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PUBLISHED CUSIP NUMBER: ____________
CREDIT AGREEMENT
Dated as of August 3, 2005
among
CABOT CORPORATION,
as a Borrower and a Guarantor
and
CERTAIN OF ITS SUBSIDIARIES
as Designated Borrowers,
BANK OF AMERICA, N.A.,
as Administrative Agent, Swing Line Lender
and
L/C Issuer,
CITIBANK, N.A.,
as Syndication Agent,
and
The Other Lenders Party Hereto
BANC OF AMERICA SECURITIES LLC,
as a Joint Lead Arranger and Sole Book Manager
and
CITIGROUP GLOBAL MARKETS INC.,
as a Joint Lead Arranger
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
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Section
ARTICLE I DEFINITIONS AND ACCOUNTING TERMS...................................................... 1
1.01 Defined Terms....................................................................... 21
1.02 Other Interpretive Provisions....................................................... 21
1.03 Accounting Terms.................................................................... 22
1.04 Exchange Rates; Currency Equivalents................................................ 22
1.05 Additional Alternative Currencies................................................... 23
1.06 Change of Currency.................................................................. 23
1.07 Times of Day........................................................................ 24
1.08 Letter of Credit Amounts............................................................ 24
ARTICLE II THE COMMITMENTS AND CREDIT EXTENSIONS................................................ 24
2.01 Committed Loans..................................................................... 24
2.02 Borrowings, Conversions and Continuations of Committed Loans........................ 24
2.03 Letters of Credit................................................................... 27
2.04 Swing Line Loans.................................................................... 35
2.05 Prepayments......................................................................... 37
2.06 Termination or Reduction of Commitments............................................. 38
2.07 Repayment of Loans.................................................................. 38
2.08 Interest............................................................................ 39
2.09 Fees................................................................................ 39
2.10 Computation of Interest and Fees.................................................... 40
2.11 Evidence of Indebtedness............................................................ 40
2.12 Payments Generally; Administrative Agent's Clawback................................. 41
2.13 Sharing of Payments by Lenders...................................................... 42
2.14 Designated Borrowers................................................................ 43
2.15 Extension of Maturity Date.......................................................... 45
ARTICLE III TAXES, YIELD PROTECTION AND ILLEGALITY............................................. 46
3.01 Taxes............................................................................... 46
3.02 Illegality.......................................................................... 48
3.03 Inability to Determine Rates........................................................ 48
3.04 Increased Costs; Reserves on Eurocurrency Rate Loans................................ 49
3.05 Compensation for Losses............................................................. 51
3.06 Mitigation Obligations; Replacement of Lenders...................................... 51
3.07 Survival............................................................................ 52
ARTICLE IV...................................................................................... 52
GUARANTY........................................................................................ 52
4.01 The Guaranty........................................................................ 52
4.02 Obligations Unconditional........................................................... 52
4.03 Reinstatement....................................................................... 53
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4.04 Certain Additional Waivers.......................................................... 53
4.05 Remedies............................................................................ 53
4.06 Guarantee of Payment; Continuing Guarantee.......................................... 54
ARTICLE V CONDITIONS PRECEDENT TO Credit Extensions............................................. 54
5.01 Conditions of Initial Credit Extension.............................................. 54
5.02 Conditions to all Credit Extensions................................................. 55
ARTICLE VI REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES....................................................... 56
6.01 Existence, Qualification and Power; Compliance With Laws............................ 56
6.02 Authorization; No Contravention..................................................... 56
6.03 Governmental Authorization; Other Consents.......................................... 57
6.04 Binding Effect...................................................................... 57
6.05 Financial Statements................................................................ 57
6.06 Litigation.......................................................................... 57
6.07 No Default.......................................................................... 58
6.08 Environmental Compliance............................................................ 58
6.09 Taxes............................................................................... 58
6.10 ERISA Compliance.................................................................... 58
6.11 Subsidiaries........................................................................ 59
6.12 Margin Regulations; Investment Company Act; Public Utility Holding Company Act...... 59
6.13 Disclosure.......................................................................... 59
6.14 Compliance with Laws................................................................ 59
6.15 Representations as to Foreign Obligors.............................................. 59
6.16 Use of Proceeds..................................................................... 60
ARTICLE VII AFFIRMATIVE COVENANTS............................................................... 60
7.01 Financial Statements................................................................ 61
7.02 Certificates; Other Information..................................................... 61
7.03 Notices............................................................................. 62
7.04 Payment of Obligations.............................................................. 63
7.05 Preservation of Existence, Etc...................................................... 63
7.06 Maintenance of Properties........................................................... 63
7.07 Maintenance of Insurance............................................................ 64
7.08 Compliance with Laws................................................................ 64
7.09 Books and Records................................................................... 64
7.10 Inspection Rights................................................................... 64
7.11 Use of Proceeds..................................................................... 64
ARTICLE VIII NEGATIVE COVENANTS................................................................. 65
8.01 Liens............................................................................... 65
8.02 Investments......................................................................... 66
8.03 Fundamental Changes................................................................. 66
8.04 Transactions with Affiliates........................................................ 67
8.05 Burdensome Agreements............................................................... 67
8.06 Financial Covenants................................................................. 67
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8.07 Organization Documents.............................................................. 67
8.08 Use of Proceeds..................................................................... 67
8.09 Synthetic Lease Obligations......................................................... 67
ARTICLE IX EVENTS OF DEFAULT AND REMEDIES....................................................... 68
9.01 Events of Default................................................................... 68
9.02 Remedies Upon Event of Default...................................................... 69
9.03 Application of Funds................................................................ 70
ARTICLE X ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT.................................................................. 71
10.01 Appointment and Authority........................................................... 71
10.02 Rights as a Lender.................................................................. 71
10.03 Exculpatory Provisions.............................................................. 71
10.04 Reliance by Administrative Agent.................................................... 72
10.05 Delegation of Duties................................................................ 72
10.06 Resignation of Administrative Agent................................................. 73
10.07 Non-Reliance on Administrative Agent and Other Lenders.............................. 73
10.08 No Other Duties, Etc................................................................ 74
10.09 Administrative Agent May File Proofs of Claim....................................... 74
ARTICLE XI MISCELLANEOUS........................................................................ 74
11.01 Amendments, Etc..................................................................... 74
11.02 Notices; Effectiveness; Electronic Communication.................................... 75
11.03 No Waiver; Cumulative Remedies...................................................... 77
11.04 Expenses; Indemnity; Damage Waiver.................................................. 77
11.05 Payments Set Aside.................................................................. 79
11.06 Successors and Assigns.............................................................. 79
11.07 Treatment of Certain Information; Confidentiality................................... 82
11.08 Right of Setoff..................................................................... 83
11.09 Interest Rate Limitation............................................................ 83
11.10 Counterparts; Integration; Effectiveness............................................ 83
11.11 Survival of Representations and Warranties.......................................... 84
11.12 Severability........................................................................ 84
11.13 Replacement of Lenders.............................................................. 84
11.14 Governing Law; Jurisdiction; Etc.................................................... 85
11.15 Waiver of Jury Trial................................................................ 86
11.16 USA PATRIOT Act Notice.............................................................. 86
11.17 Judgment Currency................................................................... 86
SIGNATURES ..................................................................................... S-1
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SCHEDULES
1.01 Mandatory Cost Formulae
2.01 Commitments and Applicable Percentages
2.14 Designated Borrowers
8.01 Existing Liens
11.02 Administrative Agent's Office; Certain Addresses for Notices
11.06 Processing and Recordation Fees
EXHIBITS
FORM OF
A Committed Loan Notice
B Swing Line Loan Notice
C Revolving Note
D Swing Line Note
E Compliance Certificate
F Assignment and Assumption
G Designated Borrower Request and Assumption Agreement
H Designated Borrower Notice
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CREDIT AGREEMENT
This CREDIT AGREEMENT ("Agreement") is entered into as of August 3, 2005,
among CABOT CORPORATION, a Delaware corporation (the "Company"), certain
Subsidiaries of the Company party hereto pursuant to Section 2.14 (each a
"Designated Borrower" and, together with the Company, the "Borrowers" and, each
a "Borrower"), each lender from time to time party hereto (collectively, the
"Lenders" and individually, a "Lender"), and BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., as
Administrative Agent, Swing Line Lender and L/C Issuer.
The Company has requested that the Lenders provide a revolving credit
facility, and the Lenders are willing to do so on the terms and conditions set
forth herein.
In consideration of the mutual covenants and agreements herein contained,
the parties hereto covenant and agree as follows:
ARTICLE I
DEFINITIONS AND ACCOUNTING TERMS
1.01 DEFINED TERMS. As used in this Agreement, the following terms
shall have the meanings set forth below:
"Acquisition", by any Person, means the acquisition by such Person (other
than a transaction that would be classified as a capital expenditure in
accordance with GAAP), in a single transaction or in a series of related
transactions, of all or any substantial portion of the Property of another
Person or at least a majority of the Voting Stock of another Person, in each
case whether or not involving a merger or consolidation with such other Person
and whether for cash, property, services, assumption of Indebtedness, securities
or otherwise.
"Administrative Agent" means Bank of America in its capacity as
administrative agent under any of the Loan Documents, or any successor
administrative agent.
"Administrative Agent's Office" means, with respect to any currency, the
Administrative Agent's address and, as appropriate, account as set forth on
Schedule 11.02 with respect to such currency, or such other address or account
with respect to such currency as the Administrative Agent may from time to time
notify to the Company and the Lenders.
"Administrative Questionnaire" means an Administrative Questionnaire in a
form supplied by the Administrative Agent.
"Affiliate" means, as to any Person, any other Person which, directly or
indirectly, is in control of, is controlled by, or is under common control with,
such Person. For purposes of this definition, "control" of a Person means the
power, directly or indirectly, to direct or cause the direction of the
management and policies of such Person, whether by contract or otherwise.
"Aggregate Commitments" means the Commitments of all the Lenders.
"Agreement" means this Credit Agreement.
"Alternative Currency" means each of Euro, Yen, Australian Dollars,
Canadian Dollars, Sterling, Singapore Dollars, Swiss Francs and each other
currency (other than Dollars) that is approved in accordance with Section 1.05.
"Alternative Currency Equivalent" means, at any time, with respect to any
amount denominated in Dollars, the equivalent amount thereof in the applicable
Alternative Currency as determined by the Administrative Agent at such time on
the basis of the Spot Rate (determined in respect of the most recent Revaluation
Date) for the purchase of such Alternative Currency with Dollars.
"Alternative Currency Reserve" means, at any time, the Dollar amount equal
to 2.5% of the Outstanding Amount of Committed Loans denominated in Alternative
Currencies at such time.
"Applicable Foreign Obligor Documents" has the meaning specified in
Section 6.15.
"Applicable Percentage" means with respect to any Lender at any time, the
percentage of the Aggregate Commitments represented by such Lender's Commitment
at such time. If the Commitment of each Lender to make Loans and the obligation
of the L/C Issuer to make L/C Credit Extensions have been terminated pursuant to
Section 9.02 or if the Aggregate Commitments have expired, then the Applicable
Percentage of each Lender shall be determined based on the Applicable Percentage
of such Lender most recently in effect, giving effect to any subsequent
assignments. The initial Applicable Percentage of each Lender is set forth
opposite the name of such Lender on Schedule 2.01 or in the Assignment and
Assumption pursuant to which such Lender becomes a party hereto, as applicable.
"Applicable Rate" means, from time to time, with respect to each of the
Facility Fee, the Utilization Fee, Letters of Credit, Eurocurrency Rate Loans
and Base Rate Loans, the following percentages per annum, based upon the Debt
Rating as set forth in the table below (the "Pricing Table"):
LETTER
OF BASE
DEBT RATINGS FACILITY UTILIZATION EUROCURRENCY CREDIT RATE
PRICING LEVEL S&P/MOODY'S FEE FEE MARGIN FEE MARGIN
- ------------- ------------------ -------- ----------- ------------ -------- ------
1 A/A2 or better 0.070% 0.075% 0.180% 0.180% 0.0%
2 A-/A3 0.080% 0.075% 0.220% 0.220% 0.0%
3 BBB+/Baa1 0.100% 0.100% 0.300% 0.300% 0.0%
4 BBB/Baa2 0.125% 0.125% 0.375% 0.375% 0.0%
5 BBB-/Baa3 or worse 0.175% 0.125% 0.450% 0.450% 0.0%
Initially, the Applicable Rate shall be determined based upon the Debt
Rating specified in the certificate delivered pursuant to Section 5.01(a)(vii).
Thereafter, each change in the Applicable Rate resulting from a publicly
announced change in the Debt Rating shall be effective, in the case of an
upgrade, during the period commencing on the date of delivery by the Company to
the Administrative Agent of notice thereof pursuant to Section 7.03(e) and
ending on the date immediately preceding the effective date of the next such
change and, in the case of a downgrade, during the period commencing on the date
of the public announcement thereof and ending on the date immediately preceding
the effective date of the next such change.
"Applicable Time" means, with respect to any borrowings and payments in
any Alternative Currency, the local time in the place of settlement for such
Alternative Currency as may be determined by the Administrative Agent to be
necessary for timely settlement on the relevant date in accordance with normal
banking procedures in the place of payment.
"Applicant Borrower" has the meaning specified in Section 2.14.
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"Approved Fund" means any Fund 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.
"Approving Lenders" has the meaning specified in Section 2.15(e).
"Arrangers" means BAS and Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. in their
capacities as joint lead arrangers.
"Assignee Group" means two or more Eligible Assignees that are Affiliates
of one another or two or more Approved Funds managed by the same investment
advisor.
"Assignment and Assumption" means an assignment and assumption entered
into by a Lender and an Eligible Assignee (with the consent of any party whose
consent is required by Section 11.06(b), and accepted by the Administrative
Agent, in substantially the form of Exhibit F or any other form approved by the
Administrative Agent.
"Attributable Indebtedness" means, on any date, (a) in respect of any
Capital Lease of any Person, the capitalized amount thereof that would appear on
a balance sheet of such Person prepared as of such date in accordance with GAAP,
(b) in respect of any Synthetic Lease Obligation, the capitalized amount of the
remaining lease payments under the relevant lease that would appear on a balance
sheet of such Person prepared as of such date in accordance with GAAP if such
lease were accounted for as a Capital Lease and (c) in respect of any
Securitization Transaction of any Person, the outstanding principal amount of
such financing, after taking into account reserve accounts.
"Audited Financial Statements" means the audited consolidated balance
sheet of the Company and its Subsidiaries for the fiscal year ended September
30, 2004, and the related consolidated statements of income or operations,
shareholders' equity and cash flows for such fiscal year of the Company and its
Subsidiaries, including the notes thereto.
"Availability Period" means the period from and including the Closing Date
to the earliest of (a) the Maturity Date then in effect for such Lender, (b) the
date of termination of the Aggregate Commitments pursuant to Section 2.06, and
(c) the date of termination of the commitment of each Lender to make Loans and
of the obligation of the L/C Issuer to make L/C Credit Extensions pursuant to
Section 9.02.
"Bank of America" means Bank of America, N.A. and its successors.
"BAS" means Banc of America Securities LLC and its successors.
"Base Rate" means for any day a fluctuating rate per annum equal to the
higher of (a) the Federal Funds Rate plus 1/2 of 1% and (b) the rate of interest
in effect for such day as publicly announced from time to time by Bank of
America as its "prime rate." The "prime rate" is a rate set by Bank of America
based upon various factors including Bank of America's costs and desired return,
general economic conditions and other factors, and is used as a reference point
for pricing some loans, which may be priced at, above, or below such announced
rate. Any change in such rate announced by Bank of America shall take effect at
the opening of business on the day specified in the public announcement of such
change.
"Base Rate Committed Loan" means a Committed Loan that is a Base Rate
Loan.
"Base Rate Loan" means a Loan that bears interest based on the Base Rate.
All Base Rate Loans shall be denominated in Dollars.
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"Borrower" and "Borrowers" each has the meaning specified in the
introductory paragraph hereto.
"Borrower Materials" has the meaning specified in Section 7.02.
"Borrowing" means a Committed Borrowing or a Swing Line Borrowing, as the
context may require.
"Business Day" means any day other than a Saturday, Sunday or other day on
which commercial banks are authorized to close under the Laws of, or are in fact
closed in, the state where the Administrative Agent's Office with respect to
Obligations denominated in Dollars is located and:
(a) if such day relates to any interest rate settings as to a
Eurocurrency Rate Loan denominated in Dollars, any fundings,
disbursements, settlements and payments in Dollars in respect of any such
Eurocurrency Rate Loan, or any other dealings in Dollars to be carried out
pursuant to this Agreement in respect of any such Eurocurrency Rate Loan,
means any such day on which dealings in deposits in Dollars are conducted
by and between banks in the London interbank eurodollar market;
(b) if such day relates to any interest rate settings as to a
Eurocurrency Rate Loan denominated in Euro, any fundings, disbursements,
settlements and payments in Euro in respect of any such Eurocurrency Rate
Loan, or any other dealings in Euro to be carried out pursuant to this
Agreement in respect of any such Eurocurrency Rate Loan, means a TARGET
Day;
(c) if such day relates to any interest rate settings as to a
Eurocurrency Rate Loan denominated in a currency other than Dollars or
Euro, means any such day on which dealings in deposits in the relevant
currency are conducted by and between banks in the London or other
applicable offshore interbank market for such currency; and
(d) if such day relates to any fundings, disbursements, settlements
and payments in a currency other than Dollars or Euro in respect of a
Eurocurrency Rate Loan denominated in a currency other than Dollars or
Euro, or any other dealings in any currency other than Dollars or Euro to
be carried out pursuant to this Agreement in respect of any such
Eurocurrency Rate Loan (other than any interest rate settings), means any
such day on which banks are open for foreign exchange business in the
principal financial center of the country of such currency.
"Capital Lease" means, as applied to any Person, any lease of any Property
by that Person as lessee which, in accordance with GAAP, is required to be
accounted for as a capital lease on the balance sheet of that Person.
"Cash Collateral" has the meaning specified in Section 2.03(g).
"Cash Collateralize" has the meaning specified in Section 2.03(g).
"Cash Equivalents" means any Investment in (i) securities of the U.S.
Treasury; (ii) securities of agencies of the U.S. Government; (iii) commercial
paper, with a rating in the United States of A-1 by S&P and a rating in the
United States of P-1 by Moody's or better; or in the case of a foreign issuer,
an equivalent rating by another recognized credit rating service; (iv) bankers'
acceptances, certificates of deposit, and time deposits issued by any Lender or
by a bank having capital in excess of $1,000,000,000; (v) repurchase agreements
with a "primary" dealer of the Federal Reserve or a bank described in clause
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(iv) of this definition which is collateralized by obligations of the U.S.
Government or federal agencies with a value not to be below 102% of the face
value of the repurchase agreement; (vi) municipal obligations with a rating of
MIG-1 by S&P and a rating of SP-1 by Moody's or better, (vii) preferred stock
which is rated A by S&P or A2 by Moody's or better and whose dividend rate is
set no longer than every 49 days through a Dutch auction process and (viii)
money market funds substantially all of whose investments listed in the relevant
prospectus are of the types listed in the foregoing items (i) through (vii).
"Change in Law" means the occurrence, after the date of this Agreement, 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 or application thereof by any Governmental
Authority or (c) the making or issuance of any request, guideline or directive
(whether or not having the force of law) by any Governmental Authority.
"Change of Control" means an event or series of events by which:
(a) any "person" or "group" (as such terms are used in Sections
13(d) and 14(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, but excluding
members of the Cabot family, any employee benefit plan of such person or
its subsidiaries, and any person or entity acting in its capacity as
trustee, agent or other fiduciary or administrator of any such plan)
becomes the "beneficial owner" (as defined in Rules 13d-3 and 13d-5 under
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, except that a person or group shall
be deemed to have "beneficial ownership" of all securities that such
person or group has the right to acquire (such right, an "option right"),
whether such right is exercisable immediately or only after the passage of
time), directly or indirectly, of 25% or more of the equity securities of
the Company entitled to vote for members of the board of directors or
equivalent governing body of the Company on a fully-diluted basis (and
taking into account all such securities that such person or group has the
right to acquire pursuant to any option right); or
(b) during any period of 24 consecutive months, a majority of the
members of the board of directors or other equivalent governing body of
the Company cease to be composed of individuals (i) who were members of
that board or equivalent governing body on the first day of such period,
(ii) whose election or nomination to that board or equivalent governing
body was approved by individuals referred to in clause (i) above
constituting at the time of such election or nomination at least a
majority of that board or equivalent governing body or (iii) whose
election or nomination to that board or other equivalent governing body
was approved by individuals referred to in clauses (i) and (ii) above
constituting at the time of such election or nomination at least a
majority of that board or equivalent governing body (excluding, in the
case of both clause (ii) and clause (iii), any individual whose initial
nomination for, or assumption of office as, a member of that board or
equivalent governing body occurs as a result of an actual or threatened
solicitation of proxies or consents for the election or removal of one or
more directors by any person or group other than a solicitation for the
election of one or more directors by or on behalf of the board of
directors).
"Closing Date" means August 3, 2005.
"Code" means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
"Commitment" means, as to each Lender, its obligation to (a) make
Committed Loans to the Borrowers pursuant to Section 2.01, (b) purchase
participations in L/C Obligations, and (c) purchase participations in Swing Line
Loans, in an aggregate principal amount at any one time outstanding not to
exceed the Dollar amount set forth opposite such Lender's name on Schedule 2.01
or in the Assignment
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and Assumption pursuant to which such Lender becomes a party hereto, as
applicable, as such amount may be adjusted from time to time in accordance with
this Agreement.
"Committed Borrowing" means a borrowing consisting of simultaneous
Committed Loans of the same Type, in the same currency and, in the case of
Eurocurrency Rate Loans, having the same Interest Period made by each of the
Lenders pursuant to Section 2.01.
"Committed Loan" has the meaning specified in Section 2.01.
"Committed Loan Notice" means a notice of (a) a Committed Borrowing, (b) a
conversion of Committed Loans from one Type to the other, or (c) a continuation
of Eurocurrency Rate Loans, pursuant to Section 2.02(a), which, if in writing,
shall be substantially in the form of Exhibit A.
"Company" has the meaning specified in the introductory paragraph hereto.
"Compliance Certificate" means a certificate substantially in the form of
Exhibit E.
"Consolidated EBITDA" means, for any period, for the Company and its
Consolidated Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis, an amount equal to
Consolidated Net Income for such period plus (a) the following to the extent
deducted in calculating such Consolidated Net Income: (i) Consolidated Interest
Expense for such period, (ii) the provision for Federal, state, local and
foreign income taxes payable by the Company and its Subsidiaries for such
period, (iii) depreciation and amortization expense and (iv) other noncash
charges for such period minus (b) to the extent included in calculating
Consolidated Net Income for such period, all noncash income or gains (including
income tax benefits) for such period, all as determined in accordance with GAAP.
