | Financial Debt | 57 | ||||
SECTION 6.03 | Liens | 58 | ||||
SECTION 6.04 | Mergers, Etc. | 58 |
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Table of Contents
(continued)
Page | ||||||
SECTION 6.05 | Disposition of Assets | 59 | ||||
SECTION 6.06 | Transactions with Affiliates | 59 | ||||
SECTION 6.07 | Line of Business | 59 | ||||
SECTION 6.08 | Anti-Dividend-Block | 59 | ||||
SECTION 6.09 | Restricted Payments | 60 | ||||
Article VII Events of Default | 61 | |||||
SECTION 7.01 | Events of Default | 61 | ||||
SECTION 7.02 | Remedies | 62 | ||||
Article VIII The Administrative Agent | 62 | |||||
Article IX Miscellaneous | 64 | |||||
SECTION 9.01 | Notices | 64 | ||||
SECTION 9.02 | Waivers; Amendments | 66 | ||||
SECTION 9.03 | Expenses; Indemnity; Damage Waiver | 68 | ||||
SECTION 9.04 | Successors and Assigns | 70 | ||||
SECTION 9.05 | Survival | 73 | ||||
SECTION 9.06 | Counterparts; Integration; Effectiveness; Electronic Execution | 73 | ||||
SECTION 9.07 | Severability | 73 | ||||
SECTION 9.08 | Right of Setoff | 74 | ||||
SECTION 9.09 | Governing Law; Jurisdiction; Consent to Service of Process | 74 | ||||
SECTION 9.10 | WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL | 74 | ||||
SECTION 9.11 | Headings | 75 | ||||
SECTION 9.12 | Confidentiality | 75 | ||||
SECTION 9.13 | USA PATRIOT Act | 75 | ||||
SECTION 9.14 | Interest Rate Limitation | 75 | ||||
SECTION 9.15 | No Advisory or Fiduciary Responsibility | 76 |
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Table of Contents
(continued)
Page | ||
SCHEDULES: | ||
Schedule 2.01 – Commitments | ||
Schedule 3.01 – Subsidiaries | ||
Schedule 6.02 – Existing Financial Debt; Existing Liens | ||
Schedule 6.08 – Existing Burdensome Agreements | ||
EXHIBITS: | ||
Exhibit A – Form of Assignment and Assumption | ||
Exhibit B – Form of Opinion of Borrower’s Counsel | ||
Exhibit C – Form of Increasing Lender Supplement | ||
Exhibit D – Form of Augmenting Lender Supplement | ||
Exhibit E – List of Closing Documents | ||
Exhibit F – Form of Compliance Certificate | ||
Exhibit G-1 – Form of U.S. Tax Certificate (Foreign Lenders That Are Not Partnerships) | ||
Exhibit G-2 – Form of U.S. Tax Certificate (Foreign Participants That Are Not Partnerships) | ||
Exhibit G-3 – Form of U.S. Tax Certificate (Foreign Participants That Are Partnerships) | ||
Exhibit G-4 – Form of U.S. Tax Certificate (Foreign Lenders That Are Partnerships) | ||
Exhibit H-1 – Form of Borrowing Request | ||
Exhibit H-2 – Form of Interest Election Request | ||
Exhibit I – Form of Note |
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CREDIT AGREEMENT (this “Agreement”) dated as of November 12, 2013 among THE HANOVER INSURANCE GROUP, INC., the LENDERS from time to time party hereto, JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., as Administrative Agent, LLOYDS BANK PLC and WELLS FARGO BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, as Co-Syndication Agents and BRANCH BANKING & TRUST COMPANY and BARCLAYS BANK PLC, as Co-Documentation Agents.
The parties hereto agree as follows:
ARTICLE I
Definitions
SECTION 1.01Defined Terms. As used in this Agreement, the following terms have the meanings specified below:
“ABR”, when used in reference to any Loan or Borrowing, refers to a Loan, or the Loans comprising such Borrowing, bearing interest at a rate determined by reference to the Alternate Base Rate.
“Acquisition” means any transaction, or any series of related transactions, by which the Borrower and/or any of its Subsidiaries directly or indirectly (i) acquires any ongoing business or all or substantially all of the assets of any Person or division thereof, whether through purchase of assets, merger or otherwise, (ii) acquires (in one transaction or as the most recent transaction in a series of transactions) Control of at least a majority in ordinary voting power of the securities of a Person which have ordinary voting power for the election of directors or (iii) otherwise acquires Control of a more than 50% ownership interest in any such Person.
“Adjusted LIBO Rate” means, with respect to any Eurodollar Borrowing for any Interest Period, an interest rate per annum (rounded upwards, if necessary, to the next 1/16 of 1%) equal to (a) the LIBO Rate for such Interest Period multiplied by (b) the Statutory Reserve Rate.
“Administrative Agent” means JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., in its capacity as administrative agent for the Lenders hereunder.
“Administrative Questionnaire” means an Administrative Questionnaire in a form supplied by the Administrative Agent.
“Affiliate” means, with respect to a specified Person, another Person that directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, Controls or is Controlled by or is under common Control with the Person specified. For the avoidance of doubt, any Lloyd’s syndicate which is not a legal entity and has no power to enter into contracts or other binding obligations shall not be deemed to be an Affiliate of the Borrower.
“Agent Party” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 9.01(d).
“Aggregate Commitment” means the aggregate of the Commitments of all of the Lenders, as reduced or increased from time to time pursuant to the terms and conditions hereof. As of the Effective Date, the Aggregate Commitment is $200,000,000.
“Alternate Base Rate” means, for any day, a rate per annum equal to the greatest of (a) the Prime Rate in effect on such day, (b) the Federal Funds Effective Rate in effect on such day plus 1⁄2 of 1% and (c) the Adjusted LIBO Rate for a one month Interest Period on such day (or if such day is not a
Business Day, the immediately preceding Business Day) plus 1%,provided that, for the avoidance of doubt, the Adjusted LIBO Rate for any day shall be based on the rate appearing on Reuters Screen LIBOR01 Page (or on any successor or substitute page of such page) at approximately 11:00 a.m. London time on such day. Any change in the Alternate Base Rate due to a change in the Prime Rate, the Federal Funds Effective Rate or the Adjusted LIBO Rate shall be effective from and including the effective date of such change in the Prime Rate, the Federal Funds Effective Rate or the Adjusted LIBO Rate, respectively.
“Anti-Corruption Laws” means all laws, rules, and regulations of any jurisdiction applicable to the Borrower or its Subsidiaries from time to time concerning or relating to bribery or corruption.
“Applicable Percentage” means, with respect to any Lender, the percentage of the Aggregate Commitment represented by such Lender’s Commitment;provided that, in the case of Section 2.21 when a Defaulting Lender shall exist, “Applicable Percentage” shall mean the percentage of the Aggregate Commitment (disregarding any Defaulting Lender’s Commitment) represented by such Lender’s Commitment. If the Commitments have terminated or expired, the Applicable Percentages shall be determined based upon the Commitments most recently in effect, giving effect to any assignments and to any Lender’s status as a Defaulting Lender at the time of determination.
“Applicable Rate” means, for any day, with respect to any Eurodollar Loan or any ABR Loan or with respect to the commitment fees payable hereunder, as the case may be, the applicable rate per annum set forth below under the caption “Eurodollar Spread”, “ABR Spread” or “Commitment Fee Rate”, as the case may be, based upon the ratings by Moody’s and S&P, respectively, applicable on such date to the Index Debt:
Index Debt Ratings (Moody’s/S&P) | Commitment Fee Rate | Eurodollar Spread | ABR Spread | |||||||||||
Category 1: | Baa1/BBB+ or higher | 0.175 | % | 1.25 | % | 0.25 | % | |||||||
Category 2: | Baa2/BBB | 0.20 | % | 1.375 | % | 0.375 | % | |||||||
Category 3: | Baa3/BBB- | 0.225 | % | 1.50 | % | 0.50 | % | |||||||
Category 4: | Ba1/BB+ or lower | 0.25 | % | 1.625 | % | 0.625 | % |
For purposes of the foregoing, (i) if only one of Moody’s and S&P shall have in effect a rating for the Index Debt (other than by reason of the circumstances referred to in the last sentence of this definition), the Category then in effect shall be based on such rating, (ii) if neither Moody’s nor S&P shall have in effect a rating for the Index Debt (other than by reason of the circumstances referred to in the last sentence of this definition), then both such rating agencies shall be deemed to have established a rating in Category 4; (iii) if the ratings established or deemed to have been established by Moody’s and S&P for the Index Debt shall fall within different Categories, the Applicable Rate shall be based on the higher of the two ratings unless one of the two ratings is two or more Categories lower than the other, in which case the Category then in effect shall be determined by reference to the Category next below that of the higher of the two ratings; and (iv) if the ratings established or deemed to have been established by Moody’s and S&P for the Index Debt shall be changed (other than as a result of a change in the rating system of Moody’s or S&P), such change shall be effective as of the date on which it is first announced by the applicable rating agency, irrespective of when notice of such change shall have been furnished by the
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Borrower to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders pursuant to Section 5.01 or otherwise. Each change in the Applicable Rate shall apply during the period commencing on the effective date of such change and ending on the date immediately preceding the effective date of the next such change. If the rating system of Moody’s or S&P shall change, or if either such rating agency shall cease to be in the business of rating corporate debt obligations, the Borrower and the Lenders shall negotiate in good faith to amend this definition to reflect such changed rating system or the unavailability of ratings from such rating agency and, pending the effectiveness of any such amendment, the Applicable Rate shall be determined by reference to the rating most recently in effect prior to such change or cessation.
“Approved Fund” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 9.04(b).
“Assignment and Assumption” means an assignment and assumption agreement entered into by a Lender and an assignee (with the consent of any party whose consent is required by Section 9.04), and accepted by the Administrative Agent, in the form ofExhibit A or any other form approved by the Administrative Agent.
“Augmenting Lender” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.20.
“Availability Period” means the period from and including the Effective Date to but excluding the earlier of the Maturity Date and the date of termination of the Commitments.
“Available Revolving Commitment” means, at any time with respect to any Lender, the Commitment of such Lender then in effect minus the Revolving Credit Exposure of such Lender at such time.
“Bankruptcy Event” means, with respect to any Person, such Person becomes the subject of a bankruptcy or insolvency proceeding, or has had a receiver, conservator, trustee, administrator, custodian, assignee for the benefit of creditors or similar Person charged with the reorganization or liquidation of its business appointed for it, or, in the good faith determination of the Administrative Agent, has taken any action in furtherance of, or indicating its consent to, approval of, or acquiescence in, any such proceeding or appointment, provided that a Bankruptcy Event shall not result solely by virtue of any ownership interest, or the acquisition of any ownership interest, in such Person by a Governmental Authority or instrumentality thereof, provided, further, that such ownership interest does not result in or provide such Person with immunity from the jurisdiction of courts within the United States or from the enforcement of judgments or writs of attachment on its assets or permit such Person (or such Governmental Authority or instrumentality) to reject, repudiate, disavow or disaffirm any contracts or agreements made by such Person.
“Board” means the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System of the United States of America.
“Borrower” means The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc., a Delaware corporation.
“Borrowing” means Revolving Loans of the same Type, made, converted or continued on the same date and, in the case of Eurodollar Loans, as to which a single Interest Period is in effect.
“Borrowing Request” means a request by the Borrower for a Revolving Borrowing in accordance with Section 2.03 in the form attached hereto asExhibit H-1.
“Burdensome Agreement” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 6.08.
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“Business Day” means any day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or other day on which commercial banks in New York City are authorized or required by law to remain closed;provided that, when used in connection with a Eurodollar Loan, the term “Business Day” shall also exclude any day on which banks are not open for dealings in Dollars in the London interbank market.
“Cash Collateralize” means to pledge and deposit with or deliver to the Administrative Agent, for the benefit of the Administrative Agent or the applicable LC Issuer (as applicable) and the Lenders, as collateral for the LC Exposure or obligations of Lenders to fund participations in respect of either thereof (as the context may require), cash or deposit account balances or, if the LC Issuer benefiting from such collateral shall agree in its sole discretion, other credit support, in each case pursuant to documentation in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to (a) the Administrative Agent and (b) the applicable LC Issuer. “Cash Collateral” shall have a meaning correlative to the foregoing and shall include the proceeds of such cash collateral and other credit support.
“Change in Control” means any of the following events:
(a) any “person” or “group” (as such terms are used for purposes of sections 13(d) and 14(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, whether or not applicable, except that for purposes of this paragraph (a) such person or group shall be deemed to have “beneficial ownership” of all shares that such person or group has the right to acquire, whether such right is exercisable immediately or only after the passage of time), is or becomes the “beneficial owner” (as such term is used in Rule 13d-3 promulgated pursuant to said Act), directly or indirectly, of more than 35% of the Voting Shares of the Borrower; or
(b) during any period of 25 consecutive calendar months, a majority of the board of directors of the Borrower shall no longer be composed of individuals (i) who were members of said board on the first day of such period or (ii) whose election or nomination to said board was approved by a majority of the board of the directors of the Borrower, which members comprising such majority were either the individuals referred to in clause (i) or whose election or nomination was previously so approved.
“Change in Law” means the occurrence, after the date of this Agreement (or with respect to any Lender, if later, the date on which such Lender becomes a Lender), of any of the following: (a) the adoption or taking effect of any law, rule, regulation or treaty, (b) any change in any law, rule, regulation or treaty or in the administration, interpretation, implementation or application thereof by any Governmental Authority, or (c) the making or issuance of any request, rules, guideline, requirement or directive (whether or not having the force of law) by any Governmental Authority;providedhowever, that notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, (i) the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and all requests, rules, guidelines, requirements and directives thereunder, issued in connection therewith or in implementation thereof, and (ii) all requests, rules, guidelines, requirements and directives promulgated by the Bank for International Settlements, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (or any successor or similar authority) or the United States or foreign regulatory authorities, in each case pursuant to Basel III, shall in each case be deemed to be a “Change in Law” regardless of the date enacted, adopted, issued or implemented.
“CIC” means Citizens Insurance Company of America, a property and casualty insurance company organized under the laws of Michigan as a corporation.
“CitySquare Project” means the CitySquare development in Worcester, Massachusetts as described in Form 10-K of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010.
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“Class”, when used in reference to any Loan or Borrowing, refers to such Loan, or the Loans comprising such Borrowing, as being either Revolving Loans or Incremental Term Loans.
“Code” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
“Co-Documentation Agent” means each of Branch Banking & Trust Company and Barclays Bank PLC in its capacity as co-documentation agent for the credit facility evidenced by this Agreement.
“Commitment” means, with respect to each Lender, the commitment of such Lender to make Revolving Loans and to acquire participations in Letters of Credit hereunder, expressed as an amount representing the maximum aggregate amount of such Lender’s Revolving Credit Exposure hereunder, as such commitment may be (a) reduced or terminated from time to time pursuant to Section 2.09, (b) increased from time to time pursuant to Section 2.20 and (c) reduced or increased from time to time pursuant to assignments by or to such Lender pursuant to Section 9.04. The initial amount of each Lender’s Commitment is set forth onSchedule 2.01, or in the Assignment and Assumption or other documentation contemplated hereby pursuant to which such Lender shall have assumed its Commitment, as applicable.
“Communications” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 9.01(d).
“Connection Income Taxes” means Other Connection Taxes that are imposed on or measured by net income (however denominated) or that are franchise Taxes or branch profits Taxes.
“conservator” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 7.01(f).
“Consolidated” refers to the consolidation of accounts of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries in accordance with GAAP.
“Control” means the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management or policies of a Person, whether through the ability to exercise voting power, by contract or otherwise. The terms “Controlling” and “Controlled” have meanings correlative thereto.
“Controlled Investment Affiliate” means, as to any future, present, or former employee, director, officer or consultant of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries, any other Person, which directly or indirectly is in Control of, is Controlled by, or is under common Control with such Person and is organized by such Person (or any Person Controlling such Person) primarily for making direct or indirect equity investments in the Borrower or its Subsidiaries.
“Co-Syndication Agent” means each of Lloyds Bank plc and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association in its capacity as co-syndication agent for the credit facility evidenced by this Agreement.
“Credit Party” means the Administrative Agent, the Issuing Agent, any Fronting Bank or any other Lender.
“CSL” means Chaucer Syndicates Limited.
“Debt” of any Person means, without duplication, (a) indebtedness of such Person for borrowed money, (b) obligations of such Person evidenced by bonds, debentures, notes or other similar instruments, (c) obligations of such Person to pay the deferred purchase price of Property or services (other than trade payables and accrued expenses incurred in the ordinary course of business and not
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overdue by more than 90 days), (d) obligations of such Person as lessee under leases which shall have been or should be, in accordance with GAAP, recorded as capital leases, (e) Debt of others secured by a Lien on the Property of such Person, whether or not the Debt so secured has been assumed by such Person, (f) obligations of such Person under Guaranties in respect of Debt of others (including any obligations constituting Limited Originator Recourse in respect of Debt of a Securitization Subsidiary), (g) without duplication, (A) obligations of such Person in respect of Hybrid Securities (disregarding clause (ii) of the definition thereof) and (B) in each case, Disqualified Equity Interests (disregarding clause (ii) of the definition thereof) and Preferred Securities (disregarding clause (ii) of the definition thereof) requiring repayments, prepayments, mandatory redemptions or repurchases prior to 91 days after the Maturity Date, with the amount of Debt represented by such Disqualified Equity Interest or Preferred Security being equal to the greater of its voluntary or involuntary liquidation amount and its maximum fixed repurchase price or redemption amount, (h) all indebtedness created or arising under any conditional sale or other title retention agreement with respect to Property acquired by such Person, (i) the net termination obligations of such Person under any Hedge Agreements, calculated as of any date as if such agreement or arrangement were terminated as of such date and (j) the principal balance outstanding and owing by such Person under any synthetic lease, tax retention operating lease or similar off-balance sheet financing product.
“Default” means any event or condition which constitutes an Event of Default or which upon notice, lapse of time or both would, unless cured or waived, become an Event of Default.
“Defaulting Lender” means any Lender that (a) has failed, within two (2) Business Days of the date required to be funded or paid, to (i) fund any portion of its Loans, (ii) fund any portion of its participations in Letters of Credit or (iii) pay over to any Credit Party any other amount required to be paid by it hereunder, unless, in the case of clause (i) above, such Lender notifies the Administrative Agent in writing that such failure is the result of such Lender’s good faith determination that a condition precedent to funding (specifically identified and including the particular default, if any) has not been satisfied, (b) has notified the Borrower or any Credit Party in writing, or has made a public statement to the effect, that it does not intend or expect to comply with any of its funding obligations under this Agreement (unless such writing or public statement indicates that such position is based on such Lender’s good faith determination that a condition precedent (specifically identified and including the particular default, if any) to funding a loan under this Agreement cannot be satisfied) or generally under other agreements in which it commits to extend credit, (c) has failed, within three (3) Business Days after request by a Credit Party, acting in good faith, to provide a certification in writing from an authorized officer of such Lender that it will comply with its obligations (and is financially able to meet such obligations) to fund prospective Loans and participations in then outstanding Letters of Credit under this Agreement, provided that such Lender shall cease to be a Defaulting Lender pursuant to this clause (c) upon such Credit Party’s receipt of such certification in form and substance satisfactory to it and the Administrative Agent, or (d) has become the subject of a Bankruptcy Event.
“Disqualified Equity Interest” means, with respect to any Person, any Equity Interest of such Person that, by its terms (or by the terms of any security into which it is convertible or for which it is exchangeable), or upon the happening of any event or otherwise, (i) (a) matures or is mandatorily redeemable or subject to any mandatory repurchase requirement, pursuant to a sinking fund obligation or otherwise (except as a result of a change of control or asset sale so long as the rights of holder thereof upon the occurrence of a change of control or asset sale event shall be subject to (1) the prior repayment in full of the Loans and all other Obligations that are accrued and payable, (2) the termination of the Commitments and (3) the Cash Collateralization all Letters of Credit then outstanding (whether or not any beneficiary under any such Letter of Credit shall have drawn or be entitled at such time to draw thereunder) in an amount of cash equal to 103% of the aggregate Stated Amount thereof), (b) is redeemable or subject to any mandatory repurchase requirement at the sole option of the holder thereof,
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or (c) is convertible into or exchangeable for (whether at the option of the issuer or the holder thereof) (y) debt securities or (z) any Equity Interest referred to in (a) or (b) above, and (ii) requires no such repayments, prepayments, mandatory redemptions or repurchases, in each case in the foregoing clauses (a), (b) and (c), prior to 91 days after the Maturity Date;provided that (1) if such Equity Interests are issued pursuant to a plan for the benefit of employees of the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries or by any such plan to such employees, such Equity Interests shall not constitute Disqualified Equity Interests solely because they may be required to be repurchased by the Borrower or its Subsidiaries in order to satisfy applicable statutory or regulatory obligations and (2) no such Equity Interests held by any future, present or former employee, director, officer or individual consultant (or their respective Controlled Investment Affiliates or Immediate Family Members) of the Borrower (or any of its Subsidiaries) shall be considered Disqualified Equity Interests because such Equity Interests are redeemable or subject to repurchase pursuant to any management equity subscription agreement, stock option, stock appreciation right or other stock award agreement, stock ownership plan, put agreement, stockholder agreement or similar agreement that may be in effect from time to time.
“Dollars” or “$” refers to lawful money of the United States of America.
“Effective Date” means the date on which the conditions specified in Section 4.01 are satisfied (or waived in accordance with Section 9.02).
“Electronic Signature” means an electronic sound, symbol, or process attached to, or associated with, a contract or other record and adopted by a Person with the intent to sign, authenticate or accept such contract or record.
“Electronic System” means any electronic system, including e-mail, e-fax, Intralinks®, ClearPar® and any other Internet or extranet-based site, whether such electronic system is owned, operated or hosted by the Administrative Agent and the Issuing Agent and any of its respective Related Parties or any other Person, providing for access to data protected by passcodes or other security system.
“Environmental Liability” means any liability, contingent or otherwise (including any liability for damages, costs of environmental remediation, fines, penalties or indemnities), of the Borrower or any Subsidiary directly or indirectly resulting from or based upon (a) violation of any laws, rules, regulations, codes, ordinances, orders, decrees, judgments, injunctions, notices or binding agreements issued, promulgated or entered into by any Governmental Authority, relating in any way to the environment, preservation or reclamation of natural resources, the management, release or threatened release of any Hazardous Material or to health and safety matters, (b) the generation, use, handling, transportation, storage, treatment or disposal of any Hazardous Materials, (c) exposure to any Hazardous Materials, (d) the release or threatened release of any Hazardous Materials into the environment or (e) any contract, agreement or other consensual arrangement pursuant to which liability is assumed or imposed with respect to any of the foregoing.
“Equity Interests” means shares of capital stock, partnership interests, membership interests in a limited liability company, beneficial interests in a trust or other equity ownership interests in a Person, and any warrants, options or other rights entitling the holder thereof to purchase or acquire any of the foregoing.
“Equity Issuance” means any issuance or sale by the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries after the Effective Date of Equity Interests, other than (a) any such issuance or sale by a Subsidiary of the Borrower to the Borrower or to a Wholly-Owned Subsidiary of the Borrower, (b) any capital contribution by the Borrower or a Wholly-Owned Subsidiary of the Borrower to any Subsidiary of the Borrower, (c) stocks, warrants, options or other rights to obtain Equity Interests issued to directors, officers, consultants and other employees of the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries or (d) any sale or disposition of a non-Material Subsidiary.
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“ERISA” means the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended from time to time, and the regulations promulgated and rulings issued thereunder.
“ERISA Affiliate” means any trade or business (whether or not incorporated) that, together with the Borrower, is treated as a single employer under section 414(b) or (c) of the Code or, solely for purposes of section 302 of ERISA and section 412 of the Code, is treated as a single employer under section 414 of the Code.
“ERISA Event” means (a) any “reportable event”, as defined in section 4043 of ERISA or the regulations issued thereunder with respect to a Plan (other than an event for which the 30-day notice period is waived); (b) a determination that a Plan is, or is expected to be, in “at risk” status (as defined in section 303(i)(4) of ERISA); (c) the failure to timely make a contribution required to be made with respect to any Plan or any Multiemployer Plan; (d) a determination that a Multiemployer Plan is, or is expected to be, in “endangered status” or “critical status” (each as defined in section 305(b) of ERISA); (e) the incurrence by the Borrower or any of its ERISA Affiliates of any liability under Title IV of ERISA with respect to the termination of any Plan; (f) the receipt by the Borrower or any of its ERISA Affiliates from the PBGC or a plan administrator of any notice relating to an intention to terminate any Plan or Plans or to appoint a trustee to administer any Plan; (g) the incurrence by the Borrower or any of its ERISA Affiliates of any liability with respect to the withdrawal or partial withdrawal from any Plan or Multiemployer Plan; or (h) the receipt by the Borrower or any of its ERISA Affiliates of any notice, or the receipt by any Multiemployer Plan from the Borrower or any of its ERISA Affiliates of any notice, concerning the imposition of Withdrawal Liability or a determination that a Multiemployer Plan is, or is expected to be, insolvent or in reorganization, within the meaning of Title IV of ERISA; or (i) the occurrence of a non-exempt prohibited transaction under section 406 of ERISA or section 4975 of the Code which could reasonably be expected to result in liability to the Borrower or any of its ERISA Affiliates.
“Eurodollar”, when used in reference to any Loan or Borrowing, means that such Loan, or the Loans comprising such Borrowing, bears interest at a rate determined by reference to the Adjusted LIBO Rate.
“Event of Default” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 7.01.
“Excluded Taxes” means any of the following Taxes imposed on or with respect to a Recipient or required to be withheld or deducted from a payment to a Recipient, (a) Taxes imposed on or measured by net income (however denominated), franchise Taxes, and branch profits Taxes, in each case, (i) imposed as a result of such Recipient being organized under the laws of, or having its principal office or, in the case of any Lender, its applicable lending office located in, the jurisdiction imposing such Tax (or any political subdivision thereof) or (ii) that are Other Connection Taxes, (b) in the case of a Lender, U.S. Federal withholding Taxes imposed on amounts payable to or for the account of such Lender with respect to an applicable interest in a Loan or Commitment pursuant to a law in effect on the date on which (i) such Lender acquires such interest in the Loan or Commitment (other than pursuant to an assignment request by the Borrower under Section 2.19(b)) or (ii) such Lender changes its lending office, except in each case to the extent that, pursuant to Section 2.17, amounts with respect to such Taxes were payable either to such Lender’s assignor immediately before such Lender acquired the applicable interest in a Loan or Commitment or to such Lender immediately before it changed its lending office, (c) Taxes attributable to such Recipient’s failure to comply with Section 2.17(f) and (d) any U.S. Federal withholding Taxes imposed under FATCA.
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“Existing Credit Agreement” means the Credit Agreement, dated as of August 2, 2011, by and among the Borrower, the lenders party thereto and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as administrative agent, as amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise modified prior to the date hereof.
“FATCA” means Sections 1471 through 1474 of the Code, as of the date of this Agreement (or any amended or successor version that is substantively comparable and not materially more onerous to comply with), any current or future regulations or official interpretations thereof and any agreement (including intergovernmental agreements) entered into pursuant thereto.
“Federal Funds Effective Rate” means, for any day, the weighted average (rounded upwards, if necessary, to the next 1/100 of 1%) of the rates on overnight Federal funds transactions with members of the Federal Reserve System arranged by Federal funds brokers, as published on the next succeeding Business Day by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, or, if such rate is not so published for any day that is a Business Day, the average (rounded upwards, if necessary, to the next 1/100 of 1%) of the quotations for such day for such transactions received by the Administrative Agent from three Federal funds brokers of recognized standing selected by it.
“Financial Debt” means, without duplication, Debt of the kinds set forth in clauses (a), (b), (d) or (g) of the definition of Debt, or of the kinds set forth in clauses (e) or (f) thereof to the extent relating to Debt of the type referred to in (a), (b), (d) and (g) of the definition thereof.
“Foreign Lender” means (a) if the Borrower is a U.S. Person, a Lender, with respect to such Borrower, that is not a U.S. Person, and (b) if the Borrower is not a U.S. Person, a Lender, with respect to such Borrower, that is resident or organized under the laws of a jurisdiction other than that in which the Borrower is resident for tax purposes.
“Fronted Letter of Credit” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.06(b).
“Fronted Unpaid Drawing” means any unreimbursed LC Disbursement with respect to a Fronted Letter of Credit.
“Fronting Bank” means any Lender (or any Affiliate thereof) which is requested by the Borrower, and which agrees in writing in its sole discretion, to issue Fronted Letters of Credit hereunder pursuant to Section 2.06.
“Fronting Participant” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.06(b).
“GAAP” means generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America.
“Governmental Authority” means any federal, state, municipal, national or other government, governmental department, commission, board, bureau, court, agency or instrumentality or political subdivision thereof or any entity, officer or examiner exercising executive, legislative, judicial, regulatory or administrative functions of or pertaining to any government or any court, in each case whether associated with a state of the United States, the United States, or a foreign entity or government (including any supra-national bodies such as the European Union or the European Central Bank).