"Consolidated Indebtedness" means at any date the Indebtedness of the
Company and its Consolidated Subsidiaries, determined on a consolidated basis as
of such date.
"Consolidated Interest Coverage Ratio" means, as of any date of
determination, the ratio of (a) Consolidated EBITDA for the period of the four
prior fiscal quarters ending on such date to (b) the cash portion of
Consolidated Interest Expense for such period, each as determined on a
consolidated basis in accordance with GAAP.
"Consolidated Interest Expense" means, for any period, for the Company and
its Consolidated Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis, the sum of all interest,
premium payments, debt discount, fees, charges and related expenses of the
Company and its Consolidated Subsidiaries in connection with borrowed money
(including capitalized interest and other fees and charges incurred under any
Securitization Transactions) or in connection with the deferred purchase price
of assets, in each case to the extent treated as interest in accordance with
GAAP.
"Consolidated Net Income" means, for any period, for the Company and its
Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis, the net income of the Company and its
Subsidiaries (excluding extraordinary nonrecurring gains and losses) for that
period, determined on a consolidated basis in accordance with GAAP.
"Consolidated Subsidiary" means at any date any Subsidiary or other entity
the accounts of which are consolidated with those of the Company in its
consolidated financial statements prepared as of such date, in accordance with
GAAP.
6
"Consolidated Tangible Net Worth" means at any date (i) the consolidated
stockholders' equity of the Company as of such date (calculated excluding
adjustments to translate foreign assets and liabilities for changes in foreign
exchange rates made in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board
Statement No. 52 and 133), minus (ii) to the extent reflected in determining
such consolidated stockholders' equity at such date, the amount of consolidated
Intangible Assets of the Company and its Consolidated Subsidiaries.
"Contractual Obligation" means, as to any Person, any provision of any
security issued by such Person or of any agreement, instrument or other
undertaking to which such Person is a party or by which it or any of its
property is bound.
"Credit Extension" means each of the following: (a) a Borrowing and (b) an
L/C Credit Extension.
"Debt Rating" means, as of any date of determination, the rating as
determined by either S&P or Moody's (collectively, the "Debt Ratings") of the
Company's non-credit-enhanced, senior unsecured long-term debt; provided that if
a Debt Rating is issued by each of the foregoing rating agencies, then the
higher of such Debt Ratings shall apply (with the Debt Rating for Pricing Level
1 being the highest and the Debt Rating for Pricing Level 5 being the lowest),
unless there is a split in Debt Ratings of more than one level, in which case
the Pricing Level that is one level higher than the Pricing Level of the lower
Debt Rating shall apply.
"Debtor Relief Laws" means the Bankruptcy Code of the United States, and
all other liquidation, conservatorship, bankruptcy, assignment for the benefit
of creditors, moratorium, rearrangement, receivership, insolvency,
reorganization, or similar debtor relief Laws of the United States or other
applicable jurisdictions from time to time in effect and affecting the rights of
creditors generally.
"Default" means any event or condition that constitutes an Event of
Default or that, with the giving of any notice, the passage of time, or both,
would be an Event of Default.
"Default Rate" means (a) when used with respect to Obligations other than
Letter of Credit Fees, an interest rate equal to (i) the Base Rate plus (ii) the
Applicable Rate, if any, applicable to Base Rate Loans shown in the column
labeled Base Rate Margin in the Pricing Table, plus (iii) 2% per annum;
provided, however, that with respect to a Eurocurrency Rate Loan, the Default
Rate shall be an interest rate equal to the Eurocurrency Rate plus the
Applicable Rate shown in the column labeled Eurocurrency Margin in the Pricing
Table, plus Mandatory Cost, if any, plus 2% per annum, and (b) when used with
respect to Letter of Credit Fees, a rate equal to the Applicable Rate shown in
the column labeled Letter of Credit Fee in the Pricing Table, plus 2% per annum.
"Defaulting Lender" means any Lender that (a) has failed to fund any
portion of the Committed Loans, participations in L/C Obligations or
participations in Swing Line Loans required to be funded by it hereunder within
one Business Day of the date required to be funded by it hereunder, (b) has
otherwise failed to pay over to the Administrative Agent or any other Lender any
other amount required to be paid by it hereunder within one Business Day of the
date when due, unless the subject of a good faith dispute, or (c) has been
deemed insolvent or become the subject of a bankruptcy or insolvency proceeding.
"Designated Borrower" has the meaning specified in the introductory
paragraph hereto.
"Designated Borrower Notice" has the meaning specified in Section 2.14.
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"Designated Borrower Obligations" means all advances to, and debts,
liabilities, obligations, covenants and duties of, the Designated Borrowers
arising under any Loan Document or otherwise with respect to any Loan or Letter
of Credit, whether direct or indirect (including those acquired by assumption),
absolute or contingent, due or to become due, now existing or hereafter arising
and including interest and fees that accrue after the commencement by or against
any Designated Borrower or any Affiliate thereof of any proceeding under any
Debtor Relief Laws naming such Person as the debtor in such proceeding,
regardless of whether such interest and fees are allowed claims in such
proceeding.
"Designated Borrower Request and Assumption Agreement" has the meaning
specified in Section 2.14.
"Disposition" or "Dispose" means the sale, transfer, license, lease or
other disposition (including any sale and leaseback transaction) of any property
by any Person, including any sale, assignment, transfer or other disposal, with
or without recourse, of any notes or accounts receivable or any rights and
claims associated therewith.
"Dollar" and "$" mean lawful money of the United States.
"Dollar Equivalent" means, at any time, (a) with respect to any amount
denominated in Dollars, such amount, and (b) with respect to any amount
denominated in any Alternative Currency, the equivalent amount thereof in
Dollars as determined by the Administrative Agent or the L/C Issuer, as the case
may be, at such time on the basis of the Spot Rate (determined in respect of the
most recent Revaluation Date) for the purchase of Dollars with such Alternative
Currency.
"Domestic Subsidiary" means any Subsidiary that is organized under the
laws of any political subdivision of the United States.
"Eligible Assignee" means (a) a Lender; (b) an Affiliate of a Lender; (c)
an Approved Fund; and (d) any other Person (other than a natural person)
approved by (i) the Administrative Agent, the L/C Issuer and the Swing Line
Lender, and (ii) unless an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing, the
Company (each such approval not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed);
provided that notwithstanding the foregoing, "Eligible Assignee" shall not
include the Company or any of the Company's Affiliates or Subsidiaries; and
provided further, however, that an Eligible Assignee shall include only a
Lender, an Affiliate of a Lender or another Person, which, through its Lending
Offices, is capable of lending to the relevant Borrowers without the imposition
of any additional Indemnified Taxes.
"EMU" means the economic and monetary union in accordance with the Treaty
of Rome 1957, as amended by the Single European Act 1986, the Maastricht Treaty
of 1992 and the Amsterdam Treaty of 1998.
"EMU Legislation" means the legislative measures of the European Council
for the introduction of, changeover to or operation of a single or unified
European currency.
"Environmental Laws" means any and all Federal, state, local, and foreign
statutes, laws, regulations, ordinances, rules, judgments, orders, decrees,
permits, concessions, grants, franchises, licenses, agreements or governmental
restrictions relating to pollution and the protection of the environment or the
release of any materials into the environment, including those related to
hazardous substances or wastes, air emissions and discharges to waste or public
systems.
"Environmental Liability" means any liability, contingent or otherwise
(including any liability for damages, costs of environmental remediation, fines,
penalties or indemnities), of the Company, any other
8
Loan Party or any of their respective Subsidiaries directly or indirectly
resulting from or based upon (a) violation of any Environmental Law, (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, with respect to any Person, all of the shares of
capital stock of (or other ownership or profit interests in) such Person, all of
the warrants, options or other rights for the purchase or acquisition from such
Person of shares of capital stock of (or other ownership or profit interests in)
such Person, all of the securities convertible into or exchangeable for shares
of capital stock of (or other ownership or profit interests in) such Person or
warrants, rights or options for the purchase or acquisition from such Person of
such shares (or such other interests), and all of the other ownership or profit
interests in such Person (including partnership, member or trust interests
therein), whether voting or nonvoting, and whether or not such shares, warrants,
options, rights or other interests are outstanding on any date of determination.
"ERISA" means the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.
"ERISA Affiliate" means any trade or business (whether or not
incorporated) under common control with the Company within the meaning of
Section 414(b) or (c) of the Code (and Sections 414(m) and (o) of the Code for
purposes of provisions relating to Section 412 of the Code).
"ERISA Event" means (a) a Reportable Event with respect to a Pension Plan;
(b) a withdrawal by the Company or any ERISA Affiliate from a Pension Plan
subject to Section 4063 of ERISA during a plan year in which it was a
substantial employer (as defined in Section 4001(a)(2) of ERISA) or a cessation
of operations that is treated as such a withdrawal under Section 4062(e) of
ERISA; (c) a complete or partial withdrawal by the Company or any ERISA
Affiliate from a Multiemployer Plan or notification that a Multiemployer Plan is
in reorganization; (d) the filing of a notice of intent to terminate, the
treatment of a Plan amendment as a termination under Sections 4041 or 4041A of
ERISA, or the commencement of proceedings by the PBGC to terminate a Pension
Plan or Multiemployer Plan; (e) an event or condition which constitutes grounds
under Section 4042 of ERISA for the termination of, or the appointment of a
trustee to administer, any Pension Plan or Multiemployer Plan; or (f) the
imposition of any liability under Title IV of ERISA, other than for PBGC
premiums due but not delinquent under Section 4007 of ERISA, upon the Company or
any ERISA Affiliate.
"Euro" and "EUR" mean the lawful currency of the Participating Member
States introduced in accordance with the EMU Legislation.
"Eurocurrency Rate" means, for any Interest Period with respect to a
Eurocurrency Rate Loan, the rate per annum equal to the British Bankers
Association LIBOR Rate ("BBA LIBOR"), as published by Reuters (or other
commercially available source providing quotations of BBA LIBOR as designated by
the Administrative Agent from time to time) at approximately 11:00 a.m., London
time, two Business Days prior to the commencement of such Interest Period, for
deposits in the relevant currency (for delivery on the first day of such
Interest Period) with a term equivalent to such Interest Period. If such rate is
not available at such time for any reason, then the "Eurocurrency Rate" for such
Interest Period shall be the rate per annum determined by the Administrative
Agent to be the rate at which deposits in the relevant currency for delivery on
the first day of such Interest Period in Same Day Funds in the approximate
amount of the Eurocurrency Rate Loan being made, continued or converted by Bank
of America and with a term equivalent to such Interest Period would be offered
by Bank of America's London Branch (or other Bank of America branch or
Affiliate) to major banks in the London or other
9
offshore interbank market for such currency at their request at approximately
11:00 a.m. (London time) two Business Days prior to the commencement of such
Interest Period.
"Eurocurrency Rate Loan" means a Committed Loan that bears interest at a
rate based on the Eurocurrency Rate. Eurocurrency Rate Loans may be denominated
in Dollars or in an Alternative Currency. All Committed Loans denominated in an
Alternative Currency must be Eurocurrency Rate Loans.
"Event of Default" has the meaning specified in Section 9.01.
"Excluded Taxes" means, with respect to the Administrative Agent, any
Lender, the L/C Issuer or any other recipient of any payment to be made by or on
account of any obligation of any Borrower hereunder, (a) taxes imposed on or
measured by its overall net income (however denominated), and franchise taxes
imposed on it (in lieu of net income taxes), by the jurisdiction (or any
political subdivision thereof) under the laws of which such recipient is
organized or in which its principal office is located or, in the case of any
Lender, in which its applicable Lending Office is located, (b) any branch
profits taxes imposed by the United States or any similar tax imposed by any
other jurisdiction in which such Borrower is located and (c) except as provided
in the following sentence, in the case of a Lender (other than an assignee
pursuant to a request by the Company under Section 11.13), any withholding tax
that is imposed on amounts payable to such Lender at the time such Lender
becomes a party hereto (or designates a new Lending Office) or is attributable
to such Lender's failure or inability (other than as a result of a Change in
Law) to comply with Section 3.01(e), except to the extent that such Lender (or
its assignor, if any) was entitled, at the time of designation of a new Lending
Office (or assignment), to receive additional amounts from the applicable
Borrower with respect to such withholding tax pursuant to Section 3.01(a).
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this definition, "Excluded
Taxes" shall not include any withholding tax that arises solely as a result of a
designation pursuant to Section 2.14 and that is imposed at any time on payments
made by or on behalf of a Foreign Obligor to any Lender hereunder or under any
other Loan Document, provided that such Lender shall have complied with the last
paragraph of Section 3.01(e).
"Existing Credit Agreement" means that certain Credit Agreement dated as
of July 13, 2001 among the Company, Fleet National Bank, now known as Bank of
America, N.A., as agent, and a syndicate of lenders.
"Existing Maturity Date" has the meaning specified in Section 2.15(a).
"Facility Fee" has the meaning specified in Section 2.09(a).
"Federal Funds Rate" means, for any day, the rate per annum equal to the
weighted average of the rates on overnight Federal funds transactions with
members of the Federal Reserve System arranged by Federal funds brokers on such
day, as published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on the Business Day
next succeeding such day; provided that (a) if such day is not a Business Day,
the Federal Funds Rate for such day shall be such rate on such transactions on
the next preceding Business Day as so published on the next succeeding Business
Day, and (b) if no such rate is so published on such next succeeding Business
Day, the Federal Funds Rate for such day shall be the average rate (rounded
upward, if necessary, to a whole multiple of 1/100 of 1%) charged to Bank of
America on such day on such transactions as determined by the Administrative
Agent.
"Fee Letter" means the letter agreement, dated May 19, 2005 among the
Company, Bank of America and BAS.
10
"Financial Letter of Credit" means a standby letter of credit not
constituting a Performance Letter of Credit.
"Foreign Lender" means, with respect to any Borrower, any Lender that is
organized under the laws of a jurisdiction other than that in which such
Borrower is resident for tax purposes. For purposes of this definition, the
United States, each State thereof and the District of Columbia shall be deemed
to constitute a single jurisdiction.
"Foreign Obligor" means a Designated Borrower that is a Foreign
Subsidiary.
"Foreign Subsidiary" means any Subsidiary that is organized under the laws
of a jurisdiction other than the United States, a State thereof or the District
of Columbia.
"FRB" means the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System of the
United States.
"Fully Satisfied" means, with respect to the Obligations as of any date,
that, as of such date, (a) all principal of and interest accrued to such date
which constitute Obligations shall have been paid in full in cash, (b) all fees,
expenses and other amounts then due and payable which constitute Obligations
shall have been paid in cash, (c) all outstanding Letters of Credit shall have
been (i) terminated, (ii) fully Cash Collateralized or (iii) secured by one or
more letters of credit on terms and conditions, and with one or more financial
institutions, reasonably satisfactory to the L/C Issuer and (d) the Commitments
shall have expired or been terminated in full.
"Fund" means any Person (other than a natural person) that is (or will be)
engaged in making, purchasing, holding or otherwise investing in commercial
loans and similar extensions of credit in the ordinary course of its business.
"GAAP" means generally accepted accounting principles in the United States
set forth in the opinions and pronouncements of the Accounting Principles Board
and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and statements and
pronouncements of the Financial Accounting Standards Board or such other
principles as may be approved by a significant segment of the accounting
profession in the United States, that are applicable to the circumstances as of
the date of determination, consistently applied.
"Governmental Authority" means the government of the United States or any
other nation, or of any political subdivision thereof, whether state or local,
and any agency, authority, instrumentality, regulatory body, court, central bank
or other entity exercising executive, legislative, judicial, taxing, regulatory
or administrative powers or functions of or pertaining to government (including
any supra-national bodies such as the European Union or the European Central
Bank).
"Guarantee" means, as to any Person, (a) any obligation, contingent or
otherwise, of such Person guaranteeing or having the economic effect of
guaranteeing any Indebtedness payable or performable by another Person (the
"primary obligor") in any manner, whether directly or indirectly, and including
any obligation of such Person, direct or indirect, (i) to purchase or pay (or
advance or supply funds for the purchase or payment of) such Indebtedness, (ii)
to purchase or lease property, securities or services for the purpose of
assuring the obligee in respect of such Indebtedness of the payment or
performance of such Indebtedness, (iii) to maintain working capital, equity
capital or any other financial statement condition or liquidity or level of
income or cash flow of the primary obligor so as to enable the primary obligor
to pay such Indebtedness, or (iv) entered into for the purpose of assuring in
any other manner the obligee in respect of such Indebtedness of the payment or
performance thereof or to protect such obligee against loss in respect thereof
(in whole or in part), or (b) any Lien on any assets of such Person securing any
11
Indebtedness of any other Person, whether or not such Indebtedness is assumed by
such Person (or any right, contingent or otherwise, of any holder of such
Indebtedness to obtain any such Lien). The amount of any Guarantee shall be
deemed to be an amount equal to the stated or determinable amount of the related
primary obligation, or portion thereof, in respect of which such Guarantee is
made or, if not stated or determinable, the maximum reasonably anticipated
liability in respect thereof as determined by the guaranteeing Person in good
faith. The term "Guarantee" as a verb has a corresponding meaning.
"Guaranty" means the Guaranty made by the Company in favor of the
Administrative Agent and the Lenders pursuant to Article IV hereof.
"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
Environmental Law.
"Indebtedness" means, as to any Person at a particular time, without
duplication, all of the following, whether or not included as indebtedness or
liabilities in accordance with GAAP:
(a) all obligations of such Person for borrowed money and all
obligations of such Person evidenced by bonds, debentures, notes, loan
agreements or other similar instruments;
(b) all direct or contingent obligations of such Person arising
under Financial Letters of Credit, bankers' acceptances, bank guaranties,
surety bonds and similar instruments;
(c) all obligations of such Person to pay the deferred purchase
price of property or services (other than trade accounts payable in the
ordinary course of business and payable in accordance with customary
practices);
(d) indebtedness (excluding prepaid interest thereon) secured by a
Lien on property owned or being purchased by such Person (including
indebtedness arising under conditional sales or other title retention
agreements), whether or not such indebtedness shall have been assumed by
such Person or is limited in recourse;
(e) the Attributable Indebtedness of Capital Leases and
Securitization Transactions;
(f) all Guarantees of such Person in respect of any of the
foregoing; and
(g) all Indebtedness of the types referred to in clauses (a) through
(f) above of any partnership or joint venture (other than a joint venture
that is itself a corporation or limited liability company) in which the
Company or any Subsidiary is a general partner or a joint venturer, unless
such Indebtedness is expressly made non-recourse to the Company or such
Subsidiary.
The amount of any Capital Lease or Securitization Transaction as of any date
shall be deemed to be the amount of Attributable Indebtedness in respect thereof
as of such date.
"Indemnified Taxes" means Taxes other than Excluded Taxes.
"Indemnitees" has the meaning specified in Section 11.04(b).
"Information" has the meaning specified in Section 11.07.
12
"Intangible Assets" means the amount of all unamortized debt discount and
expense, unamortized deferred charges, goodwill, patents, trademarks, service
marks, trade names, anticipated future benefit of tax loss carry-forwards,
copyrights, organization or developmental expenses and other assets treated as
intangible assets under GAAP.
"Interest Payment Date" means, (a) as to any Loan other than a Base Rate
Loan, the last day of each Interest Period applicable to such Loan and the
Maturity Date; provided, however, that if any Interest Period for a Eurocurrency
Rate Loan exceeds three months, the respective dates that fall every three
months after the beginning of such Interest Period shall also be Interest
Payment Dates; and (b) as to any Base Rate Loan (including a Swing Line Loan),
the last Business Day of each March, June, September and December and the
Maturity Date.
"Interest Period" means, as to each Eurocurrency Rate Loan, the period
commencing on the date such Eurocurrency Rate Loan is disbursed or converted to
or continued as a Eurocurrency Rate Loan and ending on the date one, two, three
or six months thereafter, as selected by the Company in its Committed Loan
Notice; provided that:
(i) any Interest Period that would otherwise end on a day that is
not a Business Day shall be extended to the next succeeding Business Day
unless such Business Day falls in another calendar month, in which case
such Interest Period shall end on the next preceding Business Day;
(ii) any Interest Period that begins on the last Business Day of a
calendar month (or on a day for which there is no numerically
corresponding day in the calendar month at the end of such Interest
Period) shall end on the last Business Day of the calendar month at the
end of such Interest Period; and
(iii) no Interest Period shall extend beyond the Maturity Date.
"Investment" means, as to any Person, any direct or indirect acquisition
or investment by such Person, whether by means of (a) the purchase or other
acquisition of capital stock or other securities of another Person, (b) a loan,
advance or capital contribution to, Guarantee or guaranty of any obligation or
assumption of debt of, or purchase or other acquisition of any other debt or
equity participation or interest in, another Person, including any partnership
or joint venture interest in such other Person and any arrangement pursuant to
which the investor Guarantees Indebtedness of such other Person, or (c) the
purchase or other acquisition (in one transaction or a series of transactions)
of assets of another Person that constitute a business unit. For purposes of
covenant compliance, the amount of any Investment shall be the amount actually
invested, without adjustment for subsequent increases or decreases in the value
of such Investment.
"IRS" means the United States Internal Revenue Service.
"ISP" means, with respect to any Letter of Credit, the "International
Standby Practices 1998" published by the Institute of International Banking Law
& Practice (or such later version thereof as may be in effect at the time of
issuance).
"Issuer Documents" means with respect to any Letter of Credit, the Letter
of Credit Application, and any other document, agreement and instrument entered
into by the L/C Issuer and the Company (or any Subsidiary) or in favor the L/C
Issuer and relating to any such Letter of Credit.
"Laws" means, collectively, all international, foreign, Federal, state and
local statutes, treaties, rules, guidelines, regulations, ordinances, codes and
administrative or judicial precedents or authorities,
13
including the interpretation or administration thereof by any Governmental
Authority charged with the enforcement, interpretation or administration
thereof, and all applicable administrative orders, directed duties, requests,
licenses, authorizations and permits of, and agreements with, any Governmental
Authority, in each case whether or not having the force of law.
"L/C Advance" means, with respect to each Lender, such Lender's funding of
its participation in any L/C Borrowing in accordance with its Applicable
Percentage. All L/C Advances shall be denominated in Dollars.
"L/C Borrowing" means an extension of credit resulting from a drawing
under any Letter of Credit which has not been reimbursed on the date when made
or refinanced as a Committed Borrowing. All L/C Borrowings shall be denominated
in Dollars.
"L/C Credit Extension" means, with respect to any Letter of Credit, the
issuance thereof or extension of the expiry date thereof, or the increase of the
amount thereof.
"L/C Issuer" means Bank of America in its capacity as issuer of Letters of
Credit hereunder, or any successor issuer of Letters of Credit hereunder.
"L/C Obligations" means, as at any date of determination, the aggregate
amount available to be drawn under all outstanding Letters of Credit plus the
aggregate of all Unreimbursed Amounts, including all L/C Borrowings. For
purposes of computing the amount available to be drawn under any Letter of
Credit, the amount of such Letter of Credit shall be determined in accordance
with Section 1.08. For all purposes of this Agreement, if on any date of
determination a Letter of Credit has expired by its terms but any amount may
still be drawn thereunder by reason of the operation of Rule 3.14 of the ISP,
such Letter of Credit shall be deemed to be "outstanding" in the amount so
remaining available to be drawn.
"Lender" has the meaning specified in the introductory paragraph hereto
and, as the context requires, includes the Swing Line Lender.
"Lending Office" means, as to any Lender, the office or offices of such
Lender described as such in such Lender's Administrative Questionnaire, or such
other office or offices as a Lender may from time to time notify the Company and
the Administrative Agent.
"Letter of Credit" means any letter of credit issued hereunder. A Letter
of Credit may be a commercial letter of credit or a standby letter of credit.
Letters of Credit may be issued in Dollars only.
"Letter of Credit Application" means an application and agreement for the
issuance or amendment of a Letter of Credit in the form from time to time in use
by the L/C Issuer.
"Letter of Credit Expiration Date" means the day that is seven days prior
to the Maturity Date then in effect (or, if such day is not a Business Day, the
next preceding Business Day).
"Letter of Credit Fee" has the meaning specified in Section 2.03(i).
"Letter of Credit Sublimit" means an amount equal to $100,000,000. The
Letter of Credit Sublimit is part of, and not in addition to, the Aggregate
Commitments.
"Lien" means any mortgage, pledge, hypothecation, assignment, deposit
arrangement, encumbrance, lien (statutory or other), charge, or preference,
priority or other security interest or preferential arrangement in the nature of
a security interest of any kind or nature whatsoever (including
14
any conditional sale or other title retention agreement, any easement, right of
way or other encumbrance on title to real property, and any Capital Lease having
substantially the same economic effect as any of the foregoing).
"Loan" means an extension of credit by a Lender to a Borrower under
Article II in the form of a Committed Loan or a Swing Line Loan.
"Loan Documents" means this Agreement, each Designated Borrower Request
and Assumption Agreement, each Note, each Issuer Document and the Fee Letter,
each as amended, modified, supplemented, extended, renewed, restated or
substituted from time to time.
"Loan Parties" means, collectively, the Company and each Designated
Borrower.
"Mandatory Cost" means, with respect to any period, the percentage rate
per annum determined in accordance with Schedule 1.01.
"Material Adverse Effect" means (a) a material adverse change in, or a
material adverse effect upon, the operations, business, properties, liabilities
(actual or contingent) or condition (financial or otherwise) of the Company or
the Company and its Subsidiaries taken as a whole; or (b) a material adverse
effect upon the legality, validity, binding effect or enforceability against any
Loan Party of any Loan Document to which it is a party.
"Maturity Date" means the later of (a) August 3, 2010 and (b) with respect
to some or all of the Lenders if maturity is extended pursuant to Section 2.15,
such extended maturity date as determined pursuant to such Section.
"Moody's" means Moody's Investors Service, Inc. and any successor thereto.
"Multiemployer Plan" means any employee benefit plan of the type described
in Section 4001(a)(3) of ERISA, to which the Company or any ERISA Affiliate
makes or is obligated to make contributions, or during the preceding five plan
years, has made or been obligated to make contributions.
"Non-Consenting Lender" has the meaning specified in Section 11.13.
"Note" means a Revolving Note or a Swing Line Note, as the context may
require.
"Obligations" means all advances to, and debts, liabilities, obligations,
covenants and duties of, any Loan Party arising under any Loan Document or
otherwise with respect to any Loan or Letter of Credit, whether direct or
indirect (including those acquired by assumption), absolute or contingent, due
or to become due, now existing or hereafter arising and including interest and
fees that accrue after the commencement by or against any Loan Party or any
Affiliate thereof of any proceeding under any Debtor Relief Laws naming such
Person as the debtor in such proceeding, regardless of whether such interest and
fees are allowed claims in such proceeding.
"OFAC" means the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign
Assets Control.
"Organization Documents" means, (a) with respect to any corporation, the
certificate or articles of incorporation and the bylaws (or equivalent or
comparable constitutive documents with respect to any non-U.S. jurisdiction);
(b) with respect to any limited liability company, the certificate or articles
of formation or organization and operating agreement; and (c) with respect to
any partnership, joint venture,
15
trust or other form of business entity, the partnership, joint venture or other
applicable agreement of formation or organization and any agreement, instrument,
filing or notice with respect thereto filed in connection with its formation or
organization with the applicable Governmental Authority in the jurisdiction of
its formation or organization and, if applicable, any certificate or articles of
formation or organization of such entity.
"Other Taxes" means all present or future stamp or documentary taxes or
any other excise or property taxes, charges or similar levies arising from any
payment made hereunder or under any other Loan Document or from the execution,
delivery or enforcement of, or otherwise with respect to, this Agreement or any
other Loan Document.
"Outstanding Amount" means (i) with respect to Committed Loans on any
date, the Dollar Equivalent amount of the aggregate outstanding principal amount
thereof after giving effect to any borrowings and prepayments or repayments of
such Committed Loans occurring on such date; (ii) with respect to Swing Line
Loans on any date, the aggregate outstanding principal amount thereof after
giving effect to any borrowings and prepayments or repayments of such Swing Line
Loans occurring on such date; and (iii) with respect to any L/C Obligations on
any date, the aggregate outstanding amount of such L/C Obligations on such date
after giving effect to any L/C Credit Extension occurring on such date and any
other changes in the aggregate amount of the L/C Obligations as of such date,
including as a result of any reimbursements by the Company of Unreimbursed
Amounts.
"Overnight Rate" means, for any day, (a) with respect to any amount
denominated in Dollars, the greater of (i) the Federal Funds Rate and (ii) an
overnight rate determined by the Administrative Agent, the L/C Issuer, or the
Swing Line Lender, as the case may be, in accordance with banking industry rules
on interbank compensation, and (b) with respect to any amount denominated in an
Alternative Currency, the rate of interest per annum at which overnight deposits
in the applicable Alternative Currency, in an amount approximately equal to the
amount with respect to which such rate is being determined, would be offered for
such day by a branch or Affiliate of Bank of America in the applicable offshore
interbank market for such currency to major banks in such interbank market.
"Participant" has the meaning specified in Section 11.06(d).
"Participating Member State" means each state so described in any EMU
Legislation.
"PBGC" means the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
"Pension Plan" means any "employee pension benefit plan" (as such term is
defined in Section 3(2) of ERISA), other than a Multiemployer Plan, that is
subject to Title IV of ERISA and is sponsored or maintained by the Company or
any ERISA Affiliate or to which the Company or any ERISA Affiliate contributes
or has an obligation to contribute, or in the case of a multiple employer or
other plan described in Section 4064(a) of ERISA, has made contributions at any
time during the immediately preceding five plan years.
"Performance Letter of Credit" means a standby letter of credit issued to
ensure the performance of services and/or delivery of goods.
"Permitted Acquisition" means any Acquisition by any the Borrower or any
Subsidiary that satisfies the following conditions:
16
(a) in the case of an Acquisition of the Equity Interest of any
Person, the board of directors (or other comparable governing body) of
such other Person shall have approved the Acquisition; and
(b) (i) no Default or Event of Default shall exist and be continuing
immediately before or immediately after giving effect thereto, (ii) the
representations and warranties made by the Loan Parties in any Loan
Document (other than the representations and warranties contained in
Sections 6.05(c), 6.06, 6.08 and 6.10 hereof) shall be true and correct in
all material respects at and as if made as of the date of such Acquisition
(after giving effect thereto) except to the extent such representations
and warranties expressly relate to an earlier date, and (iii) in the case
of an Acquisition of the Equity Interest of any Person where the aggregate
cash consideration exceeds $100,000,000, the Company shall have delivered
to the Administrative Agent a certificate demonstrating that, upon giving
effect to such Acquisition on a Pro Forma Basis, the Loan Parties would be
in compliance with the financial covenants set forth in Section 8.06 as of
the most recent fiscal quarter for which the Company has delivered
financial statements pursuant to Section 7.01(a) or (b).
"Permitted Investment" means any Investment by any the Borrower or any
Subsidiary that satisfies the following conditions: (a) no Default or Event of
Default shall exist and be continuing immediately before or immediately after
giving effect thereto, (b) the representations and warranties made by the Loan
Parties in any Loan Document (other than the representations and warranties
contained in Sections 6.05(c), 6.06, 6.08 and 6.10 hereof) shall be true and
correct in all material respects at and as if made as of the date of such
Investment (after giving effect thereto) except to the extent such
representations and warranties expressly relate to an earlier date, and (c) in
the case of an Investment of an Equity Interest in any Person where the
aggregate cash consideration exceeds $100,000,000, the Company shall have
delivered to the Administrative Agent a certificate demonstrating that, upon
giving effect to such Investment on a Pro Forma Basis, the Loan Parties would be
in compliance with the financial covenants set forth in Section 8.06 as of the
most recent fiscal quarter for which the Company has delivered financial
statements pursuant to Section 7.01(a) or (b).
"Permitted Liens" means those Liens permitted to exist pursuant to Section
8.01.
"Person" means any natural person, corporation, limited liability company,
trust, joint venture, association, company, partnership, Governmental Authority
or other entity.
"Plan" means any "employee benefit plan" (as such term is defined in
Section 3(3) of ERISA) established by the Company or, with respect to any such
plan that is subject to Section 412 of the Code or Title IV of ERISA, any ERISA
Affiliate.
"Platform" has the meaning specified in Section 7.02.
"Pricing Table" has the meaning specified in the definition of "Applicable
Percentage."
"Pro Forma Basis" means, for purposes of calculating the financial
covenants set forth in Section 8.06 (including for purposes of determining the
Applicable Rate), that any Investment of an Equity Interest shall be deemed to
have occurred as of the first day of the most recent four fiscal quarter period
preceding the date of such transaction for which the Company has delivered
financial statements pursuant to Section 7.01(a) or (b). In connection with the
foregoing, (a) income statement items (whether positive or negative)
attributable to the Person or property acquired shall be included to the extent
relating to any period applicable in such calculations to the extent (i) such
items are not otherwise included in such income statement items for the Company
and its Subsidiaries in accordance with GAAP or in
17
accordance with any defined terms set forth in Section 1.01 and (ii) such items
are supported by audited financial statements or other information reasonably
satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and (b) any Indebtedness incurred or
assumed by the Company or any Subsidiary (including the Person or property
acquired) in connection with such transaction and any Indebtedness of the Person
or property acquired which is not retired in connection with such transaction
(i) shall be deemed to have been incurred as of the first day of the applicable
period and (ii) if such Indebtedness has a floating or formula rate, shall have
an implied rate of interest for the applicable period for purposes of this
definition determined by utilizing the rate which is or would be in effect with
respect to such Indebtedness as at the relevant date of determination.
"Property" means any interest of any kind in any property or asset,
whether real, personal or mixed, or tangible or intangible.
"Register" has the meaning specified in Section 11.06(c).
"Registered Public Accounting Firm" has the meaning specified in the
Securities Laws and shall be independent of the Company as prescribed by the
Securities Laws.
"Regulation U" means Regulation U of the Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System, as in effect from time to time.
"Related Parties" means, with respect to any Person, such Person's
Affiliates and the partners, directors, officers, employees, agents and advisors
of such Person and of such Person's Affiliates.
"Reportable Event" means any of the events set forth in Section 4043(c) of
ERISA, other than events for which the 30 day notice period has been waived.
"Request for Credit Extension" means (a) with respect to a Borrowing,
conversion or continuation of Committed Loans, a Committed Loan Notice, (b) with
respect to an L/C Credit Extension, a Letter of Credit Application, and (c) with
respect to a Swing Line Loan, a Swing Line Loan Notice.
"Required Lenders" means, as of any date of determination, Lenders having
more than 50% of the Aggregate Commitments or, if the commitment of each Lender
to make Loans and the obligation of the L/C Issuer to make L/C Credit Extensions
have been terminated pursuant to Section 9.02, Lenders holding in the aggregate
more than 50% of the Total Outstandings (with the aggregate amount of each
Lender's risk participation and funded participation in L/C Obligations and
Swing Line Loans being deemed "held" by such Lender for purposes of this
definition); provided that the Commitment of, and the portion of the Total
Outstandings held or deemed held by, any Defaulting Lender shall be excluded for
purposes of making a determination of Required Lenders.
"Responsible Officer" means the chief executive officer, president, chief
financial officer, treasurer or assistant treasurer of a Loan Party. Any
document delivered hereunder that is signed by a Responsible Officer of a Loan
Party shall be conclusively presumed to have been authorized by all necessary
corporate, partnership and/or other action on the part of such Loan Party and
such Responsible Officer shall be conclusively presumed to have acted on behalf
of such Loan Party.
"Revaluation Date" means with respect to any Loan, each of the following:
(a) each date of a Borrowing of a Eurocurrency Rate Loan denominated in an
Alternative Currency, (b) each date of a continuation of a Eurocurrency Rate
Loan denominated in an Alternative Currency pursuant to Section 2.02, and (c)
such additional dates as the Administrative Agent shall determine or the
Required Lenders shall require.
18
"Revolving Note" has the meaning specified in Section 2.11.
"S&P" means Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, a division of The
McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. and any successor thereto.
"Same Day Funds" means (a) with respect to disbursements and payments in
Dollars, immediately available funds, and (b) with respect to disbursements and
payments in an Alternative Currency, same day or other funds as may be
determined by the Administrative Agent or the L/C Issuer, as the case may be, to
be customary in the place of disbursement or payment for the settlement of
international banking transactions in the relevant Alternative Currency.
"Sarbanes-Oxley" means the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
"SEC" means the Securities and Exchange Commission, or any Governmental
Authority succeeding to any of its principal functions.
"Securities Laws" means the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, Sarbanes-Oxley and the applicable accounting and auditing
principles, rules, standards and practices promulgated, approved or incorporated
by the SEC or the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, as each of the
foregoing may be amended and in effect on any applicable date hereunder.
"Securitization Subsidiary" has the meaning specified in the definition of
"Securitization Transaction".
"Securitization Transaction" means any financing transaction or series of
financing transactions (including factoring arrangements) pursuant to which the
Company or any Subsidiary may sell, convey or otherwise transfer, or grant a
security interest in, accounts, payments, receivables, rights to future lease
payments or residuals or similar rights to payment to a special purpose
subsidiary or affiliate of the Company, each a "Securitization Subsidiary".
"Significant Subsidiary" means each Domestic Subsidiary now existing or
hereafter acquired or formed, and each successor thereto, which, after giving
pro forma effect to such acquisition or formation, or at any other time
thereafter:
(1) The Company's and its other Subsidiaries' Investments in and advances
to such Domestic Subsidiary exceed 10 percent of the total assets of the
Company and its Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis; or
(2) The Company's and its other Subsidiaries' proportionate share of the
total assets (after intercompany eliminations) of such Domestic Subsidiary
exceeds 10 percent of the total assets of the Company and its Subsidiaries
on a consolidated basis; or
(3) The Company's and its other Subsidiaries' equity in the income from
continuing operations before income taxes, extraordinary items and
cumulative effect of a change in accounting principle of such Domestic
Subsidiary exceeds 10 percent of such income of the Company and its
Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis.
"Special Notice Currency" means at any time an Alternative Currency, other
than the currency of a country that is a member of the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development at such time located in North America or Europe.
19
"Spot Rate" for a currency means the rate determined by the Administrative
Agent or the L/C Issuer, as applicable, to be the rate quoted by the Person
acting in such capacity as the spot rate for the purchase by such Person of such
currency with another currency through its principal foreign exchange trading
office at approximately 11:00 a.m. on the date two Business Days prior to the
date as of which the foreign exchange computation is made; provided that the
Administrative Agent or the L/C Issuer may obtain such spot rate from another
financial institution designated by the Administrative Agent or the L/C Issuer
if the Person acting in such capacity does not have as of the date of
determination a spot buying rate for any such currency.
"Sterling" and "(pound)" mean the lawful currency of the United Kingdom.
"Subsidiary" of a Person means a corporation, partnership, joint venture,
limited liability company or other business entity of which a majority of the
shares of securities or other interests having ordinary voting power for the
election of directors or other governing body (other than securities or
interests having such power only by reason of the happening of a contingency)
are at the time beneficially owned, or the management of which is otherwise
controlled, directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, or both,
by such Person. Unless otherwise specified, all references herein to a
"Subsidiary" or to "Subsidiaries" shall refer to a Subsidiary or Subsidiaries of
the Company.
"Swing Line" means the revolving credit facility made available by the
Swing Line Lender pursuant to Section 2.04.
"Swing Line Borrowing" means a borrowing of a Swing Line Loan pursuant to
Section 2.04.
"Swing Line Lender" means Bank of America in its capacity as provider of
Swing Line Loans, or any successor swing line lender hereunder.
"Swing Line Loan" has the meaning specified in Section 2.04(a).
"Swing Line Loan Notice" means a notice of a Swing Line Borrowing pursuant
to Section 2.04(b), which, if in writing, shall be substantially in the form of
Exhibit B.
"Swing Line Note" has the meaning specified in Section 2.11.
"Swing Line Sublimit" means an amount equal to the lesser of (a)
$25,000,000 and (b) the Aggregate Commitments. The Swing Line Sublimit is part
of, and not in addition to, the Aggregate Commitments.
"Synthetic Lease Obligation" means the monetary obligation of a Person
under (a) a so-called synthetic, off-balance sheet or tax retention lease, or
(b) an agreement for the use or possession of property creating obligations that
do not appear on the balance sheet of such Person but which, upon the insolvency
or bankruptcy of such Person, would be characterized as the indebtedness of such
Person (without regard to accounting treatment).
"TARGET Day" means any day on which the Trans-European Automated Real-time
Gross Settlement Express Transfer (TARGET) payment system (or, if such payment
system ceases to be operative, such other payment system (if any) determined by
the Administrative Agent to be a suitable replacement) is open for the
settlement of payments in Euro.
20
"Taxes" means all present or future taxes, levies, imposts, duties,
deductions, withholdings, assessments, fees or other charges imposed by any
Governmental Authority, including any interest, additions to tax or penalties
applicable thereto.
"Threshold Amount" means $30,000,000.
"Total Capitalization" means, at any date, Consolidated Indebtedness plus
the consolidated stockholders' equity of the Company (calculated excluding
adjustments to translate foreign assets and liabilities for changes in foreign
exchange rates made in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board
Statement No. 52 and 133), all as would be presented according to GAAP in a
consolidated balance sheet of the Company as of such date.
"Total Outstandings" means the aggregate Outstanding Amount of all Loans
and all L/C Obligations.
"Type" means, with respect to a Committed Loan, its character as a Base
Rate Loan or a Eurocurrency Rate Loan.
"UCP" means the Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits (1993
Revision), International Chamber of Commerce Publication No. 500, as the same
may be amended from time to time.
"Unfunded Pension Liability" means the excess of a Pension Plan's benefit
liabilities under Section 4001(a)(16) of ERISA, over the current value of that
Pension Plan's assets, determined in accordance with the assumptions used for
funding the Pension Plan pursuant to Section 412 of the Code for the applicable
plan year.
"United States" and "U.S." mean the United States of America.
"Unreimbursed Amount" has the meaning specified in Section 2.03(c)(i).
"Utilization Fee" has the meaning specified in Section 2.09(b).
"Wholly Owned Subsidiary" means a Subsidiary of the Company, the Equity
Interest of which is 100% owned and controlled, directly or indirectly, by the
Company (excluding directors' qualifying shares or shares required by Law to be
held by residents of the jurisdiction were such Subsidiary is domiciled).
"Yen" and "(yen)" mean the lawful currency of Japan.
1.02 OTHER INTERPRETIVE PROVISIONS. With reference to this Agreement and
each other Loan Document, unless otherwise specified herein or in such other
Loan Document:
(a) 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." Unless the context requires otherwise, (i) any definition of or
reference to any agreement, instrument or other document (including any
Organization Document) shall be construed as referring to such agreement,
instrument or other document as from time to time amended, supplemented or
21
otherwise modified (subject to any restrictions on such amendments,
supplements or modifications set forth herein or in any other Loan
Document), (ii) any reference herein to any Person shall be construed to
include such Person's successors and assigns, (iii) the words "herein,"
"hereof" and "hereunder," and words of similar import when used in any
Loan Document, shall be construed to refer to such Loan Document in its
entirety and not to any particular provision thereof, (iv) all references
in a Loan Document to Articles, Sections, Exhibits and Schedules shall be
construed to refer to Articles and Sections of, and Exhibits and Schedules
to, the Loan Document in which such references appear, (v) any reference
to any law shall include all statutory and regulatory provisions
consolidating, amending, replacing or interpreting such law and any
reference to any law or regulation shall, unless otherwise specified,
refer to such law or regulation as amended, modified or supplemented from
time to time, and (vi) 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.
(b) In the computation of periods of time from a specified date to a
later specified date, the word "from" means "from and including;" the
words "to" and "until" each mean "to but excluding;" and the word
"through" means "to and including."
(c) Section headings herein and in the other Loan Documents are
included for convenience of reference only and shall not affect the
interpretation of this Agreement or any other Loan Document.
1.03 ACCOUNTING TERMS.
(a) Generally. All accounting terms not specifically or completely defined
herein shall be construed in conformity with, and all financial data (including
financial ratios and other financial calculations) required to be submitted
pursuant to this Agreement shall be prepared in conformity with, GAAP applied on
a consistent basis, as in effect from time to time, applied in a manner
consistent with that used in preparing the Audited Financial Statements, except
as otherwise specifically prescribed herein.
(b) Changes in GAAP. If at any time any change in GAAP would affect the
computation of any financial ratio or requirement set forth in any Loan
Document, and either the Company or the Required Lenders shall so request, the
Administrative Agent, the Lenders and the Company shall negotiate in good faith
to amend such ratio or requirement to preserve the original intent thereof in
light of such change in GAAP (subject to the approval of the Required Lenders);
provided that, until so amended, (i) such ratio or requirement shall continue to
be computed in accordance with GAAP prior to such change therein and (ii) the
Company shall provide to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders financial
statements and other documents required under this Agreement or as reasonably
requested hereunder setting forth a reconciliation between calculations of such
ratio or requirement made before and after giving effect to such change in GAAP.
(c) Pro Forma Basis. Notwithstanding the above, the parties hereto
acknowledge and agree that all calculations of financial covenants in Section
8.06 shall be made on a Pro Forma Basis.