“Guaranty” of or by any Person (the “guarantor”) means any obligation, contingent or otherwise, of the guarantor guaranteeing or having the economic effect of guaranteeing any Debt of any other Person (the “primary obligor”) in any manner, whether directly or indirectly, and including any obligation of the guarantor, direct or indirect, (a) to purchase or pay (or to advance or supply funds for the
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purchase or payment of) such Debt or to purchase (or to advance or supply funds for the purchase of) any security for the payment thereof, (b) to purchase or lease Property or services for the purpose of assuring the owner of such Debt or other obligation of the payment thereof, or (c) to maintain working capital, equity capital or any other financial statement condition or liquidity of the primary obligor so as to enable the primary obligor to pay such Debt or other obligation or as an account party in respect of any letter of credit or letter of guarantee issued to support such Debt;provided that the term “Guaranty” shall not include (i) endorsements for collection or deposit in the ordinary course of business or (ii) credit insurance or payment obligations under insurance policies or surety bonds issued by the Borrower and its Subsidiaries in the ordinary course of business.
“Hazardous Materials” means all explosive or radioactive substances or wastes and all hazardous or toxic substances, wastes or other pollutants, including petroleum or petroleum distillates, asbestos or asbestos containing materials, polychlorinated biphenyls, radon gas, infectious or medical wastes and all other substances or wastes of any nature regulated pursuant to any laws, rules, regulations, codes, ordinances, orders, decrees, judgments, injunctions, notices or binding agreements issued, promulgated or entered into by any Governmental Authority, relating in any way to the environment, preservation or reclamation of natural resources, the management, release or threatened release of any Hazardous Material or to health and safety matters.
“Hedge Agreement” means any interest or foreign currency rate swap, cap, collar, option, hedge, forward rate or other similar agreement or arrangement designed to protect against fluctuations in interest rates or currency exchange rates.
“HIC” means The Hanover Insurance Company, a property and casualty insurance company organized under the laws of New Hampshire as a corporation.
“Hybrid Securities” means securities (i) that afford equity benefit to the issuer thereof (under the procedures and guidelines of S&P) by having ongoing payment requirements that are more flexible than interest payments associated with conventional indebtedness for borrowed money and by being contractually subordinated to such indebtedness and (ii) that require no repayments or prepayments and no mandatory redemptions or repurchases, in each case, prior to 91 days after the Maturity Date.
“Immediate Family Member” means with respect to any individual, such individual’s child, stepchild, grandchild or more remote descendant, parent, stepparent, grandparent, spouse, former spouse, qualified domestic partner, sibling, mother-in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law and daughter-in-law (including adoptive relationships) and any trust, partnership or other bona fide estate-planning vehicle the only beneficiaries of which are any of the foregoing individuals or any private foundation or fund that is controlled by any of the foregoing individuals or any donor-advised fund of which any such individual is the donor.
“Impacted Interest Period” has the meaning assigned to such term in the definition of “LIBO Rate”.
“Increasing Lender” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.20.
“Incremental Term Loan” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.20.
“Incremental Term Loan Amendment” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.20.
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“Indemnified Taxes” means (a) Taxes, other than Excluded Taxes, imposed on or with respect to any payment made by or on account of any obligation of the Borrower under any Loan Document and (b) to the extent not otherwise described in clause (a), Other Taxes.
“Index Debt” means senior, unsecured, long-term indebtedness for borrowed money of the Borrower that is not guaranteed by any other person or entity or subject to any other credit enhancement.
“Ineligible Institution” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 9.04(b).
“Information Memorandum” means the Confidential Information Memorandum dated October 2013 relating to the Borrower and the Transactions.
“Insurance Regulatory Authority” means, for any Insurance Subsidiary, the insurance department or similar administrative authority or agency located in the state or other jurisdiction in which such Insurance Subsidiary is domiciled (including “commercially domiciled” as that term is defined under relevant state law), including, for the avoidance of doubt, the Society and Corporation of Lloyd’s.
“Insurance Subsidiary” means a Subsidiary of the Borrower that is licensed to do an insurance or reinsurance business.
“Interest Election Request” means a request by the Borrower to convert or continue a Revolving Borrowing in accordance with Section 2.08 in the form attached hereto asExhibit H-2.
“Interest Payment Date” means (a) with respect to any ABR Loan, the last day of each March, June, September and December and the Maturity Date and (b) with respect to any Eurodollar Loan, the last day of the Interest Period applicable to the Borrowing of which such Loan is a part and, in the case of a Eurodollar Borrowing with an Interest Period of more than three months’ duration, each day prior to the last day of such Interest Period that occurs at intervals of three months’ duration after the first day of such Interest Period and the Maturity Date.
“Interest Period” means with respect to any Eurodollar Borrowing, the period commencing on the date of such Borrowing and ending on the numerically corresponding day in the calendar month that is one, two, three or six months thereafter, as the Borrower may elect;provided, that (i) if any Interest Period would end on a day other than a Business Day, such Interest Period shall be extended to the next succeeding Business Day unless, in the case of a Eurodollar Borrowing only, such next succeeding Business Day would fall in the next calendar month, in which case such Interest Period shall end on the next preceding Business Day and (ii) any Interest Period pertaining to a Eurodollar Borrowing that commences on the last Business Day of a calendar month (or on a day for which there is no numerically corresponding day in the last calendar month of such Interest Period) shall end on the last Business Day of the last calendar month of such Interest Period. For purposes hereof, the date of a Borrowing initially shall be the date on which such Borrowing is made and thereafter shall be the effective date of the most recent conversion or continuation of such Borrowing.
“Interpolated Rate” means, at any time, the rate per annum determined by the Administrative Agent (which determination shall be conclusive and binding absent manifest error) to be equal to the rate that results from interpolating on a linear basis between: (a) the LIBOR Screen Rate for the longest period (for which the LIBOR Screen Rate is available) that is shorter than the Impacted Interest Period and (b) the LIBOR Screen Rate for the shortest period (for which the LIBOR Screen Rate is available) that exceeds the Impacted Interest Period, in each case, at such time.
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“IRS” means the United States Internal Revenue Service.
“Issuing Agent” means JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., in its capacity as the issuing agent of Several Letters of Credit hereunder, and its successors in such capacity as provided in Section 2.06(h). The Issuing Agent may, in its discretion, arrange for Affiliates of the Issuing Agent to act as the issuing agent of the Several Letters of Credit, in which case the term “Issuing Agent” shall include any such Affiliate with respect to Several Letters of Credit for which such Affiliate acts as Issuing Agent.
“Joint Bookrunner” means each of J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Lloyds Securities Inc. and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC in its capacity as a joint bookrunner and joint lead arranger for the credit facility evidenced by this Agreement.
“LC Collateral Account” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.06(i).
“LC Disbursement” means a payment made by a Lender (in the case of a Several Letter of Credit) or a Fronting Bank (in the case of a Fronted Letter of Credit) pursuant to a Letter of Credit.
“LC Exposure” means, at any time, the sum of (a) the aggregate undrawn amount of all outstanding Letters of Credit at such time plus (b) the aggregate amount of all LC Disbursements that have not yet been reimbursed by or on behalf of the Borrower at such time. The LC Exposure of any Lender at any time shall be its Applicable Percentage of the total LC Exposure at such time.
“LC Issuer” means each of the Issuing Agent and each Fronting Bank.
“Lender Parent” means, with respect to any Lender, any Person as to which such Lender is, directly or indirectly, a subsidiary.
“Lenders” means the Persons listed onSchedule 2.01 and any other Person that shall have become a Lender hereunder pursuant to Section 2.20 or pursuant to an Assignment and Assumption, other than any such Person that ceases to be a party hereto pursuant to an Assignment and Assumption. Unless the context otherwise requires, the term “Lenders” includes each LC Issuer.
“Letters of Credit” means the Several Letters of Credit and the Fronted Letters of Credit.
“Leverage Ratio” means, at any time, the ratio of (i) Modified Total Debtto (ii) Total Capitalization.
“LIBO Rate” means, with respect to any Eurodollar Borrowing for any applicable Interest Period, the London interbank offered rate administered by the British Bankers Association (or any other Person that takes over the administration of such rate) for Dollars for a period equal in length to such Interest Period as displayed on pages LIBOR01 or LIBOR02 of the Reuters screen or, in the event such rate does not appear on either of such Reuters pages, on any successor or substitute page on such screen that displays such rate, or on the appropriate page of such other information service that publishes such rate as shall be selected by the Administrative Agent from time to time in its reasonable discretion (in each case the “LIBOR Screen Rate”) at approximately 11:00 a.m., London time, two (2) Business Days prior to the commencement of such Interest Period;provided that, if the LIBOR Screen Rate shall be less than zero, such rate shall be deemed to be zero for purposes of this Agreement;provided,further, that if a LIBOR Screen Rate shall not be available at such time for such Interest Period (the “Impacted Interest Period”), then the LIBO Rate for such Interest Period shall be the Interpolated Rate; provided, that, if any Interpolated Rate shall be less than zero, such rate shall be deemed to be zero for purposes of this Agreement. It is understood and agreed that all of the terms and conditions of this definition of “LIBO Rate” shall be subject to Section 2.14.
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“LIBOR Screen Rate” has the meaning assigned to such term in the definition of “LIBO Rate”.
“Lien” means any lien, security interest or other charge or encumbrance of any kind, or any other type of preferential arrangement, including, without limitation, the lien or retained security title of a conditional vendor.
“Limited Originator Recourse” means a letter of credit, revolving loan commitment, cash collateral account or other such credit enhancement issued in connection with the incurrence of Financial Debt by a Securitization Subsidiary in connection with a Securitization Transaction;provided that, the aggregate amount of such letter of credit reimbursement obligations and the aggregate available amount of such revolving loan commitments, cash collateral accounts or other such credit enhancements of the Borrower and any of its Subsidiaries (other than any other Securitization Subsidiary) shall not exceed 10% of the principal amount of such Financial Debt at any time.
“Loan Documents” means this Agreement, any promissory notes issued pursuant to Section 2.10(e), any Letter of Credit applications, powers of attorney, letter of credit agreements and all other written agreements whether heretofore, now or hereafter executed by or on behalf of the Borrower and delivered to the Administrative Agent or any Lender in connection with this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby. Any reference in this Agreement or any other Loan Document to a Loan Document shall include all appendices, exhibits or schedules thereto, and all amendments, restatements, supplements or other modifications thereto, and shall refer to this Agreement or such Loan Document as the same may be in effect at any and all times such reference becomes operative.
“Loans” means the loans made by the Lenders to the Borrower pursuant to this Agreement.
“Margin Stock” means margin stock within the meaning of Regulation U.
“Material Adverse Change” or “Material Adverse Effect” means a material adverse change in or effect on (i) the business, financial condition or results of operations of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or (ii) the ability of the Borrower to perform its obligations under this Agreement, or (iii) the legality, validity or enforceability of this Agreement.
“Material Debt” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 7.01(d).
“Material Insurance Subsidiary” means any of CIC, HIC and CSL and any other Insurance Subsidiary that constitutes a Material Subsidiary.
“Material Subsidiary” means any Subsidiary of the Borrower, other than any Subsidiary the book value of whose assets do not constitute more than 5% of the book value (determined on a Consolidated basis) of the total assets of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries.
“Maturity Date” means November 12, 2018, subject to extension (in the case of each Lender consenting thereto) as provided in Section 2.22.
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“Modified Total Debt” means, at any time, the sum of the following:
(a) Total Debtplus
(b) Without duplication, the amount (if any) by which (i) the aggregate outstanding amount of all Hybrid Securities that is attributed to Net Worth pursuant to clause (b) of the definition of “Net Worth”plus (ii) the portion of all Preferred Securities issued by the Borrower or any Subsidiary (other than any Securitization Subsidiary) that is deemed to constitute equity, as determined in accordance with S&P’s methodology at such timeplus (iii) the portion of all Disqualified Equity Interests issued by the Borrower or any Subsidiary (other than any Securitization Subsidiary) that is deemed to constitute equity, as determined in accordance with S&P’s methodology at such time plus (iv) the portion of all Specified Convertible Debt Securities issued by the Borrower or any Subsidiary (other than any Securitization Subsidiary) that is deemed to constitute equity, as determined in accordance with S&P’s methodology at such time, exceeds 15% of Total Capitalization.
“Moody’s” means Moody’s Investors Service, Inc.
“Multiemployer Plan” means a multiemployer plan as defined in section 4001(a)(3) of ERISA.
“NAIC” means the National Association of Insurance Commissioners or any successor thereto, or in lieu thereof, any other association, agency or other organization performing substantially similar advisory, coordination or other like functions among insurance departments, insurance commissions and similar governmental authorities of the various states of the United States of America toward the promotion of uniformity in the practices of such governmental authorities.
“Net Equity Proceeds” means, with respect to any Equity Issuance, the aggregate amount of all cash received by the Borrower and its Subsidiaries (other than any Securitization Subsidiaries) in respect of such Equity Issuance net of all reasonable fees and expenses incurred by the Borrower and its Subsidiaries in connection therewith.
“Net Worth” means, at any time, the sum of the following for the Borrower and its Subsidiaries (other than any Securitization Subsidiaries) (determined on a Consolidated basis without duplication in accordance with GAAP):
(a) total shareholders’ equity of the Borrower determined in accordance with GAAP; provided that the net unrealized appreciation and depreciation of securities that are classified as available for sale and are subject to ASC 320 shall be excluded,plus
(b) without duplication of clauses (c) and (d) hereof, solely for purposes of determining “Total Capitalization” the portion of all outstanding Hybrid Securities that is deemed to constitute equity, as determined in accordance with S&P’s methodology at such time,minus
(c) without duplication of clauses (b) and (d) hereof, solely for purposes of determining “Total Capitalization” the portion of all outstanding Preferred Securities that is deemed to constitute indebtedness, as determined in accordance with S&P’s methodology at such time,minus
(d) without duplication of clauses (b) and (c) hereof, solely for purposes of determining “Total Capitalization” the portion of all outstanding Disqualified Equity Interests that is deemed to constitute indebtedness, as determined in accordance with S&P’s methodology at such time.
“Non-Public Information” means information which has not been disseminated in a manner making it available to investors generally, within the meaning of Regulation FD.
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“Obligations” means all unpaid principal of and accrued and unpaid interest on the Loans, all LC Exposure, all accrued and unpaid fees and all expenses, reimbursements, indemnities and other obligations and indebtedness (including interest and fees accruing during the pendency of any bankruptcy, insolvency, receivership or other similar proceeding, regardless of whether allowed or allowable in such proceeding), obligations and liabilities of any of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries to any of the Lenders, the Administrative Agent, any LC Issuer or any indemnified party under this Agreement, individually or collectively, existing on the Effective Date or arising thereafter, direct or indirect, joint or several, absolute or contingent, matured or unmatured, liquidated or unliquidated, secured or unsecured, arising by contract, operation of law or otherwise, arising or incurred under this Agreement or any of the other Loan Documents or in respect of any of the Loans made or reimbursement or other obligations incurred or any of the Letters of Credit or other instruments at any time evidencing any thereof.
“OFAC” means the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
“Other Connection Taxes” means, with respect to any Recipient, Taxes imposed as a result of a present or former connection between such Recipient and the jurisdiction imposing such Tax (other than connections arising from such Recipient having executed, delivered, become a party to, performed its obligations under, received payments under, received or perfected a security interest under, engaged in any other transaction pursuant to or enforced any Loan Document, or sold or assigned an interest in any Loan or Loan Document).
“Other Taxes” means all present or future stamp, court or documentary, intangible, recording, filing or similar Taxes that arise from any payment made under, from the execution, delivery, performance, enforcement or registration of, from the receipt or perfection of a security interest under, or otherwise with respect to, any Loan Document, except any such Taxes that are Other Connection Taxes imposed with respect to an assignment, grant of a participation or other transfer (other than an assignment made pursuant to Section 2.19).
“Participant” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 9.04.
“Participant Register” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 9.04(c).
“Patriot Act” means the USA PATRIOT Act (Title III of Pub. L. 107-56 (signed into law October 26, 2001)).
“PBGC” means the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation referred to and defined in ERISA and any successor entity performing similar functions.
“Permitted Liens” means any of the following Liens:
(a) Liens imposed by any governmental authority for taxes, assessments or charges not yet due or that are being contested in good faith and by appropriate proceedings;
(b) carriers’, warehousemen’s, mechanics’, materialmen’s, repairmen’s, construction contractors’ or other like Liens arising in the ordinary course of business that are not overdue for a period of more than 60 days or that are being contested in good faith and by appropriate proceedings and Liens securing judgments or orders for the payment of money but only to the extent not resulting in an Event of Default under Section 7.01(g) hereof;
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(c) pledges or deposits made (i) in connection with, or to secure payment of, worker’s compensation, unemployment insurance, old age pensions, other social security legislation and other statutory obligations and in each case in compliance therewith, (ii) to secure in the ordinary course of business the performance of bids, tenders, contracts or leases, (iii) to secure statutory obligations, surety and customs bonds, performance bonds and other obligations of a like nature (including those to secure health, safety and environmental obligations) in the ordinary course of business, (iv) to secure stay and appeal bonds, (v) to secure indemnity, performance or other similar bonds in the ordinary course of business, or (v) in connection with contested amounts in the ordinary course of business;
(d) encumbrances in the nature of (i) easements, (ii) rights-of-way, (iii) zoning restrictions or similar laws or rights reserved to or vested in any Governmental Authority to control or regulate the use of any real property, (iv) leases and subleases (other than any capital leases or synthetic leases), and licenses and sublicenses, (v) encroachments, protrusions and other similar encumbrances and restrictions on the use of real property or minor imperfections in title thereto, (vi) landlords’ and lessors’ Liens on rented premises, and (vii) restrictions on transfers or assignment of leases, which in each case do not secure monetary obligations and do not in any case materially detract from the value of the property subject thereto or interfere with the ordinary conduct of the business of the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries;
(e) Liens arising under escrows, trusts, custodianships, separate accounts, funds withheld procedures, and similar deposits, arrangements, or agreements established with respect to insurance or reinsurance policies, annuities, guaranteed investment contracts and similar products underwritten by, or Reinsurance Agreements entered into by, the Borrower or any Insurance Subsidiary in the ordinary course of business;
(f) deposits with Insurance Regulatory Authorities;
(g) Liens securing obligations under letters of credit issued for the benefit of Insurance Regulatory Authorities and letters of credit issued in support of funds at the Society and Corporation of Lloyd’s requirements, including as permitted under Section 6.02(n);
(h) Liens granted by Securitization Subsidiaries in connection with Securitization Transactions;
(i) Liens on Property of any Person that becomes a Subsidiary of the Borrower after the date hereof, provided that such Liens are in existence at the time such Person becomes a Subsidiary of the Borrower and were not created in anticipation thereof;
(j) Liens upon real and/or tangible personal Property acquired after the date hereof (by purchase, construction or otherwise) by the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries, each of which Liens either (A) existed on such Property before the time of its acquisition and was not created in anticipation thereof or (B) was created solely for the purpose of securing Debt representing, or incurred to finance, refinance or refund, the cost (including the cost of construction) of such Property, provided that no such Lien shall extend to or cover any Property of the Borrower or such Subsidiary other than the Property so acquired and improvements thereon;
(k) Liens on securities or financial instruments arising out of (i) repurchase (and reverse repurchase) agreements for liquidity or yield enhancement purposes and in no event outstanding for a period exceeding ninety (90) days in each case and (ii) other investment strategies with respect to securities and financial instruments, in each case entered into in the ordinary course of business and on ordinary business terms;
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(l) the sale of delinquent accounts receivable for collection in the ordinary course of business;
(m) Liens in existence on the date hereof and set forth inSchedule 6.02 (and any extension, renewal or replacement thereof permitted under Section 6.02(o));
(n) Liens in favor of a Federal Home Loan Bank to secure borrowings from such Federal Home Loan Bank in the ordinary course of business and on ordinary business terms pursuant to a membership in such Federal Home Loan Bank;
(o) Liens on deposits made in connection with the discharge, defeasance or redemption of Debt;
(p) Liens securing Debt permitted under Section 6.02(e);
(q) Liens (i) of a collection bank arising under Section 4-208 of the Uniform Commercial Code on the items in the course of collection and (ii) in favor of a banking or other financial institution arising as a matter of law or under customary contractual provisions encumbering deposits or other funds maintained with such banking or other financial institution (including the right of set off and grants of security interests in deposits and/or securities held by such banking or other financial institution) and that are within the general parameters customary in the banking industry;
(r) Liens deemed to exist in connection with reasonable customary initial deposits, margin deposits and similar Liens attaching to brokerage accounts maintained in the ordinary course of business and not for speculative purposes;
(s) Liens arising from Uniform Commercial Code financing statements or similar filings that have not been authorized by the Borrower or a Subsidiary of the Borrower;
(t) Liens solely on any cash earnest money deposits made by the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries in connection with any letter of intent or purchase agreement,provided that any such Lien is in existence for a period of no longer than one year;
(u) Liens on insurance policies and the proceeds thereof securing the financing of the premiums with respect thereto;
(v) Customary rights of first refusal and tag, drag and similar rights relating to the sale of equity in joint venture agreements and franchise agreements entered into in the ordinary course of business;
(w) Liens on cash or securities to secure Hedge Agreements and obligations under other derivatives transactions entered into in the ordinary course of business and not for speculative purposes;provided that the amount of Debt secured by such Liens shall not exceed $150,000,000 at any time outstanding;
(x) Liens arising from the deposit of cash, securities or other property into collateral or reinsurance trusts for the benefit of ceding companies or Insurance Regulatory Authorities;
(y) Liens arising in connection with securities lending transactions entered into in the ordinary course of business for liquidity or yield enhancement purposes and in no event outstanding for a period exceeding two hundred and seventy (270) days in each case; and
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(z) Liens securing Debt in an aggregate principal amount at any time outstanding not to exceed $25,000,000.
“Person” means any natural person, corporation, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, association, company, partnership, Governmental Authority or other entity.
“Plan” means an employee benefit or other plan established or maintained by the Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate and that is covered by Title IV of ERISA, including a Multiemployer Plan.
“Preferred Securities” of any Person shall mean any preferred Equity Interests (or capital stock) of such Person that (i) have preferential rights with respect to dividends or redemptions or upon liquidation or dissolution of such Person over shares of common Equity Interests (or capital stock) of any other class of such Person and (ii) that require no repayments or prepayments and no mandatory redemptions or repurchases, in each case, prior to 91 days after the Maturity Date.
“Prime Rate” means the rate of interest per annum publicly announced from time to time by JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. as its prime rate in effect at its principal office in New York City; each change in the Prime Rate shall be effective from and including the date such change is publicly announced as being effective.
“Property” of any Person means any property or assets, or interest therein, of such Person.
“Public Lenders” means the Lenders that do not wish to receive material non-public information with respect to the Borrower, its Subsidiaries or their securities.
“RBC Ratio” of any Person means, at any time, the ratio of (i) “Total Adjusted Capital” of such Personto (ii) the amount equal to (x) “Authorized Control Level Risk-Based Capital” of such Personmultiplied by (y) 2, as such terms are defined by the Insurance Regulatory Authority of the State in which such Person is incorporated, as amended from time to time. Using the annual SAP Financial Statements form prescribed by the NAIC Risk-Based Capital (RBC) for Insurers Model Act for the year ended December 31, 2012 (the “Convention Blank”), the RBC Ratio as of December 31, 2012 is equal to the quotient of (a) the amount that appears on line 28 on page 17 of the Convention Blankdivided by (b) the amount equal to (x) the amount that appears on line 29 on page 17 of the Convention Blankmultiplied by (y) 2.
“Recipient” means (a) the Administrative Agent, (b) any Lender and (c) any LC Issuer, as applicable.
“Register” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 9.04.
“Regulation D” means Regulation D issued by the Board, as from time to time amended.
“Regulation FD” means Regulation FD as promulgated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 as in effect from time to time.
“Regulations T, U and X” means Regulations T, U and X issued by the Board, as from time to time amended.
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“Reinsurance Agreement” means any agreement, contract, treaty or other arrangement whereby other insurers assume insurance from the Borrower or any Insurance Subsidiary.
“Related Parties” means, with respect to any specified Person, such Person’s Affiliates and the respective directors, officers, employees, agents, advisors and representatives of such Person and such Person’s Affiliates.
“Required Lenders” means, at any time, Lenders having Revolving Credit Exposures and unused Commitments representing more than 50% of the sum of the total Revolving Credit Exposures and unused Commitments at such time.
“Responsible Officer” of the Borrower means the President, the Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Financial Officer, the Treasurer, any Executive Vice President, any Senior Vice President, or any Vice President of the Borrower.
“Restricted Payments” means (a) any cash dividend or other distribution in cash with respect to any Equity Interests in any Person, or any cash payment, including any sinking fund or similar cash deposit, on account of the purchase, redemption, retirement, acquisition, cancellation or termination of any such Equity Interests in such Person or any option, warrant or other right to acquire any such Equity Interests in such Person and (b) any prepayment, redemption, purchase, defeasance or other satisfaction prior to the scheduled maturity thereof in any manner of any Subordinated Indebtedness of any Person (it being understood that payments of regularly scheduled principal and interest payments shall not constitute a Restricted Payment).
“Revolving Credit Exposure” means, with respect to any Lender at any time, the sum of the outstanding principal amount of such Lender’s Revolving Loans and its LC Exposure at such time.
“Revolving Loan” means a Loan made pursuant to Section 2.01.
“S&P” means Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, a Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC business.
“Sanctions” means economic or financial sanctions or trade embargoes imposed, administered or enforced from time to time by (a) the U.S. government, including those administered by OFAC or the U.S. Department of State or (b) the European Union or Her Majesty’s Treasury of the United Kingdom.
“Sanctioned Country” means, at any time, a country or territory which is the subject or target of any Sanctions and with respect to which such Sanctions apply to all Persons in such country or territory (for example, as of the Effective Date, Cuba) as opposed to any country or territory with respect to which Sanctions are applicable only to Persons listed in any Sanctions-related list.
“Sanctioned Person” means, at any time, (a) any Person listed in any Sanctions-related list of designated Persons maintained by OFAC, the U.S. Department of State, the European Union or Her Majesty’s Treasury of the United Kingdom, (b) any Person operating, organized or resident in a Sanctioned Country or (c) any Person controlled by any such Person.
“SAP” means the accounting procedures and practices prescribed or permitted by the applicable Insurance Regulatory Authority.
“SEC” means the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
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“Securitization Subsidiary” shall mean a Subsidiary which engages in no activities other than in connection with the financing of accounts receivable or portfolio investments of the Borrower or any other Subsidiary (a) no portion of the Debt or any other obligations (contingent or otherwise) of which (i) is guaranteed by the Borrower or any other Subsidiary (other than another Securitization Subsidiary) (excluding guarantees of obligations (other than the principal of, and interest on, Debt) pursuant to Standard Securitization Undertakings or Limited Originator Recourse), (ii) is recourse to or obligates the Borrower or any other Subsidiary (other than another Securitization Subsidiary) in any way (other than pursuant to Standard Securitization Undertakings or Limited Originator Recourse) or (iii) subjects any property or asset of the Borrower or any other Subsidiary (other than another Securitization Subsidiary), directly or indirectly, contingently or otherwise, to the satisfaction thereof, other than pursuant to Standard Securitization Undertakings or Limited Originator Recourse, (b) with which neither the Borrower nor any of its Subsidiaries (other than another Securitization Subsidiary) has any contract, agreement, arrangement or understanding (other than pursuant to the documentation entered into in connection with any Securitization Transaction (including with respect to fees payable in the ordinary course of business in connection with the servicing of accounts receivable and related assets)) on terms less favorable to the Borrower or such Subsidiary than those that might be obtained at the time from persons that are not Affiliates of the Borrower, and (c) to which neither the Borrower nor any other Subsidiary of the Borrower (other than another Securitization Subsidiary) has any obligation to maintain or preserve such entity’s financial condition or cause such entity to achieve certain levels of operating results (other than pursuant to Standard Securitization Undertakings or Limited Originator Recourse). Any such designation shall be evidenced to the Administrative Agent by filing with the Administrative Agent an officer’s certificate of the Borrower certifying that, to the best of such officer’s knowledge and belief after consultation with counsel, such designation complied with the foregoing conditions.
“Securitization Transaction” means any transaction or series of transactions that may be entered into by the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries pursuant to which the Borrower or such Subsidiary, as the case may be, may sell, convey or otherwise transfer assets to any special purpose, bankruptcy-remote Subsidiary in a true sale transaction and such special purpose Subsidiary incurs Financial Debt to finance the purchase of such assets, provided that there shall be no recourse under any such securitization to the Borrower or any of its other Subsidiaries other than pursuant to Standard Securitization Undertakings or Limited Originator Recourse.
“Several Letter of Credit” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.06(a).
“Several Unpaid Drawing” means any unreimbursed LC Disbursement with respect to a Several Letter of Credit.
“Solvent” means, with respect to any Person at any time, that (a) the fair value of the Property of such Person is greater than the total amount of liabilities (including without limitation contingent liabilities) of such Person, (b) the present fair saleable value of the Property of such Person is not less than the amount that will be required to pay the probable liability of such Person on its debts as they become absolute and matured, (c) such Person does not intend to, and does not believe that it will, incur debts or liabilities beyond such Person’s ability to pay as such debts and liabilities mature, and (d) such Person is not engaged in a business and is not about to engage in a business for which such Person’s Property would constitute an unreasonably small capital.
“Specified Convertible Debt Securities” means any debt securities the terms of which provide for the conversion thereof into Equity Interests, cash or a combination of Equity Interests and cash and (i) that afford equity benefit to the issuer thereof (under the procedures and guidelines of S&P) by having ongoing payment requirements that are more flexible than interest payments associated with conventional indebtedness for borrowed money and by being contractually subordinated to such indebtedness and (ii) that require no repayments or prepayments and no mandatory redemptions or repurchases of principal payable in cash, in each case, prior to 91 days after the Maturity Date.
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“Standard Securitization Undertakings” means representations, warranties, covenants and indemnities entered into by the Borrower or any Subsidiary in connection with any Securitization Transaction that are customary in comparable non-recourse securitization transactions.