1.04 EXCHANGE RATES; CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS.
(a) The Administrative Agent or the L/C Issuer, as applicable, shall
determine the Spot Rates as of each Revaluation Date to be used for calculating
Dollar Equivalent amounts of Credit Extensions and Outstanding Amounts
denominated in Alternative Currencies. Such Spot Rates shall become
22
effective as of such Revaluation Date and shall be the Spot Rates employed in
converting any amounts between the applicable currencies until the next
Revaluation Date to occur. Except for purposes of financial statements delivered
by Loan Parties hereunder or calculating financial covenants hereunder or except
as otherwise provided herein, the applicable amount of any currency (other than
Dollars) for purposes of the Loan Documents shall be such Dollar Equivalent
amount as so determined by the Administrative Agent or the L/C Issuer, as
applicable.
(b) Wherever in this Agreement in connection with a Committed Borrowing,
conversion, continuation or prepayment of a Eurocurrency Rate Loan, an amount,
such as a required minimum or multiple amount, is expressed in Dollars, but such
Committed Borrowing or Eurocurrency Rate Loan is denominated in an Alternative
Currency, such amount shall be the relevant Alternative Currency Equivalent of
such Dollar amount (rounded to the nearest unit of such Alternative Currency,
with 0.5 of a unit being rounded upward), as determined by the Administrative
Agent.
1.05 ADDITIONAL ALTERNATIVE CURRENCIES.
(a) The Company may from time to time request that Eurocurrency Rate Loans
be made in a currency other than those specifically listed in the definition of
"Alternative Currency;" provided that such requested currency is a lawful
currency (other than Dollars) that is readily available and freely transferable
and convertible into Dollars. Such request shall be subject to the approval of
the Administrative Agent and the Lenders.
(b) Any such request shall be made to the Administrative Agent not later
than 11:00 a.m., 10 Business Days prior to the date of the desired Credit
Extension (or such other time or date as may be agreed by the Administrative
Agent in its sole discretion). In the case of any such request pertaining to
Eurocurrency Rate Loans, the Administrative Agent shall promptly notify each
Lender thereof. Each Lender shall notify the Administrative Agent, not later
than 11:00 a.m., ten Business Days after receipt of such request whether it
consents, in its sole discretion, to the making of Eurocurrency Rate Loans in
such requested currency.
(c) Any failure by a Lender to respond to such request within the time
period specified in the preceding sentence shall be deemed to be a refusal by
such Lender to permit Eurocurrency Rate Loans to be made in such requested
currency. If the Administrative Agent and all the Lenders consent to making
Eurocurrency Rate Loans in such requested currency, the Administrative Agent
shall so notify the Company and such currency shall thereupon be deemed for all
purposes to be an Alternative Currency hereunder for purposes of any Committed
Borrowings of Eurocurrency Rate Loans. If the Administrative Agent shall fail to
obtain consent to any request for an additional currency under this Section
1.05, the Administrative Agent shall promptly so notify the Company.
1.06 CHANGE OF CURRENCY.
(a) Each obligation of the Borrowers to make a payment denominated in the
national currency unit of any member state of the European Union that adopts the
Euro as its lawful currency after the date hereof shall be redenominated into
Euro at the time of such adoption (in accordance with the EMU Legislation). If,
in relation to the currency of any such member state, the basis of accrual of
interest expressed in this Agreement in respect of that currency shall be
inconsistent with any convention or practice in the London interbank market for
the basis of accrual of interest in respect of the Euro, such expressed basis
shall be replaced by such convention or practice with effect from the date on
which such member state adopts the Euro as its lawful currency; provided that if
any Committed Borrowing in the currency of such member state is outstanding
immediately prior to such date, such replacement shall take effect, with respect
to such Committed Borrowing, at the end of the then current Interest Period.
23
(b) Each provision of this Agreement shall be subject to such reasonable
changes of construction as the Administrative Agent may from time to time
specify to be appropriate to reflect the adoption of the Euro by any member
state of the European Union and any relevant market conventions or practices
relating to the Euro.
(c) Each provision of this Agreement also shall be subject to such
reasonable changes of construction as the Administrative Agent may from time to
time specify to be appropriate to reflect a change in currency of any other
country and any relevant market conventions or practices relating to the change
in currency.
1.07 TIMES OF DAY. Unless otherwise specified, all references herein to
times of day shall be references to Eastern time (daylight or standard, as
applicable).
1.08 LETTER OF CREDIT AMOUNTS. Unless otherwise specified herein, the
amount of a Letter of Credit at any time shall be deemed to be the stated amount
of such Letter of Credit in effect at such time; provided, however, that with
respect to any Letter of Credit that, by its terms or the terms of any Issuer
Document related thereto, provides for one or more automatic increases in the
stated amount thereof, the amount of such Letter of Credit shall be deemed to be
the maximum stated amount of such Letter of Credit after giving effect to all
such increases, whether or not such maximum stated amount is in effect at such
time.
ARTICLE II
THE COMMITMENTS AND CREDIT EXTENSIONS
2.01 COMMITTED LOANS.
Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, each Lender
severally agrees to make loans (each such loan, a "Committed Loan") to the
Borrowers in Dollars or in one or more Alternative Currencies from time to time,
on any Business Day during the Availability Period, in an aggregate amount not
to exceed at any time outstanding the amount of such Lender's Commitment;
provided, however, that after giving effect to any Committed Borrowing, (i) the
Total Outstandings shall not exceed the Aggregate Commitments and (ii) the
aggregate Outstanding Amount of the Committed Loans of any Lender, plus such
Lender's Applicable Percentage of the Outstanding Amount of all L/C Obligations,
plus such Lender's Applicable Percentage of the Outstanding Amount of all Swing
Line Loans shall not exceed such Lender's Commitment; and provided further that
the availability of the Aggregate Commitments at any time for the making of
Loans and the issuance of Letters of Credit shall be reduced by the amount of
the Alternative Currency Reserve. Within the limits of each Lender's Commitment,
and subject to the other terms and conditions hereof, the Borrowers may borrow
under this Section 2.01, prepay under Section 2.05, and reborrow under this
Section 2.01. Committed Loans may be Base Rate Loans or Eurocurrency Rate Loans,
as further provided herein. All Committed Loans made on the Closing Date shall
be Base Rate Loans.
2.02 BORROWINGS, CONVERSIONS AND CONTINUATIONS OF COMMITTED LOANS.
(a) Each Committed Borrowing, each conversion of Committed Loans from one
Type to the other, and each continuation of Eurocurrency Rate Loans shall be
made upon the Company's irrevocable notice to the Administrative Agent, which
may be given by telephone. Each such notice must be received by the
Administrative Agent not later than 11:00 a.m. (i) three Business Days prior to
the requested date of any Borrowing of, conversion to or continuation of
Eurocurrency Rate Loans denominated in Dollars or of any conversion of
Eurocurrency Rate Loans denominated in Dollars to Base Rate Committed Loans,
24
(ii) four Business Days (or five Business Days in the case of a Special Notice
Currency) prior to the requested date of any Borrowing or continuation of
Eurocurrency Rate Loans denominated in Alternative Currencies, and (iii) on the
requested date of any Borrowing of Base Rate Committed Loans. Each telephonic
notice by the Company pursuant to this Section 2.02(a) must be confirmed
promptly by delivery to the Administrative Agent of a written Committed Loan
Notice, appropriately completed and signed by a Responsible Officer of the
Company. Each Borrowing of, conversion to or continuation of Eurocurrency Rate
Loans shall be in a principal amount of $5,000,000 or a whole multiple of
$1,000,000 in excess thereof. Except as provided in Sections 2.03(c) and
2.04(c), each Committed Borrowing of or conversion to Base Rate Committed Loans
shall be in a principal amount of $1,000,000 or a whole multiple of $100,000 in
excess thereof. Each Committed Loan Notice (whether telephonic or written) shall
specify (i) whether the Company is requesting a Committed Borrowing, a
conversion of Committed Loans from one Type to the other, or a continuation of
Eurocurrency Rate Loans, (ii) the requested date of the Borrowing, conversion or
continuation, as the case may be (which shall be a Business Day), (iii) the
principal amount of Committed Loans to be borrowed, converted or continued, (iv)
the Type of Committed Loans to be borrowed or to which existing Committed Loans
are to be converted, (v) if applicable, the duration of the Interest Period with
respect thereto, (vi) the currency of the Committed Loans to be borrowed, and
(vii) if applicable, the Designated Borrower. If the Company fails to specify a
currency in a Committed Loan Notice requesting a Borrowing, then the Committed
Loans so requested shall be made in Dollars. If the Company fails to specify a
Type of Committed Loan in a Committed Loan Notice or if the Company fails to
give a timely notice requesting a conversion or continuation, then the
applicable Committed Loans shall be made as, or converted to, Base Rate Loans;
provided, however, that in the case of a failure to timely request a
continuation of Committed Loans denominated in an Alternative Currency, such
Loans shall be continued as Eurocurrency Rate Loans in their original currency
with an Interest Period of one month. Any automatic conversion to Base Rate
Loans shall be effective as of the last day of the Interest Period then in
effect with respect to the applicable Eurocurrency Rate Loans. If the Company
requests a Borrowing of, conversion to, or continuation of Eurocurrency Rate
Loans in any such Committed Loan Notice, but fails to specify an Interest
Period, it will be deemed to have specified an Interest Period of one month. No
Committed Loan may be converted into or continued as a Committed Loan
denominated in a different currency, but instead must be prepaid in the original
currency of such Committed Loan and reborrowed in the other currency.
(b) Following receipt of a Committed Loan Notice, the Administrative Agent
shall promptly notify each Lender of the amount (and currency) of its Applicable
Percentage of the applicable Committed Loans, and if no timely notice of a
conversion or continuation is provided by the Company, the Administrative Agent
shall notify each Lender of the details of any automatic conversion to Base Rate
Loans or continuation of Committed Loans denominated in a currency other than
Dollars, in each case as described in the preceding subsection. In the case of a
Committed Borrowing, each Lender shall make the amount of its Committed Loan
available to the Administrative Agent in Same Day Funds at the Administrative
Agent's Office for the applicable currency not later than 1:00 p.m., in the case
of any Committed Loan denominated in Dollars, and not later than the Applicable
Time specified by the Administrative Agent in the case of any Committed Loan in
an Alternative Currency, in each case on the Business Day specified in the
applicable Committed Loan Notice. Upon satisfaction of the applicable conditions
set forth in Section 5.02 (and, if such Borrowing is the initial Credit
Extension, Section 5.01), the Administrative Agent shall make all funds so
received available to the Company or the other applicable Borrower in like funds
as received by the Administrative Agent either by (i) crediting the account of
such Borrower on the books of Bank of America with the amount of such funds or
(ii) wire transfer of such funds, in each case in accordance with instructions
provided to (and reasonably acceptable to) the Administrative Agent by the
Company; provided, however, that if, on the date the Committed Loan Notice with
respect to such Borrowing denominated in Dollars is given by the Company, there
are L/C Borrowings outstanding, then the proceeds of such Borrowing, first,
shall be
25
applied to the payment in full of any such L/C Borrowings, and, second, shall be
made available to the applicable Borrower as provided above.
(c) Except as otherwise provided herein, a Eurocurrency Rate Loan may be
continued or converted only on the last day of an Interest Period for such
Eurocurrency Rate Loan. During the existence of a Default, no Loans may be
requested as, converted to or continued as Eurocurrency Rate Loans (whether in
Dollars or any Alternative Currency) without the consent of the Required
Lenders, and the Required Lenders may demand that any or all of the then
outstanding Eurocurrency Rate Loans denominated in an Alternative Currency be
prepaid, or redenominated into Dollars in the amount of the Dollar Equivalent
thereof, on the last day of the then current Interest Period with respect
thereto.
(d) The Administrative Agent shall promptly notify the Company and the
Lenders of the interest rate applicable to any Interest Period for Eurocurrency
Rate Loans upon determination of such interest rate. At any time that Base Rate
Loans are outstanding, the Administrative Agent shall notify the Company and the
Lenders of any change in Bank of America's prime rate used in determining the
Base Rate promptly following the public announcement of such change.
(e) After giving effect to all Committed Borrowings, all conversions of
Committed Loans from one Type to the other, and all continuations of Committed
Loans as the same Type, there shall not be more than ten Interest Periods in
effect with respect to Committed Loans.
(f) The Company may at any time and from time to time, upon prior written
notice by the Company to the Administrative Agent, increase the Aggregate
Commitments (but not the Letter of Credit Sublimit) by up to $100 MILLION
DOLLARS ($100,000,000) with additional Commitments from any existing Lender or
new Commitments from any other Person selected by the Company and approved by
the Administrative Agent; provided that:
(i) any such increase shall be in a minimum principal amount of
$10,000,000 and in integral multiples of $5,000,000 in excess thereof;
(ii) no Default or Event of Default shall exist and be continuing at
the time of any such increase;
(iii) no existing Lender shall be under any obligation to increase
its Commitment and any such decision whether to increase its Commitment
shall be in such Lender's sole and absolute discretion;
(iv) any new Lender shall join this Agreement by executing such
joinder documents required by the Administrative Agent; and
(v) as a condition precedent to such increase, the Company shall
deliver to the Administrative Agent a certificate of each Borrower dated
as of the date of such increase (in sufficient copies for each Lender)
signed by a Responsible Officer of such Borrower (A) certifying and
attaching the resolutions adopted by such Borrower approving or consenting
to such increase, and (B) in the case of the Company, certifying that,
before and after giving effect to such increase, (1) the representations
and warranties contained in Article VI and the other Loan Documents are
true and correct in all material respects on and as of the date of such
increase, except to the extent that such representations and warranties
specifically refer to an earlier date, in which case they are true and
correct in all material respects as of such earlier date, and except that
for purposes of this Section 2.02(f), the representations and warranties
contained in subsections (a) and (b) of Section 6.05 shall be deemed to
refer to the most recent statements furnished
26
pursuant to clauses (a) and (b), respectively, of Section 7.01, and (2) no
Default or Event of Default exists.
The Company shall prepay any Committed Loans owing by it and outstanding
on the date of any such increase (and pay any additional amounts required
pursuant to Section 3.06) to the extent necessary to keep the outstanding
Committed Loans ratable with any revised Commitments arising from any nonratable
increase in the Commitments under this Section. In connection with any such
increase in the Aggregate Commitments, Schedule 2.01 shall be revised by the
Administrative Agent to reflect the new Commitments and distributed to the
Lenders.
2.03 LETTERS OF CREDIT.
(a) The Letter of Credit Commitment.
(i) Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, (A) the
L/C Issuer agrees, in reliance upon the agreements of the Lenders set
forth in this Section 2.03, (1) from time to time on any Business Day
during the period from the Closing Date until the Letter of Credit
Expiration Date, to issue Letters of Credit denominated in Dollars for the
account of the Company or its Subsidiaries, and to amend or extend Letters
of Credit previously issued by it, in accordance with subsection (b)
below, and (2) to honor drawings under the Letters of Credit; and (B) the
Lenders severally agree to participate in Letters of Credit issued for the
account of the Company or its Subsidiaries and any drawings thereunder;
provided that after giving effect to any L/C Credit Extension with respect
to any Letter of Credit, (x) the Total Outstandings shall not exceed the
Aggregate Commitments, (y) the aggregate Outstanding Amount of the
Committed Loans of any Lender, plus such Lender's Applicable Percentage of
the Outstanding Amount of all L/C Obligations, plus such Lender's
Applicable Percentage of the Outstanding Amount of all Swing Line Loans
shall not exceed such Lender's Commitment, and (z) the Outstanding Amount
of the L/C Obligations shall not exceed the Letter of Credit Sublimit; and
provided further that the availability of the Aggregate Commitments at any
time for the making of Loans and the issuance of Letters of Credit shall
be reduced by the amount of the Alternative Currency Reserve. Each request
by the Company for the issuance or amendment of a Letter of Credit shall
be deemed to be a representation by the Company that the L/C Credit
Extension so requested complies with the conditions set forth in the
provisos to the preceding sentence. Within the foregoing limits, and
subject to the terms and conditions hereof, the Company's ability to
obtain Letters of Credit shall be fully revolving, and accordingly the
Company may, during the foregoing period, obtain Letters of Credit to
replace Letters of Credit that have expired or that have been drawn upon
and reimbursed.
(ii) The L/C Issuer shall not issue any Letter of Credit, if:
(A) subject to Section 2.03(b)(iii), the expiry date of such
requested Letter of Credit would occur more than twelve months after
the date of issuance or last extension, unless the Required Lenders
have approved such expiry date; or
(B) the expiry date of such requested Letter of Credit would
occur after the Letter of Credit Expiration Date, unless all the
Lenders have approved such expiry date.
(iii) The L/C Issuer shall not be under any obligation to issue any
Letter of Credit if:
(A) any order, judgment or decree of any Governmental
Authority or arbitrator shall by its terms purport to enjoin or
restrain the L/C Issuer from issuing such
27
Letter of Credit, or any Law applicable to the L/C Issuer or any
request or directive (whether or not having the force of law) from
any Governmental Authority with jurisdiction over the L/C Issuer
shall prohibit, or request that the L/C Issuer refrain from, the
issuance of letters of credit generally or such Letter of Credit in
particular or shall impose upon the L/C Issuer with respect to such
Letter of Credit any restriction, reserve or capital requirement
(for which the L/C Issuer is not otherwise compensated hereunder)
not in effect on the Closing Date, or shall impose upon the L/C
Issuer any unreimbursed loss, cost or expense which was not
applicable on the Closing Date and which the L/C Issuer in good
faith deems material to it;
(B) the issuance of such Letter of Credit would violate one or
more policies of the L/C Issuer applicable to borrowers generally;
(C) except as otherwise agreed by the Administrative Agent and
the L/C Issuer, such Letter of Credit is in an initial stated amount
less than $100,000, in the case of a commercial Letter of Credit, or
$500,000, in the case of a standby Letter of Credit;
(D) such Letter of Credit is to be denominated in a currency
other than Dollars; or
(E) a default of any Lender's obligations to fund under
Section 2.03(c) exists or any Lender is at such time a Defaulting
Lender hereunder, unless the L/C Issuer has entered into
satisfactory arrangements with the Company or such Lender to
eliminate the L/C Issuer's risk with respect to such Lender.
(iv) The L/C Issuer shall not amend any Letter of Credit if the L/C
Issuer would not be permitted at such time to issue such Letter of Credit
in its amended form under the terms hereof.
(v) The L/C Issuer shall be under no obligation to amend any Letter
of Credit if (A) the L/C Issuer would have no obligation at such time to
issue such Letter of Credit in its amended form under the terms hereof, or
(B) the beneficiary of such Letter of Credit does not accept the proposed
amendment to such Letter of Credit.
(vi) The L/C Issuer shall act on behalf of the Lenders with respect
to any Letters of Credit issued by it and the documents associated
therewith, and the L/C Issuer shall have all of the benefits and
immunities (A) provided to the Administrative Agent in Article X with
respect to any acts taken or omissions suffered by the L/C Issuer in
connection with Letters of Credit issued by it or proposed to be issued by
it and Issuer Documents pertaining to such Letters of Credit as fully as
if the term "Administrative Agent" as used in Article X included the L/C
Issuer with respect to such acts or omissions, and (B) as additionally
provided herein with respect to the L/C Issuer.
(b) Procedures for Issuance and Amendment of Letters of Credit; Auto
Extension Letters of Credit.
(i) Each Letter of Credit shall be issued or amended, as the case
may be, upon the request of the Company delivered to the L/C Issuer (with
a copy to the Administrative Agent) in the form of a Letter of Credit
Application, appropriately completed and signed by a Responsible Officer
of the Company. Such Letter of Credit Application must be received by the
L/C Issuer and the Administrative Agent not later than 11:00 a.m. at least
two Business Days (or such later
28
date and time as the Administrative Agent and the L/C Issuer may agree in
a particular instance in their sole discretion) prior to the proposed
issuance date or date of amendment, as the case may be. In the case of a
request for an initial issuance of a Letter of Credit, such Letter of
Credit Application shall specify in form and detail reasonably
satisfactory to the L/C Issuer: (A) the proposed issuance date of the
requested Letter of Credit (which shall be a Business Day); (B) the amount
and currency thereof; (C) the expiry date thereof; (D) the name and
address of the beneficiary thereof; (E) the documents to be presented by
such beneficiary in case of any drawing thereunder; (F) the full text of
any certificate to be presented by such beneficiary in case of any drawing
thereunder; and (G) such other matters as the L/C Issuer may require. In
the case of a request for an amendment of any outstanding Letter of
Credit, such Letter of Credit Application shall specify in form and detail
reasonably satisfactory to the L/C Issuer (A) the Letter of Credit to be
amended; (B) the proposed date of amendment thereof (which shall be a
Business Day); (C) the nature of the proposed amendment; and (D) such
other matters as the L/C Issuer may require. Additionally, the Company
shall furnish to the L/C Issuer and the Administrative Agent such other
documents and information pertaining to such requested Letter of Credit
issuance or amendment, including any Issuer Documents, as the L/C Issuer
or the Administrative Agent may reasonably require.
(ii) Promptly after receipt of any Letter of Credit Application, the
L/C Issuer will confirm with the Administrative Agent (by telephone or in
writing) that the Administrative Agent has received a copy of such Letter
of Credit Application from the Company and, if not, the L/C Issuer will
provide the Administrative Agent with a copy thereof. Unless the L/C
Issuer has received written notice from any Lender, the Administrative
Agent or any Loan Party, at least one Business Day prior to the requested
date of issuance or amendment of the applicable Letter of Credit, that one
or more applicable conditions contained in Article V shall not then be
satisfied, then, subject to the terms and conditions hereof, the L/C
Issuer shall, on the requested date, issue a Letter of Credit for the
account of the Company (or the applicable Subsidiary) or enter into the
applicable amendment, as the case may be, in each case in accordance with
the L/C Issuer's usual and customary business practices. Immediately upon
the issuance of each Letter of Credit, each Lender shall be deemed to, and
hereby irrevocably and unconditionally agrees to, purchase from the L/C
Issuer a risk participation in such Letter of Credit in an amount equal to
the product of such Lender's Applicable Percentage times the amount of
such Letter of Credit.
(iii) If the Company so requests in any applicable Letter of Credit
Application, the L/C Issuer may, in its sole and absolute discretion,
agree to issue a Letter of Credit that has automatic extension provisions
(each, an "Auto-Extension Letter of Credit"); provided that any such
Auto-Extension Letter of Credit must permit the L/C Issuer to prevent any
such extension at least once in each twelve-month period (commencing with
the date of issuance of such Letter of Credit) by giving prior notice to
the beneficiary thereof not later than a day (the "Non-Extension Notice
Date") in each such twelve-month period to be agreed upon at the time such
Letter of Credit is issued. Unless otherwise directed by the L/C Issuer,
the Company shall not be required to make a specific request to the L/C
Issuer for any such extension. Once an Auto-Extension Letter of Credit has
been issued, the Lenders shall be deemed to have authorized (but may not
require) the L/C Issuer to permit the extension of such Letter of Credit
at any time to an expiry date not later than the Letter of Credit
Expiration Date; provided, however, that the L/C Issuer shall not permit
any such extension if (A) the L/C Issuer has determined that it would not
be permitted, or would have no obligation, at such time to issue such
Letter of Credit in its revised form (as extended) under the terms hereof
(by reason of the provisions of clause (ii) or (iii) of Section 2.03(a) or
otherwise), or (B) it has received notice (which may be by telephone or in
writing) on or before the day that is five Business Days before the
Non-Extension Notice Date (1) from the Administrative Agent that the
Required Lenders have elected not to permit such
29
extension or (2) from the Administrative Agent, any Lender or the Company
that one or more of the applicable conditions specified in Section 5.02 is
not then satisfied, and in each such case directing the L/C Issuer not to
permit such extension.
(iv) Promptly after its delivery of any Letter of Credit or any
amendment to a Letter of Credit to an advising bank with respect thereto
or to the beneficiary thereof, the L/C Issuer will also deliver to the
Company and the Administrative Agent a true and complete copy of such
Letter of Credit or amendment. The L/C Issuer shall provide the
Administrative Agent with a written update on a quarterly basis of the
outstanding Letters of Credit, and the Administrative Agent shall promptly
send a copy of each such update to the Lenders and the Company upon its
receipt.
(c) Drawings and Reimbursements; Funding of Participations.
(i) Upon receipt from the beneficiary of any Letter of Credit of any
notice of a drawing under such Letter of Credit, the L/C Issuer shall
notify the Company and the Administrative Agent thereof. Not later than
11:00 a.m. on the date of any payment by the L/C Issuer under a Letter of
Credit (each such date, an "Honor Date"), the Company shall reimburse the
L/C Issuer through the Administrative Agent in an amount equal to the
amount of such drawing and in Dollars. If the Company fails to so
reimburse the L/C Issuer by such time, the Administrative Agent shall
promptly notify each Lender of the Honor Date, the amount of the
unreimbursed drawing (the "Unreimbursed Amount"), and the amount of such
Lender's Applicable Percentage thereof. In such event, the Company shall
be deemed to have requested a Committed Borrowing of Base Rate Loans to be
disbursed on the Honor Date in an amount equal to the Unreimbursed Amount,
without regard to the minimum and multiples specified in Section 2.02 for
the principal amount of Base Rate Loans, but subject to the amount of the
unutilized portion of the Aggregate Commitments and the conditions set
forth in Section 5.02 (other than the delivery of a Committed Loan
Notice). Any notice given by the L/C Issuer or the Administrative Agent
pursuant to this Section 2.03(c)(i) may be given by telephone if
immediately confirmed in writing; provided that the lack of such an
immediate confirmation shall not affect the conclusiveness or binding
effect of such notice.
(ii) Each Lender shall upon any notice pursuant to Section
2.03(c)(i) make funds available to the Administrative Agent for the
account of the L/C Issuer, in Dollars, at the Administrative Agent's
Office for Dollar-denominated payments in an amount equal to its
Applicable Percentage of the Unreimbursed Amount not later than 1:00 p.m.
on the Business Day specified in such notice by the Administrative Agent,
whereupon, subject to the provisions of Section 2.03(c)(iii), each Lender
that so makes funds available shall be deemed to have made a Base Rate
Committed Loan to the Company in such amount. The Administrative Agent
shall remit the funds so received to the L/C Issuer in Dollars.
(iii) With respect to any Unreimbursed Amount that is not fully
refinanced by a Committed Borrowing of Base Rate Loans because the
conditions set forth in Section 5.02 cannot be satisfied or for any other
reason, the Company shall be deemed to have incurred from the L/C Issuer
an L/C Borrowing in the amount of the Unreimbursed Amount that is not so
refinanced, which L/C Borrowing shall be due and payable on demand
(together with interest) and shall bear interest at the Default Rate. In
such event, each Lender's payment to the Administrative Agent for the
account of the L/C Issuer pursuant to Section 2.03(c)(ii) shall be deemed
payment in respect of its participation in such L/C Borrowing and shall
constitute an L/C Advance from such Lender in satisfaction of its
participation obligation under this Section 2.03.
30
(iv) Until each Lender funds its Committed Loan or L/C Advance
pursuant to this Section 2.03(c) to reimburse the L/C Issuer for any
amount drawn under any Letter of Credit, interest in respect of such
Lender's Applicable Percentage of such amount shall be solely for the
account of the L/C Issuer.
(v) Each Lender's obligation to make Committed Loans or L/C Advances
to reimburse the L/C Issuer for amounts drawn under Letters of Credit, as
contemplated by this Section 2.03(c), shall be absolute and unconditional
and shall not be affected by any circumstance, including (A) any setoff,
counterclaim, recoupment, defense or other right which such Lender may
have against the L/C Issuer, the Company, any Subsidiary or any other
Person for any reason whatsoever; (B) the occurrence or continuance of a
Default or Event of Default, or (C) any other occurrence, event or
condition, whether or not similar to any of the foregoing; provided,
however, that each Lender's obligation to make Committed Loans pursuant to
this Section 2.03(c) is subject to the conditions set forth in Section
5.02 (other than delivery by the Company of a Committed Loan Notice). No
such making of an L/C Advance shall relieve or otherwise impair the
obligation of the Company to reimburse the L/C Issuer for the amount of
any payment made by the L/C Issuer under any Letter of Credit, together
with interest as provided herein.
(vi) If any Lender fails to make available to the Administrative
Agent for the account of the L/C Issuer any amount required to be paid by
such Lender pursuant to the foregoing provisions of this Section 2.03(c)
by the time specified in Section 2.03(c)(ii), the L/C Issuer shall be
entitled to recover from such Lender (acting through the Administrative
Agent), on demand, such amount with interest thereon for the period from
the date such payment is required to the date on which such payment is
immediately available to the L/C Issuer at a rate per annum equal to the
applicable Overnight Rate from time to time in effect. A certificate of
the L/C Issuer submitted to any Lender (through the Administrative Agent)
with respect to any amounts owing under this clause (vi) shall be
conclusive absent manifest error.
(d) Repayment of Participations.
(i) At any time after the L/C Issuer has made a payment under any
Letter of Credit and has received from any Lender such Lender's L/C
Advance in respect of such payment in accordance with Section 2.03(c), if
the Administrative Agent receives for the account of the L/C Issuer any
payment in respect of the related Unreimbursed Amount or interest thereon
(whether directly from the Company or otherwise, including proceeds of
Cash Collateral applied thereto by the Administrative Agent), the
Administrative Agent will distribute to such Lender its Applicable
Percentage thereof (appropriately adjusted, in the case of interest
payments, to reflect the period of time during which such Lender's L/C
Advance was outstanding) in Dollars and in the same funds as those
received by the Administrative Agent.
(ii) If any payment received by the Administrative Agent for the
account of the L/C Issuer pursuant to Section 2.03(c)(i) is required to be
returned under any of the circumstances described in Section 11.05
(including pursuant to any settlement entered into by the L/C Issuer in
its discretion), each Lender shall pay to the Administrative Agent for the
account of the L/C Issuer its Applicable Percentage thereof on demand of
the Administrative Agent, plus interest thereon from the date of such
demand to the date such amount is returned by such Lender, at a rate per
annum equal to the applicable Overnight Rate from time to time in effect.
The obligations of the Lenders under this clause shall survive the payment
in full of the Obligations and the termination of this Agreement.
31
(e) Obligations Absolute. The obligation of the Company to reimburse the
L/C Issuer for each drawing under each Letter of Credit and to repay each L/C
Borrowing shall be absolute, unconditional and irrevocable, and shall be paid
strictly in accordance with the terms of this Agreement under all circumstances,
including the following:
(i) any lack of validity or enforceability of such Letter of Credit,
this Agreement, or any other Loan Document;
(ii) the existence of any claim, counterclaim, setoff, defense or
other right that the Company or any Subsidiary may have at any time
against any beneficiary or any transferee of such Letter of Credit (or any
Person for whom any such beneficiary or any such transferee may be
acting), the L/C Issuer or any other Person, whether in connection with
this Agreement, the transactions contemplated hereby or by such Letter of
Credit or any agreement or instrument relating thereto, or any unrelated
transaction;
(iii) any draft, demand, certificate or other document presented
under such 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; or any loss or delay in the transmission or
otherwise of any document required in order to make a drawing under such
Letter of Credit;
(iv) any payment by the L/C Issuer under such Letter of Credit
against presentation of a draft or certificate that does not strictly
comply with the terms of such Letter of Credit; or any payment made by the
L/C Issuer under such Letter of Credit to any Person purporting to be a
trustee in bankruptcy, debtor-in-possession, assignee for the benefit of
creditors, liquidator, receiver or other representative of or successor to
any beneficiary or any transferee of such Letter of Credit, including any
arising in connection with any proceeding under any Debtor Relief Law;
(v) any adverse change in the relevant exchange rates or in the
availability of the relevant Alternative Currency to the Company or any
Subsidiary or in the relevant currency markets generally; or
(vi) any other circumstance or happening whatsoever, whether or not
similar to any of the foregoing, including any other circumstance that
might otherwise constitute a defense available to, or a discharge of, the
Company or any Subsidiary.
The Company shall promptly examine a copy of each Letter of Credit and
each amendment thereto that is delivered to it and, in the event of any claim of
noncompliance with the Company's instructions or other irregularity, the Company
will immediately notify the L/C Issuer. The Company shall be conclusively deemed
to have waived any such claim against the L/C Issuer and its correspondents
unless such notice is given as aforesaid.
(f) Role of L/C Issuer. Each Lender and the Company agree that, in paying
any drawing under a Letter of Credit, the L/C Issuer shall not have any
responsibility to obtain any document (other than any sight draft, certificates
and documents expressly required by the Letter of Credit) or to ascertain or
inquire as to the validity or accuracy of any such document or the authority of
the Person executing or delivering any such document. None of the L/C Issuer,
the Administrative Agent, any of their respective Related Parties nor any
correspondent, participant or assignee of the L/C Issuer shall be liable to any
Lender for (i) any action taken or omitted in connection herewith at the request
or with the approval of the Lenders or the Required Lenders, as applicable; (ii)
any action taken or omitted in the absence of gross negligence or willful
misconduct; or (iii) the due execution, effectiveness, validity or
enforceability of any document or instrument related to any Letter of Credit or
Issuer Document. The Company hereby
32
assumes all risks of the acts or omissions of any beneficiary or transferee with
respect to its use of any Letter of Credit; provided, however, that this
assumption is not intended to, and shall not, preclude the Company's pursuing
such rights and remedies as it may have against the beneficiary or transferee at
law or under any other agreement. None of the L/C Issuer, the Administrative
Agent, any of their respective Related Parties nor any correspondent,
participant or assignee of the L/C Issuer shall be liable or responsible for any
of the matters described in clauses (i) through (v) of Section 2.03(e);
provided, however, that anything in such clauses to the contrary
notwithstanding, the Company may have a claim against the L/C Issuer, and the
L/C Issuer may be liable to the Company, to the extent, but only to the extent,
of any direct, as opposed to consequential or exemplary, damages suffered by the
Company which the Company proves were caused by the L/C Issuer's willful
misconduct or gross negligence or the L/C Issuer's willful failure to pay under
any Letter of Credit after the presentation to it by the beneficiary of a sight
draft and certificate(s) strictly complying with the terms and conditions of a
Letter of Credit. In furtherance and not in limitation of the foregoing, the L/C
Issuer may accept documents that appear on their face to be in order, without
responsibility for further investigation, regardless of any notice or
information to the contrary, and the L/C Issuer shall not be responsible for the
validity or sufficiency of any instrument transferring or assigning or
purporting to transfer or assign a Letter of Credit or the rights or benefits
thereunder or proceeds thereof, in whole or in part, which may prove to be
invalid or ineffective for any reason.
(g) Cash Collateral. (i) Upon the request of the Administrative Agent, (A)
if the L/C Issuer has honored any full or partial drawing request under
any Letter of Credit and such drawing has resulted in an L/C Borrowing, or
(B) if, as of the Letter of Credit Expiration Date, any L/C Obligation for
any reason remains outstanding, the Company shall, in each case,
immediately Cash Collateralize the then Outstanding Amount of all L/C
Obligations.
(ii) In addition, if the Administrative Agent notifies the Company
at any time that the Outstanding Amount of all L/C Obligations at such
time exceeds the Letter of Credit Sublimit then in effect, then, within
two Business Days after receipt of such notice, the Company shall Cash
Collateralize the L/C Obligations in an amount equal to the amount by
which the Outstanding Amount of all L/C Obligations exceeds the Letter of
Credit Sublimit.
(iii) The Administrative Agent may, at any time and from time to
time after the initial deposit of Cash Collateral, request that additional
Cash Collateral be provided in order to protect against the results of
exchange rate fluctuations.
(iv) Sections 2.05 and 9.02(c) set forth certain additional
requirements to deliver Cash Collateral hereunder. For purposes of this
Section 2.03, Section 2.05 and Section 9.02(c), "Cash Collateralize" means
to pledge and deposit with or deliver to the Administrative Agent, for the
benefit of the L/C Issuer and the Lenders, as collateral for the L/C
Obligations, cash or deposit account balances ("Cash Collateral") pursuant
to documentation in form and substance satisfactory to the Administrative
Agent and the L/C Issuer (which documents are hereby consented to by the
Lenders). Derivatives of such term have corresponding meanings. The
Company hereby grants to the Administrative Agent, for the benefit of the
L/C Issuer and the Lenders, a security interest in all such Cash
Collateral consisting of cash, deposit accounts and all balances therein
and all proceeds of the foregoing. Cash Collateral shall be maintained in
blocked, non-interest bearing deposit accounts at Bank of America.
(h) Applicability of ISP and UCP. Unless otherwise expressly agreed by the
L/C Issuer and the Company when a Letter of Credit is issued, (i) the rules of
the ISP shall apply to each standby Letter of Credit, and (ii) the rules of the
Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits, as most
33
recently published by the International Chamber of Commerce at the time of
issuance shall apply to each commercial Letter of Credit.
(i) Letter of Credit Fees. The Company shall pay to the Administrative
Agent for the account of each Lender in accordance with its Applicable
Percentage, in Dollars, a Letter of Credit fee (the "Letter of Credit Fee") for
each Letter of Credit in an amount equal to the Applicable Rate shown in the
column labeled Letter of Credit Fee in the Pricing Table, multiplied by the
daily amount available to be drawn under such Letter of Credit. For purposes of
computing the daily amount available to be drawn under any Letter of Credit, the
amount of such Letter of Credit shall be determined in accordance with Section
1.08. Letter of Credit Fees shall be (i) computed on a quarterly basis in
arrears and (ii) due and payable on the first Business Day after the end of each
March, June, September and December, commencing with the first such date to
occur after the issuance of such Letter of Credit, on the Letter of Credit
Expiration Date and thereafter on demand. If there is any change in the
Applicable Rate during any quarter, the daily amount available to be drawn under
each Letter of Credit shall be computed and multiplied by the Applicable Rate
separately for each period during such quarter that such Applicable Rate was in
effect. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, upon the
request of the Required Lenders, while any Event of Default exists, all Letter
of Credit Fees shall accrue at the Default Rate.
(j) Fronting Fee and Documentary and Processing Charges Payable to L/C
Issuer. The Company shall pay directly to the L/C Issuer for its own account, in
Dollars, a fronting fee (i) with respect to each commercial Letter of Credit, at
the rate specified in the Fee Letter, computed on the amount of such Letter of
Credit, and payable upon the issuance thereof, (ii) with respect to any
amendment of a commercial Letter of Credit increasing the amount of such Letter
of Credit, at a rate separately agreed between the Company and the L/C Issuer,
computed on the amount of such increase, and payable upon the effectiveness of
such amendment, and (iii) with respect to each standby Letter of Credit, at the
rate per annum specified in the Fee Letter, computed on the daily amount
available to be drawn under such Letter of Credit on a quarterly basis in
arrears. Such fronting fee shall be due and payable on the tenth Business Day
after the end of each March, June, September and December in respect of the most
recently-ended quarterly period (or portion thereof, in the case of the first
payment), commencing with the first such date to occur after the issuance of
such Letter of Credit, on the Letter of Credit Expiration Date and thereafter on
demand. For purposes of computing the daily amount available to be drawn under
any Letter of Credit, the amount of such Letter of Credit shall be determined in
accordance with Section 1.08. In addition, the Company shall pay directly to the
L/C Issuer for its own account, in Dollars, the customary issuance,
presentation, amendment and other processing fees, and other standard costs and
charges, of the L/C Issuer relating to letters of credit as from time to time in
effect. Such customary fees and standard costs and charges are due and payable
on demand and are nonrefundable.
(k) Conflict with Issuer Documents. In the event of any conflict between
the terms hereof and the terms of any Issuer Document, the terms hereof shall
control.
(l) Letters of Credit Issued for Subsidiaries. Notwithstanding that a
Letter of Credit issued or outstanding hereunder is in support of any
obligations of, or is for the account of, a Subsidiary, the Company shall be
obligated to reimburse the L/C Issuer hereunder for any and all drawings under
such Letter of Credit. The Company hereby acknowledges that the issuance of
Letters of Credit for the account of Subsidiaries inures to the benefit of the
Company, and that the Company's business derives substantial benefits from the
businesses of such Subsidiaries.
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2.04 SWING LINE LOANS.
(a) The Swing Line. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein,
the Swing Line Lender agrees, in reliance upon the agreements of the other
Lenders set forth in this Section 2.04, to make loans in Dollars (each such
loan, a "Swing Line Loan") to the Company from time to time on any Business Day
during the Availability Period in an aggregate amount not to exceed at any time
outstanding the amount of the Swing Line Sublimit, notwithstanding the fact that
such Swing Line Loans, when aggregated with the Applicable Percentage of the
Outstanding Amount of Committed Loans and L/C Obligations of the Lender acting
as Swing Line Lender, may exceed the amount of such Lender's Commitment;
provided, however, that after giving effect to any Swing Line Loan, (i) the
Total Outstandings shall not exceed the Aggregate Commitments, and (ii) the
aggregate Outstanding Amount of the Committed Loans of any Lender, plus such
Lender's Applicable Percentage of the Outstanding Amount of all L/C Obligations,
plus such Lender's Applicable Percentage of the Outstanding Amount of all Swing
Line Loans shall not exceed such Lender's Commitment, and provided, further,
that (i) the Company shall not use the proceeds of any Swing Line Loan to
refinance any outstanding Swing Line Loan; and (ii) the availability of the
Aggregate Commitments at any time for the making of Loans and the issuance of
Letters of Credit shall be reduced by the amount of the Alternative Currency
Reserve. Within the foregoing limits, and subject to the other terms and
conditions hereof, the Company may borrow under this Section 2.04, prepay under
Section 2.05, and reborrow under this Section 2.04. Each Swing Line Loan shall
be a Base Rate Loan. Immediately upon the making of a Swing Line Loan, each
Lender shall be deemed to, and hereby irrevocably and unconditionally agrees to,
purchase from the Swing Line Lender a risk participation in such Swing Line Loan
in an amount equal to the product of such Lender's Applicable Percentage times
the amount of such Swing Line Loan.
(b) Borrowing Procedures. Each Swing Line Borrowing shall be made upon the
Company's irrevocable notice to the Swing Line Lender and the Administrative
Agent, which may be given by telephone. Each such notice must be received by the
Swing Line Lender and the Administrative Agent not later than 1:00 p.m. on the
requested borrowing date, and shall specify (i) the amount to be borrowed, which
shall be a minimum of $250,000, and (ii) the requested borrowing date, which
shall be a Business Day. Each such telephonic notice must be confirmed promptly
by delivery to the Swing Line Lender and the Administrative Agent of a written
Swing Line Loan Notice, appropriately completed and signed by a Responsible
Officer of the Company. Promptly after receipt by the Swing Line Lender of any
telephonic Swing Line Loan Notice, the Swing Line Lender will confirm with the
Administrative Agent (by telephone or in writing) that the Administrative Agent
has also received such Swing Line Loan Notice and, if not, the Swing Line Lender
will notify the Administrative Agent (by telephone or in writing) of the
contents thereof. Unless the Swing Line Lender has received notice (by telephone
or in writing) from the Administrative Agent (including at the request of any
Lender) prior to 2:00 p.m. on the date of the proposed Swing Line Borrowing (A)
directing the Swing Line Lender not to make such Swing Line Loan as a result of
the limitations set forth in the proviso to the first sentence of Section
2.04(a), or (B) that one or more of the applicable conditions specified in
Section 5.02 is not then satisfied, then, subject to the terms and conditions
hereof, the Swing Line Lender will, not later than 3:00 p.m. on the borrowing
date specified in such Swing Line Loan Notice, make the amount of its Swing Line
Loan available to the Company at its office by crediting the account of the
Company on the books of the Swing Line Lender in Same Day Funds.
(c) Refinancing of Swing Line Loans.
(i) The Swing Line Lender at any time in its sole and absolute
discretion may request, on behalf of the Company (which hereby irrevocably
authorizes the Swing Line Lender to so request on its behalf), that each
Lender make a Base Rate Committed Loan in an amount equal to such Lender's
Applicable Percentage of the amount of Swing Line Loans then
35
outstanding. Such request shall be made in writing (which written
request shall be deemed to be a Committed Loan Notice for purposes
hereof) and in accordance with the requirements of Section 2.02,
without regard to the minimum and multiples specified therein for
the principal amount of Base Rate Loans, but subject to the
unutilized portion of the Aggregate Commitments and the conditions
set forth in Section 5.02. The Swing Line Lender shall furnish the
Company with a copy of the applicable Committed Loan Notice promptly
after delivering such notice to the Administrative Agent. Each
Lender shall make an amount equal to its Applicable Percentage of
the amount specified in such Committed Loan Notice available to the
Administrative Agent in Same Day Funds for the account of the Swing
Line Lender at the Administrative Agent's Office for
Dollar-denominated payments not later than 1:00 p.m. on the day
specified in such Committed Loan Notice, whereupon, subject to
Section 2.04(c)(ii), each Lender that so makes funds available shall
be deemed to have made a Base Rate Committed Loan to the Company in
such amount. The Administrative Agent shall remit the funds so
received to the Swing Line Lender.
(ii) If for any reason any Swing Line Loan cannot be refinanced
by such a Committed Borrowing in accordance with Section 2.04(c)(i),
the request for Base Rate Committed Loans submitted by the Swing
Line Lender as set forth herein shall be deemed to be a request by
the Swing Line Lender that each of the Lenders fund its risk
participation in the relevant Swing Line Loan and each Lender's
payment to the Administrative Agent for the account of the Swing
Line Lender pursuant to Section 2.04(c)(i) shall be deemed payment
in respect of such participation.