“Stated Amount” means, with respect to any Letter of Credit at any time, the aggregate amount available to be drawn thereunder at such time (regardless of whether any conditions for drawing could then be met).
“Statutory Reserve Rate” means a fraction (expressed as a decimal), the numerator of which is the number one and the denominator of which is the number one minus the aggregate of the maximum reserve percentages (including any marginal, special, emergency or supplemental reserves) expressed as a decimal established by the Board to which the Administrative Agent is subject for eurocurrency funding (currently referred to as “Eurocurrency Liabilities” in Regulation D of the Board). Such reserve percentages shall include those imposed pursuant to such Regulation D of the Board. Eurodollar Loans shall be deemed to constitute eurocurrency funding and to be subject to such reserve requirements without benefit of or credit for proration, exemptions or offsets that may be available from time to time to any Lender under such Regulation D of the Board or any comparable regulation. The Statutory Reserve Rate shall be adjusted automatically on and as of the effective date of any change in any reserve percentage.
“Statutory Statement” means, as to any Material Insurance Subsidiary, a statement of the condition and affairs of such Material Insurance Subsidiary, prepared in accordance with SAP, and filed with the applicable Insurance Regulatory Authority.
“Subordinated Indebtedness” means any Debt of the Borrower or any Subsidiary the payment of which is contractually subordinated in right of payment of the obligations under the Loan Documents.
“subsidiary” means, with respect to any Person, any other Person of which at least a majority of the securities or other ownership interests having by the terms thereof ordinary voting power to elect a majority of the board of directors or other persons performing similar functions of such other Person (irrespective of whether or not at the time securities or other ownership interests of any other class or classes of such other Person shall have or might have voting power by reason of the happening of any contingency) is at the time directly or indirectly owned or Controlled by such Person or one or more Subsidiaries of such first Person or by such first Person and one or more Subsidiaries of such first Person.
“Subsidiary” means any subsidiary of the Borrower. For the avoidance of doubt, any Lloyd’s syndicate which is not a legal entity and has no power to enter into contracts or other binding obligations shall not be deemed to be a Subsidiary of the Borrower.
“Taxes” means all present or future taxes, levies, imposts, duties, deductions, withholdings (including backup withholding), assessments, fees or other charges imposed by any Governmental Authority, including any interest, additions to tax or penalties applicable thereto.
“Total Capitalization” means, at any time, the sum of (a) Total Debtplus (b) Net Worth.
“Total Debt” means, at any time, an amount equal to the aggregate outstanding principal amount of Debt of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries (other than any Securitization Subsidiary) of the
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kinds set forth in clauses (a) through (g) of the definition of Debt determined on a Consolidated basis without duplication in accordance with GAAP, but without giving effect to any election under the Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 159 (ASC 825) (or any similar accounting principle) permitting a Person to value its financial liabilities or indebtedness at the fair value thereof;provided, that solely for purposes of determining “Total Debt,” (i) without duplication of clauses (ii), (iii) and (iv) hereof, the outstanding principal amount of Debt attributed to any Hybrid Security shall be deemed equal to the portion of such Hybrid Security that is deemed to constitute indebtedness, as determined in accordance with S&P’s methodology at such time, (ii) without duplication of clauses (i), (iii) and (iv) hereof, the outstanding principal amount of Debt attributed to any Disqualified Equity Interest shall be deemed equal to the portion of such Disqualified Equity Interest that is deemed to constitute indebtedness, as determined in accordance with S&P’s methodology at such time, (iii) without duplication of clauses (i), (ii) and (iv) hereof, the outstanding principal amount of Debt attributed to any Preferred Security shall be deemed equal to the portion of such Preferred Security that is deemed to constitute indebtedness, as determined in accordance with S&P’s methodology at such time and (iv) without duplication of clauses (i), (ii) and (iii) hereof, the outstanding principal amount of Debt attributed to any Specified Convertible Debt Securities shall be deemed equal to the portion of such Specified Convertible Debt Securities that is deemed to constitute indebtedness, as determined in accordance with S&P’s methodology at such time.
“Transactions” means the execution, delivery and performance by the Borrower of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents, the borrowing of Loans and other credit extensions, the use of the proceeds thereof and the issuance of Letters of Credit hereunder.
“Type”, when used in reference to any Loan or Borrowing, refers to whether the rate of interest on such Loan, or on the Loans comprising such Borrowing, is determined by reference to the Adjusted LIBO Rate or the Alternate Base Rate.
“U.S. Person” means a “United States person” within the meaning of Section 7701(a)(30) of the Code.
“U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.17(f)(ii)(B)(3).
“UKGAAP” means generally accepted accounting principles in the United Kingdom as in effect from time to time.
“Voting Shares” means, with respect to any Person at any time, Equity Interests entitling the holder thereof to vote generally in an election of directors or other individuals performing similar functions.
“Wholly-Owned Subsidiary” means, with respect to any Person, any corporation, partnership, limited liability company or other entity of which all of the equity securities or other ownership interests (other than, in the case of a corporation, directors’ qualifying shares) are directly or indirectly owned or Controlled by such Person or one or more Wholly-Owned Subsidiaries of such Person or by such Person and one or more Wholly-Owned Subsidiaries of such Person.
“Withdrawal Liability” has the meaning specified in Part 1 of Subtitle E of Title IV of ERISA.
SECTION 1.02Classification of Loans and Borrowings. For purposes of this Agreement, Loans may be classified and referred to by Class (e.g., a “Revolving Loan”) or by Type (e.g., a “Eurodollar Loan”) or by Class and Type (e.g., a “Eurodollar Revolving Loan”). Borrowings also may be classified and referred to by Class (e.g., a “Revolving Borrowing”) or by Type (e.g., a “Eurodollar Borrowing”) or by Class and Type (e.g., a “Eurodollar Revolving Borrowing”).
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SECTION 1.03Terms Generally. The definitions of terms herein shall apply equally to the singular and plural forms of the terms defined. Whenever the context may require, any pronoun shall include the corresponding masculine, feminine and neuter forms. The words “include”, “includes” and “including” shall be deemed to be followed by the phrase “without limitation”. The word “will” shall be construed to have the same meaning and effect as the word “shall”. The word “law” shall be construed as referring to all statutes, rules, regulations, codes and other laws (including official rulings and interpretations thereunder having the force of law or with which affected Persons customarily comply), and all judgments, orders and decrees, of all Governmental Authorities. Unless the context requires otherwise (a) any definition of or reference to any agreement, instrument or other document herein shall be construed as referring to such agreement, instrument or other document as from time to time amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise modified (subject to any restrictions on such amendments, restatements, supplements or modifications set forth herein), (b) any definition of or reference to any statute, rule or regulation shall be construed as referring thereto as from time to time amended, supplemented or otherwise modified (including by succession of comparable successor laws), (c) any reference herein to any Person shall be construed to include such Person’s successors and assigns (subject to any restrictions on assignment set forth herein) and, in the case of any Governmental Authority, any other Governmental Authority that shall have succeeded to any or all functions thereof, (d) the words “herein”, “hereof” and “hereunder”, and words of similar import, shall be construed to refer to this Agreement in its entirety and not to any particular provision hereof, (e) all references herein to Articles, Sections, Exhibits and Schedules shall be construed to refer to Articles and Sections of, and Exhibits and Schedules to, this Agreement and (f) the words “asset” and “property” shall be construed to have the same meaning and effect and to refer to any and all tangible and intangible assets and properties, including cash, securities, accounts and contract rights.
SECTION 1.04Accounting Terms; GAAP; Pro Forma Calculations. (a) Except as otherwise expressly provided herein, all terms of an accounting or financial nature shall be construed in accordance with GAAP, as in effect from time to time;provided that, if the Borrower notifies the Administrative Agent that the Borrower requests an amendment to any provision hereof to eliminate the effect of any change occurring after the date hereof in GAAP or in the application thereof on the operation of such provision (or if the Administrative Agent notifies the Borrower that the Required Lenders request an amendment to any provision hereof for such purpose), regardless of whether any such notice is given before or after such change in GAAP or in the application thereof, then such provision shall be interpreted on the basis of GAAP as in effect and applied immediately before such change shall have become effective until such notice shall have been withdrawn or such provision amended in accordance herewith. Notwithstanding any other provision contained herein, all terms of an accounting or financial nature used herein shall be construed, and all computations of amounts and ratios referred to herein shall be made (i) without giving effect to any election under Accounting Standards Codification 825-10-25 (or any other Accounting Standards Codification or Financial Accounting Standard having a similar result or effect) to value any Debt or other liabilities of the Borrower or any Subsidiary at “fair value”, as defined therein and (ii) except as otherwise provided under the definition of “Modified Total Debt”, without giving effect to any treatment of Debt in respect of convertible debt instruments under Accounting Standards Codification 470-20 (or any other Accounting Standards Codification or Financial Accounting Standard having a similar result or effect) to value any such Debt in a reduced or bifurcated manner as described therein, and such Debt shall at all times be valued at the full stated principal amount thereof.
(b) All pro forma computations required to be made hereunder giving effect to any acquisition or disposition, or issuance, incurrence or assumption of Debt, or other transaction shall in each
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case be calculated giving pro forma effect thereto (and, in the case of any pro forma computation made hereunder to determine whether such acquisition or disposition, or issuance, incurrence or assumption of Debt, or other transaction is permitted to be consummated hereunder, to any other such transaction consummated since the first day of the period covered by any component of such pro forma computation and on or prior to the date of such computation) as if such transaction had occurred on the first day of the period of four consecutive fiscal quarters ending with the most recent fiscal quarter for which financial statements shall have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.01(a) or 5.01(b) (or, prior to the delivery of any such financial statements, ending with the last fiscal quarter included in the financial statements referred to in Section 3.01(a)(ii)), and, to the extent applicable, to the historical earnings and cash flows associated with the assets acquired or disposed of (but without giving effect to any synergies or cost savings) and any related incurrence or reduction of Debt, all in accordance with Article 11 of Regulation S-X under the Securities Act of 1933. If any Debt bears a floating rate of interest and is being given pro forma effect, the interest on such Debt shall be calculated as if the rate in effect on the date of determination had been the applicable rate for the entire period (taking into account any Hedge Agreement applicable to such Debt).
SECTION 1.05Status of Obligations. In the event that the Borrower shall at any time issue or have outstanding any Subordinated Indebtedness, the Borrower shall take all such actions as shall be necessary to cause the Obligations to constitute senior indebtedness (however denominated) in respect of such Subordinated Indebtedness and to enable the Administrative Agent and the Lenders to have and exercise any payment blockage or other remedies available or potentially available to holders of senior indebtedness under the terms of such Subordinated Indebtedness. Without limiting the foregoing, the Obligations are hereby designated as “senior indebtedness” and as “designated senior indebtedness” and words of similar import under and in respect of any indenture or other agreement or instrument under which such Subordinated Indebtedness is outstanding and are further given all such other designations as shall be required under the terms of any such Subordinated Indebtedness in order that the Lenders may have and exercise any payment blockage or other remedies available or potentially available to holders of senior indebtedness under the terms of such Subordinated Indebtedness.
ARTICLE II
The Credits
SECTION 2.01Commitments. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, each Lender (severally and not jointly) agrees to make Revolving Loans to the Borrower in Dollars from time to time during the Availability Period in an aggregate principal amount that will not result in (a) such Lender’s Revolving Credit Exposure exceeding such Lender’s Commitment or (b) the sum of the total Revolving Credit Exposures exceeding the Aggregate Commitment. Within the foregoing limits and subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, the Borrower may borrow, prepay and reborrow Revolving Loans.
SECTION 2.02Loans and Borrowings. (a) Each Revolving Loan shall be made as part of a Borrowing consisting of Revolving Loans made by the Lenders ratably in accordance with their respective Commitments. The failure of any Lender to make any Loan required to be made by it shall not relieve any other Lender of its obligations hereunder;provided that the Commitments of the Lenders are several and no Lender shall be responsible for any other Lender’s failure to make Loans as required.
(b) Subject to Section 2.14, each Revolving Borrowing shall be comprised entirely of ABR Loans or Eurodollar Loans as the Borrower may request in accordance herewith. Each Lender at its option may make any Loan by causing any domestic or foreign branch or Affiliate of such Lender to make such Loan (and in the case of an Affiliate, the provisions of Sections 2.14, 2.15, 2.16 and 2.17 shall
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apply to such Affiliate to the same extent as to such Lender);provided that any exercise of such option shall not affect the obligation of the Borrower to repay such Loan in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.
(c) At the commencement of each Interest Period for any Eurodollar Revolving Borrowing, such Borrowing shall be in an aggregate amount that is an integral multiple of $1,000,000 and not less than $10,000,000. At the time that each ABR Revolving Borrowing is made, such Borrowing shall be in an aggregate amount that is an integral multiple of $1,000,000 and not less than $10,000,000;provided that an ABR Revolving Borrowing may be in an aggregate amount that is equal to the entire unused balance of the Aggregate Commitment or that is required to finance the reimbursement of an LC Disbursement as contemplated by Section 2.06(e). Borrowings of more than one Type and Class may be outstanding at the same time; provided that there shall not at any time be more than a total of ten (10) Eurodollar Revolving Borrowings outstanding.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the Borrower shall not be entitled to request, or to elect to convert or continue, any Borrowing if the Interest Period requested with respect thereto would end after the Maturity Date.
SECTION 2.03Requests for Revolving Borrowings. To request a Revolving Borrowing, the Borrower shall notify the Administrative Agent of such request by telephone (a) in the case of a Eurodollar Borrowing, not later than 11:00 a.m., New York City time, three (3) Business Days before the date of the proposed Borrowing or (b) in the case of an ABR Borrowing, not later than 11:00 a.m., New York City time, on the date of the proposed Borrowing. Each such telephonic Borrowing Request shall be irrevocable and shall be confirmed promptly by hand delivery or telecopy to the Administrative Agent of a written Borrowing Request signed by the Borrower. Each such telephonic and written Borrowing Request shall specify the following information in compliance with Section 2.02:
(i) the aggregate amount of the requested Borrowing;
(ii) the date of such Borrowing, which shall be a Business Day;
(iii) whether such Borrowing is to be an ABR Borrowing or a Eurodollar Borrowing;
(iv) in the case of a Eurodollar Borrowing, the initial Interest Period to be applicable thereto, which shall be a period contemplated by the definition of the term “Interest Period”; and
(v) the location and number of the Borrower’s account to which funds are to be disbursed, which shall comply with the requirements of Section 2.07.
If no election as to the Type of Revolving Borrowing is specified, then the requested Revolving Borrowing shall be an ABR Borrowing. If no Interest Period is specified with respect to any requested Eurodollar Revolving Borrowing, then the Borrower shall be deemed to have selected an Interest Period of one month’s duration. Promptly following receipt of a Borrowing Request in accordance with this Section, the Administrative Agent shall advise each Lender of the details thereof and of the amount of such Lender’s Loan to be made as part of the requested Borrowing.
SECTION 2.04Intentionally Omitted.
SECTION 2.05Intentionally Omitted.
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SECTION 2.06Letters of Credit.
(a)Several Letters of Credit.
(i) Subject to and upon the terms and conditions set forth herein, the Borrower may request the Issuing Agent, at any time and from time to time during the Availability Period, to issue, on behalf of each Lender, for the account of the Borrower or any Subsidiary, to any other Person, and subject to and upon the terms and conditions herein set forth, the Issuing Agent agrees to issue at any time and from time to time during the Availability Period one or more irrevocable standby letters of credit denominated in Dollars and in such form as may be approved by the Issuing Agent (each such letter of credit, a “Several Letter of Credit” and, collectively, the “Several Letters of Credit”). In the event of any inconsistency between the terms and conditions of this Agreement and the terms and conditions of any form of letter of credit application or other agreement submitted by the Borrower to, or entered into by the Borrower with, the Issuing Agent relating to any Several Letter of Credit, the terms and conditions of this Agreement shall control. The Borrower unconditionally and irrevocably agrees that, in connection with any Several Letter of Credit issued for the support of any Subsidiary’s obligations as provided in the first sentence of this paragraph, the Borrower will be fully responsible for the reimbursement of LC Disbursements in accordance with the terms hereof, the payment of interest thereon and the payment of fees due under Section 2.12(b) to the same extent as if it were the sole account party in respect of such Several Letter of Credit (the Borrower hereby irrevocably waiving any defenses that might otherwise be available to it as a guarantor or surety of the obligations of such a Subsidiary that is an account party in respect of any such Several Letter of Credit).
(ii) Each Several Letter of Credit will be issued by the Issuing Agent on behalf of the Lenders and the obligations of each Lender under any Several Letter of Credit will be based on such Lender’s Applicable Percentage at the time such Several Letter of Credit is issued. The obligations of each Lender under and in respect of each Several Letter of Credit are several, and the failure by any Lender to perform its obligations hereunder or under any Letter of Credit shall not affect the obligations of the Borrower toward any other party hereto nor shall any other such party be liable for the failure by such Lender to perform its obligations hereunder or under any Several Letter of Credit.
(iii) Each Several Letter of Credit shall be executed and delivered by the Issuing Agent in the name and on behalf of, and as attorney-in-fact for, each Lender and the Issuing Agent shall act under each Several Letter of Credit, and each Several Letter of Credit shall expressly provide that the Issuing Agent shall act, as the agent of each Lender, to (a) receive drafts, other demands for payment and other documents presented by the beneficiary under such Several Letter of Credit, (b) determine whether such drafts, demands and documents are in compliance with the terms and conditions of such Several Letter of Credit and (c) notify such Lender and the Borrower that a valid drawing has been made and the date that the related Several Unpaid Drawing is to be made; provided that, the Issuing Agent shall have no obligation or liability for any Several Unpaid Drawing under such Several Letter of Credit, and each Several Letter of Credit shall expressly so provide. Each Lender hereby irrevocably appoints and designates the Issuing Agent as its attorney-in-fact, acting through any duly authorized officer of the Issuing Agent, to execute and deliver in the name and on behalf of such Lender each Several Letter of Credit to be issued by such Lender hereunder. Promptly upon the request of the Issuing Agent, each Lender will furnish to the Issuing Agent such powers of attorney or other evidence as any beneficiary of any Several Letter of Credit may reasonably request in order to demonstrate that the Issuing Agent has the power to act as attorney-in-fact for such Lender to execute and deliver such Several Letter of Credit.
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(iv) Each Lender represents and warrants that each Several Letter of Credit constitutes a legal, valid and binding obligation of such Lender enforceable in accordance with its terms; provided that, the enforceability thereof is subject to general principles of equity and to bankruptcy, insolvency and similar laws affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights generally.
(v) Upon the request of any Lender, each Issuing Agent shall furnish to such Lender copies of any Several Letters of Credit issued by it and such other related and reasonably available documentation as may be reasonably requested by such Lender.
(b)Fronted Letters of Credit.
(i) Subject to and upon the terms and conditions set forth herein, the Borrower may request any Fronting Bank, at any time and from time to time during the Availability Period, to issue, for the account of the Borrower or any Subsidiary, to any other Person, and subject to and upon the terms and conditions herein set forth, such Fronting Bank agrees to issue at any time and from time to time during the Availability Period one or more irrevocable standby letters of credit denominated in Dollars and in such form as may be approved by such Fronting Bank (each such letter of credit, a “Fronted Letter of Credit” and, collectively, the “Fronted Letters of Credit”). In the event of any inconsistency between the terms and conditions of this Agreement and the terms and conditions of any form of letter of credit application or other agreement submitted by the Borrower to, or entered into by the Borrower with, a Fronting Bank relating to any Fronted Letter of Credit, the terms and conditions of this Agreement shall control. The Borrower unconditionally and irrevocably agrees that, in connection with any Fronted Letter of Credit issued for the support of any Subsidiary’s obligations as provided in the first sentence of this paragraph, the Borrower will be fully responsible for the reimbursement of LC Disbursements in accordance with the terms hereof, the payment of interest thereon and the payment of fees due under Section 2.12(b) to the same extent as if it were the sole account party in respect of such Fronted Letter of Credit (the Borrower hereby irrevocably waiving any defenses that might otherwise be available to it as a guarantor or surety of the obligations of such a Subsidiary that is an account party in respect of any such Fronted Letter of Credit).
(ii) Immediately upon the issuance by any Fronting Bank of any Fronted Letter of Credit (or an amendment to a Fronted Letter of Credit increasing the amount thereof), such Fronting Bank shall be deemed to have sold and transferred to each Lender other than such Fronting Bank (each such Lender, in its capacity under this Section 2.06(b), a “Fronting Participant”), and each such Fronting Participant shall be deemed irrevocably and unconditionally to have purchased and received from such Fronting Bank, without recourse or warranty, an undivided interest and participation, to the extent of such Fronting Participant’s Applicable Percentage, in such Fronted Letter of Credit, each drawing made thereunder and the obligations of the Borrower under this Agreement with respect thereto, and any security therefor or guaranty pertaining thereto. Upon any change in the Commitments or Applicable Percentages of the Lenders pursuant to this Agreement (including pursuant to Section 2.20), it is hereby agreed that, with respect to all outstanding Fronted Letters of Credit and Fronted Unpaid Drawings, there shall be an automatic adjustment to the participations pursuant to this Section 2.06 to reflect the new Applicable Percentages of the assignor and assignee Lender or of all Lenders with Commitments, as the case may be.
(iii) In the event that any Fronting Bank makes any payment under any Fronted Letter of Credit and the Borrower shall not have reimbursed such amount in full to such Fronting Bank pursuant to Section 2.06(e), such Fronting Bank shall promptly notify the Administrative Agent, which shall promptly notify each Fronting Participant, of such failure, and each Fronting
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Participant shall promptly and unconditionally pay to such Fronting Bank the amount of such Fronting Participant’s Applicable Percentage of such unreimbursed payment in Dollars and in immediately available funds. If, prior to 11:00 a.m., New York City time, on any Business Day, the Administrative Agent so notifies any Fronting Participant required to fund a payment under a Fronted Letter of Credit, such Fronting Participant shall make available to such Fronting Bank in Dollars and in immediately available funds such Fronting Participant’s Applicable Percentage of the amount of such payment on such Business Day (or, if notice is given after 11:00 a.m., New York City time, on any Business Day, on the next Business Day). If and to the extent such Fronting Participant shall not have so made its Applicable Percentage of the amount of such payment available to such Fronting Bank, such Fronting Participant agrees to pay to such Fronting Bank, forthwith on demand, such amount, together with interest thereon, for each day from such date to but excluding the date such amount is paid to such Fronting Bank at the overnight Federal Funds Effective Rate. The failure of any Fronting Participant to make available to such Fronting Bank its Applicable Percentage of any payment under any Fronted Letter of Credit shall not relieve any other Fronting Participant of its obligation hereunder to make available to such Fronting Bank its Applicable Percentage of any payment on the date required, as specified above.
(iv) Whenever any Fronting Bank receives any payment by the Borrower as to which it has also received payments from the Fronting Participants pursuant to paragraph (iii) above, such Fronting Bank shall forward such payment to the Administrative Agent, which in turn shall distribute to each Fronting Participant which has paid its Applicable Percentage thereof, in Dollars and in immediately available funds, an amount equal to such Fronting Participant’s share (based upon the amount funded by such Fronting Participant to the aggregate amount funded by all Fronting Participants and retained by such Fronting Bank) of the principal amount of such payment and interest thereon accruing after the purchase of the respective participations.
(v) The obligations of the Fronting Participants to make payments to each Fronting Bank with respect to Fronted Letters of Credit issued by it shall be irrevocable and not subject to any qualification or exception whatsoever and shall be made in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement under all circumstances, including any of the following circumstances:
(A) any lack of validity or enforceability of this Agreement or any amendment, supplement or modification hereof;
(B) the existence of any claim, setoff, defense or other right which the Fronting Participant or any of its Affiliates may have at any time against a beneficiary named in a Fronted Letter of Credit, any transferee of any Fronted Letter of Credit (or any Person for whom any such transferee may be acting), the Administrative Agent, any Fronting Bank, any Fronting Participant, any Lender, or any other Person, whether in connection with this Agreement, any Fronted Letter of Credit, the transactions contemplated herein or any unrelated transactions (including any underlying transaction between the Borrower or any of its Affiliates and the beneficiary named in any such Fronted Letter of Credit);
(C) any draft, certificate or any other document presented under any Fronted Letter of Credit proving to be forged, fraudulent, invalid or insufficient in any respect or any statement therein being untrue or inaccurate in any respect;
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(D) the surrender or impairment of any security for the performance or observance of any of the terms of this Agreement;
(E) the occurrence of any Default or Event of Default;
(F) any amendment, renewal or extension of any Fronted Letter of Credit or the reduction or termination of the Commitments; or
(G) any matter or event set forth in Section 2.06(f).
(vi) Upon the request of any Fronting Participant, each Fronting Bank shall furnish to such Fronting Participant copies of any Fronted Letter of Credit issued by it and such other documentation as may reasonably be requested by such Fronting Participant.
(c)Notice of Issuance, Amendment, Renewal, Extension; Certain Conditions. To request the issuance of a Letter of Credit (or the amendment, renewal or extension of an outstanding Letter of Credit), the Borrower shall hand deliver or telecopy (or transmit by electronic communication, if arrangements for doing so have been approved by the applicable LC Issuer) to the applicable LC Issuer and the Administrative Agent (reasonably in advance of the requested date of issuance, amendment, renewal or extension) a notice requesting the issuance of a Several Letter of Credit or Fronted Letter of Credit, as applicable, or identifying the Letter of Credit to be amended, renewed or extended, and specifying the date of issuance, amendment, renewal or extension (which shall be a Business Day), the date on which such Letter of Credit is to expire (which shall comply with paragraph (d) of this Section), the amount of such Letter of Credit, the name and address of the beneficiary thereof and such other information as shall be necessary to prepare, amend, renew or extend such Letter of Credit. If requested by the applicable LC Issuer, the Borrower also shall submit a letter of credit application on the applicable LC Issuer’s standard form in connection with any request for a Letter of Credit. A Letter of Credit shall be issued, amended, renewed or extended only if (and upon issuance, amendment, renewal or extension of each Letter of Credit the Borrower shall be deemed to represent and warrant that), after giving effect to such issuance, amendment, renewal or extension (i) the amount of the LC Exposure shall not exceed $50,000,000 and (ii) the sum of the total Revolving Credit Exposures shall not exceed the Aggregate Commitment. No LC Issuer shall at any time be obligated to issue any Letter of Credit hereunder if such issuance would conflict with, or cause the Issuing Agent or any Fronting Participant to exceed any limits imposed by, any Governmental Authority.
(d)Expiration Date. Each Letter of Credit shall expire (or be subject to termination by notice from the applicable LC Issuer to the beneficiary thereof) at or prior to the close of business on the earlier of (i) the date one year after the date of the issuance of such Letter of Credit (or, in the case of any renewal or extension thereof, one year after such renewal or extension) and (ii) the date that is five (5) Business Days prior to the Maturity Date;provided that each such Letter of Credit may by its terms automatically renew annually for one additional year unless (a) such extension would cause such Letter of Credit to remain outstanding five (5) Business Days prior to the Maturity Date or (b) at least 30 days prior to the expiration date of such Letter of Credit, notice is given by the respective LC Issuer in accordance with the terms of the respective Letter of Credit (a “Notice of Non-Extension”) that the expiration date of such Letter of Credit will not be extended beyond its current expiration date. The respective LC Issuer will give Notices of Non-Extension as to any or all outstanding Letters of Credit if requested to do so by the Required Lenders pursuant toArticle VII. The respective LC Issuer will give Notices of Non-Extension as to all outstanding Letters of Credit (i) if the Maturity Date has occurred;provided,further, that if acceptable to the applicable Fronting Bank and the Administrative Agent, a Fronted Letter of Credit may have an expiration date no later than the date that occurs one (1) year after the Maturity Date so long as on the Maturity Date, such Fronted Letter of Credit is cash collateralized in a manner
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reasonably satisfactory to such Fronting Bank and the Administrative Agent or other arrangements as may be acceptable to such Fronting Bank and the Administrative Agent have been put in place. The respective LC Issuer will send a copy of each Notice of Non-Extension to the Borrower concurrently with delivery thereof to the respective beneficiary, unless prohibited by law from doing so.
(e)Reimbursement. If any Lender or any Fronting Bank shall make any LC Disbursement in respect of a Letter of Credit, the Borrower shall reimburse such LC Disbursement by paying to such Lender or such Fronting Bank, as applicable, in Dollars the amount equal to such LC Disbursement, calculated as of the date such LC Disbursement is made not later than 4:00 p.m., New York City time, on the date that such LC Disbursement is made, if the Borrower shall have received notice of such LC Disbursement prior to 10:00 a.m., New York City time, on such date, or, if such notice has not been received by the Borrower prior to such time on such date, then not later than 12:00 noon, New York City time, on the Business Day immediately following the day that the Borrower receives such notice;provided that the Borrower may, subject to the conditions to borrowing set forth herein, request in accordance with Section 2.03 (but without regard to the minimum and multiples specified in such Section) that such payment be financed with an ABR Revolving Borrowing in an equivalent amount of such LC Disbursement and, to the extent so financed, the Borrower’s obligation to make such payment shall be discharged and replaced by the resulting ABR Revolving Borrowing.