(iii) If any Lender fails to make available to the
Administrative Agent for the account of the Swing Line Lender any
amount required to be paid by such Lender pursuant to the foregoing
provisions of this Section 2.04(c) by the time specified in Section
2.04(c)(i), the Swing Line Lender shall be entitled to recover from
such Lender (acting through the Administrative Agent), on demand,
such amount with interest thereon for the period from the date such
payment is required to the date on which such payment is immediately
available to the Swing Line Lender at a rate per annum equal to the
applicable Overnight Rate from time to time in effect. A certificate
of the Swing Line Lender submitted to any Lender (through the
Administrative Agent) with respect to any amounts owing under this
clause (iii) shall be conclusive absent manifest error.
(iv) Each Lender's obligation to make Committed Loans or to
purchase and fund risk participations in Swing Line Loans pursuant
to this Section 2.04(c) shall be absolute and unconditional and
shall not be affected by any circumstance, including (A) any setoff,
counterclaim, recoupment, defense or other right which such Lender
may have against the Swing Line Lender, the Company or any other
Person for any reason whatsoever, (B) the occurrence or continuance
of a Default or an Event of Default, or (C) any other occurrence,
event or condition, whether or not similar to any of the foregoing;
provided, however, that each Lender's obligation to make Committed
Loans pursuant to this Section 2.04(c) is subject to the conditions
set forth in Section 5.02. No such funding of risk participations
shall relieve or otherwise impair the obligation of the Company to
repay Swing Line Loans, together with interest as provided herein.
(d) Repayment of Participations.
(i) At any time after any Lender has purchased and funded a
risk participation in a Swing Line Loan, if the Swing Line Lender
receives any payment on account of such Swing Line Loan, the Swing
Line Lender will distribute to such Lender its Applicable Percentage
of such payment (appropriately adjusted, in the case of interest
payments, to reflect the period of time
36
during which such Lender's risk participation was funded) in the same
funds as those received by the Swing Line Lender.
(ii) If any payment received by the Swing Line Lender in respect of
principal or interest on any Swing Line Loan is required to be returned by
the Swing Line Lender under any of the circumstances described in Section
11.05 (including pursuant to any settlement entered into by the Swing Line
Lender in its discretion), each Lender shall pay to the Swing Line Lender
its Applicable Percentage thereof on demand of the Administrative Agent,
plus interest thereon from the date of such demand to the date such amount
is returned, at a rate per annum equal to the applicable Overnight Rate.
The Administrative Agent will make such demand upon the request of the
Swing Line Lender. The obligations of the Lenders under this clause shall
survive the payment in full of the Obligations and the termination of this
Agreement.
(e) Interest for Account of Swing Line Lender. The Swing Line Lender shall
be responsible for invoicing the Company for interest on the Swing Line Loans.
Until each Lender funds its Base Rate Committed Loan or risk participation
pursuant to this Section 2.04 to refinance such Lender's Applicable Percentage
of any Swing Line Loan, interest in respect of such Applicable Percentage shall
be solely for the account of the Swing Line Lender.
(f) Payments Directly to Swing Line Lender. The Company shall make all
payments of principal and interest in respect of the Swing Line Loans directly
to the Swing Line Lender.
2.05 PREPAYMENTS.
(a) Each Borrower may, upon notice from the Company to the Administrative
Agent, at any time or from time to time voluntarily prepay Committed Loans in
whole or in part without premium or penalty; provided that (i) such notice must
be received by the Administrative Agent not later than 11:00 a.m. (A) three
Business Days prior to any date of prepayment of Eurocurrency Rate Loans
denominated in Dollars, (B) four Business Days (or five, in the case of
prepayment of Loans denominated in Special Notice Currencies) prior to any date
of prepayment of Eurocurrency Rate Loans denominated in Alternative Currencies,
and (C) on the date of prepayment of Base Rate Committed Loans; (ii) any
prepayment of Eurocurrency Rate Loans denominated in Dollars shall be in a
principal amount of $5,000,000 or a whole multiple of $1,000,000 in excess
thereof; (iii) any prepayment of Eurocurrency Rate Loans denominated in
Alternative Currencies shall be in a minimum principal amount of $5,000,000 or a
whole multiple of $1,000,000 in excess thereof; and (iv) any prepayment of Base
Rate Committed Loans shall be in a principal amount of $1,000,000 or a whole
multiple of $100,000 in excess thereof or, in each case, if less, the entire
principal amount thereof then outstanding. Each such notice shall specify the
date and amount of such prepayment and the Type(s) of Committed Loans to be
prepaid and, if Eurocurrency Loans are to be prepaid, the Interest Period(s) of
such Loans. The Administrative Agent will promptly notify each Lender of its
receipt of each such notice, and of the amount of such Lender's Applicable
Percentage of such prepayment. If such notice is given by the Company, the
applicable Borrower shall make such prepayment and the payment amount specified
in such notice shall be due and payable on the date specified therein. Any
prepayment of a Eurocurrency Rate Loan shall be accompanied by all accrued
interest on the amount prepaid, together with any additional amounts required
pursuant to Section 3.05. Each such prepayment shall be applied to the Committed
Loans of the Lenders in accordance with their respective Applicable Percentages.
(b) The Company may, upon notice to the Swing Line Lender (with a copy to
the Administrative Agent), at any time or from time to time, voluntarily prepay
Swing Line Loans in whole or in part without premium or penalty; provided that
(i) such notice must be received by the Swing Line Lender and the Administrative
Agent not later than 1:00 p.m. on the date of the prepayment, and (ii) any
37
such prepayment shall be in a minimum principal amount of $100,000. Each such
notice shall specify the date and amount of such prepayment. If such notice is
given by the Company, the Company shall make such prepayment and the payment
amount specified in such notice shall be due and payable on the date specified
therein.
(c) If as a result of foreign currency translation the Outstanding Amount
of all Loans denominated in Alternative Currencies at such time exceeds the
Aggregate Commitments then in effect by an amount in excess of the Dollar
Equivalent of $400,000, then, within two Business Days after receipt of notice
from the Administrative Agent of such occurrence, the Borrowers shall prepay
Loans in an aggregate amount sufficient to reduce such Outstanding Amount as of
such date of payment to an amount not to exceed the Dollar Equivalent of
$400,000 in excess of the Aggregate Commitments then in effect.
(d) If for any reason other than as a result of foreign currency
translation the Total Outstandings at any time exceed the Aggregate Commitments
then in effect, the Company shall promptly after notice from the Administrative
Agent prepay Loans and/or Cash Collateralize the L/C Obligations in an aggregate
amount equal to such excess; provided, however, that the Company shall not be
required to Cash Collateralize the L/C Obligations pursuant to this Section
2.05(c) unless after the prepayment in full of the Loans the Total Outstandings
exceed the Aggregate Commitments then in effect. If for any reason the
Outstanding Amount of all Swing Line Loans exceed the Swing Line Sublimit, the
Company shall immediately prepay the Swing Line Loans in aggregate amount equal
to such excess. The Administrative Agent may, at any time and from time to time
after the initial deposit of such Cash Collateral, request that additional Cash
Collateral be provided in order to protect against the results of exchange rate
fluctuations.
2.06 TERMINATION OR REDUCTION OF COMMITMENTS.
The Company may, upon notice to the Administrative Agent, terminate the
Aggregate Commitments, or from time to time permanently reduce the Aggregate
Commitments; provided that (i) any such notice shall be received by the
Administrative Agent not later than 11:00 a.m. five Business Days prior to the
date of termination or reduction, (ii) any such partial reduction shall be in an
aggregate amount of $10,000,000 or any whole multiple of $1,000,000 in excess
thereof, (iii) the Company shall not terminate or reduce the Aggregate
Commitments if, after giving effect thereto and to any concurrent prepayments
hereunder, the Total Outstandings plus the Alternative Currency Reserve would
exceed the Aggregate Commitments, and (iv) if, after giving effect to any
reduction of the Aggregate Commitments, the Letter of Credit Sublimit or the
Swing Line Sublimit exceeds the amount of the Aggregate Commitments, such
Sublimit shall be automatically reduced by the amount of such excess. The
Administrative Agent will promptly notify the Lenders of any such notice of
termination or reduction of the Aggregate Commitments. The amount of any such
Aggregate Commitment reduction shall not be applied to the Letter of Credit
Sublimit or the Swing Line Sublimit unless otherwise specified by the Company.
Any reduction of the Aggregate Commitments shall be applied to the Commitment of
each Lender according to its Applicable Percentage. All fees accrued until the
effective date of any termination of the Aggregate Commitments shall be paid on
the effective date of such termination.
2.07 REPAYMENT OF LOANS.
(a) Each Borrower shall repay to the Lenders on the Maturity Date the
aggregate principal amount of Committed Loans made to such Borrower outstanding
on such date.
(b) The Company shall repay each Swing Line Loan on the earlier to occur
of (i) the date ten Business Days after such Loan is made and (ii) the Maturity
Date.
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2.08 INTEREST.
(a) Subject to the provisions of subsection (b) below, (i) each
Eurocurrency Rate Loan shall bear interest on the outstanding principal amount
thereof for each Interest Period at a rate per annum equal to the Eurocurrency
Rate for such Interest Period plus the Applicable Rate shown in the column
labeled Eurocurrency Margin in the Pricing Table plus (in the case of a
Eurocurrency Rate Loan of any Lender which is lent from a Lending Office in the
United Kingdom or a Participating Member State) the Mandatory Cost; (ii) each
Base Rate Committed Loan shall bear interest on the outstanding principal amount
thereof from the applicable borrowing date at a rate per annum equal to the Base
Rate plus the Applicable Rate shown in the column labeled Base Rate Margin in
the Pricing Table; and (iii) each Swing Line Loan shall bear interest on the
outstanding principal amount thereof from the applicable borrowing date at a
rate per annum equal to the Base Rate plus the Applicable Rate shown in the
column labeled Base Rate Margin in the Pricing Table.
(b) (i) If any amount payable by any Borrower under any Loan
Document is not paid when due (without regard to any applicable grace
periods), whether at stated maturity, by acceleration or otherwise, such
amount shall thereafter bear interest at a fluctuating interest rate per
annum at all times equal to the Default Rate to the fullest extent
permitted by applicable Laws.
(ii) Upon the request of the Required Lenders, while any Event of
Default exists, the Borrowers shall pay interest on the principal amount
of all outstanding Obligations hereunder at a fluctuating interest rate
per annum at all times equal to the Default Rate to the fullest extent
permitted by applicable Laws.
(iii) Accrued and unpaid interest on past due amounts (including
interest on past due interest) shall be due and payable upon demand.
(c) Interest on each Loan shall be due and payable in arrears on each
Interest Payment Date applicable thereto and at such other times as may be
specified herein. Interest hereunder shall be due and payable in accordance with
the terms hereof before and after judgment, and before and after the
commencement of any proceeding under any Debtor Relief Law.
2.09 FEES.
In addition to certain fees described in subsections (i) and (j) of
Section 2.03:
(a) Facility Fee. The Company shall pay to the Administrative Agent for
the account of each Lender in accordance with its Applicable Percentage, a
facility fee (the "Facility Fee") in Dollars in an amount equal to the
Applicable Rate shown in the column labeled Facility Fee in the Pricing Table
multiplied by the actual daily amount of the Aggregate Commitments (or, if the
Aggregate Commitments have terminated, on the Outstanding Amount of all
Committed Loans, Swing Line Loans and L/C Obligations), regardless of usage. The
Facility Fee shall accrue at all times during the Availability Period (and
thereafter so long as any Committed Loans, Swing Line Loans or L/C Obligations
remain outstanding), including at any time during which one or more of the
conditions in Article V is not met, and shall be due and payable quarterly in
arrears on the last Business Day of each March, June, September and December,
commencing with the first such date to occur after the Closing Date, and on the
Maturity Date (and, if applicable, thereafter on demand). The Facility Fee shall
be calculated quarterly in arrears, and if there is any change in the Applicable
Rate during any quarter, the actual daily amount shall be computed and
multiplied by the Applicable Rate separately for each period during such quarter
that such Applicable Rate was in effect.
39
(b) Utilization Fee. The Company shall pay to the Administrative Agent for
the account of each Lender in accordance with its Applicable Percentage, a
utilization fee (the "Utilization Fee") in Dollars in an amount equal to the
Applicable Rate shown in the column labeled Utilization Fee in the Pricing Table
multiplied by the Total Outstandings on each day that the Total Outstandings
exceed 50% of the actual daily amount of the Aggregate Commitments then in
effect (or, if terminated, in effect immediately prior to such termination). The
Utilization Fee shall be due and payable quarterly in arrears on the last
Business Day of each March, June, September and December, commencing with the
first such date to occur after the Closing Date, and on the Maturity Date. The
Utilization Fee shall be calculated quarterly in arrears and if there is any
change in the Applicable Rate during any quarter, the daily amount shall be
computed and multiplied by the Applicable Rate for each period during which such
Applicable Rate was in effect. The Utilization Fee shall accrue at all times,
including at any time during which one or more of the conditions in Article V is
not met.
(c) Other Fees. (i) The Company shall pay to BAS and the Administrative
Agent for their own respective accounts, in Dollars, fees in the amounts and at
the times specified in the Fee Letter. Such fees shall be fully earned when paid
and shall not be refundable for any reason whatsoever.
(ii) The Company shall pay to the Lenders, in Dollars, such fees as
shall have been separately agreed upon in writing in the amounts and at
the times so specified. Such fees shall be fully earned when paid and
shall not be refundable for any reason whatsoever.
2.10 COMPUTATION OF INTEREST AND FEES.
All computations of interest for Base Rate Loans when the Base Rate is
determined by Bank of America's "prime rate" shall be made on the basis of a
year of 365 or 366 days, as the case may be, and actual days elapsed. All other
computations of fees and interest shall be made on the basis of a 360-day year
and actual days elapsed (which results in more fees or interest, as applicable,
being paid than if computed on the basis of a 365-day year), or, in the case of
interest in respect of Committed Loans denominated in Alternative Currencies as
to which market practice differs from the foregoing, in accordance with such
market practice. Interest shall accrue on each Loan for the day on which the
Loan is made, and shall not accrue on a Loan, or any portion thereof, for the
day on which the Loan or such portion is paid, provided that any Loan that is
repaid on the same day on which it is made shall, subject to Section 2.12(a),
bear interest for one day. Each determination by the Administrative Agent of an
interest rate or fee hereunder shall be conclusive and binding for all purposes,
absent manifest error.
2.11 EVIDENCE OF INDEBTEDNESS.
(a) The Credit Extensions made by each Lender shall be evidenced by one or
more accounts or records maintained by such Lender and by the Administrative
Agent in the ordinary course of business. The accounts or records maintained by
the Administrative Agent and each Lender shall be conclusive absent manifest
error of the amount of the Credit Extensions made by the Lenders to the
Borrowers and the interest and payments thereon. Any failure to so record or any
error in doing so shall not, however, limit or otherwise affect the obligation
of the Borrowers hereunder to pay any amount owing with respect to the
Obligations. In the event of any conflict between the accounts and records
maintained by any Lender and the accounts and records of the Administrative
Agent in respect of such matters, the accounts and records of the Administrative
Agent shall control in the absence of manifest error. Upon the request of any
Lender to a Borrower made through the Administrative Agent, such Borrower shall
execute and deliver to such Lender (through the Administrative Agent) a Note,
which shall evidence such Lender's Loans to such Borrower in addition to such
accounts or records. Each such Note shall (i) in the case of Committed Loans, be
in the form of Exhibit C (a "Revolving Note") and (ii) in the case of Swing Line
40
Loans, be in the form of Exhibit D (a "Swing Line Note"). Each Lender may attach
schedules to a Note and endorse thereon the date, Type (if applicable), amount,
currency and maturity of its Loans and payments with respect thereto.
(b) In addition to the accounts and records referred to in subsection (a),
each Lender and the Administrative Agent shall maintain in accordance with its
usual practice accounts or records evidencing the purchases and sales by such
Lender of participations in Letters of Credit and Swing Line Loans. In the event
of any conflict between the accounts and records maintained by the
Administrative Agent and the accounts and records of any Lender in respect of
such matters, the accounts and records of the Administrative Agent shall control
in the absence of manifest error.
2.12 PAYMENTS GENERALLY; ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT'S CLAWBACK.
(a) General. All payments to be made by the Borrowers shall be made
without condition or deduction for any counterclaim, defense, recoupment or
setoff. Except as otherwise expressly provided herein and except with respect to
principal of and interest on Loans denominated in an Alternative Currency, all
payments by the Borrowers hereunder shall be made to the Administrative Agent,
for the account of the respective Lenders to which such payment is owed, at the
applicable Administrative Agent's Office in Dollars and in Same Day Funds not
later than 2:00 p.m. on the date specified herein. Except as otherwise expressly
provided herein, all payments by the Borrowers hereunder with respect to
principal and interest on Loans denominated in an Alternative Currency shall be
made to the Administrative Agent, for the account of the respective Lenders to
which such payment is owed, at the applicable Administrative Agent's Office in
such Alternative Currency and in Same Day Funds not later than the Applicable
Time specified by the Administrative Agent on the dates specified herein.
Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Administrative Agent may
require that any payments due under this Agreement be made in the United States.
If, for any reason, any Borrower is prohibited by any Law from making any
required payment hereunder in an Alternative Currency, such Borrower shall make
such payment in Dollars in the Dollar Equivalent of the Alternative Currency
payment amount. The Administrative Agent will promptly distribute to each Lender
its Applicable Percentage (or other applicable share as provided herein) of such
payment in like funds as received by wire transfer to such Lender's Lending
Office. All payments received by the Administrative Agent (i) after 2:00 p.m.,
in the case of payments in Dollars, or (ii) after the Applicable Time specified
by the Administrative Agent in the case of payments in an Alternative Currency,
shall in each case be deemed received on the next succeeding Business Day and
any applicable interest or fee shall continue to accrue. If any payment to be
made by any Borrower shall come due on a day other than a Business Day, payment
shall be made on the next following Business Day, and such extension of time
shall be reflected in computing interest or fees, as the case may be.
(b) (i) Funding by Lenders; Presumption by Administrative Agent. Unless
the Administrative Agent shall have received notice from a Lender prior to the
proposed date of any Committed Borrowing of Eurocurrency Rate Loans (or, in the
case of any Committed Borrowing of Base Rate Loans, prior to 12:00 noon on the
date of such Committed Borrowing) that such Lender will not make available to
the Administrative Agent such Lender's share of such Committed Borrowing, the
Administrative Agent may assume that such Lender has made such share available
on such date in accordance with Section 2.02 (or, in the case of a Committed
Borrowing of Base Rate Loans, that such Lender has made such share available in
accordance with and at the time required by Section 2.02) and may, in reliance
upon such assumption, make available to the applicable Borrower a corresponding
amount. In such event, if a Lender has not in fact made its share of the
applicable Committed Borrowing available to the Administrative Agent, then the
applicable Lender and the applicable Borrower severally agree to pay to the
Administrative Agent forthwith on demand such corresponding amount in Same Day
Funds with interest thereon, for each day from and including the date such
amount is made available to
41
such Borrower to but excluding the date of payment to the Administrative Agent,
at (A) in the case of a payment to be made by such Lender, the Overnight Rate
and (B) in the case of a payment to be made by such Borrower, the interest rate
applicable to Base Rate Loans. If such Borrower and such Lender shall pay such
interest to the Administrative Agent for the same or an overlapping period, the
Administrative Agent shall promptly remit to such Borrower the amount of such
interest paid by such Borrower for such period. If such Lender pays its share of
the applicable Committed Borrowing to the Administrative Agent, then the amount
so paid shall constitute such Lender's Committed Loan included in such Committed
Borrowing. Any payment by such Borrower shall be without prejudice to any claim
such Borrower may have against a Lender that shall have failed to make such
payment to the Administrative Agent.
(ii) Payments by Borrowers; Presumptions by Administrative Agent.
Unless the Administrative Agent shall have received notice from a Borrower
prior to the date on which any payment is due to the Administrative Agent
for the account of the Lenders or the L/C Issuer hereunder that such
Borrower will not make such payment, the Administrative Agent may assume
that such Borrower has made such payment on such date in accordance
herewith and may, in reliance upon such assumption, distribute to the
Lenders or the L/C Issuer, as the case may be, the amount due. In such
event, if such Borrower has not in fact made such payment, then each of
the Lenders or the L/C Issuer, as the case may be, severally agrees to
repay to the Administrative Agent forthwith on demand the amount so
distributed to such Lender or the L/C Issuer, in Same Day Funds 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 Overnight Rate.
A notice of the Administrative Agent to any Lender or Borrower with respect to
any amount owing under this subsection (b) shall be conclusive, absent manifest
error.
(c) Failure to Satisfy Conditions Precedent. If any Lender makes available
to the Administrative Agent funds for any Loan to be made by such Lender to any
Borrower as provided in the foregoing provisions of this Article II, and such
funds are not made available to such Borrower by the Administrative Agent
because the conditions to the applicable Credit Extension set forth in Article V
are not satisfied or waived in accordance with the terms hereof, the
Administrative Agent shall return such funds (in like funds as received from
such Lender) to such Lender, without interest.
(d) Obligations of Lenders Several. The obligations of the Lenders
hereunder to make Committed Loans, to fund participations in Letters of Credit
and Swing Line Loans and to make payments pursuant to Section 11.04(c) are
several and not joint. The failure of any Lender to make any Committed Loan, to
fund any such participation or to make any payment under Section 11.04(c) on any
date required hereunder shall not relieve any other Lender of its corresponding
obligation to do so on such date, and no Lender shall be responsible for the
failure of any other Lender to so make its Committed Loan, to purchase its
participation or to make its payment under Section 11.04(c).
(e) Funding Source. Nothing herein shall be deemed to obligate any Lender
to obtain the funds for any Loan in any particular place or manner or to
constitute a representation by any Lender that it has obtained or will obtain
the funds for any Loan in any particular place or manner.
2.13 SHARING OF PAYMENTS BY LENDERS.
If any Lender shall, by exercising any right of setoff or counterclaim or
otherwise, obtain payment in respect of any principal of or interest on any of
the Committed Loans made by it, or the participations in L/C Obligations or in
Swing Line Loans held by it resulting in such Lender's receiving
42
payment of a proportion of the aggregate amount of such Committed Loans or
participations and accrued interest thereon greater than its pro rata share
thereof as provided herein, then the Lender receiving such greater proportion
shall (a) notify the Administrative Agent of such fact, and (b) purchase (for
cash at face value) participations in the Committed Loans and subparticipations
in L/C Obligations and Swing Line Loans of the other Lenders, or make such other
adjustments as shall be equitable, 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 Committed Loans and
other amounts owing them, provided that:
(i) if any such participations or subparticipations are purchased
and all or any portion of the payment giving rise thereto is recovered,
such participations or subparticipations shall be rescinded and the
purchase price restored to the extent of such recovery, without interest;
and
(ii) the provisions of this Section shall not be construed to apply
to (x) any payment made by a Borrower pursuant to and in accordance with
the express terms of this Agreement or (y) any payment obtained by a
Lender as consideration for the assignment of or sale of a participation
in any of its Committed Loans or subparticipations in L/C Obligations or
Swing Line Loans to any assignee or participant, other than to the Company
or any Subsidiary thereof (as to which the provisions of this Section
shall apply).