(f)Obligations Absolute. The Borrower’s obligation to reimburse LC Disbursements as provided in paragraph (e) of this Section shall be absolute, unconditional and irrevocable, and shall be performed strictly in accordance with the terms of this Agreement under any and all circumstances whatsoever and irrespective of (i) any lack of validity or enforceability of any Letter of Credit or this Agreement, or any term or provision therein, (ii) any draft or other document presented under a Letter of Credit proving to be forged, fraudulent or invalid in any respect or any statement therein being untrue or inaccurate in any respect, (iii) payment by any Lender or any Fronting Bank under a Letter of Credit against presentation of a draft or other document that does not comply with the terms of such Letter of Credit, or (iv) any other event or circumstance whatsoever, whether or not similar to any of the foregoing, that might, but for the provisions of this Section, constitute a legal or equitable discharge of, or provide a right of setoff against, the Borrower’s obligations hereunder. Neither the Administrative Agent, the Lenders nor any LC Issuer, nor any of their Related Parties, shall have any liability or responsibility by reason of or in connection with the issuance or transfer of any Letter of Credit or any payment or failure to make any payment thereunder (irrespective of any of the circumstances referred to in the preceding sentence), or any error, omission, interruption, loss or delay in transmission or delivery of any draft, notice or other communication under or relating to any Letter of Credit (including any document required to make a drawing thereunder), any error in interpretation of technical terms or any consequence arising from causes beyond the control of the applicable LC Issuer;provided that the foregoing shall not be construed to excuse any LC Issuer from liability to the Borrower to the extent of any direct damages (as opposed to special, indirect, consequential or punitive damages, claims in respect of which are hereby waived by the Borrower to the extent permitted by applicable law) suffered by the Borrower that are caused by such LC Issuer’s failure to exercise care when determining whether drafts and other documents presented under a Letter of Credit comply with the terms thereof. The parties hereto expressly agree that, in the absence of gross negligence or willful misconduct on the part of any LC Issuer (as finally determined by a court of competent jurisdiction), such LC Issuer shall be deemed to have exercised care in each such determination. In furtherance of the foregoing and without limiting the generality thereof, the parties agree that, with respect to documents presented which appear on their face to be in substantial compliance with the terms of a Letter of Credit, the applicable LC Issuer may, in its sole discretion, either accept and make or request a Lender to make, as applicable, payment upon such documents without responsibility for further investigation, regardless of any notice or information to the contrary, or refuse to accept and make or request a Lender to make, as applicable, payment upon such documents if such documents are not in strict compliance with the terms of such Letter of Credit.
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(g)Interim Interest. If any Lender or any Fronting Bank shall make any LC Disbursement, then, unless the Borrower shall reimburse such LC Disbursement in full on the date such LC Disbursement is made, the unpaid amount thereof shall bear interest, for each day from and including the date such LC Disbursement is made to but excluding the date that the Borrower reimburses such LC Disbursement, at the rate per annum then applicable to ABR Revolving Loans;provided that, if the Borrower fails to reimburse such LC Disbursement when due pursuant to paragraph (e) of this Section, then Section 2.13(c) shall apply. Interest accrued pursuant to this paragraph shall be for the account of (i) each Lender pro rata in accordance with its Applicable Percentage, in the case of Several Letters of Credit, or (ii) the applicable Fronting Bank, in the case of Fronted Letters of Credit, except that interest accrued on and after the date of payment by any Lender pursuant to paragraph (b)(iii) of this Section to reimburse the applicable Fronting Bank shall be for the account of such Lender to the extent of such payment.
(h)Replacement of Issuing Agent. The Issuing Agent may be replaced at any time by written agreement among the Borrower, the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, the replaced Issuing Agent and the successor Issuing Agent. At the time any such replacement shall become effective, the Borrower shall pay all unpaid fees accrued for the account of the replaced Issuing Agent pursuant to Section 2.12(b). From and after the effective date of any such replacement, (i) any successor Issuing Agent shall have all the rights and obligations of the Issuing Agent under this Agreement with respect to the applicable Letters of Credit to be issued thereafter and (ii) references herein to the term “LC Issuer” and “Issuing Agent” shall be deemed to refer to such successor or to any previous Issuing Agent, or to such successor and all previous Issuing Agents, as the context shall require. After the replacement of the Issuing Agent hereunder, the replaced Issuing Agent shall remain a party hereto and shall continue to have all the rights and obligations of the Issuing Agent under this Agreement with respect to Letters of Credit then outstanding and issued by it prior to such replacement, but shall not be required to issue additional Letters of Credit.
(i)Cash Collateralization. If any Event of Default shall occur and be continuing, on the Business Day that the Borrower receives notice from the Administrative Agent or the Required Lenders (or, if the maturity of the Loans has been accelerated, Lenders with LC Exposure representing greater than 50% of the total LC Exposure) demanding the deposit of Cash Collateral pursuant to this paragraph, the Borrower shall deposit in an account with the Administrative Agent, in the name of the Administrative Agent and for the benefit of the Lenders (the “LC Collateral Account”), an amount in cash equal to 103% of the amount of the LC Exposure as of such date plus any accrued and unpaid interest thereon;provided that the obligation to deposit such Cash Collateral shall become effective immediately, and such deposit shall become immediately due and payable, without demand or other notice of any kind, upon the occurrence of any Event of Default with respect to the Borrower described in Sections 7.01(e) or 7.01(f). The Borrower shall also deposit Cash Collateral in accordance with and to the extent required by Section 2.11, Section 2.21(c) and Section 6.09. Such deposit shall be held by the Administrative Agent as collateral for the payment and performance of the Obligations. The Administrative Agent shall have exclusive dominion and control, including the exclusive right of withdrawal, over such account. Other than any interest earned on the investment of such deposits, which investments shall be made at the option of the Administrative Agent, with the consent of the Borrower, and at the Borrower’s risk and expense, such deposits shall not bear interest. Interest or profits, if any, on such investments shall accumulate in such account. Moneys in such account shall be applied by the Administrative Agent to reimburse the Lenders or the Fronting Banks, as applicable, for LC Disbursements which have not been reimbursed and, to the extent not so applied, shall be held for the satisfaction of the reimbursement obligations of the Borrower for the LC Exposure at such time or, if the maturity of the Loans has been accelerated (but subject to the consent of Lenders with LC Exposure representing greater than 50% of the total LC Exposure), be applied to satisfy other Obligations. If the Borrower is required to provide an amount of Cash Collateral hereunder as a result of the occurrence of an Event of Default, such amount (to the extent not applied as aforesaid) shall be returned to the Borrower within three (3) Business Days after all Events of Default have been cured or waived.
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(j)Disbursement Procedures. The applicable LC Issuer shall, promptly following its receipt thereof, examine all documents purporting to represent a demand for payment under a Letter of Credit. The applicable LC Issuer shall promptly notify the Administrative Agent and the Borrower by telephone (confirmed by telecopy) of such demand for payment and whether such LC Issuer has made or will make an LC Disbursement thereunder;provided that any failure to give or delay in giving such notice shall not relieve the Borrower of its obligation to reimburse such LC Issuer and the Lenders with respect to any such LC Disbursement.
(k)LC Issuer Agreements. Each LC Issuer agrees that, unless otherwise requested by the Administrative Agent, such LC Issuer shall report in writing to the Administrative Agent (i) on the first Business Day of each week, the daily activity (set forth by day) during the immediately preceding week in respect of all Letters of Credit issued by such LC Issuer, including all issuances, extensions, amendments and renewals, all expirations and cancellations and all disbursements and reimbursements, (ii) on or prior to each Business Day on which such LC Issuer expects to issue, amend, renew or extend any Letter of Credit, the date of such issuance, amendment, renewal or extension, and the aggregate face amount of the Letters of Credit to be issued, amended, renewed or extended by it and outstanding after giving effect to such issuance, amendment, renewal or extension (and whether the amount thereof changed), it being understood that such LC Issuer shall not permit any issuance, renewal, extension or amendment resulting in an increase in the amount of any Letter of Credit to occur without first obtaining written confirmation from the Administrative Agent that it is then permitted under this Agreement, (iii) on each Business Day on which such LC Issuer makes any LC Disbursement, the date of such LC Disbursement and the amount of such LC Disbursement, (iv) on any Business Day on which the Borrower fails to reimburse an LC Disbursement required to be reimbursed to such LC Issuer (or any Lender, with respect to any Several Letter of Credit that such LC Issuer issued) on such day, the date of such failure and the amount and currency of such LC Disbursement and (v) on any other Business Day, such other information as the Administrative Agent shall reasonably request.
SECTION 2.07Funding of Borrowings.
(a) Each Lender shall make each Loan to be made by it hereunder on the proposed date thereof by wire transfer of immediately available funds by 2:00 p.m., New York City time, to the account of the Administrative Agent most recently designated by it for such purpose by notice to the Lenders. The Administrative Agent will make such Loans available to the Borrower by promptly crediting the amounts so received, in like funds, to an account of the Borrower maintained with the Administrative Agent in New York City or Chicago and designated by the Borrower in the applicable Borrowing Request;provided that ABR Revolving Loans made to finance the reimbursement of an LC Disbursement as provided in Section 2.06(e) shall be remitted by the Administrative Agent to the Lenders pro rata in accordance with their respective Applicable Percentage (in the case of Several Letters of Credit) or the applicable Fronting Bank (in the case of Fronted Letters of Credit).
(b) Unless the Administrative Agent shall have received notice from a Lender prior to the proposed date of any Borrowing (or in the case of an ABR Borrowing, prior to 2:00 p.m., New York City time, on the date of such Borrowing) that such Lender will not make available to the Administrative Agent such Lender’s share of such Borrowing, the Administrative Agent may assume that such Lender has made such share available on such date in accordance with this Section and may, in reliance upon such assumption, make available to the Borrower a corresponding amount. In such event, if a Lender has not in fact made its share of the applicable Borrowing available to the Administrative Agent, then the applicable Lender and the Borrower severally agree to pay to the Administrative Agent forthwith
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on demand such corresponding amount with interest thereon, for each day from and including the date such amount is made available to the Borrower to but excluding the date of payment to the Administrative Agent, at (i) in the case of such Lender, the greater of the Federal Funds Effective Rate and a rate determined by the Administrative Agent in accordance with banking industry rules on interbank compensation or (ii) in the case of the Borrower, the interest rate applicable to ABR Loans. If such Lender pays such amount to the Administrative Agent, then such amount shall constitute such Lender’s Loan included in such Borrowing.
SECTION 2.08Interest Elections. (a) Each Revolving Borrowing initially shall be of the Type specified in the applicable Borrowing Request and, in the case of a Eurodollar Revolving Borrowing, shall have an initial Interest Period as specified in such Borrowing Request. Thereafter, the Borrower may elect to convert such Borrowing to a different Type or to continue such Borrowing and, in the case of a Eurodollar Revolving Borrowing, may elect Interest Periods therefor, all as provided in this Section. The Borrower may elect different options with respect to different portions of the affected Borrowing, in which case each such portion shall be allocated ratably among the Lenders holding the Loans comprising such Borrowing, and the Loans comprising each such portion shall be considered a separate Borrowing.
(b) To make an election pursuant to this Section, the Borrower shall notify the Administrative Agent of such election by telephone by the time that a Borrowing Request would be required under Section 2.03 if the Borrower were requesting a Revolving Borrowing of the Type resulting from such election to be made on the effective date of such election. Each such telephonic Interest Election Request shall be irrevocable and shall be confirmed promptly by hand delivery or telecopy to the Administrative Agent of a written Interest Election Request signed by the Borrower. Notwithstanding any contrary provision herein, this Section shall not be construed to permit the Borrower to elect an Interest Period for Eurodollar Loans that does not comply with Section 2.02(d).
(c) Each telephonic and written Interest Election Request shall specify the following information in compliance with Section 2.02:
(i) the Borrowing to which such Interest Election Request applies and, if different options are being elected with respect to different portions thereof, the portions thereof to be allocated to each resulting Borrowing (in which case the information to be specified pursuant to clauses (iii) and (iv) below shall be specified for each resulting Borrowing);
(ii) the effective date of the election made pursuant to such Interest Election Request, which shall be a Business Day;
(iii) whether the resulting Borrowing is to be an ABR Borrowing or a Eurodollar Borrowing; and
(iv) if the resulting Borrowing is a Eurodollar Borrowing, the Interest Period to be applicable thereto after giving effect to such election, which Interest Period shall be a period contemplated by the definition of the term “Interest Period”.
If any such Interest Election Request requests a Eurodollar Borrowing but does not specify an Interest Period, then the Borrower shall be deemed to have selected an Interest Period of one month’s duration.
(d) Promptly following receipt of an Interest Election Request, the Administrative Agent shall advise each Lender of the details thereof and of such Lender’s portion of each resulting Borrowing.
(e) If the Borrower fails to deliver a timely Interest Election Request with respect to a Eurodollar Revolving Borrowing prior to the end of the Interest Period applicable thereto, then, unless such Borrowing is repaid as provided herein, at the end of such Interest Period such Borrowing shall be converted to an ABR Borrowing. Notwithstanding any contrary provision hereof, if an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing and the Administrative Agent, at the request of the Required Lenders, so notifies the Borrower, then, so long as an Event of Default is continuing (i) no outstanding Revolving Borrowing may be converted to or continued as a Eurodollar Borrowing and (ii) unless repaid, each Eurodollar Revolving Borrowing shall be converted to an ABR Borrowing at the end of the Interest Period applicable thereto.
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SECTION 2.09Termination and Reduction of Commitments. (a) Unless previously terminated, the Commitments shall terminate on the Maturity Date.
(b) The Borrower may at any time terminate, or from time to time reduce, the Commitments;provided that (i) each reduction of the Commitments shall be in an amount that is an integral multiple of $1,000,000 and not less than $2,500,000 and (ii) the Borrower shall not terminate or reduce the Commitments if, after giving effect to any concurrent prepayment of the Loans in accordance with Section 2.11, the sum of the Revolving Credit Exposures would exceed the Aggregate Commitment.
(c) The Borrower shall notify the Administrative Agent of any election to terminate or reduce the Commitments under paragraph (b) of this Section at least three (3) Business Days prior to the effective date of such termination or reduction, specifying such election and the effective date thereof. Promptly following receipt of any notice, the Administrative Agent shall advise the Lenders of the contents thereof. Each notice delivered by the Borrower pursuant to this Section shall be irrevocable; provided that a notice of termination of the Commitments delivered by the Borrower may state that such notice is conditioned upon the effectiveness of other credit facilities or other transactions specified therein, in which case such notice may be revoked by the Borrower (by notice to the Administrative Agent on or prior to the specified effective date) if such condition is not satisfied. Any termination or reduction of the Commitments shall be permanent. Each reduction of the Commitments shall be made ratably among the Lenders in accordance with their respective Commitments.
SECTION 2.10Repayment of Loans; Evidence of Debt. (a) The Borrower hereby unconditionally promises to pay to the Administrative Agent for the account of each Lender the then unpaid principal amount of each Revolving Loan on the Maturity Date.
(b) Each Lender shall maintain in accordance with its usual practice an account or accounts evidencing the indebtedness of the Borrower to such Lender resulting from each Loan made by such Lender, including the amounts of principal and interest payable and paid to such Lender from time to time hereunder.
(c) The Administrative Agent shall maintain accounts in which it shall record (i) the amount of each Loan made hereunder, the Class and Type thereof and the Interest Period applicable thereto, (ii) the amount of any principal or interest due and payable or to become due and payable from the Borrower to each Lender hereunder and (iii) the amount of any sum received by the Administrative Agent hereunder for the account of the Lenders and each Lender’s share thereof.
(d) The entries made in the accounts maintained pursuant to paragraph (b) or (c) of this Section shall beprimafacie evidence of the existence and amounts of the obligations recorded therein;provided that the failure of any Lender or the Administrative Agent to maintain such accounts or any error therein shall not in any manner affect the Obligations.
(e) Any Lender may request that Loans made by it be evidenced by a promissory note. In such event, the Borrower shall prepare, execute and deliver to such Lender a promissory note payable to such Lender (or, if requested by such Lender, to such Lender and its registered assigns) and in the form attached hereto asExhibit I. Thereafter, the Loans evidenced by such promissory note and interest thereon shall at all times (including after assignment pursuant to Section 9.04) be represented by one or more promissory notes in such form payable to the payee named therein (or, to such payee and its registered assigns).
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SECTION 2.11Prepayment of Loans. The Borrower shall have the right at any time and from time to time to prepay any Borrowing in whole or in part, subject to prior notice in accordance with the provisions of this Section 2.11. The Borrower shall notify the Administrative Agent by telephone (confirmed by telecopy) of any prepayment hereunder (i) in the case of prepayment of a Eurodollar Revolving Borrowing, not later than 11:00 a.m., New York City time, three (3) Business Days before the date of prepayment or (ii) in the case of prepayment of an ABR Revolving Borrowing, not later than 11:00 a.m., New York City time on the date of prepayment. Each such notice shall be irrevocable and shall specify the prepayment date and the principal amount of each Borrowing or portion thereof to be prepaid;provided that, a notice of prepayment may state that such notice is conditioned upon the effectiveness of other credit facilities or other transactions specified therein, in which case such notice may be revoked by the Borrower (by notice to the Administrative Agent on or prior to the specified effective date) if such condition is not satisfied. Promptly following receipt of any such notice relating to a Revolving Borrowing, the Administrative Agent shall advise the Lenders of the contents thereof. Each partial prepayment of any Revolving Borrowing shall be in an amount that would be permitted in the case of an advance of a Revolving Borrowing of the same Type as provided in Section 2.02. Each prepayment of a Revolving Borrowing shall be applied ratably to the Loans included in the prepaid Borrowing. Prepayments shall be accompanied by (i) accrued interest to the extent required by Section 2.13 and (ii) break funding payments pursuant to Section 2.16. If at any time the sum of the aggregate principal amount of all of the Revolving Credit Exposures exceeds the Aggregate Commitment, the Borrower shall immediately repay Borrowings or Cash Collateralize LC Exposure in an account with the Administrative Agent pursuant to Section 2.06(i), as applicable, in an aggregate principal amount sufficient to cause the aggregate principal amount of all Revolving Credit Exposures to be less than or equal to the Aggregate Commitment.
SECTION 2.12Fees. (a) The Borrower agrees to pay to the Administrative Agent for the account of each Lender a commitment fee, which shall accrue at the Applicable Rate on the average daily amount of the Available Revolving Commitment of such Lender during the period from and including the Effective Date to but excluding the date on which such Commitment terminates;provided that, no commitment fee shall accrue on the Available Revolving Commitment of a Defaulting Lender as provided in Section 2.21(a) below. Accrued commitment fees shall be payable in arrears on the last day of March, June, September and December of each year and on the date on which the Commitments terminate, commencing on the first such date to occur after the date hereof. All commitment fees shall be computed on the basis of a year of 360 days and shall be payable for the actual number of days elapsed (including the first day but excluding the last day).
(b) The Borrower agrees to pay (i) to the Administrative Agent for the account of each Lender a fee with respect to each Letter of Credit, which fee shall accrue at the same Applicable Rate used to determine the interest rate applicable to Eurodollar Revolving Loans on the average daily amount of such Lender’s LC Exposure (excluding any portion thereof attributable to Fronted Unpaid Drawings) during the period from and including the Effective Date to but excluding the later of the date on which such Lender’s Commitment terminates and the date on which such Lender ceases to have any LC Exposure, (ii) to the Issuing Agent, for its own account, its standard fees and commissions with respect to the issuance, amendment, cancellation, negotiation, transfer, presentment, renewal or extension
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of any Letter of Credit issued by the Issuing Agent or processing of drawings thereunder, and (iii) to each Fronting Bank, for its own account, a fronting fee, which shall accrue at a rate per annum separately agreed upon between the Borrower and such Fronting Bank on the average daily amount of the LC Exposure (excluding any portion thereof attributable to unreimbursed LC Disbursements) attributable to Letters of Credit issued by such Fronting Bank during the period from and including the Effective Date to but excluding the later of the date of termination of the Commitments and the date on which there ceases to be any such LC Exposure, as well as such Fronting Bank’s standard fees and commissions with respect to the issuance, amendment, cancellation, negotiation, transfer, presentment, renewal or extension of any Letter of Credit or processing of drawings thereunder. The foregoing fees accrued through and including the last day of March, June, September and December of each year shall be payable on the third (3rd) Business Day following such last day, commencing on the first such date to occur after the Effective Date;provided that all such fees shall be payable on the date on which the Commitments terminate and any such fees accruing after the date on which the Commitments terminate shall be payable on demand. Any other fees payable to any LC Issuer pursuant to this paragraph shall be payable within ten (10) days after demand. The foregoing fees shall be computed on the basis of a year of 360 days and shall be payable for the actual number of days elapsed (including the first day but excluding the last day).
(c) The Borrower agrees to pay to the Administrative Agent, for its own account, fees payable in the amounts and at the times separately agreed upon between the Borrower and the Administrative Agent.
(d) All fees payable hereunder shall be paid on the dates due, in immediately available funds, to the Administrative Agent (or to the LC Issuers, in the case of fees payable to them) for distribution, in the case of commitment fees and other fees payable to the Lenders, to the Lenders. Fees paid shall not be refundable under any circumstances.
SECTION 2.13Interest. (a) The Loans comprising each ABR Borrowing shall bear interest at the Alternate Base Rateplus the Applicable Rate.
(b) The Loans comprising each Eurodollar Borrowing shall bear interest at the Adjusted LIBO Rate for the Interest Period in effect for such Borrowingplus the Applicable Rate.
(c) Notwithstanding the foregoing, if any principal of or interest on any Loan or any fee or other amount payable by the Borrower hereunder is not paid when due, whether at stated maturity, upon acceleration or otherwise, such overdue amount shall bear interest, after as well as before judgment, at a rate per annum equal to (i) in the case of overdue principal of any Loan, 2% plus the rate otherwise applicable to such Loan as provided in the preceding paragraphs of this Section or (ii) in the case of any other amount, 2% plus the rate applicable to ABR Loans as provided in paragraph (a) of this Section.
(d) Accrued interest on each Loan shall be payable in arrears on each Interest Payment Date for such Loan and upon termination of the Commitments;provided that (i) interest accrued pursuant to paragraph (c) of this Section shall be payable on demand, (ii) in the event of any repayment or prepayment of any Loan (other than a prepayment of an ABR Revolving Loan prior to the end of the Availability Period), accrued interest on the principal amount repaid or prepaid shall be payable on the date of such repayment or prepayment and (iii) in the event of any conversion of any Eurodollar Revolving Loan prior to the end of the current Interest Period therefor, accrued interest on such Loan shall be payable on the effective date of such conversion.
(e) All interest hereunder shall be computed on the basis of a year of 360 days, except that interest computed by reference to the Alternate Base Rate at times when the Alternate Base Rate is based on the Prime Rate shall be computed on the basis of a year of 365 days (or 366 days in a
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leap year), and in each case shall be payable for the actual number of days elapsed (including the first day but excluding the last day). The applicable Alternate Base Rate, Adjusted LIBO Rate or LIBO Rate shall be determined by the Administrative Agent, and such determination shall be conclusive absent manifest error.
SECTION 2.14Alternate Rate of Interest. If prior to the commencement of any Interest Period for a Eurodollar Borrowing:
(a) the Administrative Agent determines (which determination shall be conclusive and binding absent manifest error) that adequate and reasonable means do not exist for ascertaining the Adjusted LIBO Rate or the LIBO Rate, as applicable, for such Interest Period; or
(b) the Administrative Agent is advised by the Required Lenders that the Adjusted LIBO Rate or the LIBO Rate, as applicable, for such Interest Period will not adequately and fairly reflect the cost to such Lenders of making or maintaining their Loans included in such Borrowing for such Interest Period;
then the Administrative Agent shall give notice thereof to the Borrower and the Lenders by telephone or telecopy as promptly as practicable thereafter and, until the Administrative Agent notifies the Borrower and the Lenders that the circumstances giving rise to such notice no longer exist, (i) any Interest Election Request that requests the conversion of any Borrowing to, or continuation of any Borrowing as, a Eurodollar Borrowing shall be ineffective and any such Eurodollar Borrowing shall be converted into an ABR Borrowing on the last day of the then current Interest Period applicable thereto and (ii) if any Borrowing Request requests a Eurodollar Borrowing, such Borrowing shall be made as an ABR Borrowing.
SECTION 2.15Increased Costs. (a) If any Change in Law shall:
(i) impose, modify or deem applicable any reserve, special deposit, liquidity or similar requirement (including any compulsory loan requirement, insurance charge or other assessment) against assets of, deposits with or for the account of, or credit extended by, any Lender (except any such reserve requirement reflected in the Adjusted LIBO Rate) or any LC Issuer;
(ii) impose on any Lender or any LC Issuer or the London interbank market any other condition, cost or expense (other than Taxes) affecting this Agreement or Loans made by such Lender or any Letter of Credit or participation therein; or
(iii) subject any Recipient to any Taxes (other than (A) Indemnified Taxes, (B) Taxes described in clauses (b) through (d) of the definition of Excluded Taxes and (C) Connection Income Taxes) on its loans, loan principal, letters of credit, commitments, or other obligations, or its deposits, reserves, other liabilities or capital attributable thereto;
and the result of any of the foregoing shall be to increase the cost to such Lender or such other Recipient of making, continuing, converting into or maintaining any Loan or of maintaining its obligation to make any such Loan or to increase the cost to such Lender, such LC Issuer or such other Recipient of participating in, issuing or maintaining any Letter of Credit or to reduce the amount of any sum received or receivable by such Lender, such LC Issuer or such other Recipient hereunder, whether of principal, interest or otherwise, then the Borrower will pay to such Lender, such LC Issuer or such other Recipient, as the case may be, such additional amount or amounts as will compensate such Lender, such LC Issuer or such other Recipient, as the case may be, for such additional costs incurred or reduction suffered.
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(b) If any Lender or any LC Issuer determines that any Change in Law regarding capital or liquidity requirements has or would have the effect of reducing the rate of return on such Lender’s or such LC Issuer’s capital or on the capital of such Lender’s or such LC Issuer’s holding company, if any, as a consequence of this Agreement or the Loans made by, or participations in Letters of Credit held by, such Lender, or the Letters of Credit issued by such LC Issuer, to a level below that which such Lender or such LC Issuer or such Lender’s or such LC Issuer’s holding company could have achieved but for such Change in Law (taking into consideration such Lender’s or such LC Issuer’s policies and the policies of such Lender’s or such LC Issuer’s holding company with respect to capital adequacy and liquidity), then from time to time the Borrower will pay to such Lender or such LC Issuer, as the case may be, such additional amount or amounts as will compensate such Lender or such LC Issuer or such Lender’s or such LC Issuer’s holding company for any such reduction suffered.
(c) A certificate of a Lender or a LC Issuer setting forth the amount or amounts necessary to compensate such Lender or such LC Issuer or its holding company, as the case may be, as specified in paragraph (a) or (b) of this Section shall be delivered to the Borrower and shall be conclusive absent manifest error. The Borrower shall pay such Lender or such LC Issuer, as the case may be, the amount shown as due on any such certificate within ten (10) days after receipt thereof.
(d) Failure or delay on the part of any Lender or any LC Issuer to demand compensation pursuant to this Section shall not constitute a waiver of such Lender’s or such LC Issuer’s right to demand such compensation;provided that the Borrower shall not be required to compensate a Lender or a LC Issuer pursuant to this Section for any increased costs or reductions incurred more than 270 days prior to the date that such Lender or such LC Issuer, as the case may be, notifies the Borrower of the Change in Law giving rise to such increased costs or reductions and of such Lender’s or such LC Issuer’s intention to claim compensation therefor;providedfurther that, if the Change in Law giving rise to such increased costs or reductions is retroactive, then the 270-day period referred to above shall be extended to include the period of retroactive effect thereof.
SECTION 2.16Break Funding Payments. In the event of (a) the payment of any principal of any Eurodollar Loan other than on the last day of an Interest Period applicable thereto (including as a result of an Event of Default or as a result of any prepayment pursuant to Section 2.11), (b) the conversion of any Eurodollar Loan other than on the last day of the Interest Period applicable thereto, (c) the failure to borrow, convert, continue or prepay any Eurodollar Loan on the date specified in any notice delivered pursuant hereto (regardless of whether such notice may be revoked under Section 2.11 and is revoked in accordance therewith) or (d) the assignment of any Eurodollar Loan other than on the last day of the Interest Period applicable thereto as a result of a request by the Borrower pursuant to Section 2.19, then, in any such event, the Borrower shall compensate each Lender for the loss, cost and expense attributable to such event. Such loss, cost or expense to any Lender shall be deemed to include an amount determined by such Lender to be the excess, if any, of (i) the amount of interest which would have accrued on the principal amount of such Loan had such event not occurred, at the Adjusted LIBO Rate that would have been applicable to such Loan, for the period from the date of such event to the last day of the then current Interest Period therefor (or, in the case of a failure to borrow, convert or continue, for the period that would have been the Interest Period for such Loan), over (ii) the amount of interest which would accrue on such principal amount for such period at the interest rate which such Lender would bid were it to bid, at the commencement of such period, for deposits in Dollars of a comparable amount and period from other banks in the eurodollar market. A certificate of any Lender setting forth any amount or amounts that such Lender is entitled to receive pursuant to this Section shall be delivered to the Borrower and shall be conclusive absent manifest error. The Borrower shall pay such Lender the amount shown as due on any such certificate within ten (10) days after receipt thereof.
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SECTION 2.17Taxes. (a) Payments Free of Taxes. Any and all payments by or on account of any obligation of the Borrower under any Loan Document shall be made without deduction or withholding for any Taxes, except as required by applicable law. If any applicable law (as determined in the good faith discretion of an applicable withholding agent) requires the deduction or withholding of any Tax from any such payment by a withholding agent, then the applicable withholding agent shall be entitled to make such deduction or withholding and shall timely pay the full amount deducted or withheld to the relevant Governmental Authority in accordance with applicable law and, if such Tax is an Indemnified Tax, then the sum payable by the Borrower shall be increased as necessary so that after such deduction or withholding has been made (including such deductions and withholdings applicable to additional sums payable under this Section 2.17) the applicable Recipient receives an amount equal to the sum it would have received had no such deduction or withholding been made.