Each 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 such
Borrower rights of setoff and counterclaim with respect to such participation as
fully as if such Lender were a direct creditor of such Borrower in the amount of
such participation.
2.14 DESIGNATED BORROWERS.
(a) Effective as of the date hereof each Wholly Owned Subsidiary
identified on Schedule 2.14 shall be a "Designated Borrower" hereunder and may
receive Loans for its account on the terms and conditions set forth in this
Agreement.
(b) The Company may at any time, upon not less than 15 Business Days'
notice from the Company to the Administrative Agent (or such shorter period as
may be agreed by the Administrative Agent in its sole discretion), designate any
additional Wholly Owned Subsidiary of the Company (an "Applicant Borrower") as a
Designated Borrower to receive Loans hereunder by delivering to the
Administrative Agent (which shall promptly deliver counterparts thereof to each
Lender) a duly executed notice and agreement in substantially the form of
Exhibit G (a "Designated Borrower Request and Assumption Agreement"). The
parties hereto acknowledge and agree that prior to any Applicant Borrower
becoming entitled to utilize the credit facilities provided for herein the
Administrative Agent and the Lenders shall have received such supporting
resolutions, incumbency certificates, opinions of counsel and other documents or
information, in form, content and scope reasonably satisfactory to the
Administrative Agent, as may be required by the Administrative Agent or the
Required Lenders in their reasonable discretion, and Notes signed by such new
Borrowers to the extent any Lenders so require. If the Administrative Agent and
the Required Lenders agree that an Applicant Borrower shall be entitled to
receive Loans hereunder, then promptly following receipt of all such requested
resolutions, incumbency certificates, opinions of counsel and other documents or
information, the Administrative Agent shall send a notice in substantially the
form of Exhibit H (a "Designated Borrower Notice") to the Company and the
Lenders specifying the effective date upon which the Applicant Borrower shall
constitute a Designated Borrower for purposes hereof, whereupon each of the
Lenders agrees to permit such Designated Borrower to receive Loans hereunder, on
the terms and conditions set forth herein, and each of the parties agrees
43
that such Designated Borrower otherwise shall be a Borrower for all purposes of
this Agreement; provided that no Committed Loan Notice or Letter of Credit
Application may be submitted by or on behalf of such Designated Borrower until
the date five Business Days after such effective date.
(c) The Obligations of the Company and each Designated Borrower that is a
Domestic Subsidiary shall be joint and several in nature regardless of which
Designated Borrower that is a Domestic Subsidiary actually receives Credit
Extensions hereunder or the amount of such Credit Extensions received or the
manner in which the Administrative Agent or any Lender accounts for such Credit
Extensions on its books and records. The obligations of each Designated Borrower
that is a Domestic Subsidiary with respect to Credit Extensions made to it, and
each such Borrower's obligations arising as a result of the joint and several
liability of such Borrower hereunder, with respect to Credit Extensions made to
and other Obligations owing hereunder by the other Designated Borrowers that are
Domestic Subsidiaries, shall be separate and distinct obligations, but all such
obligations shall be primary obligations of each such Designated Borrower that
is a Domestic Subsidiary. The Obligations of all Designated Borrowers that are
Foreign Subsidiaries shall be several in nature.
(d) Each Subsidiary of the Company that is or becomes a "Designated
Borrower" pursuant to this Section 2.14 hereby irrevocably appoints the Company
as its agent for all purposes relevant to this Agreement and each of the other
Loan Documents, including (i) the giving and receipt of notices, (ii) the
execution and delivery of all documents, instruments and certificates
contemplated herein and all modifications hereto, and (iii) the receipt of the
proceeds of any Loans made by the Lenders, to any such Designated Borrower
hereunder. Any acknowledgment, consent, direction, certification or other action
which might otherwise be valid or effective only if given or taken by all
Borrowers, or by each Borrower acting singly, shall be valid and effective if
given or taken only by the Company, whether or not any such other Borrower joins
therein. Any notice, demand, consent, acknowledgement, direction, certification
or other communication delivered to the Company in accordance with the terms of
this Agreement shall be deemed to have been delivered to each Designated
Borrower.
(e) The Company may from time to time, upon not less than 15 Business
Days' notice from the Company to the Administrative Agent (or such shorter
period as may be agreed by the Administrative Agent in its sole discretion),
terminate a Designated Borrower's status as such, provided that there are no
outstanding Loans payable by such Designated Borrower, or other amounts payable
by such Designated Borrower on account of any Loans made to it, as of the
effective date of such termination. The Administrative Agent will promptly
notify the Lenders of any such termination of a Designated Borrower's status.
(f) If the selection of a particular Designated Borrower results (or is
reasonably anticipated to result) in amounts becoming payable under Section 3.01
or Section 3.04(a)(ii), or notices being given under Section 3.02, the Company
may make a written request to the Administrative Agent for an amendment to this
Agreement that would create a separate tranche of Lenders to provide credit to
such Designated Borrower in a manner that would eliminate or minimize amounts
payable under Sections 3.01 and 3.04(a)(ii) and notices under Section 3.02. The
Administrative Agent and the Lenders agree to consider such amendment request in
good faith. The Company hereby agrees to pay (or to cause the applicable
Designated Borrower to pay) all reasonable costs and expenses incurred by the
Administrative Agent or any Lender in connection with any such amendment.
(g) Each Lender may, at its option, make any Loan available to any Foreign
Obligor by causing any foreign or domestic branch or Affiliate of such Lender to
make such Loan; provided that any exercise of such option (i) shall not affect
the obligation of such Foreign Obligor to repay such Loan in accordance with the
terms of this Agreement and (ii) shall be made subject to inter alia Section
3.01.
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2.15 EXTENSION OF MATURITY DATE.
(a) Requests for Extension. The Company may on a one-time basis by notice
to the Administrative Agent (who shall promptly notify the Lenders) (i) at any
time during the first four years following the Closing Date or (ii) during the
fifth year following the Closing Date, not later than 35 days prior to August 3,
2010 (the "Existing Maturity Date"), request that each Lender extend the
Existing Maturity Date for an additional one year from the Existing Maturity
Date.
(b) Lender Elections to Extend. Each Lender, acting in its sole and
individual discretion, shall, by notice to the Administrative Agent given not
later than 15 days following the receipt of notice of such request from the
Administrative Agent (the "Notice Date"), advise the Administrative Agent
whether or not such Lender agrees to such extension (and each Lender that
determines not to so extend its Maturity Date (a "Non-Extending Lender") shall
notify the Administrative Agent of such fact promptly after such determination
(but in any event no later than the Notice Date) and any Lender that does not so
advise the Administrative Agent on or before the 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.
(c) Notification by Administrative Agent. The Administrative Agent shall
notify the Company of each Lender's determination under this Section no later
than the date 15 days after the Notice Date (or, if such date is not a Business
Day, on the next preceding Business Day).
(d) Additional Commitment Lenders. The Company shall have the right on or
before the Existing Maturity Date to replace each Non-Extending Lender with, and
add as "Lenders" under this Agreement in place thereof, one or more Eligible
Assignees (each, an "Additional Commitment Lender") as provided in Section
11.13, each of which Additional Commitment Lenders shall have entered into an
Assignment and Assumption pursuant to which such Additional Commitment Lender
shall, effective as of the Existing Maturity Date, undertake 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) and
shall be a "Lender" for all purposes of this Agreement.
(e) Minimum Extension Requirement. If all of the Lenders agree to the
request for extension of the Maturity Date then the Maturity Date for all
Lenders shall be August 3, 2011. If there exists any Non-Extending Lenders then
the Company shall (i) withdraw its extension request and the Maturity Date will
remain unchanged or (ii) provided that the Required Lenders (but for the
avoidance of doubt, not including any Additional Commitment Lenders) have agreed
to the extension request (such Lenders agreeing to such extension, the
"Approving Lenders"), then the Company may extend the Maturity Date solely as to
the Approving Lenders and the Additional Commitment Lenders with a reduced
amount of Aggregate Commitments during such extension period equal to the
aggregate Commitments of the Approving Lenders and the Additional Commitment
Lenders; it being understood that (A) the Maturity Date relating to any
Non-Extending Lenders not replaced by an Additional Commitment Lender shall
remain August 3, 2010 and the repayment of all obligations owed to them and the
termination of their Commitments shall occur on such date and (B) the Maturity
Date relating to the Approving Lenders and the Additional Commitment Lenders
shall be August 3, 2011.
(f) Conditions to Effectiveness of Extensions. Notwithstanding the
foregoing, the extension of the Maturity Date pursuant to this Section shall not
be effective with respect to any Lender unless:
(i) no Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and be
continuing on the date of such extension and after giving effect thereto;
45
(ii) the representations and warranties contained in this Agreement
are true and correct in all material respects on and as of the date of
such extension 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);
and
(iii) on the Existing Maturity Date, the Borrowers shall prepay any
Committed Loans outstanding on such date (and pay any additional amounts
required pursuant to Section 3.05) to the extent necessary to keep
outstanding Committed Loans ratable with any revised Applicable
Percentages of the respective Lenders effective as of such date.
(g) Conflicting Provisions. This Section shall supersede any provisions in
Section 2.13 or 11.01 to the contrary.
ARTICLE III
TAXES, YIELD PROTECTION AND ILLEGALITY
3.01 TAXES.
(a) Payments Free of Taxes. Any and all payments by or on account of any
obligation of the respective Borrowers hereunder or under any other Loan
Document shall be made free and clear of and without reduction or withholding
for any Indemnified Taxes or Other Taxes, provided that if the applicable
Borrower shall be required by applicable law to deduct any Indemnified Taxes
(including any Other Taxes) from such payments, then (i) the sum payable shall
be increased as necessary so that after making all required deductions
(including deductions applicable to additional sums payable under this Section)
the Administrative Agent, Lender or L/C Issuer, as the case may be, receives an
amount equal to the sum it would have received had no such deductions been made,
(ii) such Borrower shall make such deductions and (iii) such Borrower shall
timely pay the full amount deducted to the relevant Governmental Authority in
accordance with applicable law.
(b) Payment of Other Taxes by the Borrowers. Without limiting the
provisions of subsection (a) above, each Borrower shall timely pay any Other
Taxes to the relevant Governmental Authority in accordance with applicable law.
(c) Indemnification by the Borrowers. Each Borrower shall indemnify the
Administrative Agent, each Lender and the L/C Issuer, within 10 days after
demand therefor, for the full amount of any Indemnified Taxes or Other Taxes
(including Indemnified Taxes or Other Taxes imposed or asserted on or
attributable to amounts payable under this Section) paid by the Administrative
Agent, such Lender or the L/C Issuer, as the case may be, and any penalties,
interest and reasonable expenses arising therefrom or with respect thereto,
whether or not such Indemnified Taxes or Other Taxes were correctly or legally
imposed or asserted by the relevant Governmental Authority. A certificate
showing the calculation (in reasonable detail) as to the amount of such payment
or liability delivered to a Borrower by a Lender or the L/C Issuer (with a copy
to the Administrative Agent), or by the Administrative Agent on its own behalf
or on behalf of a Lender or the L/C Issuer, shall be conclusive absent manifest
error.
(d) Evidence of Payments. As soon as practicable after any payment of
Indemnified Taxes or Other Taxes by any Borrower to a Governmental Authority,
such Borrower shall deliver to the Administrative Agent the original or a
certified copy of a receipt issued by such Governmental Authority
46
evidencing such payment, a copy of the return reporting such payment or other
evidence of such payment reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent.
(e) Status of Lenders. Any Foreign Lender that is entitled to an exemption
from or reduction of withholding tax under the law of the jurisdiction in which
a Borrower is resident for tax purposes, or any treaty to which such
jurisdiction is a party, with respect to payments hereunder or under any other
Loan Document shall deliver to the Company (with a copy to the Administrative
Agent), at the time or times prescribed by applicable law or reasonably
requested by the Company or the Administrative Agent, such properly completed
and executed documentation prescribed by applicable law as will permit such
payments to be made without withholding or at a reduced rate of withholding. In
addition, any Lender, if requested by the Company or the Administrative Agent,
shall deliver such other documentation prescribed by applicable law or
reasonably requested by the Company or the Administrative Agent as will enable
the Company or the Administrative Agent to determine whether or not such Lender
is subject to backup withholding or information reporting requirements.
Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, in the event that a
Borrower is resident for tax purposes in the United States, any Foreign Lender
shall deliver to Company 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 request of the Company or the Administrative Agent, but only
if such Foreign Lender is legally entitled to do so), whichever of the following
is applicable:
(i) duly completed copies of Internal Revenue Service Form W-8BEN
claiming eligibility for benefits of an income tax treaty to which the
United States is a party,
(ii) duly completed copies of Internal Revenue Service Form W-8ECI,
(iii) 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 to the effect that such Foreign Lender is not (A) a "bank"
within the meaning of section 881(c)(3)(A) of the Code, (B) a "10 percent
shareholder" of the applicable Borrower within the meaning of section
881(c)(3)(B) of the Code, or (C) a "controlled foreign corporation"
described in section 881(c)(3)(C) of the Code and (y) duly completed
copies of Internal Revenue Service Form W-8BEN, or
(iv) any other form prescribed by applicable law as a basis for
claiming exemption from or a reduction in United States Federal
withholding tax duly completed together with such supplementary
documentation as may be prescribed by applicable law to permit the Company
to determine the withholding or deduction required to be made.
Without limiting the obligations of the Lenders set forth above regarding
delivery of certain forms and documents to establish each Lender's status for
U.S. withholding tax purposes, each Lender agrees promptly to deliver to the
Administrative Agent or the Company, as the Administrative Agent or the Company
shall reasonably request, on or prior to the Closing Date, and in a timely
fashion thereafter, such other documents and forms required by any relevant
taxing authorities under the Laws of any other jurisdiction, duly executed and
completed by such Lender, as are required under such Laws to confirm such
Lender's entitlement to any available exemption from, or reduction of,
applicable withholding taxes in respect of all payments to be made to such
Lender outside of the U.S. by the Borrowers pursuant to this Agreement or
otherwise to establish such Lender's status for withholding tax purposes in such
other jurisdiction. Each Lender shall promptly (i) notify the Administrative
Agent of any change in circumstances which would modify or render invalid any
such claimed exemption or reduction, and (ii) take such steps as shall not be
materially disadvantageous to it, in the reasonable judgment of such
47
Lender, and as may be reasonably necessary (including the re-designation of its
Lending Office) to avoid any requirement of applicable Laws of any such
jurisdiction that any Borrower make any deduction or withholding for taxes from
amounts payable to such Lender. Additionally, each of the Borrowers shall
promptly deliver to the Administrative Agent or any Lender, as the
Administrative Agent or such Lender shall reasonably request, on or prior to the
Closing Date, and in a timely fashion thereafter, such documents and forms
required by any relevant taxing authorities under the Laws of any jurisdiction,
duly executed and completed by such Borrower, as are required to be furnished by
such Lender or the Administrative Agent under such Laws in connection with any
payment by the Administrative Agent or any Lender of Taxes or Other Taxes, or
otherwise in connection with the Loan Documents, with respect to such
jurisdiction.
(f) Treatment of Certain Refunds. If the Administrative Agent, any Lender
or the L/C Issuer determines, in its sole discretion, that it has received a
refund of any Taxes or Other Taxes as to which it has been indemnified by any
Borrower or with respect to which any Borrower has paid additional amounts
pursuant to this Section, it shall pay to such Borrower an amount equal to such
refund (but only to the extent of indemnity payments made, or additional amounts
paid, by such Borrower under this Section with respect to the Taxes or Other
Taxes giving rise to such refund), net of all out-of-pocket expenses of the
Administrative Agent, such Lender or the L/C Issuer, as the case may be, and
without interest (other than any interest paid by the relevant Governmental
Authority with respect to such refund), provided that each Borrower, upon the
request of the Administrative Agent, such Lender or the L/C Issuer, agrees to
repay the amount paid over to such Borrower (plus any penalties, interest or
other charges imposed by the relevant Governmental Authority) to the
Administrative Agent, such Lender or the L/C Issuer in the event the
Administrative Agent, such Lender or the L/C Issuer is required to repay such
refund to such Governmental Authority. This subsection shall not be construed to
require the Administrative Agent, any Lender or the L/C Issuer to make available
its tax returns (or any other information relating to its taxes that it deems
confidential) to any Borrower or any other Person.
3.02 ILLEGALITY.
If any Lender determines that any Law has made it unlawful, or that any
Governmental Authority has asserted that it is unlawful, for any Lender or its
applicable Lending Office to make, maintain or fund Eurocurrency Rate Loans
(whether denominated in Dollars or an Alternative Currency), or to determine or
charge interest rates based upon the Eurocurrency Rate, or any Governmental
Authority has imposed material restrictions on the authority of such Lender to
purchase or sell, or to take deposits of, Dollars or any Alternative Currency in
the applicable interbank market, then, on notice thereof by such Lender to the
Company through the Administrative Agent, any obligation of such Lender to make
or continue Eurocurrency Rate Loans in the affected currency or currencies or,
in the case of Eurocurrency Rate Loans in Dollars, to convert Base Rate
Committed Loans to Eurocurrency Rate Loans, shall be suspended until such Lender
notifies the Administrative Agent and the Company that the circumstances giving
rise to such determination no longer exist. Upon receipt of such notice, the
Borrowers shall, upon demand from such Lender (with a copy to the Administrative
Agent), prepay or, if applicable and such Loans are denominated in Dollars,
convert all such Eurocurrency Rate Loans of such Lender to Base Rate Loans,
either on the last day of the Interest Period therefor, if such Lender may
lawfully continue to maintain such Eurocurrency Rate Loans to such day, or
immediately, if such Lender may not lawfully continue to maintain such
Eurocurrency Rate Loans. Upon any such prepayment or conversion, the Borrowers
shall also pay accrued interest on the amount so prepaid or converted.
3.03 INABILITY TO DETERMINE RATES.
If the Required Lenders determine that for any reason in connection with
any request for a Eurocurrency Rate Loan or a conversion to or continuation
thereof that (a) deposits (whether in Dollars or
48
an Alternative Currency) are not being offered to banks in the applicable
offshore interbank market for such currency for the applicable amount and
Interest Period of such Eurocurrency Rate Loan, (b) adequate and reasonable
means do not exist for determining the Eurocurrency Rate for any requested
Interest Period with respect to a proposed Eurocurrency Rate Loan (whether
denominated in Dollars or an Alternative Currency), or (c) the Eurocurrency Rate
for any requested Interest Period with respect to a proposed Eurocurrency Rate
Loan does not adequately and fairly reflect the cost to such Lenders of funding
such Eurocurrency Rate Loan, the Administrative Agent will promptly so notify
the Company and each Lender. Thereafter, the obligation of the Lenders to make
or maintain Eurocurrency Rate Loans in the affected currency or currencies shall
be suspended until the Administrative Agent (upon the instruction of the
Required Lenders) revokes such notice. Upon receipt of such notice, the Company
may revoke any pending request for a Borrowing of, conversion to or continuation
of Eurocurrency Rate Loans in the affected currency or currencies or, failing
that, will be deemed to have converted such request into a request for a
Committed Borrowing of Base Rate Loans in the amount specified therein.
3.04 INCREASED COSTS; RESERVES ON EUROCURRENCY RATE LOANS.
(a) Increased Costs Generally. If any Change in Law shall:
(i) impose, modify or deem applicable any reserve, special deposit,
compulsory loan, insurance charge or similar requirement against assets
of, deposits with or for the account of, or credit extended or
participated in by, any Lender (except (A) any reserve requirement
contemplated by Section 3.04(e) and (B) the requirements of the Bank of
England and the Financial Services Authority or the European Central Bank
reflected in the Mandatory Cost, other than as set forth below) or the L/C
Issuer;
(ii) subject any Lender or the L/C Issuer to any tax of any kind
whatsoever with respect to this Agreement, any Letter of Credit, any
participation in a Letter of Credit or any Eurocurrency Rate Loan made by
it, or change the basis of taxation of payments to such Lender or the L/C
Issuer in respect thereof (except for Indemnified Taxes or Other Taxes
covered by Section 3.01 and the imposition of, or any change in the rate
of, any Excluded Tax payable by such Lender or the L/C Issuer);
(iii) the Mandatory Cost, as calculated hereunder, does not
represent the cost to any Lender of complying with the requirements of the
Bank of England and/or the Financial Services Authority or the European
Central Bank in relation to its making, funding or maintaining
Eurocurrency Rate Loans; or
(iv) impose on any Lender or the L/C Issuer or the London interbank
market any other condition, cost or expense affecting this Agreement or
Eurocurrency Rate Loans made by such Lender or any Letter of Credit or
participation therein;
and the result of any of the foregoing shall be to increase the cost to such
Lender of making or maintaining any Eurocurrency Rate Loan (or of maintaining
its obligation to make any such Loan), or to increase the cost to such Lender or
the L/C Issuer of participating in, issuing or maintaining any Letter of Credit
(or of maintaining its obligation to participate in or to issue any Letter of
Credit), or to reduce the amount of any sum received or receivable by such
Lender or the L/C Issuer hereunder (whether of principal, interest or any other
amount) then, upon request of such Lender or the L/C Issuer, the Company will
pay (or cause the applicable Designated Borrower to pay) to such Lender or the
L/C Issuer, as the case may be, such additional amount or amounts as will
compensate such Lender or the L/C Issuer, as the case may be, for such
additional costs incurred or reduction suffered.
49
(b) Capital Requirements. If any Lender or the L/C Issuer reasonably
determines that any Change in Law affecting such Lender or the L/C Issuer or any
Lending Office of such Lender or such Lender's or the L/C Issuer's holding
company, if any, regarding capital requirements has or would have the effect of
reducing the rate of return on such Lender's or the L/C Issuer's capital or on
the capital of such Lender's or the L/C Issuer's holding company, if any, as a
consequence of this Agreement, the Commitments of such Lender or the Loans made
by, or participations in Letters of Credit held by, such Lender, or the Letters
of Credit issued by the L/C Issuer, to a level below that which such Lender or
the L/C Issuer or such Lender's or the L/C Issuer's holding company could have
achieved but for such Change in Law (taking into consideration such Lender's or
the L/C Issuer's policies and the policies of such Lender's or the L/C Issuer's
holding company with respect to capital adequacy), then from time to time the
Company will pay (or cause the applicable Designated Borrower to pay) to such
Lender or the L/C Issuer, as the case may be, such additional amount or amounts
as will compensate such Lender or the L/C Issuer or such Lender's or the L/C
Issuer's holding company for any such reduction suffered.
(c) Certificates for Reimbursement. A certificate of a Lender or the L/C
Issuer setting forth detailed calculations of the amount or amounts necessary to
compensate such Lender or the L/C Issuer or its holding company, as the case may
be, as specified in subsection (a) or (b) of this Section and delivered to the
Company shall be conclusive absent manifest error. The Company shall pay (or
cause the applicable Designated Borrower to pay) such Lender or the L/C Issuer,
as the case may be, the amount shown as due on any such certificate within 10
days after receipt thereof.