(b)Payment of Other Taxes by the Borrower. Without duplication of other amounts payable by the Borrower under this Section, the Borrower shall timely pay to the relevant Governmental Authority in accordance with applicable law, or at the option of the Administrative Agent timely reimburse it for, Other Taxes.
(c)Evidence of Payments. As soon as practicable after any payment of Taxes by the Borrower to a Governmental Authority pursuant to this Section 2.17, the Borrower shall deliver to the Administrative Agent the original or a certified copy of a receipt issued by such Governmental Authority evidencing such payment, a copy of the return reporting such payment or other evidence of such payment reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent.
(d)Indemnification by the Borrower. The Borrower shall indemnify each Recipient, within 10 days after demand therefor, for the full amount of any Indemnified Taxes (including Indemnified Taxes imposed or asserted on or attributable to amounts payable under this Section) payable or paid by such Recipient or required to be withheld or deducted from a payment to such Recipient and any reasonable expenses arising therefrom or with respect thereto, whether or not such Indemnified Taxes were correctly or legally imposed or asserted by the relevant Governmental Authority. A certificate setting forth in reasonable detail a description of such Indemnified Taxes and the amount of such payment or liability for such Indemnified Taxes delivered to the Borrower by a Lender (with a copy to the Administrative Agent), or by the Administrative Agent on its own behalf or on behalf of a Lender, shall be conclusive absent manifest error.
(e)Indemnification by the Lenders. Each Lender shall severally indemnify the Administrative Agent, within 10 days after demand therefor, for (i) any Indemnified Taxes attributable to such Lender (but only to the extent that the Borrower has not already indemnified the Administrative Agent for such Indemnified Taxes and without limiting the obligation of the Borrower to do so), (ii) any Taxes attributable to such Lender’s failure to comply with the provisions of Section 9.04(c) relating to the maintenance of a Participant Register and (iii) any Excluded Taxes attributable to such Lender, in each case, that are payable or paid by the Administrative Agent in connection with any Loan Document, and any reasonable expenses arising therefrom or with respect thereto, whether or not such Taxes were correctly or legally imposed or asserted by the relevant Governmental Authority. A certificate as to the amount of such payment or liability delivered to any Lender by the Administrative Agent shall be conclusive absent manifest error. Each Lender hereby authorizes the Administrative Agent to set off and apply any and all amounts at any time owing to such Lender under any Loan Document or otherwise payable by the Administrative Agent to the Lender from any other source against any amount due to the Administrative Agent under this paragraph (e).
(f)Status of Lenders. (i) Any Lender that is entitled to an exemption from or reduction of withholding Tax with respect to payments made under any Loan Document shall deliver to
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the Borrower and the Administrative Agent, at the time or times reasonably requested by the Borrower or the Administrative Agent, such properly completed and executed documentation reasonably requested by the Borrower or the Administrative Agent as will permit such payments to be made without withholding or at a reduced rate of withholding. In addition, any Lender, if reasonably requested by the Borrower or the Administrative Agent, shall deliver such other documentation prescribed by applicable law or reasonably requested by the Borrower or the Administrative Agent as will enable the Borrower or the Administrative Agent to determine whether or not such Lender is subject to backup withholding or information reporting requirements. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the preceding two sentences, the completion, execution and submission of such documentation (other than such documentation set forth in Section 2.17(f)(ii)(A), (ii)(B) and (ii)(D) below) shall not be required if in the Lender’s reasonable judgment such completion, execution or submission would subject such Lender to any material unreimbursed cost or expense or would materially prejudice the legal or commercial position of such Lender (it being understood that providing any information currently required by any U.S. Federal income tax withholding form shall not be considered prejudicial to the position of a Lender).
(ii) Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, in the event that the Borrower is a U.S. Person:
(A) any Lender that is a U.S. Person shall deliver to the Borrower and the Administrative Agent on or prior to the date on which such Lender becomes a Lender under this Agreement (and from time to time thereafter upon the reasonable request of the Borrower or the Administrative Agent), executed originals of IRS Form W-9 (or successor form) certifying that such Lender is exempt from U.S. Federal backup withholding tax;provided, however, that if the Lender is a disregarded entity for U.S. Federal income tax purposes, it shall provide the appropriate withholding form of its owner (together with appropriate supporting documentation);
(B) any Foreign Lender shall, to the extent it is legally entitled to do so, deliver to the Borrower and the Administrative Agent (in such number of copies as shall be requested by the recipient) on or prior to the date on which such Foreign Lender becomes a Lender under this Agreement (and from time to time thereafter upon the reasonable request of the Borrower or the Administrative Agent), whichever of the following is applicable:
(1) in the case of a Foreign Lender claiming the benefits of an income tax treaty to which the United States is a party (x) with respect to payments of interest under any Loan Document, executed originals of IRS Form W-8BEN (or successor form) establishing an exemption from, or reduction of, U.S. Federal withholding Tax pursuant to the “interest” article of such tax treaty and (y) with respect to any other applicable payments under any Loan Document, IRS Form W-8BEN (or successor form) establishing an exemption from, or reduction of, U.S. Federal withholding Tax pursuant to the “business profits” or “other income” article of such tax treaty;
(2) executed originals of IRS Form W-8ECI (or successor form);
(3) in the case of a Foreign Lender claiming the benefits of the exemption for portfolio interest under Section 881(c) of the Code, (x) a certificate substantially in the form of Exhibit G-1 to the effect that such Foreign Lender is not a “bank” within the meaning of Section 881(c)(3)(A) of the Code, a “10 percent shareholder” of the Borrower within the meaning of Section 881(c)(3)(B)
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of the Code, or a “controlled foreign corporation” described in Section 881(c)(3)(C) of the Code (a “U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate”) and (y) executed originals of IRS Form W-8BEN (or successor form); or
(4) to the extent a Foreign Lender is not the beneficial owner, executed originals of IRS Form W-8IMY, accompanied by IRS Form W-8ECI (or successor form), IRS Form W-8BEN (or successor form), a U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate substantially in the form of Exhibit G-2 or Exhibit G-3, IRS Form W-9, and/or other certification documents from each beneficial owner, as applicable;provided that if the Foreign Lender is a partnership and one or more direct or indirect partners of such Foreign Lender are claiming the portfolio interest exemption, such Foreign Lender may provide a U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate substantially in the form of Exhibit G-4 on behalf of each such direct and indirect partner;
(C) any Foreign Lender shall, to the extent it is legally entitled to do so, deliver to the Borrower and the Administrative Agent (in such number of copies as shall be requested by the recipient) on or prior to the date on which such Foreign Lender becomes a Lender under this Agreement (and from time to time thereafter upon the reasonable request of the Borrower or the Administrative Agent), executed originals of any other form prescribed by applicable law as a basis for claiming exemption from or a reduction in U.S. Federal withholding Tax, duly completed, together with such supplementary documentation as may be prescribed by applicable law to permit the Borrower or the Administrative Agent to determine the withholding or deduction required to be made; and
(D) if a payment made to a Lender under any Loan Document would be subject to U.S. Federal withholding Tax imposed by FATCA if such Lender were to fail to comply with the applicable reporting requirements of FATCA (including those contained in Section 1471(b) or 1472(b) of the Code, as applicable), such Lender shall deliver to the Borrower and the Administrative Agent at the time or times prescribed by law and at such time or times reasonably requested by the Borrower or the Administrative Agent such documentation prescribed by applicable law (including as prescribed by Section 1471(b)(3)(C)(i) of the Code) and such additional documentation reasonably requested by the Borrower or the Administrative Agent as may be necessary for the Borrower and the Administrative Agent to comply with their obligations under FATCA and to determine that such Lender has complied with such Lender’s obligations under FATCA or to determine the amount to deduct and withhold from such payment. Solely for purposes of this clause (D), “FATCA” shall include any amendments made to FATCA after the date of this Agreement.
Each Lender agrees that if any form or certification it previously delivered expires or becomes obsolete or inaccurate in any respect, it shall update such form or certification or promptly notify the Borrower and the Administrative Agent in writing of its legal inability to do so.
(g)Treatment of Certain Refunds. If any party determines, in its sole discretion exercised in good faith, that it has received a refund of any Taxes as to which it has been indemnified pursuant to this Section 2.17 (including by the payment of additional amounts pursuant to this Section 2.17), it shall pay to the indemnifying party an amount equal to such refund (but only to the extent of indemnity payments made under this Section 2.17 with respect to the Taxes giving rise to such refund), net of all out-of-pocket expenses (including Taxes) of such indemnified party and without
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interest (other than any interest paid by the relevant Governmental Authority with respect to such refund). Such indemnifying party, upon the request of such indemnified party, shall repay to such indemnified party the amount paid over pursuant to this paragraph (g) (plus any penalties, interest or other charges imposed by the relevant Governmental Authority) in the event that such indemnified party is required to repay such refund to such Governmental Authority. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this paragraph (g), in no event will the indemnified party be required to pay any amount to an indemnifying party pursuant to this paragraph (g) the payment of which would place the indemnified party in a less favorable net after-Tax position than the indemnified party would have been in if the Tax subject to indemnification and giving rise to such refund had not been deducted, withheld or otherwise imposed and the indemnification payments or additional amounts with respect to such Tax had never been paid. This paragraph shall not be construed to require any indemnified party to make available its Tax returns (or any other information relating to its Taxes that it deems confidential) to the indemnifying party or any other Person.
(h)Survival. Each party’s obligations under this Section 2.17 shall survive the resignation or replacement of the Administrative Agent or any assignment of rights by, or the replacement of, a Lender, the termination of the Commitments and the repayment, satisfaction or discharge of all obligations under any Loan Document.
(i)Defined Terms. For purposes of this Section 2.17, the term “Lender” includes the LC Issuers and the term “applicable law” includes FATCA.
SECTION 2.18Payments Generally; Pro Rata Treatment; Sharing of Set-offs. (a) Except as otherwise provided herein with respect to the reimbursement of LC Disbursements, the Borrower shall make each payment required to be made by it hereunder (whether of principal, interest, fees or of amounts payable under Section 2.15, 2.16 or 2.17, or otherwise) prior to 12:00 noon, New York City time on the date when due, in immediately available funds, without set-off or counterclaim. Any amounts received after such time on any date may, in the discretion of the Administrative Agent, be deemed to have been received on the next succeeding Business Day for purposes of calculating interest thereon. All such payments shall be made to the Administrative Agent at its offices at 10 South Dearborn Street, Chicago, Illinois 60603, except payments to be made directly to an LC Issuer as expressly provided herein and except that payments pursuant to Sections 2.15, 2.16, 2.17 and 9.03 shall be made directly to the Persons entitled thereto. The Administrative Agent shall distribute any such payments received by it for the account of any other Person to the appropriate recipient promptly following receipt thereof. If any payment hereunder shall be due on a day that is not a Business Day, the date for payment shall be extended to the next succeeding Business Day, and, in the case of any payment accruing interest, interest thereon shall be payable for the period of such extension. All payments hereunder shall be made in Dollars.
(b) If at any time insufficient funds are received by and available to the Administrative Agent to pay fully all amounts of principal, unreimbursed LC Disbursements, interest and fees then due hereunder, such funds shall be applied (i) first, towards payment of interest and fees then due hereunder, ratably among the parties entitled thereto in accordance with the amounts of interest and fees then due to such parties, and (ii) second, towards payment of principal and unreimbursed LC Disbursements then due hereunder, ratably among the parties entitled thereto in accordance with the amounts of principal and unreimbursed LC Disbursements then due to such parties.
(c) At the election of the Administrative Agent, all payments of principal, interest, LC Disbursements, fees, premiums, reimbursable expenses (including, without limitation, all reimbursement for fees and expenses pursuant to Section 9.03), and other sums payable under the Loan Documents that are not paid when due (after any applicable grace period) in accordance with the Loan
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Documents, subject to three (3) Business Days prior written notice to the Borrower, may be paid from the proceeds of Borrowings made hereunder whether made following a request by the Borrower pursuant to Section 2.03 or a deemed request as provided in this Section or may be deducted from any deposit account of the Borrower maintained with the Administrative Agent. The Borrower hereby irrevocably authorizes, solely to the extent provided above, (i) the Administrative Agent to make a Borrowing for the purpose of paying each payment of principal, interest and fees as it becomes due hereunder or any other amount due under the Loan Documents and agrees that all such amounts charged shall constitute Loans and that all such Borrowings shall be deemed to have been requested pursuant to Section 2.03 and (ii) the Administrative Agent to charge any deposit account of the Borrower maintained with the Administrative Agent for each payment of principal, interest and fees as it becomes due hereunder or any other amount due under the Loan Documents.
(d) If any Lender shall, by exercising any right of set-off or counterclaim or otherwise, obtain payment in respect of any principal of or interest on any of its Revolving Loans or participations in LC Disbursements resulting in such Lender receiving payment of a greater proportion of the aggregate amount of its Revolving Loans and participations in LC Disbursements and accrued interest thereon than the proportion received by any other Lender, then the Lender receiving such greater proportion shall purchase (for cash at face value) participations in the Revolving Loans and participations in LC Disbursements of other Lenders to the extent necessary so that the benefit of all such payments shall be shared by the Lenders ratably in accordance with the aggregate amount of principal of and accrued interest on their respective Revolving Loans and participations in LC Disbursements;provided that (i) if any such participations are purchased and all or any portion of the payment giving rise thereto is recovered, such participations shall be rescinded and the purchase price restored to the extent of such recovery, without interest, and (ii) the provisions of this paragraph shall not be construed to apply to any payment made by the Borrower pursuant to and in accordance with the express terms of this Agreement or any payment obtained by a Lender as consideration for the assignment of or sale of a participation in any of its Loans or participations in LC Disbursements to any assignee or participant, other than to the Borrower or any Subsidiary or Affiliate thereof (as to which the provisions of this paragraph shall apply). The Borrower consents to the foregoing and agrees, to the extent it may effectively do so under applicable law, that any Lender acquiring a participation pursuant to the foregoing arrangements may exercise against the Borrower rights of set-off and counterclaim with respect to such participation as fully as if such Lender were a direct creditor of the Borrower in the amount of such participation.
(e) Unless the Administrative Agent shall have received notice from the Borrower prior to the date on which any payment is due to the Administrative Agent for the account of the Lenders or any LC Issuer hereunder that the Borrower will not make such payment, the Administrative Agent may assume that the Borrower has made such payment on such date in accordance herewith and may, in reliance upon such assumption, distribute to the Lenders or the applicable LC Issuer, as the case may be, the amount due. In such event, if the Borrower has not in fact made such payment, then each of the Lenders or the applicable LC Issuer, as the case may be, severally agrees to repay to the Administrative Agent forthwith on demand the amount so distributed to such Lender such LC Issuer with interest thereon, for each day from and including the date such amount is distributed to it to but excluding the date of payment to the Administrative Agent, at the greater of the Federal Funds Effective Rate and a rate determined by the Administrative Agent in accordance with banking industry rules on interbank compensation.
(f) If any Lender shall fail to make any payment required to be made by it pursuant to Section 2.06(d) or (e), 2.07(b), 2.18(e) or 9.03(c), then the Administrative Agent may, in its discretion (notwithstanding any contrary provision hereof), (i) apply any amounts thereafter received by the Administrative Agent for the account of such Lender and for the benefit of the Administrative Agent or the applicable LC Issuer to satisfy such Lender’s obligations to it under such Section until all such
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unsatisfied obligations are fully paid and/or (ii) hold any such amounts in a segregated account over which the Administrative Agent shall have exclusive control as Cash Collateral for, and application to, any future funding obligations of such Lender under any such Section; in the case of each of clauses (i) and (ii) above, in any order as determined by the Administrative Agent in its discretion.
SECTION 2.19Mitigation Obligations; Replacement of Lenders. (a) If any Lender or LC Issuer requests compensation under Section 2.15, or the Borrower is required to pay any Indemnified Taxes or additional amounts to any Lender or LC Issuer or any Governmental Authority for the account of any Lender or LC Issuer pursuant to Section 2.17, then such Lender or LC Issuer, as applicable, shall use reasonable efforts to designate a different lending office for funding or booking its Loans, LC Disbursements or participations in LC Disbursements (as applicable) hereunder or to assign its rights and obligations hereunder to another of its offices, branches or affiliates, if, in the judgment of such Lender or LC Issuer, such designation or assignment (i) would eliminate or reduce amounts payable pursuant to Section 2.15 or 2.17, as the case may be, in the future and (ii) would not subject such Lender or LC Issuer to any unreimbursed cost or expense and would not otherwise be disadvantageous to such Lender or LC Issuer. The Borrower hereby agrees to pay all reasonable costs and expenses incurred by any Lender or LC Issuer in connection with any such designation or assignment.
(b) If (i) any Lender or LC Issuer requests compensation under Section 2.15, (ii) the Borrower is required to pay any Indemnified Taxes or additional amounts to any Lender or LC Issuer or any Governmental Authority for the account of any Lender or LC Issuer pursuant to Section 2.17 or (iii) any Lender or LC Issuer becomes a Defaulting Lender, then the Borrower may, at its sole expense and effort, upon notice to such Lender or LC Issuer and the Administrative Agent, require such Lender or LC Issuer to assign and delegate, without recourse (in accordance with and subject to the restrictions contained in Section 9.04), all its interests, rights (other than its existing rights to payments pursuant to Sections 2.15 or 2.17) and obligations under the Loan Documents to an assignee that shall assume such obligations (which assignee may be another Lender or LC Issuer, if a Lender or LC Issuer accepts such assignment);provided that (i) the Borrower shall have received the prior written consent of the Administrative Agent (and if a Commitment is being assigned, each LC Issuer), which consent shall not unreasonably be withheld, (ii) such Lender shall have received payment of an amount equal to the outstanding principal of its Loans and participations in LC Disbursements, accrued interest thereon, accrued fees and all other amounts payable to it hereunder, from the assignee (to the extent of such outstanding principal and accrued interest and fees) or the Borrower (in the case of all other amounts) and (iii) in the case of any such assignment resulting from a claim for compensation under Section 2.15 or payments required to be made pursuant to Section 2.17, such assignment will result in a reduction in such compensation or payments. A Lender shall not be required to make any such assignment and delegation if, prior thereto, as a result of a waiver by such Lender or otherwise, the circumstances entitling the Borrower to require such assignment and delegation cease to apply
SECTION 2.20Expansion Option. The Borrower may from time to time elect to increase the Commitments or enter into one or more tranches of term loans (each an “Incremental Term Loan”), in each case in minimum increments of $10,000,000 so long as, after giving effect thereto, the aggregate amount of such increases and all such Incremental Term Loans does not exceed $100,000,000. The Borrower may arrange for any such increase or tranche to be provided by one or more Lenders (each Lender so agreeing to an increase in its Commitment, or to participate in such Incremental Term Loans, an “Increasing Lender”), or by one or more new banks, financial institutions or other entities (each such new bank, financial institution or other entity, an “Augmenting Lender”;provided that no Ineligible Institution may be an Augmenting Lender), which agree to increase their existing Commitments, or to participate in such Incremental Term Loans, or provide new Commitments, as the case may be;provided that (i) each Augmenting Lender shall be subject to the approval (not to be unreasonably withheld) of the Borrower and the Administrative Agent and (ii) (x) in the case of an Increasing Lender, the Borrower and
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such Increasing Lender execute an agreement substantially in the form ofExhibit C hereto, and (y) in the case of an Augmenting Lender, the Borrower and such Augmenting Lender execute an agreement substantially in the form ofExhibit D hereto. No consent of any Lender (other than the Lenders participating in the increase or any Incremental Term Loan) shall be required for any increase in Commitments or Incremental Term Loan pursuant to this Section 2.20. Increases and new Commitments and Incremental Term Loans created pursuant to this Section 2.20 shall become effective on the date agreed by the Borrower, the Administrative Agent and the relevant Increasing Lenders or Augmenting Lenders, and the Administrative Agent shall notify each Lender thereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no increase in the Commitments (or in the Commitment of any Lender) or tranche of Incremental Term Loans shall become effective under this paragraph unless, (i) on the proposed date of the effectiveness of such increase or Incremental Term Loans, (A) the conditions set forth in paragraphs (a) and (b) of Section 4.02 shall be satisfied or waived by the Required Lenders and the Administrative Agent shall have received a certificate to that effect dated such date and executed by a Responsible Officer of the Borrower and (B) the Borrower shall be in compliance (on a pro forma basis) with the covenants contained in Section 6.01 and (ii) the Administrative Agent shall have received documents consistent with those delivered on the Effective Date as to the organizational power and authority of the Borrower to borrow hereunder after giving effect to such increase. On the effective date of any increase in the Commitments or any Incremental Term Loans being made, (i) each relevant Increasing Lender and Augmenting Lender shall make available to the Administrative Agent such amounts in immediately available funds as are equal to its commitment (if any) for Incremental Term Loans or, in the case of an increase in the Commitments, as the Administrative Agent shall determine, for the benefit of the other Lenders, as being required in order to cause, after giving effect to such increase and the use of such amounts to make payments to such other Lenders, each Lender’s portion of the outstanding Revolving Loans of all the Lenders to equal its Applicable Percentage of such outstanding Revolving Loans, and (ii) except in the case of an increase in Commitments effected solely by an increase in the Commitments of Increasing Lenders in conformity with their Applicable Percentages prior to giving effect to such increase, the Borrower shall be deemed to have repaid and reborrowed all outstanding Revolving Loans as of the date of any increase in the Commitments (with such reborrowing to consist of the Types of Revolving Loans, with related Interest Periods if applicable, specified in a notice delivered by the Borrower, in accordance with the requirements of Section 2.03). The deemed payments made pursuant to clause (ii) of the immediately preceding sentence shall be accompanied by payment of all accrued interest on the amount prepaid and, in respect of each Eurodollar Loan, shall be subject to indemnification (unless waived by any Lender in its sole discretion) by the Borrower pursuant to the provisions of Section 2.16 if the deemed payment occurs other than on the last day of the related Interest Periods. The Incremental Term Loans (a) shall rank pari passu in right of payment with the Revolving Loans, (b) shall not mature earlier than the Maturity Date (but may have amortization prior to such date) and (c) shall be treated substantially the same as (and in any event no more favorably than) the Revolving Loans (as reasonably determined by the Borrower and the Administrative Agent) and provided that (i) the terms and conditions applicable to any tranche of Incremental Term Loans maturing after the Maturity Date may provide for material additional or different financial or other covenants applicable only during periods after the Maturity Date and (ii) the Incremental Term Loans may be priced differently, and have different fees and prepayment requirements, than the Revolving Loans. Incremental Term Loans may be made hereunder pursuant to an amendment or restatement (an “Incremental Term Loan Amendment”) of this Agreement and, as appropriate, the other Loan Documents, executed by the Borrower, each Increasing Lender participating in such tranche, each Augmenting Lender participating in such tranche, if any, and the Administrative Agent. The Incremental Term Loan Amendment may, without the consent of any other Lenders, effect such amendments to this Agreement and the other Loan Documents as may be necessary or appropriate, in the reasonable opinion of the Administrative Agent, to effect the provisions of this Section 2.20. This Section 2.20 shall supersede any provisions in Sections 2.18 or 9.02 to the contrary. Nothing contained in this Section 2.20 shall constitute, or otherwise be deemed to be, a commitment on the part of any Lender to increase its Commitment hereunder, or provide Incremental Term Loans, at any time.
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SECTION 2.21Defaulting Lenders. Notwithstanding any provision of this Agreement to the contrary, if any Lender becomes a Defaulting Lender, then the following provisions shall apply for so long as such Lender is a Defaulting Lender:
(a) fees shall cease to accrue on the unfunded portion of the Commitment of such Defaulting Lender pursuant to Section 2.12(a);
(b) the Commitment and Revolving Credit Exposure of such Defaulting Lender shall not be included in determining whether the Required Lenders have taken or may take any action hereunder (including any consent to any amendment, waiver or other modification pursuant to Section 9.02);provided, that, except as otherwise provided in Section 9.02, this clause (b) shall not apply to the vote of a Defaulting Lender in the case of an amendment, waiver or other modification requiring the consent of such Lender or each Lender directly affected thereby;
(c) if any LC Exposure with respect to Fronted Letters of Credit exists at the time such Lender becomes a Defaulting Lender then:
(i) all or any part of such LC Exposure of such Defaulting Lender shall be reallocated among the non-Defaulting Lenders in accordance with their respective Applicable Percentages but only to the extent that (A) no Default has occurred and is continuing at the time of such reallocation, (B) the sum of all non-Defaulting Lenders’ Revolving Credit Exposures plus such LC Exposure of such Defaulting Lender’s does not exceed the total of all non-Defaulting Lenders’ Commitments and (C) each non-Defaulting Lender’s Revolving Credit Exposure does not exceed such non-Defaulting Lender’s Commitment;
(ii) if the reallocation described in clause (i) above cannot, or can only partially, be effected, the Borrower shall within one (1) Business Day following notice by the Administrative Agent Cash Collateralize the Borrower’s obligations corresponding to such LC Exposure of such Defaulting Lender (after giving effect to any partial reallocation pursuant to clause (i) above) in accordance with the procedures set forth in Section 2.06(i) for so long as such LC Exposure is outstanding;
(iii) if the Borrower Cash Collateralizes any portion of such LC Exposure of such Defaulting Lender pursuant to clause (ii) above, the Borrower shall not be required to pay any fees to such Defaulting Lender pursuant to Section 2.12(b) with respect to such LC Exposure of such Defaulting Lender during the period such LC Exposure of such Defaulting Lender is Cash Collateralized;
(iv) if such LC Exposure of the non-Defaulting Lenders is reallocated pursuant to clause (i) above, then the fees payable to the Lenders pursuant to Section 2.12(a) and Section 2.12(b) shall be adjusted in accordance with such non-Defaulting Lenders’ Applicable Percentages; and
(v) if all or any portion of such LC Exposure of such Defaulting Lender is neither reallocated nor Cash Collateralized pursuant to clause (i) or (ii) above, then, without prejudice to any rights or remedies of any LC Issuer or any other Lender hereunder, all letter of credit fees payable under Section 2.12(b) with respect to such LC Exposure of such Defaulting Lender shall be payable to the Fronting Banks until and to the extent that such LC Exposure is reallocated and/or Cash Collateralized; and
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(d) so long as such Lender is a Defaulting Lender, no Fronting Bank shall be required to issue, amend or increase any Fronted Letter of Credit, unless it is satisfied that the related exposure and the Defaulting Lender’s then outstanding LC Exposure will be 100% covered by the Commitments of the non-Defaulting Lenders and/or Cash Collateral will be provided by the Borrower in accordance with Section 2.21(c), and participating interests in any such newly issued or increased Letter of Credit shall be allocated among non-Defaulting Lenders in a manner consistent with Section 2.21(c)(i) (and such Defaulting Lender shall not participate therein).
If (i) a Bankruptcy Event with respect to a Lender Parent shall occur following the date hereof and for so long as such event shall continue or (ii) any Fronting Bank has a good faith belief that any Lender has defaulted in fulfilling its obligations under one or more other agreements in which such Lender commits to extend credit, no Fronting Bank shall be required to issue, amend or increase any Letter of Credit, unless such Fronting Bank shall have entered into arrangements with the Borrower or such Lender, satisfactory to such Fronting Bank to defease any risk to it in respect of such Lender hereunder.
In the event that the Administrative Agent, the Borrower and each Fronting Bank each agrees that a Defaulting Lender has adequately remedied all matters that caused such Lender to be a Defaulting Lender, then (i) the LC Exposure of the Lenders shall be readjusted to reflect the inclusion of such Lender’s Commitment, (ii) on such date such Lender shall purchase at par such of the Loans of the other Lenders as the Administrative Agent shall determine may be necessary in order for such Lender to hold such Loans in accordance with its Applicable Percentage and (iii) if the Borrower has been required to Cash Collateralize all or a portion of such Lender’s LC Exposure as a result of such Lender having been a Defaulting Lender, the amount of Cash Collateral so provided (to the extent not previously applied by the Administrative Agent) shall be promptly returned to the Borrower.
SECTION 2.22Extension of Maturity Date.
(a)Request for Extension. The Borrower may, by notice to the Administrative Agent (who shall promptly notify the Lenders) not earlier than 120 days and not later than 90 days prior to each anniversary of the date of this Agreement (each such date, an “Extension Date”), request that each Lender extend such Lender’s Maturity Date to the date that is one year after the Maturity Date then in effect for such Lender (the “Existing Maturity Date”).
(b)Lender Elections to Extend. Each Lender, acting in its sole and individual discretion, shall, by notice to the Borrower and the Administrative Agent given not later than the date that is 15 days after the date on which the Administrative Agent received the Borrower’s extension request (the “Lender Notice Date”), advise the Borrower and the Administrative Agent whether or not such Lender agrees to such extension (each Lender that determines to so extend its Maturity Date, an “Extending Lender”). Each Lender that determines not to so extend its Maturity Date (a “Non-Extending Lender”) shall notify the Borrower and the Administrative Agent of such fact promptly after such determination (but in any event no later than the Lender Notice Date), and any Lender that does not so advise the Borrower and the Administrative Agent on or before the Lender Notice Date shall be deemed to be a Non-Extending Lender. The election of any Lender to agree to such extension shall not obligate any other Lender to so agree, and it is understood and agreed that no Lender shall have any obligation whatsoever to agree to any request made by the Borrower for extension of the Maturity Date.
(c)Intentionally Omitted.
(d)Additional Commitment Lenders. The Borrower shall have the right, but shall not be obligated, on or before the applicable Maturity Date for any Non-Extending Lender to replace such
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Non-Extending Lender with, and add as “Lenders” under this Agreement in place thereof, one or more financial institutions (each, an “Additional Commitment Lender”) approved by the Administrative Agent (such approval not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed) in accordance with the procedures provided in Section 2.19(b), each of which Additional Commitment Lenders shall have entered into an Assignment and Assumption (in accordance with and subject to the restrictions contained in Section 9.04, with the Borrower or replacement Lender obligated to pay any applicable processing or recordation fee) with such Non-Extending Lender, pursuant to which such Additional Commitment Lenders shall, effective on or before the applicable Maturity Date for such Non-Extending Lender, assume a Commitment (and, if any such Additional Commitment Lender is already a Lender, its Commitment shall be in addition to such Lender’s Commitment hereunder on such date). Prior to any Non-Extending Lender being replaced by one or more Additional Commitment Lenders pursuant hereto, such Non-Extending Lender may elect, in its sole discretion, by giving irrevocable notice thereof to the Administrative Agent and the Borrower (which notice shall set forth such Lender’s new Maturity Date), to become an Extending Lender. The Administrative Agent may effect such amendments to this Agreement as are reasonably necessary to provide for any such extensions with the consent of the Borrower but without the consent of any other Lenders.
(e)Minimum Extension Requirement. If (and only if) the total of the Commitments of the Lenders that have agreed to extend their Maturity Date and the new or increased Commitments of any Additional Commitment Lenders is more than 50% of the aggregate amount of the Commitments in effect immediately prior to the applicable Extension Date, then, effective as of the applicable Extension Date, the Maturity Date of each Extending Lender and of each Additional Commitment Lender shall be extended to the date that is one year after the Existing Maturity Date (except that, if such date is not a Business Day, such Maturity Date as so extended shall be the next preceding Business Day) and each Additional Commitment Lender shall thereupon become a “Lender” for all purposes of this Agreement and shall be bound by the provisions of this Agreement as a Lender hereunder and shall have the obligations of a Lender hereunder.
(f)Conditions to Effectiveness of Extension. Notwithstanding the foregoing, (x) no more than one (1) extension of the Maturity Date shall be permitted hereunder and (y) any extension of any Maturity Date pursuant to this Section 2.22 shall not be effective with respect to any Extending Lender unless:
(i) no Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing on the applicable Extension Date and immediately after giving effect thereto;
(ii) the representations and warranties of the Borrower set forth in this Agreement are true and correct in all material respects (or, in the case of any representation or warranty qualified by materiality or Material Adverse Effect, in all respects) on and as of the applicable Extension Date and after giving effect thereto, as though made on and as of such date (or, if any such representation or warranty is expressly stated to have been made as of a specific date, as of such specific date);
(iii) the Administrative Agent shall have received a certificate from the Borrower signed by a Responsible Officer of the Borrower certifying the accuracy of the foregoing clauses (i) and (ii); and
(iv) if there is a non-ratable increase in the Commitments, each outstanding Several Letter of Credit shall have been amended giving effect to the reallocation of the Commitments or, if required, returned by each respective beneficiary to the Administrative Agent and cancelled and/or exchanged for a new or amended Several Letter of Credit giving effect to the reallocated Commitments.
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(g)Maturity Date for Non-Extending Lenders. On the Maturity Date of each Non-Extending Lender, (i) the Commitment of each Non-Extending Lender shall automatically terminate and (ii) the Borrower shall repay such Non-Extending Lender in accordance with Section 2.10 (and shall pay to such Non-Extending Lender all of the other Obligations owing to it under this Agreement) and after giving effect thereto shall prepay any Revolving Loans outstanding on such date (and pay any additional amounts required pursuant to Section 2.16) to the extent necessary to keep outstanding Revolving Loans ratable with any revised Applicable Percentages of the respective Lenders effective as of such date, and the Administrative Agent shall administer any necessary reallocation of the Revolving Credit Exposures (without regard to any minimum borrowing, pro rata borrowing and/or pro rata payment requirements contained elsewhere in this Agreement). On the Maturity Date, the participations in outstanding Fronted Letters of Credit shall be automatically adjusted to give effect to the revised Applicable Percentages of the respective Lenders.
(h)Conflicting Provisions. This Section shall supersede any provisions in Section 2.18 or Section 9.02 to the contrary.
ARTICLE III
Representations and Warranties
SECTION 3.01Representations and Warranties. The Borrower represents and warrants to the Lenders that:
(a) (i) the Borrower has heretofore furnished to each of the Lenders (including by furnishing the Form 10-K of the Borrower filed with the SEC) its audited Consolidated balance sheet and Consolidated statements of income and cash flows as at and for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012, and such financial statements fairly present, in all material respects, the Consolidated financial condition and results of operations of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries as at the date thereof and for such fiscal year, all in accordance with GAAP;
(ii) the Borrower has heretofore furnished (including by furnishing the Form 10-Q of the Borrower filed with the SEC) to each of the Lenders its unaudited Consolidated balance sheet and Consolidated statements of income and cash flows as at and for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2013, and such financial statements fairly present, in all material respects, the Consolidated financial position and results of operations of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries as at the date thereof and for such nine-month period, all in accordance with GAAP (subject to normal year end audit adjustments and the absence of footnotes);
(iii) the Borrower has heretofore furnished to each of the Lenders the annual Statutory Statement of each Material Insurance Subsidiary and an equivalent financial statement for each Lloyd’s syndicate in which a Subsidiary of the Borrower has a membership interest, in each case for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012, as filed with the applicable Insurance Regulatory Authority, and each such annual Statutory Statement (or, with respect to any Lloyd’s syndicate in which a Subsidiary of the Borrower has membership interest, such equivalent financial statement filing) presents fairly, in all material respects, the financial position and the results of operations of such Material Insurance Subsidiary or Lloyd’s syndicate, as applicable, as at and for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012, in accordance with SAP; and
(iv) since December 31, 2012, there has been no Material Adverse Change.
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(b) There is no action, proceeding or investigation pending, or to the knowledge of the Borrower, overtly threatened in writing against the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries before any court, governmental agency or arbitrator which (i) is reasonably likely to have a Material Adverse Effect or (ii) purports to affect this Agreement or the Transactions.
(c) The Borrower and each of its Subsidiaries (i) is duly organized, validly existing and (to the extent applicable in respect of the relevant jurisdiction) in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of organization, (ii) is duly qualified and (to the extent applicable in respect of the relevant jurisdiction) in good standing as a foreign corporation in each other jurisdiction in which it owns or leases Property or in which the conduct of its business requires it to so qualify or be licensed and where, in each case, failure so to qualify and be in good standing would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect and (iii) has all requisite corporate power and authority to own or lease and operate its Properties and to carry on its business as now conducted and as proposed to be conducted except as could not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(d) The Borrower and each of its Subsidiaries is in compliance with all federal, state and local laws and regulations (including, without limitation, all applicable environmental laws and ERISA) applicable to the Borrower, its Subsidiaries and their respective Properties, except to the extent failure to so comply would not (either individually or in the aggregate) reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(e) All material consents, licenses, permits and governmental and third-party consents and approvals required for the due making and performance by the Borrower of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents to which it is a party have been obtained and remain in full force and effect.
(f) This Agreement is, and each of the other Loan Documents to which it is a party when duly executed and delivered will be, a legal, valid and binding obligation of the Borrower, enforceable against the Borrower in accordance with its terms except as such enforceability may be limited by applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization or other similar laws affecting enforcement of creditors’ rights generally or general principles of equity.
(g) The making and performance by the Borrower of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents to which it is a party are within the Borrower’s corporate powers, have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action, and (i) do not contravene the Borrower’s certificate of incorporation or by-laws or (ii) contravene, violate or breach any material contractual restriction binding on the Borrower or its Subsidiaries or any material law, rule or regulation (including Regulations T, U or X), or any material order, writ, judgment, injunction, decree, determination or award, except for any such contravention, violation or breach referred to in clause (ii) which could not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(h) Each of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries has good and marketable title to, valid leasehold interests in, or valid licenses to use, all Properties material to its business, and all such Properties are in good working order and condition, ordinary wear and tear excepted, in each case except as would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(i) The Borrower and each of its Subsidiaries have paid and discharged all Taxes, assessments, claims and governmental charges or levies imposed upon it or upon its Property, except (i) any such Tax, assessment, claim or charge that is being contested in good faith and by proper proceedings and as to which appropriate reserves are being maintained in accordance with Section 5.02 or (ii) to the extent that any failure to do so could not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
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(j) The Borrower is not engaged principally, or as one of its important activities, in the business of extending credit for the purpose of buying or carrying Margin Stock, and no proceeds of any Loan or Letter of Credit will be used, whether directly or indirectly for any purpose, that entails violation of Regulations T, U or X. At the time of each Borrowing or issuance of a Letter of Credit (other than the automatic renewal of a Letter of Credit in accordance with its terms) and after giving effect thereto, not more than 25 percent of the value of the assets (either of the Borrower or of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries on a Consolidated basis) that are subject to the restrictions in Section 6.03 and Section 6.05 consist of Margin Stock.
(k) No ERISA Event has occurred or is reasonably expected to occur with respect to any Plan that, when taken together with all other such ERISA Events for which liability is reasonably expected to occur, has resulted or would reasonably be expected to result in a liability to the Borrower or its ERISA Affiliates in excess of $10,000,000.
(l) The Borrower is not an “investment company” as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.
(m) As of the date hereof, (i) Schedule 3.01 hereto is a complete list of the Subsidiaries of the Borrower, (ii) each such Subsidiary is duly organized and validly existing under the jurisdiction of its organization shown in saidSchedule 3.01, and (iii) the percentage ownership by the Borrower of each such Subsidiary is as shown in saidSchedule 3.01.
(n) The Borrower will use the proceeds of the Loans and the Letters of Credit only for the general corporate purposes of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries in the ordinary course of business (in compliance in all material respects with all applicable legal and regulatory requirements, including Anti-Corruption Laws and applicable Sanctions);provided that neither the Administrative Agent nor any Lender shall have any responsibility as to the use of any such proceeds.
(o) (i) The Borrower is, and immediately after giving effect to the making of each Borrowing and each issuance, amendment, renewal or extension of a Letter of Credit and the use of proceeds thereof, will be, Solvent and (ii) the Borrower and its Subsidiaries, on a consolidated basis and immediately after giving effect to the making of each Borrowing and each issuance, amendment, renewal or extension of a Letter of Credit hereunder and the use of proceeds thereof, will be, Solvent.
(p) All written information (other than information of a general economic or industry specific nature) that has been made available by the Borrower or any of its representatives to the Administrative Agent or any Lender in connection with the negotiation of this Agreement (including, for the avoidance of doubt, any such information in any Information Memorandum or related materials provided in connection with the syndication of the Commitments), when taken as a whole, on or as of the dates on which such information was made available, did not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a fact necessary to make the statements contained therein not misleading in light of the time and circumstances under which such statements were made (after giving effect to all supplements and updates thereto).
(q) The Borrower has implemented and maintains in effect policies and procedures designed to ensure compliance in all material respects by the Borrower, its Subsidiaries and, when acting on its or their behalf, their respective directors, officers, employees and agents with Anti-Corruption Laws and applicable Sanctions, and the Borrower, its Subsidiaries and their respective officers and employees
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and, to the knowledge of the Borrower, its directors, are in compliance with Anti-Corruption Laws and applicable Sanctions in all material respects. None of (a) the Borrower, any Subsidiary or to the knowledge of the Borrower or such Subsidiary any of their respective directors, officers or employees, or (b) to the knowledge of the Borrower, any agent of the Borrower or any Subsidiary that will act on behalf of the Borrower or any Subsidiary in connection with or benefit from the credit facility established hereby, is a Sanctioned Person. No Borrowing or Letter of Credit, use of proceeds or other Transactions will violate, in any material respect, Anti-Corruption Laws or applicable Sanctions.
ARTICLE IV
Conditions
SECTION 4.01Effective Date. The obligations of the Lenders to make Loans and of any LC Issuer to issue Letters of Credit hereunder shall not become effective until the date on which each of the following conditions is satisfied (or waived in accordance with Section 9.02):
(a) The Administrative Agent (or its counsel) shall have received (i) from each party hereto either (A) a counterpart of this Agreement signed on behalf of such party or (B) written evidence reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent (which may include telecopy or electronic transmission of a signed signature page of this Agreement) that such party has signed a counterpart of this Agreement and (ii) duly executed copies of the Loan Documents and such other certificates, documents, instruments and agreements as the Administrative Agent shall reasonably request in connection with the Transactions, all in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and its counsel and as further described in the list of closing documents attached asExhibit E.
(b) The Administrative Agent shall have received a favorable written opinion (addressed to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders and dated the Effective Date) of Ropes & Gray LLP, counsel for the Borrower, substantially in the form ofExhibit B, and covering such other matters relating to the Borrower, the Loan Documents or the Transactions as the Administrative Agent shall reasonably request. The Borrower hereby requests such counsel to deliver such opinion.
(c) The Administrative Agent shall have received such documents and certificates as the Administrative Agent or its counsel may reasonably request relating to the organization, existence and good standing of the Borrower, the authorization of the Transactions and any other legal matters relating to the Borrower, the Loan Documents or the Transactions, all in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and its counsel and as further described in the list of closing documents attached asExhibit E.
(d) The Administrative Agent shall have received a certificate, dated the Effective Date and signed by a Responsible Officer of the Borrower, confirming compliance with the conditions set forth in paragraphs (a) and (b) of Section 4.02.
(e) The Administrative Agent shall have received evidence reasonably satisfactory to it that the commitments under the Existing Credit Agreement shall have been terminated and cancelled and all indebtedness and accrued interest and fees thereunder shall have been fully repaid (except to the extent being so repaid with the initial Revolving Loans).
(f) The Administrative Agent shall have received all fees and other amounts due and payable to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders on or prior to the Effective Date, including, to the extent invoiced one (1) Business Day prior to the Effective Date, reimbursement or payment of all out-of-pocket expenses required to be reimbursed or paid by the Borrower hereunder.
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The Administrative Agent shall notify the Borrower and the Lenders of the Effective Date, and such notice shall be conclusive and binding.
SECTION 4.02Each Credit Event. The obligation of each Lender to make a Loan on the occasion of any Borrowing, and of any LC Issuer to issue, amend, renew or extend any Letter of Credit, is subject to the satisfaction of the following conditions:
(a) The representations and warranties of the Borrower set forth in this Agreement shall be true and correct in all material respects (or, in the case of any representation or warranty qualified by materiality or Material Adverse Effect, in all respects) on and as of the date of such Borrowing or the date of issuance, amendment, renewal or extension of such Letter of Credit, as applicable (or, if any such representation or warranty is expressly stated to have been made as of a specific date, as of such specific date).
(b) At the time of and immediately after giving effect to such Borrowing or the issuance, amendment, renewal or extension of such Letter of Credit, as applicable, no Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing.
Each Borrowing and each issuance, amendment, renewal or extension of a Letter of Credit shall be deemed to constitute a representation and warranty by the Borrower on the date thereof as to the matters specified in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this Section.
ARTICLE V
Affirmative Covenants
Until the Commitments have expired or been terminated and the principal of and interest on each Loan and all fees payable hereunder shall have been paid in full and all Letters of Credit shall have expired or terminated or, in the case of Fronted Letters of Credit, have been cash collateralized or backstopped in a manner reasonably satisfactory to the applicable Fronting Banks and the Administrative Agent, in each case, without any pending draw, and all LC Disbursements shall have been reimbursed, the Borrower covenants and agrees with the Lenders that:
SECTION 5.01Reporting Requirements. The Borrower will furnish to the Administrative Agent for distribution to each Lender:
(a) as soon as available and in any event within 60 days after the end of each of the first three quarters of each fiscal year of the Borrower, the Consolidated balance sheet of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries as of the last day of such quarter and the related Consolidated statements of income and cash flows for such quarter, in each case setting forth in comparative form the corresponding figures from the corresponding quarter in the previous fiscal year, all prepared in conformity with GAAP and accompanied by a certificate of a senior financial officer of the Borrower, which certificate shall state that such financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the Consolidated financial position of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries as of the date thereof and the Consolidated results of their operations for the period covered thereby in conformity with GAAP, consistently applied (subject to normal year-end audit adjustments and the absence of footnotes);
(b) as soon as available and in any event within 90 days after the end of each fiscal year of the Borrower, the Consolidated balance sheet of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries as of the last day of such fiscal year and the related Consolidated statements of income and cash flows for such fiscal year, setting forth in comparative form the corresponding figures from the previous fiscal year, all
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prepared in conformity with GAAP and accompanied by an unqualified report and opinion of independent certified public accountants of national standing and reputation, which shall state that such financial statements, in the opinion of such accountants, present fairly, in all material respects, the Consolidated financial position of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries as of the date thereof and the Consolidated results of their operations for such year in conformity with GAAP, consistently applied;
(c) as soon as possible and in any event within five Business Days after the Borrower obtains knowledge of the occurrence of any Event of Default or Default continuing on the date of such statement, a statement of a Responsible Officer setting forth details of such Event of Default or Default and the action which the Borrower has taken and proposes to take with respect thereto;
(d) within a reasonable time after filing thereof, copies of all registration statements (without exhibits) and all annual, quarterly and monthly reports (if any) filed by the Borrower with the SEC and promptly upon the mailing thereof to the shareholders of the Borrower generally, copies of all financial statements, reports and proxy statements so mailed;
(e) promptly after the Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate knows or should reasonably know that any ERISA Event has occurred with respect to which the liability or potential liability of the Borrower or any of its ERISA Affiliates has had or would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, a statement of a Responsible Officer describing such ERISA Event and the action, if any, which the Borrower or such ERISA Affiliate proposes to take with respect thereto;
(f) promptly after receipt thereof by the Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate, copies of each notice from the PBGC stating its intention to terminate any Plan or to have a trustee appointed to administer any Plan where such action would have a Material Adverse Effect;
(g) promptly after filing with the applicable Insurance Regulatory Authority and in any event within 60 days after the end of each of the first three quarterly fiscal periods of each fiscal year of each Material Insurance Subsidiary and each Lloyd’s syndicate in which a Subsidiary of the Borrower has a membership interest, the quarterly Statutory Statement of such Material Insurance Subsidiary for such quarterly fiscal period (or, with respect to each Lloyd’s syndicate in which the Borrower has a membership interest, an equivalent financial statement of such Lloyd’s syndicate for such quarterly fiscal period);
(h) promptly after filing with the applicable Insurance Regulatory Authority and in any event within 90 days after the end of each fiscal year of each Material Insurance Subsidiary and each Lloyd’s syndicate in which a Subsidiary of the Borrower has a membership interest, the annual Statutory Statement of such Material Insurance Subsidiary, including, without limitation, management’s discussion and analysis for such year (or, with respect to any Lloyd’s syndicate in which the Borrower has a membership interest, an equivalent financial statement of such Lloyd’s syndicate for such year);
(i) promptly upon the occurrence of any change in Moody’s rating of the Index Debt or S&P’s rating of the Index Debt, or any change in the A.M. Best Financial Strength Rating with respect to any Insurance Subsidiary, notice thereof (for the avoidance of doubt, a change in outlook shall not constitute a change in rating);
(j) promptly upon the commencement of, or any material adverse development in, any litigation, investigation or proceeding against the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries that could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, notice thereof with a description thereof in reasonable detail; and
(k) promptly after request therefor, such other business and financial information respecting the condition or operations, financial or otherwise, of the Borrower or any of its Material Insurance Subsidiaries as the Administrative Agent or any Lender may from time to time reasonably request.
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Notwithstanding the foregoing, the obligations in clauses (a), (b) and (d) of this Section 5.01 shall be deemed satisfied with respect to financial information of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries by the furnishing the Form 10-K or 10-Q or any other document of the Borrower filed with the SEC, as applicable, on the date (i) on which the Borrower posts such documents, or provides a link thereto on the Borrower’s website on the Internet at the website address provided to the Lenders; or (ii) on which such documents are posted on the Borrower’s behalf on an Internet or intranet website, if any, to which each Lender and the Administrative Agent have access (whether a commercial, third-party website or whether sponsored by the Administrative Agent);provided that (A) the Borrower shall deliver paper copies of such documents to the Administrative Agent or any Lender that requests in writing (including by electronic mail) the Borrower to deliver such paper copies and (B) the Borrower shall notify the Administrative Agent (by telecopier or electronic mail) of the posting of any such documents satisfying the obligations in clauses (a), (b) and (d) of this Section 5.01.
The Borrower will furnish to the Lenders at the time it furnishes its financial statements pursuant to paragraphs (a) and (b) above, a certificate of a Responsible Officer, in the form ofExhibit F, setting forth reasonably detailed calculations demonstrating that the Borrower is in compliance with the covenants in Section 6.01. The Borrower and each Lender acknowledge that certain of the Lenders may be Public Lenders and, if documents or notices required to be delivered pursuant to this Section 5.01 or otherwise are being distributed on an Electronic System pursuant to Section 9.01(d), any document or notice that the Borrower has indicated contains Non-Public Information shall not be posted on that portion of the Electronic System designated for such Public Lenders. The Borrower agrees to clearly designate all information provided to the Administrative Agent by or on behalf the Borrower which is suitable to make available to Public Lenders. If the Borrower has not indicated whether a document or notice delivered pursuant to this Section 5.01 contains Non-Public Information, the Administrative Agent reserves the right to post such document or notice solely on that portion of the Electronic System designated for Lenders who wish to receive material nonpublic information with respect to the Borrower, its Subsidiaries and their securities.
SECTION 5.02Payment of Taxes, Etc. The Borrower will pay and discharge, and cause each of its Subsidiaries to pay and discharge, before the same shall become delinquent, all Taxes, assessments, claims and governmental charges or levies imposed upon it or upon its Property, except to the extent that any failure to do so would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; provided that neither the Borrower nor any of its Subsidiaries shall be required to pay or discharge any such Tax, assessment, claim or charge that is being contested in good faith and by proper proceedings and as to which appropriate reserves are being maintained.
SECTION 5.03Corporate Existence, Compliance with Laws, Etc. The Borrower will, and will cause each of its Material Subsidiaries to, (a) preserve and maintain all of its material rights, privileges, licenses and franchises, including all tradenames, patents and other intellectual property necessary for its business, except to the extent the failure to preserve and maintain the same would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, and (b) preserve and maintain its legal existence,provided that nothing in this sentence shall prohibit any transaction not otherwise prohibited under Section 6.04. The Borrower will comply, and will cause each of its Subsidiaries to comply, with all applicable laws, statutes, rules, regulations and orders, including, without limitation, ERISA, the Patriot Act, Anti-Corruption Laws and applicable Sanctions and all applicable environmental laws, except for any non-compliance which would not (either individually or in the aggregate) reasonably be expected to
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have a Material Adverse Effect. The Borrower will maintain in effect and enforce policies and procedures designed to ensure compliance in all material respects by the Borrower, its Subsidiaries and, when acting on its or their behalf, their respective directors, officers, employees and agents with Anti-Corruption Laws and applicable Sanctions.
SECTION 5.04Maintenance of Properties, Etc. The Borrower will maintain and preserve, and will cause each of its Subsidiaries to maintain and preserve, all of its Properties that are used or useful in the conduct of its business in good working order and condition, ordinary wear and tear excepted, except where failure to do so would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. The Borrower will maintain, and cause each of its Subsidiaries to maintain, appropriate and adequate insurance with responsible and reputable insurance companies or associations or with self-insurance programs to the extent consistent with prudent practices of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries or otherwise customary in their respective industries in such amounts and covering such risks as is customary in the industries in which the Borrower or such Subsidiary operates.
SECTION 5.05Keeping of Books. The Borrower will, and will cause each of its Subsidiaries to, keep proper books of record and account as are necessary to prepare Consolidated financial statements in accordance with GAAP, UKGAAP or SAP, as applicable, in which full and correct entries in all material respects shall be made of all financial transactions and the assets and business of the Borrower and each such Subsidiary in accordance with GAAP, UKGAAP or SAP, as applicable.
SECTION 5.06Visitation Rights. The Borrower will, at any reasonable time during normal business hours and upon reasonable prior notice and from time to time, permit the Administrative Agent or any of the Lenders or any agents or representatives thereof (in each case at their own expense (except as described below) and subject to Section 9.12 hereof) to examine and make copies of and abstracts from the records and books of account of, and visit the Properties of, the Borrower and any of its Subsidiaries, and to discuss the affairs, finances and accounts of the Borrower and any of its Subsidiaries with any of their officers or directors;provided that, excluding any such examination or visit during the continuance of an Event of Default, the Administrative Agent and the Lenders shall not, collectively, exercise such rights more than once during any calendar year. In addition, subject to customary access agreements, at any time when an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing, the Borrower will, and will cause its Subsidiaries to, permit the Administrative Agent or any of the Lenders or any agents or representatives thereof to discuss the affairs, finances and accounts of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries with their independent certified public accountants, and the Borrower will be responsible for the reasonable costs and expenses of the Administrative Agent and the Lenders and the agents and representatives thereof incurred in connection with this Section 5.06.
SECTION 5.07Use of Proceeds. The Borrower will use the proceeds of the Loans and Letters of Credit only for the general corporate purposes of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries in the ordinary course of business (in compliance in all material respects with all applicable legal and regulatory requirements, including Anti-Corruption Laws and applicable Sanctions);provided that (i) no such use of the proceeds will be, directly or indirectly, for the purpose, whether immediate, incidental or ultimate, of buying or carrying any Margin Stock in violation of Regulations T, U or X and (ii) neither the Administrative Agent nor any Lender shall have any responsibility as to the use of any such proceeds.
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ARTICLE VI
Negative Covenants
Until the Commitments have expired or terminated and the principal of and interest on each Loan and all fees payable hereunder have been paid in full and all Letters of Credit have expired or terminated or, in the case of Fronted Letters of Credit, have been cash collateralized or backstopped in a manner reasonably satisfactory to the applicable Fronting Banks and the Administrative Agent, in each case, without any pending draw, and all LC Disbursements shall have been reimbursed, the Borrower covenants and agrees with the Lenders that:
SECTION 6.01Financial Covenants.
(a)Minimum Net Worth. The Borrower will not permit Net Worth as of the last day of any fiscal quarter of the Borrower to be less than the sum of (i) $1,696,800,000plus (ii) an amount equal to 50% of the Borrower’s Consolidated net income (if positive) for such fiscal quarter and for each prior fiscal quarter of the Borrower ending after the Effective Dateplus (iii) an amount equal to 50% of the aggregate Net Equity Proceeds of any Equity Issuances made after the Effective Date.
(b)RBC Ratio. The Borrower will not permit the RBC Ratio of either HIC or CIC as of the last day of any fiscal quarter of the Borrower to be less than 175%.
(c)Leverage Ratio. The Borrower will not permit the Leverage Ratio as of the last day of any fiscal quarter of the Borrower to be greater than 35%.
SECTION 6.02Financial Debt. The Borrower will not, and will not permit any Subsidiary to, create, incur, assume or permit to exist any Financial Debt, except:
(a) Financial Debt created hereunder;
(b) Financial Debt and commitments to provide Financial Debt existing on the date hereof and set forth onSchedule 6.02;
(c) Financial Debt of the Borrower to any Subsidiary and of any Subsidiary to the Borrower or any other Subsidiary;
(d) Financial Debt incurred by Securitization Subsidiaries pursuant to Securitization Transactions;
(e) Financial Debt in respect of capitalized lease obligations, synthetic lease obligations or secured by purchase money security interests,provided that the aggregate principal amount of Financial Debt permitted by this clause (e) shall not exceed $100,000,000 at any time outstanding;
(f) Guaranties by the Borrower of Financial Debt incurred by its Subsidiaries otherwise permitted under this Section 6.02;
(g) Financial Debt in respect of Hybrid Securities, Disqualified Equity Interests and Preferred Securities issued by the Borrower or any trust or other special purpose entity formed by the Borrower as to which no Subsidiary (other than any such trust or other special purpose entity) of the Borrower has any obligation;
(h) Financial Debt in respect of subordinated securities of the Borrower so long as (i) the obligations of the Borrower thereunder are unsecured and fully subordinated as to payment and performance in all respects to all of the Obligations of the Borrower under this Agreement, (ii) no Subsidiary of the Borrower has any obligations thereunder and (iii) such subordinated securities do not
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have any required amortization, maturity, mandatory put, redemption, repayment, or other similar provision or requirement, or any cash interest thereon, and in any event is not payable, falling due or capable of falling due, prior to at least 91 days after the Maturity Date,provided that the Borrower shall be permitted to make cash interest payments pursuant to the terms of such other subordinated securities so long as (A) no payment Default or Event of Default has occurred and is continuing and (B) the interest rate in respect thereof shall be based on prevailing market rates at the time of issuance of such other subordinated securities;
(i) Financial Debt in respect of borrowings from a Federal Home Loan Bank in the ordinary course of business and on ordinary business terms pursuant to a membership in such Federal Home Loan Bank;
(j)[Reserved];
(k) Financial Debt assumed in connection with any Acquisition,provided that such Financial Debt is not incurred in contemplation of such Acquisition and no other Subsidiary (other than the Subsidiary being acquired, if applicable) has any liability or obligations in respect of such Financial Debt;
(l) Financial Debt incurred by the Borrower in addition to the foregoing;
(m) Financial Debt incurred by the Subsidiaries of the Borrower,provided that the aggregate principal amount of Financial Debt permitted by this clause shall not exceed $75,000,000 at any time outstanding;
(n) Financial Debt in respect of letters of credit issued for the benefit of Insurance Regulatory Authorities and letters of credit issued in support of funds at the Society and Corporation of Lloyd’s requirements (including any such Financial Debt set forth onSchedule 6.02); and
(o) Any extension, renewal or replacement of any of the foregoing Financial Debt that (i) does not include Financial Debt of an obligor that was not an obligor with respect to the Financial Debt being extended, renewed or replaced, (ii) does not increase the outstanding principal amount of the Financial Debt being extended, renewed or replaced except by an amount equal to unpaid accrued interest thereon, prepayment premiums not exceeding 5% of the outstanding principal amount of such Financial Debt, and fees and expenses incurred in connection with such extension, renewal or replacement, and by an amount equal to any existing commitments unutilized thereunder and (iii) in the case of Financial Debt that is subordinated in right of payment to the Obligations, is subordinated to at least the same extent as, and has a maturity not earlier than, and weighted average life to maturity not shorter than, the Financial Debt being renewed or replaced.
For purposes of determining compliance with this Section 6.02, the Borrower will be entitled to divide an item of Financial Debt that meets the criteria of one of the categories of Financial Debt described in clauses (a) through (o) above between such applicable clause and any other applicable clause.
SECTION 6.03Liens. The Borrower will not, nor will it permit any of its Subsidiaries to, create, incur, assume or suffer to exist any Lien upon any of its Property, whether now owned or hereafter acquired, except Permitted Liens.
SECTION 6.04Mergers, Etc.. The Borrower will not, and will not permit any of its Material Subsidiaries to, merge or consolidate with or into, or convey, transfer, lease or otherwise dispose of, whether in one transaction or in a series of transactions, all or substantially all of the Property (whether
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now owned or hereafter acquired) of the Borrower or such Material Subsidiary to, any Person, or liquidate or dissolve, except that, if at the time thereof and immediately after giving effect thereto no Default shall have occurred and be continuing, (a) any Material Subsidiary may merge into (i) the Borrower in a transaction in which the Borrower is the surviving corporation or (ii) any other Subsidiary, (b) any Material Subsidiary may sell, transfer, lease or otherwise dispose of its assets to the Borrower or to another Subsidiary, (c) any Material Subsidiary may liquidate or dissolve if the Borrower determines in good faith that such liquidation or dissolution is in the best interests of the Borrower and is not materially disadvantageous to the Lenders, (d) any Subsidiary may merge into the Borrower in a transaction in which the Borrower is the surviving corporation and (e) the Borrower and any Material Subsidiary may engage in a disposition permitted by Section 6.05.
SECTION 6.05Disposition of Assets. The Borrower will not, and will not permit any of its Material Subsidiaries to, sell, lease, transfer or otherwise dispose of any substantial part of its Property, except (a) sales of inventory and investments in the ordinary course of its business, (b) sales of assets which are not material to the operation of the Borrower or such Material Subsidiaries or are no longer used or useful in connection with the operation of the Borrower or such Material Subsidiaries, (c) transfers of Property by the Borrower or any Material Subsidiary to the Borrower or any other Subsidiary, (d) dispositions pursuant to Securitization Transactions, (e) dispositions in connection with the CitySquare Project, (f) dispositions for fair market value of assets acquired after the Effective Date in connection with Acquisitions, to the extent that, at the time that the relevant Acquisition was consummated, the Borrower or such Material Subsidiary planned to sell, lease, transfer or otherwise dispose of such assets and (g) other dispositions, the net cash proceeds of which, when aggregated with the net cash proceeds of any other such dispositions consummated after the Effective Date pursuant to this clause (g), shall not exceed in the aggregate 5% of the total assets of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries (determined on a Consolidated basis as of the end of the most recent fiscal quarter for which financial statements are available).
SECTION 6.06Transactions with Affiliates. The Borrower will not, and will not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, sell, lease or otherwise transfer any Property to, or purchase, lease or otherwise acquire any assets from, or otherwise engage in any transactions with, any of its Affiliates, except (a) at prices and on terms and conditions not less favorable to the Borrower or such Subsidiary than could be obtained on an arm’s-length basis from unrelated third parties and (b) transactions between or among the Borrower and its Subsidiaries not involving any other Affiliate.
SECTION 6.07Line of Business. The Borrower will not, and will not permit any of its Material Subsidiaries to, make any material change in the nature or conduct of the business of the Borrower or such Material Subsidiary as conducted on the date hereof.
SECTION 6.08Anti-Dividend-Block. Except to the extent required by applicable law, statute, rule, regulation, order or agreement with regulators, the Borrower will not permit any of its Subsidiaries to agree to or have in effect any contractual restriction on the payment of dividends or the making of other distributions to the Borrower (each, a “Burdensome Agreement”) other than:
(a) Burdensome Agreements (i) in existence on the date hereof (to the extent not otherwise permitted by this Section 6.08) that are listed onSchedule 6.08 hereto and (ii) to the extent Burdensome Agreements permitted by clause (i) are contained in an agreement evidencing Financial Debt, any agreement evidencing any permitted modification, replacement, renewal, extension or refinancing of such Financial Debt so long as such modification, replacement, renewal, extension or refinancing does not expand the scope of such Burdensome Agreement or include any other Subsidiaries as parties thereto;
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(b) Burdensome Agreements that are binding on a Subsidiary of the Borrower at the time such Person first becomes a Subsidiary of the Borrower, so long as such Burdensome Agreements were not entered into in contemplation of such Person becoming a Subsidiary of the Borrower;
(c) Burdensome Agreements that are customary restrictions on leases, subleases, licenses or asset sale agreements otherwise permitted hereby so long as such restrictions relate to the assets subject thereto;
(d) Burdensome Agreements that are customary provisions restricting subletting or assignment of any lease governing a leasehold interest of any Subsidiary of the Borrower;
(e) Burdensome Agreements that are customary provisions restricting assignment of any agreement entered into in the ordinary course of business;
(f) Burdensome Agreements that are restrictions on cash or other deposits imposed by customers under contracts entered into in the ordinary course of business;
(g) Burdensome Agreements to the extent set forth in an agreement evidencing Financial Debt of the Borrower permitted under Section 6.02; and
(h) Burdensome Agreements entered into by a Securitization Subsidiary in respect of assets financed by such Securitization Subsidiary, or Burdensome Agreements restricting a Securitization Subsidiary in connection with the incurrence of Financial Debt by such Securitization Subsidiary, in each case pursuant to a Securitization Transaction.
SECTION 6.09Restricted Payments. At any time after the occurrence and during the continuance of any Event of Default under Section 7.01(a), Section 7.01(c) (only if such Event of Default arises due to the Borrower’s failure to perform or observe any term, covenant or agreement contained in Section 5.01(a), Section 5.01(b) or Section 6.01), Section 7.01(d), Section 7.01(e), Section 7.01(f), or Section 7.01(j) , the Borrower shall not, directly or indirectly declare or make, or agree to make, directly or indirectly, any Restricted Payment other than Restricted Payments for the repurchase, retirement or other acquisition or retirement for value of Equity Interests of the Borrower by any future, present or former employee, director, officer, manager or consultant (or any Immediate Family Member thereof) of the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries upon the death, disability, retirement or termination of employment of any such Person or otherwise pursuant to any employee or director equity plan, employee or director stock option plan or any other employee or director benefit plan or any agreement (including any stock subscription or shareholder agreement) with any future, present or former employee, director, officer, manager or consultant of the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries (including, for the avoidance of doubt, any principal and interest payable on any notes issued by the Borrower (or of any direct or indirect parent of the Borrower) in connection with any such repurchase, retirement or other acquisition or retirement). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the restrictions contained in this Section 6.09 shall not prohibit the Borrower from directly or indirectly declaring or making, or agreeing to make, directly or indirectly, any Restricted Payment at any time (i) there are no Loans outstanding under this Agreement and (ii) the Borrower has delivered to the Administrative Agent (and the Administrative Agent is in possession of) Cash Collateral in an amount equal to 103% of the aggregate Stated Amount of all Letters of Credit outstanding hereunder as contemplated by Section 2.06(i).
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ARTICLE VII
Events of Default
SECTION 7.01Events of Default. Any of the following events shall be an “Event of Default” hereunder:
(a) The Borrower shall fail to pay any principal of any Loan or reimburse any LC Disbursement when the same becomes due and payable; or the Borrower shall fail to pay any interest on any Loan or in respect of any LC Disbursement, any fees pursuant to Section 2.12, or any other fee or Obligation payable hereunder or under any other Loan Document when due and such failure remains unremedied for three Business Days;
(b) Any representation or warranty made by the Borrower herein or in connection with this Agreement shall prove to have been incorrect in any material respect when made or deemed made;
(c) (i) The Borrower shall fail to perform or observe any term, covenant or agreement contained in Section 5.01(c), 5.03(b), 5.07, orArticle VI; or (ii) the Borrower shall fail to perform or observe any other term, covenant or agreement contained in this Agreement or in any other Loan Document on its part to be performed or observed, and such failure remains unremedied for 30 days after notice thereof shall have been given to the Borrower by the Administrative Agent;
(d) The Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries (other than a Securitization Subsidiary solely in the event the applicable Debt of such Securitization Subsidiary does not provide for Limited Originator Recourse to or from the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries (excluding any other Securitization Subsidiary)) shall fail to pay any principal of any Debt (other than Debt hereunder) having an aggregate outstanding principal amount of more than $50,000,000 or its equivalent in other currencies (such Debt, “Material Debt”), when the same becomes due and payable (whether at scheduled maturity, by required prepayment, acceleration, demand or otherwise); or any other event shall occur or condition shall exist under any agreement or instrument relating to any Material Debt (either individually or in the aggregate), if the effect of such event or condition is to accelerate, or to permit the acceleration of, the maturity of any Material Debt, or to require the same to be prepaid or defeased (other than by a regularly required payment);
(e) The Borrower or any of the Borrower’s Material Subsidiaries shall generally not pay its debts as such debts become due, or shall admit in writing its inability to pay its debts generally, or shall make a general assignment for the benefit of creditors; or any proceeding shall be instituted by or against the Borrower or any of the Borrower’s Material Subsidiaries seeking to adjudicate it a bankrupt or insolvent, or seeking liquidation, winding up, reorganization, arrangement, adjustment, protection, relief, or composition of it or its debts under any law relating to bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization or relief of debtors, or seeking the entry of an order for relief or the appointment of a receiver, trustee, custodian or other similar official for it or for any substantial part of its Property and, in the case of any such proceeding instituted against the Borrower or any of the Borrower’s Material Subsidiaries, such proceeding shall remain undismissed or unstayed for a period of 60 days; or the Borrower or any of the Material Subsidiaries shall take any corporate action to authorize any of the actions set forth above in this clause (e);
(f) In connection with the actual or alleged insolvency of the Borrower or any Material Insurance Subsidiary, any Insurance Regulatory Authority shall appoint a rehabilitator, receiver, custodian, trustee, conservator or liquidator or the like (collectively, a “conservator”) for the Borrower or such Material Insurance Subsidiary, or cause possession of all or any substantial portion of the Property of the Borrower or such Material Insurance Subsidiary to be taken by any conservator;
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(g) Any judgment or order for the payment of money in excess of $50,000,000 (to the extent not covered by an insurer having a minimum A.M. Best financial strength rating of A- that has not denied coverage) shall be rendered against the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries and there shall be any period of 45 consecutive days during which a stay of enforcement of such judgment or order, by reason of a pending appeal or otherwise, shall not be in effect;
(h) An ERISA Event shall have occurred that when taken together with all other ERISA Events that have occurred, would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;
(i) There shall occur a Change in Control; or
(j) This Agreement shall at any time and for any reason be declared by a court of competent jurisdiction to be null and void, or a proceeding shall be commenced by the Borrower or any Subsidiary, seeking to establish the invalidity or unenforceability thereof (exclusive of questions of interpretation of any provision thereof), or the Borrower or any Subsidiary shall repudiate or deny in writing any portion of its liability or obligations hereunder, other than in each case due to the satisfaction in full of the Obligations and the termination of the Commitments hereunder.
SECTION 7.02Remedies. If any Event of Default shall occur and be continuing, then, and in every such event (other than an event with respect to the Borrower described in Section 7.01(e) or 7.01(f)), and at any time thereafter during the continuance of such event, the Administrative Agent may, and at the request of the Required Lenders shall, by notice to the Borrower, take either or both of the following actions, at the same or different times: (a) terminate the Commitments, and thereupon the Commitments shall terminate immediately, and (b) declare the Loans then outstanding to be due and payable in whole (or in part, in which case any principal not so declared to be due and payable may thereafter be declared to be due and payable), and thereupon the principal of the Loans so declared to be due and payable, together with accrued interest thereon and all fees and other Obligations of the Borrower accrued hereunder and under the other Loan Documents, shall become due and payable immediately, without presentment, demand, protest or other notice of any kind, all of which are hereby waived by the Borrower; and in case of any event with respect to the Borrower described in Section 7.01(e) or 7.01(f), the Commitments shall automatically terminate and the principal of the Loans then outstanding, together with accrued interest thereon and all fees and other Obligations accrued hereunder and under the other Loan Documents, shall automatically become due and payable, without presentment, demand, protest or other notice of any kind, all of which are hereby waived by the Borrower. Upon the occurrence and during the continuance of an Event of Default, the Administrative Agent may, and at the request of the Required Lenders shall, exercise any rights and remedies provided to the Administrative Agent under the Loan Documents or at law or equity.
ARTICLE VIII
The Administrative Agent
Each of the Lenders and each of the LC Issuers hereby irrevocably appoints the Administrative Agent as its agent and authorizes the Administrative Agent to take such actions on its behalf, including execution of the other Loan Documents, and to exercise such powers as are delegated to the Administrative Agent by the terms of the Loan Documents, together with such actions and powers as are reasonably incidental thereto.
The bank serving as the Administrative Agent hereunder shall have the same rights and powers in its capacity as a Lender as any other Lender and may exercise the same as though it were not the Administrative Agent, and such bank and its Affiliates may accept deposits from, lend money to and generally engage in any kind of business with the Borrower or any Subsidiary or other Affiliate thereof as if it were not the Administrative Agent hereunder.
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The Administrative Agent shall not have any duties or obligations except those expressly set forth in the Loan Documents. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, (a) the Administrative Agent shall not be subject to any fiduciary or other implied duties, regardless of whether a Default has occurred and is continuing, (b) the Administrative Agent shall not have any duty to take any discretionary action or exercise any discretionary powers, except discretionary rights and powers expressly contemplated by the Loan Documents that the Administrative Agent is required to exercise in writing as directed by the Required Lenders (or such other number or percentage of the Lenders as shall be necessary under the circumstances as provided in Section 9.02), and (c) except as expressly set forth in the Loan Documents, the Administrative Agent shall not have any duty to disclose, and shall not be liable for the failure to disclose, any information relating to the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries that is communicated to or obtained by the bank serving as Administrative Agent or any of its Affiliates in any capacity. The Administrative Agent shall not be liable for any action taken or not taken by it with the consent or at the request of the Required Lenders (or such other number or percentage of the Lenders as shall be necessary under the circumstances as provided in Section 9.02) or in the absence of its own gross negligence or willful misconduct. The Administrative Agent shall be deemed not to have knowledge of any Default unless and until written notice thereof is given to the Administrative Agent by the Borrower or a Lender, and the Administrative Agent shall not be responsible for or have any duty to ascertain or inquire into (i) any statement, warranty or representation made in or in connection with any Loan Document, (ii) the contents of any certificate, report or other document delivered hereunder or in connection with any Loan Document, (iii) the performance or observance of any of the covenants, agreements or other terms or conditions set forth in any Loan Document, (iv) the validity, enforceability, effectiveness or genuineness of any Loan Document or any other agreement, instrument or document, or (v) the satisfaction of any condition set forth in Article IV or elsewhere in any Loan Document, other than to confirm receipt of items expressly required to be delivered to the Administrative Agent.
The Administrative Agent shall be entitled to rely upon, and shall not incur any liability for relying upon, any notice, request, certificate, consent, statement, instrument, document or other writing believed by it to be genuine and to have been signed or sent by the proper Person. The Administrative Agent also may rely upon any statement made to it orally or by telephone and believed by it to be made by the proper Person, and shall not incur any liability for relying thereon. The Administrative Agent may consult with legal counsel (who may be counsel for the Borrower), independent accountants and other experts selected by it, and shall not be liable for any action taken or not taken by it in accordance with the advice of any such counsel, accountants or experts.
The Administrative Agent may perform any and all its duties and exercise its rights and powers by or through any one or more sub-agents appointed by the Administrative Agent. The Administrative Agent and any such sub-agent may perform any and all its duties and exercise its rights and powers through their respective Related Parties. The exculpatory provisions of the preceding paragraphs shall apply to any such sub-agent and to the Related Parties of the Administrative Agent and any such sub-agent, and shall apply to their respective activities in connection with the syndication of the credit facilities provided for herein as well as activities as Administrative Agent.
Subject to the appointment and acceptance of a successor Administrative Agent as provided in this paragraph, the Administrative Agent may resign at any time by notifying the Lenders, the LC Issuers and the Borrower. Upon any such resignation, the Required Lenders shall have the right to appoint a successor (such successor to be approved by the Borrower, such approval not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed;provided,however, if an Event of Default shall exist at such time, no approval of the Borrower shall be required hereunder). If no successor shall have been so appointed by
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the Required Lenders and shall have accepted such appointment within thirty (30) days after the retiring Administrative Agent gives notice of its resignation, then the retiring Administrative Agent may, on behalf of the Lenders and the LC Issuers, appoint a successor Administrative Agent which shall be a bank with an office in New York, New York, or an Affiliate of any such bank. Upon the acceptance of its appointment as Administrative Agent hereunder by a successor, such successor shall succeed to and become vested with all the rights, powers, privileges and duties of the retiring Administrative Agent, and the retiring Administrative Agent shall be discharged from its duties and obligations hereunder. The fees payable by the Borrower to a successor Administrative Agent shall be the same as those payable to its predecessor unless otherwise agreed between the Borrower and such successor. After the Administrative Agent’s resignation hereunder, the provisions of this Article and Section 9.03 shall continue in effect for the benefit of such retiring Administrative Agent, its sub-agents and their respective Related Parties in respect of any actions taken or omitted to be taken by any of them while it was acting as Administrative Agent.
Each Lender acknowledges and agrees that the extensions of credit made hereunder are commercial loans and letters of credit and not investments in a business enterprise or securities. Each Lender further represents that it is engaged in making, acquiring or holding commercial loans in the ordinary course of its business and has, independently and without reliance upon the Administrative Agent or any other Lender and based on such documents and information as it has deemed appropriate, made its own credit analysis and decision to enter into this Agreement as a Lender, and to make, acquire or hold Loans hereunder. Each Lender shall, independently and without reliance upon the Administrative Agent or any other Lender and based on such documents and information (which may contain material, non-public information within the meaning of the United States securities laws concerning the Borrower and its Affiliates) as it shall from time to time deem appropriate, continue to make its own decisions in taking or not taking action under or based upon this Agreement, any related agreement or any document furnished hereunder or thereunder and in deciding whether or to the extent to which it will continue as a lender or assign or otherwise transfer its rights, interests and obligations hereunder.
None of the Lenders or their Affiliates, if any, identified in this Agreement as a Joint Bookrunner, Co-Syndication Agent or Co-Documentation Agent shall have any right, power, obligation, liability, responsibility or duty under this Agreement other than, in the case of Lenders, those applicable to all Lenders as such. Without limiting the foregoing, none of the Joint Bookrunners or such Lenders shall have or be deemed to have a fiduciary relationship with any Lender. Each Lender hereby makes the same acknowledgments with respect to the relevant Lenders and their Affiliates in their respective capacities as Co-Syndication Agents, Co-Documentation Agents or Joint Bookrunners, as applicable, as it makes with respect to the Administrative Agent in the preceding paragraph.
The Lenders are not partners or co-venturers, and no Lender shall be liable for the acts or omissions of, or (except as otherwise set forth herein in case of the Administrative Agent) authorized to act for, any other Lender. The Administrative Agent shall have the exclusive right on behalf of the Lenders to enforce the payment of the principal of and interest on any Loan after the date such principal or interest has become due and payable pursuant to the terms of this Agreement.
ARTICLE IX
Miscellaneous
SECTION 9.01Notices. (a) Except in the case of notices and other communications expressly permitted to be given by telephone (and subject to paragraph (b) below), all notices and other communications provided for herein shall be in writing and shall be delivered by hand or overnight courier service, mailed by certified or registered mail or sent by telecopy, as follows:
(i) if to the Borrower, to it at 440 Lincoln Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01653, Attention of Chief Financial Officer (Telecopy No. (508) 926-4587; Telephone No. (508) 855-2200), with a copy (except in the case of invoices or other notices of a routine administrative nature) to General Counsel (Telecopy No. (508) 926-1926; Telephone No. (508) 855-2691);
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(ii) if to the Administrative Agent, to JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., 10 South Dearborn Street, Floor 7, Chicago, Illinois 60603, Attention of Nanette Wilson (Telecopy No. (888) 292-9533), with a copy to JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., 270 Park Avenue, 41st Floor, New York, New York, Attention of Hector Varona (Telecopy No. (646) 534-2254);
(iii) if to the Issuing Agent, to it at JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., Attention of Anju Vanvala (Email: Chicago.LC.agency.closing.team@jpmorgan.com); and
(iv) if to any other Lender, to it at its address (or telecopy number) set forth in its Administrative Questionnaire.
Notices sent by hand or overnight courier service, or mailed by certified or registered mail, shall be deemed to have been given when received; notices sent by facsimile shall be deemed to have been given when sent (except that, if not given during normal business hours for the recipient, shall be deemed to have been given at the opening of business on the next business day for the recipient). Notices delivered through Electronic Systems, to the extent provided in paragraph (b) below, shall be effective as provided in said paragraph (b).
(b) Notices and other communications to the Lenders and the LC Issuers hereunder may be delivered or furnished by using Electronic Systems pursuant to procedures approved by the Administrative Agent;provided that the foregoing shall not apply to notices pursuant toArticle II unless otherwise agreed by the Administrative Agent and the applicable Lender. The Administrative Agent or the Borrower may, in its discretion, agree to accept notices and other communications to it hereunder by electronic communications pursuant to procedures approved by it;provided that approval of such procedures may be limited to particular notices or communications.
Unless the Administrative Agent otherwise prescribes, (i) notices and other communications sent to an e-mail address shall be deemed received upon the sender’s receipt of an acknowledgement from the intended recipient (such as by the “return receipt requested” function, as available, return e-mail or other written acknowledgement), and (ii) notices or communications posted to an Internet or intranet website shall be deemed received upon the deemed receipt by the intended recipient, at its e-mail address as described in the foregoing clause (i), of notification that such notice or communication is available and identifying the website address therefor;provided that, for both clauses (i) and (ii) above, if such notice, email or other communication is not sent during the normal business hours of the recipient, such notice or communication shall be deemed to have been sent at the opening of business on the next business day for the recipient.
(c) Any party hereto may change its address or telecopy number for notices and other communications hereunder by notice to the other parties hereto. All notices and other communications given to any party hereto in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement shall be deemed to have been given on the date of receipt.
(d) Any notice of Default or Event of Default may be provided by telephone if confirmed promptly thereafter by delivery of written notice thereof.
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(e)Electronic Systems.
(i) The Borrower agrees that the Administrative Agent may, but shall not be obligated to, make Communications (as defined below) available to the LC Issuers and the other Lenders by posting the Communications on Debt Domain, Intralinks, Syndtrak, ClearPar or a substantially similar Electronic System.
(ii) Any Electronic System used by the Administrative Agent is provided “as is” and “as available.” The Agent Parties (as defined below) do not warrant the adequacy of such Electronic Systems and expressly disclaim liability for errors or omissions in the Communications. No warranty of any kind, express, implied or statutory, including, without limitation, any warranty of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement of third-party rights or freedom from viruses or other code defects, is made by any Agent Party in connection with the Communications or any Electronic System. In no event shall the Administrative Agent or any of its Related Parties (collectively, the “Agent Parties”) have any liability to the Borrower, any Lender, any LC Issuer or any other Person or entity for damages of any kind, including, without limitation, direct or indirect, special, incidental or consequential damages, losses or expenses (whether in tort, contract or otherwise) arising out of the Borrower’s or the Administrative Agent’s transmission of Communications through an Electronic System, except to the extent of direct or actual damages as are determined by a court of competent jurisdiction by final and nonappealable judgment to have resulted from the gross negligence or willful misconduct of such Agent Party or any Related Party thereof. “Communications” means, collectively, any notice, demand, communication, information, document or other material provided by or on behalf of the Borrower pursuant to any Loan Document or the transactions contemplated therein which is distributed by the Administrative Agent, any Lender or any LC Issuer by means of electronic communications pursuant to this Section, including through an Electronic System.
SECTION 9.02Waivers; Amendments. (a) No failure or delay by the Administrative Agent, any LC Issuer or any Lender in exercising any right or power hereunder or under any other Loan Document shall operate as a waiver thereof, nor shall any single or partial exercise of any such right or power, or any abandonment or discontinuance of steps to enforce such a right or power, preclude any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any other right or power. The rights and remedies of the Administrative Agent, the LC Issuers and the Lenders hereunder and under the other Loan Documents are cumulative and are not exclusive of any rights or remedies that they would otherwise have. No waiver of any provision of this Agreement or consent to any departure by the Borrower therefrom shall in any event be effective unless the same shall be permitted by paragraph (b) of this Section, and then such waiver or consent shall be effective only in the specific instance and for the purpose for which given. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the making of a Loan or issuance of a Letter of Credit shall not be construed as a waiver of any Default, regardless of whether the Administrative Agent, any Lender or any LC Issuer may have had notice or knowledge of such Default at the time.
(b) Except as provided in Section 2.20 with respect to an Incremental Term Loan Amendment and as provided in Section 2.22 with respect to an extension of the Maturity Date, neither this Agreement nor any provision hereof may be waived, amended or modified except pursuant to an agreement or agreements in writing entered into by the Borrower and the Required Lenders or by the Borrower and the Administrative Agent with the consent of the Required Lenders;provided that no such agreement shall (i) increase the Commitment of any Lender without the written consent of such Lender, (ii) reduce the principal amount of any Loan or LC Disbursement or reduce the rate of interest thereon, or reduce any fees payable hereunder, without the written consent of each Lender directly affected thereby, (iii) postpone the scheduled date of payment of the principal amount of any Loan or LC Disbursement, or any interest thereon, or any fees payable hereunder, or reduce the amount of, waive or excuse any such
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payment, or postpone the scheduled date of expiration of any Commitment, without the written consent of each Lender directly affected thereby, (iv) change Section 2.18(b) or (d) in a manner that would alter the pro rata sharing of payments required thereby, without the written consent of each Lender or (v) change any of the provisions of this Section or the definition of “Required Lenders” or any other provision hereof specifying the number or percentage of Lenders required to waive, amend or modify any rights hereunder or make any determination or grant any consent hereunder, without the written consent of each Lender (it being understood that, solely with the consent of the parties prescribed by Section 2.20 to be parties to an Incremental Term Loan Amendment, (x) Incremental Term Loans may be included in the definition of “Applicable Percentage” and the defined terms used therein and in the determination of Required Lenders on substantially the same basis as the Commitments and the Revolving Loans are included on the Effective Date and (y) this Section 9.02 may be amended to permit amendments, waivers or other modifications that directly affect only one Class of Loans with the consent solely of the Borrower and the Lenders having either (A) in the case of amendments, waivers or other modifications directly affecting the Revolving Loans, Revolving Credit Exposures and unused Commitments representing more than 50% of the sum of the total Revolving Credit Exposures and unused Commitments at such time and (B) in the case of amendments, waivers or other modifications directly affecting the Incremental Term Loans, Incremental Term Loans representing more than 50% of the total Term Loans at such time);providedfurther that no such agreement shall amend, modify or otherwise affect the rights or duties of the Administrative Agent or any LC Issuer hereunder without the prior written consent of the Administrative Agent or such LC Issuer, as the case may be (it being understood that any change to Section 2.21 shall require the consent of the Administrative Agent and, except to the extent that such change relates solely to Incremental Term Loans, the LC Issuers). Notwithstanding the foregoing, no consent with respect to any amendment, waiver or other modification of this Agreement shall be required of any Defaulting Lender, except with respect to any amendment, waiver or other modification referred to in clause (i), (ii) or (iii) of the first proviso of this paragraph and then only in the event such Defaulting Lender shall be directly affected by such amendment, waiver or other modification.
(c) Notwithstanding the foregoing, this Agreement and any other Loan Document may be amended (or amended and restated) with the written consent of the Required Lenders, the Administrative Agent and the Borrower (x) to add one or more credit facilities (in addition to the Incremental Term Loans pursuant to an Incremental Term Loan Amendment) to this Agreement and to permit extensions of credit from time to time outstanding thereunder and the accrued interest and fees in respect thereof to share ratably in the benefits of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents with the Revolving Loans, Incremental Term Loans and the accrued interest and fees in respect thereof and (y) to include appropriately the Lenders holding such credit facilities in any determination of the Required Lenders and Lenders.
(d) If, in connection with any proposed amendment, waiver or consent requiring the consent of “each Lender” or “each Lender directly affected thereby,” the consent of the Required Lenders is obtained, but the consent of other necessary Lenders is not obtained (any such Lender whose consent is necessary but not obtained being referred to herein as a “Non-Consenting Lender”), then the Borrower may elect to replace a Non-Consenting Lender as a Lender party to this Agreement, provided that, (i) concurrently with such replacement, (A) another bank or other entity which is reasonably satisfactory to the Borrower and the Administrative Agent shall agree, as of such date, to purchase for cash the Loans and other Obligations due to the Non-Consenting Lender pursuant to an Assignment and Assumption and to become a Lender for all purposes under this Agreement and to assume all obligations of the Non-Consenting Lender to be terminated as of such date and to comply with the requirements of clause (b) of Section 9.04, and (B) the Borrower shall pay to such Non-Consenting Lender in same day funds on the day of such replacement (1) all interest, fees and other amounts then accrued but unpaid to such Non-Consenting Lender by the Borrower hereunder to and including the date of termination, including without limitation payments due to such Non-Consenting Lender under Sections 2.15 and 2.17, and (2) an
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amount, if any, equal to the payment which would have been due to such Lender on the day of such replacement under Section 2.16 had the Loans of such Non-Consenting Lender been prepaid on such date rather than sold to the replacement Lender and (ii) no assignment pursuant to this Section 9.02(d) shall be effective until all of the then outstanding Several Letters of Credit are either amended giving effect to such assignment or, if required, returned by each beneficiary to the Issuing Agent and either cancelled or exchanged for new or amended Several Letters of Credit that give effect to such assignment (it being understood that to the extent the respective beneficiaries whose consent is required do not consent to such assignment, such assignment cannot occur).
(e) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein the Administrative Agent may, with the consent of the Borrower only, amend, modify or supplement this Agreement or any of the other Loan Documents to cure any ambiguity, omission, mistake, defect or inconsistency.
SECTION 9.03Expenses; Indemnity; Damage Waiver. (a) The Borrower shall pay (i) all reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the Administrative Agent and its Affiliates (which, in the case of counsel, shall be limited to the reasonable fees, charges and disbursements of one primary counsel, and, if necessary, one local counsel in any relevant material jurisdiction) in connection with the syndication and distribution (including, without limitation, via the internet or through a service such as Intralinks) of the credit facilities provided for herein, the preparation and administration of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents or any amendments, modifications or waivers of the provisions hereof or thereof (whether or not the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby shall be consummated), (ii) all reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred by any LC Issuer in connection with the issuance, amendment, renewal or extension of any Letter of Credit or any demand for payment thereunder and (iii) all reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the Administrative Agent, any LC Issuer or any Lender (which, in the case of counsel, shall be limited to the reasonable fees, charges and disbursements of one primary counsel for the Administrative Agent and the Lenders, taken as a whole, and in the case of an actual or potential conflict of interest, one additional counsel for each group of affected parties similarly situated, taken as a whole, and, if necessary, one local counsel in any relevant material jurisdiction) in connection with the enforcement or protection of its rights in connection with this Agreement and any other Loan Document, including its rights under this Section, or in connection with the Loans made or Letters of Credit issued hereunder, including all such reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred during any workout, restructuring or negotiations in respect of such Loans or Letters of Credit.
(b) The Borrower shall indemnify the Administrative Agent, each LC Issuer and each Lender, and each Related Party of any of the foregoing Persons (each such Person being called an “Indemnitee”) against, and hold each Indemnitee harmless from, any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities and related expenses (which, in the case of counsel, shall be limited to the reasonable fees, charges and disbursements of one primary counsel for all Indemnitees, taken as a whole, and in the case of an actual or potential conflict of interest, one additional counsel for each group of affected Indemnitees similarly situated, taken as a whole, and, if necessary, one local counsel in any relevant material jurisdiction) incurred by or asserted against any Indemnitee arising out of, in connection with, or as a result of (i) the execution or delivery of any Loan Document or any agreement or instrument contemplated thereby, the performance by the parties hereto of their respective obligations thereunder or the consummation of the Transactions or any other transactions contemplated hereby, (ii) any Loan or Letter of Credit or the use of the proceeds therefrom (including any refusal by any LC Issuer to honor a demand for payment under a Letter of Credit if the documents presented in connection with such demand do not strictly comply with the terms of such Letter of Credit), (iii) any actual or alleged presence or release of Hazardous Materials on or from any property owned or operated by the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries, or any Environmental Liability related in any way to the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries, or (iv) any actual or prospective claim, litigation, investigation or proceeding (including the preparation of
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any defense thereto) relating to any of the foregoing, whether based on contract, tort or any other theory, whether brought by a third party or by the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries, and regardless of whether any Indemnitee is a party thereto;provided that such indemnity shall not, as to any Indemnitee, be available to the extent that such losses, claims, damages, liabilities or related expenses are determined by a court of competent jurisdiction by final and nonappealable judgment to have resulted from (x) the gross negligence or willful misconduct of such Indemnitee or any Related Indemnified Party thereof, (y) the material breach by such Indemnitee or any Related Indemnified Party thereof of its express obligations under this Agreement pursuant to a claim initiated by the Borrower or (z) any dispute solely among Indemnitees (other than (A) claims against any of the Administrative Agent or the Lenders or any of their Affiliates in its capacity or in fulfilling its role as the Administrative Agent, Issuing Agent, a Fronting Bank, a lead arranger, a bookrunner or any similar role under this Agreement and (B) arising as a result of an act or omission by the Borrower or any of its Affiliates). As used herein, any “Related Indemnified Party” of a Person means (1) any Controlling Person or Controlled Affiliate of such Indemnitee, (2) the respective directors, officers, or employees of such Indemnitee or any of its Controlling Persons or Controlled Affiliates and (3) the respective agents or representatives of such Indemnitee or any of its Controlling Persons or Controlled Affiliates, in the case of this clause (3), acting on behalf of or at the instructions of such Indemnitee, Controlling Person or such Controlled Affiliate;provided that each reference to a Controlled Affiliate in this sentence pertains to a Controlled Affiliate involved in the negotiation or syndication of this Agreement and the credit facility hereunder. This Section 9.03(b) shall not apply with respect to Taxes other than any Taxes that represent losses, claims or damages arising from any non-Tax claim.
(c) To the extent that the Borrower fails to pay any amount required to be paid by it to the Administrative Agent or any LC Issuer under paragraph (a) or (b) of this Section (and without limiting its obligation to do so), each Lender severally agrees to pay to the Administrative Agent or such LC Issuer such Lender’s Applicable Percentage (determined as of the time that the applicable unreimbursed expense or indemnity payment is sought) of such unpaid amount (it being understood that the Borrower’s failure to pay any such amount shall not relieve the Borrower of any default in the payment thereof);provided that the unreimbursed expense or indemnified loss, claim, damage, liability or related expense, as the case may be, was incurred by or asserted against the Administrative Agent, or such LC Issuer in its capacity as such.
(d) To the extent permitted by applicable law, neither the Borrower nor any Indemnitee shall assert, and each of the Borrower, the Administrative Agent, each Lender and each LC Issuer hereby waives, on its own behalf and on behalf of its Related Parties, any claim against any Indemnitee (in the case of such waiver by the Borrower) or against the Borrower (in the case of such waiver by any Indemnitee) (i) for any damages arising from the use by others of information or other materials obtained through telecommunications, electronic or other information transmission systems (including the Internet) (except to the extent of direct or actual damages as are determined by a court of competent jurisdiction by final and nonappealable judgment to have resulted from the gross negligence or willful misconduct of such Indemnitee), or (ii) on any theory of liability, for special, indirect, consequential or punitive damages (as opposed to direct or actual damages) arising out of, in connection with, or as a result of, this Agreement, any other Loan Document or any agreement or instrument contemplated hereby or thereby, the Transactions, any Loan or Letter of Credit or the use of the proceeds thereof;provided that nothing contained in this Section 9.03(d) shall limit the Borrower’s indemnification obligations set forth in Section 9.03(b).
(e) All amounts due under this Section shall be payable not later than fifteen (15) days after written demand therefor.
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SECTION 9.04Successors and Assigns. (a) The provisions of this Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns permitted hereby (including any Affiliate of any LC Issuer that issues any Letter of Credit), except that (i) the Borrower may not assign or otherwise transfer any of its rights or obligations hereunder without the prior written consent of each Lender (and any attempted assignment or transfer by the Borrower without such consent shall be null and void) and (ii) no Lender may assign or otherwise transfer its rights or obligations hereunder except in accordance with this Section. Nothing in this Agreement, expressed or implied, shall be construed to confer upon any Person (other than the parties hereto, their respective successors and assigns permitted hereby (including any Affiliate of any LC Issuer that issues any Letter of Credit), Participants (to the extent provided in paragraph (c) of this Section) and, to the extent expressly contemplated hereby, the Related Parties of each of the Administrative Agent, the LC Issuers and the Lenders) any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim under or by reason of this Agreement.
(b) (i) Subject to the conditions set forth in paragraph (b)(ii) below, any Lender may assign to one or more Persons (other than an Ineligible Institution) all or a portion of its rights and obligations under this Agreement (including all or a portion of its Commitment and the Loans at the time owing to it) with the prior written consent (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed) of:
(A) the Borrower (provided that the Borrower shall be deemed to have consented to any such assignment unless it shall object thereto by written notice to the Administrative Agent within ten (10) Business Days after having received notice thereof); provided, further, that no consent of the Borrower shall be required for an assignment to a Lender, an Affiliate of a Lender, an Approved Fund or, if an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing, any other assignee;
(B) the Administrative Agent;
(C) the Issuing Agent; and
(D) each Fronting Bank.
(ii) Assignments shall be subject to the following additional conditions:
(A) except in the case of an assignment to a Lender or an Affiliate of a Lender or an Approved Fund or an assignment of the entire remaining amount of the assigning Lender’s Commitment or Loans of any Class, the amount of the Commitment or Loans of the assigning Lender subject to each such assignment (determined as of the date the Assignment and Assumption with respect to such assignment is delivered to the Administrative Agent) shall not be less than $10,000,000 unless each of the Borrower and the Administrative Agent otherwise consent, provided that no such consent of the Borrower shall be required if an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing;
(B) each partial assignment shall be made as an assignment of a proportionate part of all the assigning Lender’s rights and obligations under this Agreement, provided that this clause shall not be construed to prohibit the assignment of a proportionate part of all the assigning Lender’s rights and obligations in respect of one Class of Commitments or Loans;
(C) the parties to each assignment shall execute and deliver to the Administrative Agent an Assignment and Assumption, together with a processing and recordation fee of $3,500, such fee to be paid (except as otherwise provided herein) by either the assigning Lender or the assignee Lender or shared between such Lenders; and
(D) the assignee, if it shall not be a Lender, shall deliver to the Administrative Agent an Administrative Questionnaire in which the assignee designates one or more credit contacts to whom all syndicate-level information (which may contain material non-public information about the Borrower and its affiliates and their Related Parties or their respective securities) will be made available and who may receive such information in accordance with the assignee’s compliance procedures and applicable laws, including Federal and state securities laws.
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For the purposes of this Section 9.04(b), the term “Approved Fund” and “Ineligible Institution” have the following meanings:
“Approved Fund” means any Person (other than a natural person) that is engaged in making, purchasing, holding or investing in bank loans and similar extensions of credit in the ordinary course of its business and that is administered or managed by (a) a Lender, (b) an Affiliate of a Lender or (c) an entity or an Affiliate of an entity that administers or manages a Lender.
“Ineligible Institution” means (a) a natural person, (b) a Defaulting Lender, (c) the Borrower, any of its Subsidiaries or any of its Affiliates, or (d) a company, investment vehicle or trust for, or owned and operated for the primary benefit of, a natural person or relative(s) thereof.
(iii) Subject to acceptance and recording thereof pursuant to paragraph (b)(iv) of this Section, from and after the effective date specified in each Assignment and Assumption the assignee thereunder shall be a party hereto and, to the extent of the interest assigned by such Assignment and Assumption, have the rights and obligations of a Lender under this Agreement, and the assigning Lender thereunder shall, to the extent of the interest assigned by such Assignment and Assumption, be released from its obligations under this Agreement (and, in the case of an Assignment and Assumption covering all of the assigning Lender’s rights and obligations under this Agreement, such Lender shall cease to be a party hereto but shall continue to be entitled to the benefits of Sections 2.15, 2.16, 2.17 and 9.03); provided, however, that no Lender may assign any obligation under a Several Letter of Credit unless such Several Letter of Credit is either amended or returned by the beneficiary and reissued by the Issuing Agent, removing or amending, as the case may be, the assigning Lender’s percentage obligations and replacing or amending the same with the percentage obligations of the assignee. Any assignment or transfer by a Lender of rights or obligations under this Agreement that does not comply with this Section 9.04 shall be treated for purposes of this Agreement as a sale by such Lender of a participation in such rights and obligations in accordance with paragraph (c) of this Section.
(iv) The Administrative Agent, acting for this purpose as an agent of the Borrower, shall maintain at one of its offices a copy of each Assignment and Assumption delivered to it and a register for the recordation of the names and addresses of the Lenders, and the Commitment of, and principal amount (and stated interest) of the Loans and LC Disbursements owing to, each Lender pursuant to the terms hereof from time to time (the “Register”). The entries in the Register shall be conclusive absent manifest error, and the Borrower, the Administrative Agent, the LC Issuers and the Lenders shall treat each Person whose name is recorded in the Register pursuant to the terms hereof as a Lender hereunder for all purposes of this Agreement, notwithstanding notice to the contrary. The Register shall be available for inspection by the Borrower, any LC Issuer and any Lender, at any reasonable time and from time to time upon reasonable prior notice.
(v) Upon its receipt of a duly completed Assignment and Assumption executed by an assigning Lender and an assignee, the assignee’s completed Administrative Questionnaire (unless the assignee shall already be a Lender hereunder), the processing and recordation fee referred to in paragraph (b) of this Section and any written consent to such assignment required by paragraph (b) of this Section, the Administrative Agent shall accept such Assignment and Assumption and record the information contained therein in the Register;provided that if either the assigning Lender or the assignee shall have failed to make any payment required to be made by it pursuant to Section 2.06(d) or (e), 2.07(b), 2.18(e) or 9.03(c), the Administrative Agent shall have no obligation to accept such Assignment and Assumption and record the information therein in the Register unless and until such payment shall have been made in full, together with all accrued interest thereon. No assignment shall be effective for purposes of this Agreement unless it has been recorded in the Register as provided in this paragraph.
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(c) Any Lender may, without the consent of the Borrower, the Administrative Agent or any LC Issuer, sell participations to one or more banks or other entities (a “Participant”), other than an Ineligible Institution, in all or a portion of such Lender’s rights and obligations under this Agreement (including all or a portion of its Commitment and the Loans owing to it);provided that (A) such Lender’s obligations under this Agreement shall remain unchanged; (B) such Lender shall remain solely responsible to the other parties hereto for the performance of such obligations; and (C) the Borrower, the Administrative Agent, the LC Issuers and the other Lenders shall continue to deal solely and directly with such Lender in connection with such Lender’s rights and obligations under this Agreement. Any agreement or instrument pursuant to which a Lender sells such a participation shall provide that such Lender shall retain the sole right to enforce this Agreement and to approve any amendment, modification or waiver of any provision of this Agreement; provided that such agreement or instrument may provide that such Lender will not, without the consent of the Participant, agree to any amendment, modification or waiver described in the first proviso to Section 9.02(b) that affects such Participant. The Borrower agrees that each Participant shall be entitled to the benefits of Sections 2.15, 2.16 and 2.17 (subject to the requirements and limitations therein, including the requirements under Section 2.17(f) (it being understood that the documentation required under Section 2.17(f) shall be delivered to the participating Lender)) to the same extent as if it were a Lender and had acquired its interest by assignment pursuant to paragraph (b) of this Section; provided that such Participant (A) agrees to be subject to the provisions of Sections 2.18 and 2.19 as if it were an assignee under paragraph (b) of this Section; and (B) shall not be entitled to receive any greater payment under Sections 2.15 or 2.17, with respect to any participation, than its participating Lender would have been entitled to receive, except to the extent such entitlement to receive a greater payment results from a Change in Law that occurs after the Participant acquired the applicable participation. To the extent permitted by law, each Participant also shall be entitled to the benefits of Section 9.08 as though it were a Lender, provided such Participant agrees to be subject to Section 2.18(d) as though it were a Lender. Each Lender that sells a participation shall, acting solely for this purpose as a non-fiduciary agent of the Borrower, maintain a register on which it enters the name and address of each Participant and the principal amounts (and stated interest) of each Participant’s interest in the Loans or other obligations under the Loan Documents (the “Participant Register”);provided that no Lender shall have any obligation to disclose all or any portion of the Participant Register (including the identity of any Participant or any information relating to a Participant’s interest in any Commitments, Loans, Letters of Credit or its other obligations under any Loan Document) to any Person except to the extent that such disclosure is necessary to establish that such Commitment, Loan, Letter of Credit or other obligation is in registered form under Section 5f.103-1(c) of the United States Treasury Regulations (or such disclosure is otherwise required by applicable law). The entries in the Participant Register shall be conclusive absent manifest error, and such Lender shall treat each Person whose name is recorded in the Participant Register as the owner of such participation for all purposes of this Agreement notwithstanding any notice to the contrary. For the avoidance of doubt, the Administrative Agent (in its capacity as Administrative Agent) shall have no responsibility for maintaining a Participant Register.
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(d) Any Lender may at any time pledge or assign a security interest in all or any portion of its rights under this Agreement to secure obligations of such Lender, including without limitation any pledge or assignment to secure obligations to a Federal Reserve Bank, and this Section shall not apply to any such pledge or assignment of a security interest;provided that no such pledge or assignment of a security interest shall release a Lender from any of its obligations hereunder or substitute any such pledgee or assignee for such Lender as a party hereto.
SECTION 9.05Survival. All covenants, agreements, representations and warranties made by the Borrower in the Loan Documents and in the certificates or other instruments delivered in connection with or pursuant to this Agreement or any other Loan Document shall be considered to have been relied upon by the other parties hereto and shall survive the execution and delivery of the Loan Documents and the making of any Loans and issuance of any Letters of Credit, regardless of any investigation made by any such other party or on its behalf and notwithstanding that the Administrative Agent, any LC Issuer or any Lender may have had notice or knowledge of any Default or incorrect representation or warranty at the time any credit is extended hereunder, and shall continue in full force and effect as long as the principal of or any accrued interest on any Loan or any fee or any other amount payable under this Agreement or any other Loan Document is outstanding and unpaid (other than contingent indemnification obligations that are not yet due and payable) or any Letter of Credit is outstanding (unless, in the case of Fronted Letters of Credit, such Fronted Letters of Credit have been cash collateralized or backstopped in a manner reasonably satisfactory to the applicable Fronting Banks and the Administrative Agent) and so long as the Commitments have not expired or terminated. The provisions of Sections 2.15, 2.16, 2.17 and 9.03 and Article VIII shall survive and remain in full force and effect regardless of the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby, the repayment of the Loans, the expiration or termination of the Letters of Credit and the Commitments or the termination of this Agreement or any other Loan Document or any provision hereof or thereof.
SECTION 9.06Counterparts; Integration; Effectiveness; Electronic Execution. This Agreement may be executed in counterparts (and by different parties hereto on different counterparts), each of which shall constitute an original, but all of which when taken together shall constitute a single contract. This Agreement, the other Loan Documents and any separate letter agreements with respect to fees payable to the Administrative Agent constitute the entire contract among the parties relating to the subject matter hereof and supersede any and all previous agreements and understandings, oral or written, relating to the subject matter hereof. Except as provided in Section 4.01, this Agreement shall become effective when it shall have been executed by the Administrative Agent and when the Administrative Agent shall have received counterparts hereof which, when taken together, bear the signatures of each of the other parties hereto, and thereafter shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns. Delivery of an executed counterpart of a signature page of this Agreement by telecopy, e-mailed .pdf or any other electronic means that reproduces an image of the actual executed signature page shall be effective as delivery of a manually executed counterpart of this Agreement. The words “execution,” “signed,” “signature,” “delivery,” and words of like import in or relating to any document to be signed in connection with this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby shall be deemed to include Electronic Signatures, deliveries or the keeping of records in electronic form, each of which shall be of the same legal effect, validity or enforceability as a manually executed signature, physical delivery thereof or the use of a paper-based recordkeeping system, as the case may be, to the extent and as provided for in any applicable law, including the Federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, the New York State Electronic Signatures and Records Act, or any other similar state laws based on the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act.
SECTION 9.07Severability. Any provision of any Loan Document held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any jurisdiction shall, as to such jurisdiction, be ineffective to the extent of such invalidity, illegality or unenforceability without affecting the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions thereof; and the invalidity of a particular provision in a particular jurisdiction shall not invalidate such provision in any other jurisdiction.
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SECTION 9.08Right of Setoff. If an Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing, each Lender and each of its Affiliates is hereby authorized at any time and from time to time, to the fullest extent permitted by law, to set off and apply any and all deposits (general or special, time or demand, provisional or final and in whatever currency denominated) at any time held and other obligations at any time owing by such Lender or Affiliate to or for the credit or the account of the Borrower against any of and all of the Obligations held by such Lender, irrespective of whether or not such Lender shall have made any demand under the Loan Documents and although such obligations may be unmatured. The rights of each Lender under this Section are in addition to other rights and remedies (including other rights of setoff) which such Lender may have.
SECTION 9.09Governing Law; Jurisdiction; Consent to Service of Process. (a) This Agreement shall be construed in accordance with and governed by the law of the State of New York.
(b) The Borrower hereby irrevocably and unconditionally submits, for itself and its property, to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of the State of New York sitting in New York County, Borough of Manhattan, and of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and any appellate court from any thereof, in any action or proceeding arising out of or relating to any Loan Document, or for recognition or enforcement of any judgment, and each of the parties hereto hereby irrevocably and unconditionally agrees that all claims in respect of any such action or proceeding may be heard and determined in such New York State or, to the extent permitted by law, in such Federal court. Each of the parties hereto 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. Nothing in this Agreement or any other Loan Document shall affect any right that the Administrative Agent, any LC Issuer or any Lender may otherwise have to bring any action or proceeding relating to this Agreement or any other Loan Document against the Borrower or its properties (x) in the courts of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts or (y) any other forum in which jurisdiction can be established.
(c) The Borrower hereby irrevocably and unconditionally waives, to the fullest extent it may legally and effectively do so, any objection which it may now or hereafter have to the laying of venue of any suit, action or proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement or any other Loan Document in any court referred to in paragraph (b) of this Section. Each of the parties hereto hereby irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, the defense of an inconvenient forum to the maintenance of such action or proceeding in any such court.
(d) Each party to this Agreement irrevocably consents to service of process in the manner provided for notices in Section 9.01. Nothing in this Agreement or any other Loan Document will affect the right of any party to this Agreement to serve process in any other manner permitted by law.
SECTION 9.10WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL. EACH PARTY HERETO HEREBY WAIVES, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ANY RIGHT IT MAY HAVE TO A TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY LEGAL PROCEEDING DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT, ANY OTHER LOAN DOCUMENT OR THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREBY OR THEREBY (WHETHER BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT OR ANY OTHER THEORY). EACH PARTY HERETO (A) CERTIFIES THAT NO REPRESENTATIVE, AGENT OR ATTORNEY OF ANY OTHER PARTY HAS REPRESENTED, EXPRESSLY OR OTHERWISE, THAT SUCH OTHER PARTY WOULD NOT, IN THE EVENT OF LITIGATION, SEEK TO ENFORCE THE FOREGOING WAIVER AND (B) ACKNOWLEDGES
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THAT IT AND THE OTHER PARTIES HERETO HAVE BEEN INDUCED TO ENTER INTO THIS AGREEMENT BY, AMONG OTHER THINGS, THE MUTUAL WAIVERS AND CERTIFICATIONS IN THIS SECTION.
SECTION 9.11Headings. Article and Section headings and the Table of Contents used herein are for convenience of reference only, are not part of this Agreement and shall not affect the construction of, or be taken into consideration in interpreting, this Agreement.
SECTION 9.12Confidentiality. Each of the Administrative Agent, the LC Issuers and the Lenders agrees to maintain the confidentiality of the Information (as defined below), except that Information may be disclosed (a) to its and its Affiliates’ directors, officers, employees and agents, including accountants, legal counsel and other advisors (it being understood that the Persons to whom such disclosure is made will be informed of the confidential nature of such Information and instructed to keep such Information confidential), (b) to the extent requested by any regulatory authority (including any self-regulatory authority, such as the NAIC), (c) to the extent required by applicable laws or regulations or by any subpoena or similar legal process, (d) to any other party to this Agreement, (e) in connection with the exercise of any remedies under this Agreement or any other Loan Document or any suit, action or proceeding relating to this Agreement or any other Loan Document or the enforcement of rights hereunder or thereunder, (f) subject to an agreement containing provisions substantially the same as those of this Section, to (i) any assignee of or Participant in, or any prospective assignee of or Participant in, any of its rights or obligations under this Agreement or (ii) any actual or prospective counterparty (or its advisors) to any swap or derivative transaction relating to the Borrower and its obligations, (g) with the consent of the Borrower or (h) to the extent such Information (i) becomes publicly available other than as a result of a breach of this Section or (ii) becomes available to the Administrative Agent, any LC Issuer or any Lender on a nonconfidential basis from a source other than the Borrower. For the purposes of this Section, “Information” means all information received from the Borrower relating to the Borrower or its business, other than any such information that is available to the Administrative Agent, any LC Issuer or any Lender on a nonconfidential basis prior to disclosure by the Borrower;provided that, in the case of information received from the Borrower after the date hereof, such information is clearly identified at the time of delivery as confidential. Any Person required to maintain the confidentiality of Information as provided in this Section shall be considered to have complied with its obligation to do so if such Person has exercised the same degree of care to maintain the confidentiality of such Information as such Person would accord to its own confidential information.
SECTION 9.13USA PATRIOT Act. Each Lender that is subject to the requirements of the Patriot Act hereby notifies the Borrower that pursuant to the requirements of the Patriot Act, it is required to obtain, verify and record information that identifies the Borrower, which information includes the name and address of the Borrower and other information that will allow such Lender to identify the Borrower in accordance with the Patriot Act.
SECTION 9.14Interest Rate Limitation. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, if at any time the interest rate applicable to any Loan, together with all fees, charges and other amounts which are treated as interest on such Loan under applicable law (collectively the “Charges”), shall exceed the maximum lawful rate (the “Maximum Rate”) which may be contracted for, charged, taken, received or reserved by the Lender holding such Loan in accordance with applicable law, the rate of interest payable in respect of such Loan hereunder, together with all Charges payable in respect thereof, shall be limited to the Maximum Rate and, to the extent lawful, the interest and Charges that would have been payable in respect of such Loan but were not payable as a result of the operation of this Section shall be cumulated and the interest and Charges payable to such Lender in respect of other Loans or periods shall be increased (but not above the Maximum Rate therefor) until such cumulated amount, together with interest thereon at the Federal Funds Effective Rate to the date of repayment, shall have been received by such Lender.
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SECTION 9.15No Advisory or Fiduciary Responsibility. In connection with all aspects of each transaction contemplated hereby (including in connection with any amendment, waiver or other modification hereof or of any other Loan Document), the Borrower acknowledges and agrees that: (i) (A) the arranging and other services regarding this Agreement provided by the Lenders are arm’s-length commercial transactions between the Borrower and its Affiliates, on the one hand, and the Lenders and their Affiliates, on the other hand, (B) the Borrower has consulted its own legal, accounting, regulatory and tax advisors to the extent it has deemed appropriate, and (C) the Borrower is capable of evaluating, and understands and accepts, the terms, risks and conditions of the transactions contemplated hereby and by the other Loan Documents; (ii) (A) each of the Lenders and their Affiliates is and has been acting solely as a principal and, except as 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 the Borrower or any of its Affiliates, or any other Person in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby and the other Loan Documents and (B) no Lender or any of its Affiliates has any obligation to the Borrower or any of its Affiliates with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby except, in the case of a Lender, those obligations expressly set forth herein and in the other Loan Documents; and (iii) each of the Lenders and their respective Affiliates may be engaged in a broad range of transactions that involve interests that differ from those of the Borrower and its Affiliates, and no Lender or any of its Affiliates has any obligation to disclose any of such interests to the Borrower or its Affiliates. To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Borrower hereby waives and releases any claims that it may have against each of the Lenders and their Affiliates with respect to any breach or alleged breach of agency or fiduciary duty in connection with any aspect of any transaction contemplated hereby.
[Signature Pages Follow]
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be duly executed by their respective authorized officers as of the day and year first above written.
THE HANOVER INSURANCE GROUP, INC., | ||||
as the Borrower | ||||
By | /s/ David B. Greenfield | |||
Name: | David B. Greenfield | |||
Title: | Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer | |||
JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., individually as a Lender, as the Issuing Agent and as Administrative Agent | ||||
By | /s/ Hector J. Varona | |||
Name: | Hector J. Varona | |||
Title: | Vice President | |||
[OTHER AGENTS AND LENDERS], |
Signature Page to Credit Agreement
The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc.
SCHEDULE 2.01
COMMITMENTS
LENDER | COMMITMENT | |||
JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A. | $ | 35,000,000 | ||
LLOYDS BANK PLC | $ | 35,000,000 | ||
WELLS FARGO BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION | $ | 35,000,000 | ||
BRANCH BANKING & TRUST COMPANY | $ | 27,500,000 | ||
BARCLAYS BANK PLC | $ | 27,500,000 | ||
GOLDMAN SACHS BANK USA | $ | 20,000,000 | ||
MORGAN STANLEY BANK, N.A. | $ | 20,000,000 | ||
AGGREGATE COMMITMENT | $ | 200,000,000 |
[Remaining schedules and exhibits omitted]