(d) Delay in Requests. Failure or delay on the part of any Lender or the
L/C Issuer to demand compensation pursuant to the foregoing provisions of this
Section shall not constitute a waiver of such Lender's or the L/C Issuer's right
to demand such compensation, provided that no Borrower shall be required to
compensate a Lender or the L/C Issuer pursuant to the foregoing provisions of
this Section for any increased costs incurred or reductions suffered more than
six months prior to the date that such Lender or the L/C Issuer, as the case may
be, notifies the Company of the Change in Law giving rise to such increased
costs or reductions and of such Lender's or the L/C Issuer's intention to claim
compensation therefor (except that, if the Change in Law giving rise to such
increased costs or reductions is retroactive, then the six-month period referred
to above shall be extended to include the period of retroactive effect thereof).
(e) Additional Reserve Requirements. The Company shall pay (or cause the
applicable Designated Borrower to pay) to each Lender, (i) as long as such
Lender shall be required to maintain reserves with respect to liabilities or
assets consisting of or including Eurocurrency funds or deposits (currently
known as "Eurocurrency liabilities"), additional interest on the unpaid
principal amount of each Eurocurrency Rate Loan equal to the actual costs of
such reserves allocated to such Loan by such Lender (as determined by such
Lender in good faith, which determination shall be conclusive), and (ii) as long
as such Lender shall be required to comply with any reserve ratio requirement or
analogous requirement of any other central banking or financial regulatory
authority imposed in respect of the maintenance of the Commitments or the
funding of the Eurocurrency Rate Loans, such additional costs (expressed as a
percentage per annum and rounded upwards, if necessary, to the nearest five
decimal places) equal to the actual costs allocated to such Commitment or Loan
by such Lender (as determined by such Lender in good faith, which determination
shall be conclusive), which in each case shall be due and payable on each date
on which interest is payable on such Loan, provided the Company shall have
received at least 10 days' prior notice (with a copy to the Administrative
Agent) of such additional interest or costs from such Lender. If a Lender fails
to give notice 10 days prior to the relevant Interest Payment Date, such
additional interest or costs shall be due and payable 10 days from receipt of
such notice.
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3.05 COMPENSATION FOR LOSSES.
Upon demand of any Lender (with a copy to the Administrative Agent) from
time to time, the Company shall promptly compensate (or cause the applicable
Designated Borrower to compensate) such Lender for and hold such Lender harmless
from any loss, cost or expense incurred by it as a result of:
(a) any continuation, conversion, payment or prepayment of any Loan
other than a Base Rate Loan on a day other than the last day of the
Interest Period for such Loan (whether voluntary, mandatory, automatic, by
reason of acceleration, or otherwise);
(b) any failure by any Borrower (for a reason other than the failure
of such Lender to make a Loan) to prepay, borrow, continue or convert any
Loan other than a Base Rate Loan on the date or in the amount notified by
the Company or the applicable Designated Borrower;
(c) any failure by any Borrower to make payment of any Loan (or
interest due thereon) denominated in an Alternative Currency on its
scheduled due date or any payment thereof in a different currency; or
(d) any assignment of a Eurocurrency Rate Loan on a day other than
the last day of the Interest Period therefor as a result of a request by
the Company pursuant to Section 11.13;
excluding any loss of anticipated profits, but including any foreign exchange
losses and any loss or expense arising from the liquidation or reemployment of
funds obtained by it to maintain such Loan, from fees payable to terminate the
deposits from which such funds were obtained or from the performance of any
foreign exchange contract. The Company shall also pay (or cause the applicable
Designated Borrower to pay) any customary administrative fees charged by such
Lender in connection with the foregoing.
For purposes of calculating amounts payable by the Company (or the applicable
Designated Borrower) to the Lenders under this Section 3.05, each Lender shall
be deemed to have funded each Eurocurrency Rate Loan made by it at the
Eurocurrency Rate for such Loan by a matching deposit or other borrowing in the
offshore interbank market for such currency for a comparable amount and for a
comparable period, whether or not such Eurocurrency Rate Loan was in fact so
funded.
3.06 MITIGATION OBLIGATIONS; REPLACEMENT OF LENDERS.
(a) Designation of a Different Lending Office. If any Lender requests
compensation under Section 3.04, or any Borrower is required to pay any
additional amount to any Lender or any Governmental Authority for the account of
any Lender pursuant to Section 3.01, or if any Lender gives a notice pursuant to
Section 3.02, or if the Company notifies any Lender that it reasonably believes
that any of the foregoing events are imminent, then such Lender shall use
reasonable efforts to designate a different Lending Office for funding or
booking its Loans hereunder or to assign its rights and obligations hereunder to
another of its offices, branches or affiliates, if, in the reasonable judgment
of such Lender, such designation or assignment (i) would eliminate or reduce
amounts payable pursuant to Section 3.01 or 3.04(a)(ii), as the case may be, in
the future, or eliminate the need for the notice pursuant to Section 3.02, as
applicable, and (ii) in each case, would not subject such Lender to any
unreimbursed cost or expense and would not otherwise be disadvantageous to such
Lender. The Company hereby agrees to pay (or to cause the applicable Designated
Borrower to pay) all reasonable costs and expenses incurred by any Lender in
connection with any such designation or assignment. Upon the request of the
Company, the Administrative Agent and the Lenders shall consider a request to
amend this Agreement to create a separate tranche of Lenders to provide credit
to a Designated Borrower if, in the good faith judgment of the Administrative
Agent and the Lenders, such amendment would eliminate or reduce amounts payable
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pursuant to Section 3.01 or 3.04(a)(ii), as the case may be, in the future, or
eliminate the need for the notice pursuant to Section 3.02. The Company hereby
agrees to pay (or to cause the applicable Designated Borrower to pay) all
reasonable costs and expenses incurred by the Administrative Agent or any Lender
in connection with any such amendment.
(b) Replacement of Lenders. If any Lender requests compensation under
Section 3.04, or if any Lender gives notice pursuant to Section 3.02 or if any
Borrower is required to pay any additional amount to any Lender or any
Governmental Authority for the account of any Lender pursuant to Section 3.01,
the Company may replace such Lender in accordance with Section 11.13. In
addition, the Company may remove a particular Lender from the tranche of credit
extended to a particular Designated Borrower and replace such Lender if the
inclusion of such Lender in such tranche would result in the Loan Parties
incurring obligations to such Lender under Section 3.01 or 3.04 or such Lender
giving notice pursuant to Section 3.02.
3.07 SURVIVAL.
All of the Borrowers' obligations under this Article III shall survive
termination of the Aggregate Commitments and repayment of all other Obligations
hereunder.
ARTICLE IV
GUARANTY
4.01 THE GUARANTY.
(a) The Company hereby guarantees to each Lender and the Administrative
Agent as hereinafter provided, as primary obligor and not as surety, the prompt
payment of the Designated Borrower Obligations in full when due (whether at
stated maturity, as a mandatory prepayment, by acceleration, as a mandatory cash
collateralization or otherwise) strictly in accordance with the terms thereof.
The Company hereby further agrees that if any of the Designated Borrower
Obligations are not paid in full when due (whether at stated maturity, as a
mandatory prepayment, by acceleration, as a mandatory cash collateralization or
otherwise), the Company will promptly pay the same, without any demand or notice
whatsoever, and that in the case of any extension of time of payment or renewal
of any of the Designated Borrower Obligations, the same will be promptly paid in
full when due (whether at extended maturity, as a mandatory prepayment, by
acceleration, as a mandatory cash collateralization or otherwise) in accordance
with the terms of such extension or renewal.
(b) Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary contained herein or in
any other of the Loan Documents, the obligations of the Company under this
Guaranty shall be limited to an aggregate amount equal to the largest amount
that would not render such obligations subject to avoidance under the Debtor
Relief Laws or any comparable provisions of any applicable state law.
4.02 OBLIGATIONS UNCONDITIONAL.
(a) The obligations of the Company under Section 4.01(a) are absolute and
unconditional, irrespective of the value, genuineness, validity, regularity or
enforceability of any of the Loan Documents or any other agreement or instrument
referred to therein, or any substitution, release, impairment or exchange of any
other guarantee of or security for any of the Designated Borrower Obligations,
and, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, irrespective of any
other circumstance whatsoever which might otherwise constitute a legal or
equitable discharge or defense of a surety or guarantor, it being the intent of
this Section 4.02(a) that the obligations of the Company hereunder shall be
absolute and unconditional under any and all
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circumstances. The Company agrees that it shall have no right of subrogation,
indemnity, reimbursement or contribution against any Designated Borrower for
amounts paid under this Article IV until such time as the Designated Borrower
Obligations have been Fully Satisfied.
(b) Without limiting the generality of the foregoing subsection (a), it is
agreed that, to the fullest extent permitted by law, the occurrence of any one
or more of the following shall not alter or impair the liability of the Company
hereunder which shall remain absolute and unconditional as described above:
(i) at any time or from time to time, without notice to the Company,
the time for any performance of or compliance with any of the Obligations
shall be extended, or such performance or compliance shall be waived;
(ii) any of the acts mentioned in any of the provisions of any of
the Loan Documents or any other agreement or instrument referred to in the
Loan Documents shall be done or omitted;
(iii) the maturity of any of the Obligations shall be accelerated,
or any of the Obligations shall be modified, supplemented or amended in
any respect, or any right under any of the Loan Documents or any other
agreement or instrument referred to in the Loan Documents shall be waived
or any other guarantee of any of the Obligations or any security therefor
shall be released, impaired or exchanged in whole or in part or otherwise
dealt with; or
(iv) any of the Obligations shall be determined to be void or
voidable (including, without limitation, for the benefit of any creditor
of the Company) or shall be subordinated to the claims of any Person
(including, without limitation, any creditor of the Company).
With respect to its obligations hereunder, the Company hereby expressly
waives diligence, presentment, demand of payment, protest and all notices
whatsoever, and any requirement that the Administrative Agent or any Lender
exhaust any right, power or remedy or proceed against any Person under any of
the Loan Documents or any other agreement or instrument referred to in the Loan
Documents or against any other Person under any other guarantee of, or security
for, any of the Obligations.
4.03 REINSTATEMENT.
The obligations of the Company under this Article IV shall be
automatically reinstated if and to the extent that for any reason any payment by
or on behalf of any Person in respect of the Designated Borrower Obligations is
rescinded or must be otherwise restored by any holder of any of the Designated
Borrower Obligations, whether as a result of any proceedings in bankruptcy or
reorganization or otherwise, and the Company agrees that it will indemnify the
Administrative Agent and each Lender on demand for all reasonable costs and
expenses (including, without limitation, fees and expenses of counsel) incurred
by the Administrative Agent or such Lender in connection with such rescission or
restoration, including any such costs and expenses incurred in defending against
any claim alleging that such payment constituted a preference, fraudulent
transfer or similar payment under any bankruptcy, insolvency or similar law.
4.04 CERTAIN ADDITIONAL WAIVERS.
The Company agrees that it shall have no right of recourse to security for
the Obligations, except through the exercise of rights of subrogation pursuant
to Section 4.02.
4.05 REMEDIES.
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The Company agrees that, to the fullest extent permitted by law, as
between the Company, on the one hand, and the Administrative Agent and the
Lenders, on the other hand, the Designated Borrower Obligations may be declared
to be forthwith due and payable as provided in Section 9.02 (and shall be deemed
to have become automatically due and payable in the circumstances provided in
said Section 9.02) for purposes of Section 4.01(a) notwithstanding any stay,
injunction or other prohibition preventing such declaration (or preventing the
Designated Borrower Obligations from becoming automatically due and payable) as
against any other Person and that, in the event of such declaration (or the
Designated Borrower Obligations being deemed to have become automatically due
and payable), the Designated Borrower Obligations (whether or not due and
payable by any other Person) shall forthwith become due and payable by the
Company for purposes of Section 4.01(a).
4.06 GUARANTEE OF PAYMENT; CONTINUING GUARANTEE.
The guarantee given by the Company in this Article IV is a guaranty of
payment and not of collection, is a continuing guarantee, and shall apply to all
Designated Borrower Obligations whenever arising.
ARTICLE V
CONDITIONS PRECEDENT TO CREDIT EXTENSIONS
5.01 CONDITIONS OF INITIAL CREDIT EXTENSION.
The obligation of the L/C Issuer and each Lender to enter into this
Agreement is subject to satisfaction of the following conditions precedent:
(a) Receipt by the Administrative Agent of the following:
(i) executed counterparts of this Agreement and the other Loan
Documents, each properly executed by a Responsible Officer of the
signing Loan Party and, in the case of this Agreement, by each
Lender;
(ii) copies of the Organization Documents of each Loan Party
certified to be true and complete as of a recent date by the
appropriate Governmental Authority of the state or other
jurisdiction of its incorporation or organization, where applicable,
and certified by a secretary or assistant secretary of such Loan
Party to be true and correct as of the Closing Date;
(iii) such certificates of resolutions or other action,
incumbency certificates and/or other certificates of Responsible
Officers of each Loan Party as the Administrative Agent may
reasonably require evidencing the identity, authority and capacity
of each Responsible Officer thereof authorized to act as a
Responsible Officer in connection with this Agreement and the other
Loan Documents to which such Loan Party is a party;
(iv) such documents and certifications as the Administrative
Agent may reasonably require to evidence that each Loan Party is
duly organized or formed, and is validly existing, in good standing
and qualified to engage in business in its jurisdiction of
formation;
54
(v) a favorable opinion of in-house counsel to the Loan
Parties, addressed to the Administrative Agent and each Lender;
(vi) a certificate signed by a Responsible Officer of the
Company certifying (A) that, except as described in any subsequent
Form 10-Q or Form 8-K filing, there has been no event or
circumstance since the date of the Audited Financial Statements that
has had or could be reasonably expected to have, either individually
or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect; and (B) the current
Debt Ratings; and
(vii) evidence that the Existing Credit Agreement has been or
concurrently with the Closing Date is being terminated.
(b) Any fees required to be paid on or before the Closing Date shall
have been paid.
(c) Unless waived by the Administrative Agent, the Company shall
have paid all fees, charges and disbursements of counsel to the
Administrative Agent to the extent invoiced prior to or on the Closing
Date, plus such additional amounts of such fees, charges and disbursements
as shall constitute its reasonable estimate of such fees, charges and
disbursements incurred or to be incurred by it through the closing
proceedings (provided that such estimate shall not thereafter preclude a
final settling of accounts between the Company and the Administrative
Agent).
Without limiting the generality of the provisions of Section 10.04, for purposes
of determining compliance with the conditions specified in this Section 5.01,
each Lender that has signed this Agreement shall be deemed to have consented to,
approved or accepted or to be satisfied with, each document or other matter
required thereunder to be consented to or approved by or acceptable or
satisfactory to a Lender unless the Administrative Agent shall have received
notice from such Lender prior to the proposed Closing Date specifying its
objection thereto.
5.02 CONDITIONS TO ALL CREDIT EXTENSIONS.
The obligation of each Lender to honor any Request for Credit Extension
(other than a Committed Loan Notice requesting only a conversion of Committed
Loans to the other Type, or a continuation of Eurocurrency Rate Loans) is
subject to the following conditions precedent:
(a) The representations and warranties of (i) the Borrowers
contained in Article VI (other than the representations and warranties
contained in Sections 6.05(c), 6.06, 6.08 and 6.10) and (ii) each Loan
Party contained in each other Loan Document or in any document furnished
at any time under or in connection herewith or therewith, shall be true
and correct in all material respects on and as of the date of such Credit
Extension, except to the extent that such representations and warranties
specifically refer to an earlier date, in which case they shall be true
and correct in all material respects as of such earlier date, and except
that for purposes of this Section 5.02, the representations and warranties
contained in subsections (a) and (b) of Section 6.05 shall be deemed to
refer to the most recent statements furnished pursuant to clauses (a) and
(b), respectively, of Section 7.01.
(b) No Default or Event of Default shall exist, or would result from
such proposed Credit Extension or the application of the proceeds thereof.
55
(c) The Administrative Agent and, if applicable, the L/C Issuer or
the Swing Line Lender shall have received a Request for Credit Extension
in accordance with the requirements hereof.
(d) If the applicable Borrower is a Designated Borrower, then the
conditions of Section 2.14 to the designation of such Borrower as a
Designated Borrower shall have been met to the satisfaction of the
Administrative Agent.
(e) In the case of a Credit Extension to be denominated in an
Alternative Currency, there shall not have occurred any change in national
or international financial, political or economic conditions or currency
exchange rates or exchange controls which in the reasonable opinion of the
Administrative Agent or the Required Lenders would make it impracticable
for such Credit Extension to be denominated in the relevant Alternative
Currency.
Each Request for Credit Extension submitted by the Company shall be deemed to be
a representation and warranty that the conditions specified in Sections 5.02(a)
and (b) have been satisfied on and as of the date of the applicable Credit
Extension.
ARTICLE VI
REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES
Except as otherwise provided in Section 6.15, each Borrower represents and
warrants to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders that:
6.01 EXISTENCE, QUALIFICATION AND POWER; COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS.
Each Loan Party (a) is duly organized or formed, validly existing and in
good standing under the Laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation or
organization, (b) has all requisite power and authority and all requisite
governmental licenses, authorizations, consents and approvals to (i) own or
lease its assets and carry on its business and (ii) execute, deliver and perform
its obligations under the Loan Documents to which it is a party, (c) is duly
qualified and is licensed and in good standing under the Laws of each
jurisdiction where its ownership, lease or operation of properties or the
conduct of its business requires such qualification or license, and (d) is in
compliance with all Laws; except in each case referred to in clause (b)(i), (c)
or (d), to the extent that failure to do so could not reasonably be expected to
have a Material Adverse Effect.
6.02 AUTHORIZATION; NO CONTRAVENTION.
The execution, delivery and performance by each Loan Party of each Loan
Document to which such Person is party, have been duly authorized by all
necessary corporate or other organizational action, and do not and will not (a)
contravene the terms of any of such Person's Organization Documents; (b)
conflict with or result in any breach or contravention of, or the creation of
any Lien under, or require any payment to be made under (i) any material
Contractual Obligation to which such Person is a party or affecting such Person
or the properties of such Person or any of its Subsidiaries or (ii) any order,
injunction, writ or decree of any Governmental Authority or any arbitral award
to which such Person or its property is subject; or (c) violate any Law. Each
Loan Party is in compliance with all Contractual Obligations referred to in
clause (b)(i), except to the extent that failure to do so could not reasonably
be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
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6.03 GOVERNMENTAL AUTHORIZATION; OTHER CONSENTS.
No approval, consent, exemption, authorization, or other action by, or
notice to, or filing with, any Governmental Authority or any other Person is
necessary or required in connection with the execution, delivery or performance
by, or enforcement against, any Loan Party of this Agreement or any other Loan
Document.
6.04 BINDING EFFECT.
This Agreement has been, and each other Loan Document, when delivered
hereunder, will have been, duly executed and delivered by each Loan Party that
is party thereto. This Agreement constitutes, and each other Loan Document when
so delivered will constitute, a legal, valid and binding obligation of such Loan
Party, enforceable against each Loan Party that is party thereto in accordance
with its terms, except as enforceability may be limited by applicable Debtor
Relief Laws and by general equitable principles (whether enforcement is sought
by proceedings in equity or at law).
6.05 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.
(a) The Audited Financial Statements (i) were prepared in accordance with
GAAP consistently applied throughout the period covered thereby, except as
otherwise expressly noted therein and (ii) fairly present in all material
respects the financial condition of the Company and its Subsidiaries as of the
date thereof and their results of operations for the period covered thereby in
accordance with GAAP consistently applied throughout the period covered thereby,
except as otherwise expressly noted therein.
(b) The unaudited consolidated balance sheet of the Company and its
Subsidiaries dated March 31, 2005, and the related consolidated statements of
income or operations, shareholders' equity and cash flows for the fiscal quarter
ended on that date (i) were prepared in accordance with GAAP consistently
applied throughout the period covered thereby, except as otherwise expressly
noted therein, and (ii) fairly present in all material respects the financial
condition of the Company and its Subsidiaries as of the date thereof and their
results of operations for the period covered thereby, subject, in the case of
clauses (i) and (ii), to the absence of footnotes and to normal year-end audit
adjustments.
(c) Since the date of the Audited Financial Statements, there has been no
development, event or circumstance, either individually or in the aggregate,
that has had or could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
6.06 LITIGATION.
There are no actions, suits, proceedings, claims or disputes pending or,
to the knowledge of the Loan Parties after due and diligent investigation,
threatened or contemplated, at law, in equity, in arbitration or before any
Governmental Authority, by or against the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or
against any of their properties or revenues that (a) purport to affect or
pertain to this Agreement or any other Loan Document, or any of the transactions
contemplated hereby or (b) except as described in the Company's 2004 Form 10-K
or any subsequent Form 10-Q or Form 8-K filing (the "Disclosed Litigation"),
either individually or in the aggregate could reasonably be expected to have a
Material Adverse Effect. For the avoidance of doubt, if any Disclosed Litigation
shall result in a Material Adverse Effect, the Loan Parties hereby agree that
the Lenders shall be under no obligation to make any Loan and the L/C Issuer
shall be under no obligation to issue or extend any Letter of Credit hereunder.
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6.07 NO DEFAULT.
No Default has occurred and is continuing or would result from the
consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or any other
Loan Document.
6.08 ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE.
The Company and its Subsidiaries conduct in the ordinary course of
business a review of the effect of existing Environmental Laws and claims
alleging potential liability or responsibility for violation of any
Environmental Law on their respective businesses, operations and properties, and
as a result thereof the Company has reasonably concluded that violation of such
Environmental Laws and claims could not, individually or in the aggregate,
reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
6.09 TAXES.
The Company and its Significant Subsidiaries have filed all Federal, state
and other material tax returns and reports required to be filed, and have paid
all Federal, state and other material taxes, assessments, fees and other
governmental charges levied or imposed upon them or their properties, income or
assets otherwise due and payable, except those which are being contested in good
faith by appropriate proceedings diligently conducted and for which adequate
reserves have been provided in accordance with GAAP. There is no proposed tax
assessment against the Company or any Subsidiary that would, if made, have a
Material Adverse Effect. Neither any Loan Party nor any Subsidiary thereof is
party to any tax sharing agreement.
6.10 ERISA COMPLIANCE.
(a) Each Plan is in compliance in all material respects with the
applicable provisions of ERISA, the Code and other Federal or state Laws. Each
Plan that is intended to qualify under Section 401(a) of the Code has received a
favorable determination letter from the IRS or an application for such a letter
is currently being processed by the IRS with respect thereto and, to the best
knowledge of the Company, nothing has occurred which would prevent, or cause the
loss of, such qualification. The Company and each ERISA Affiliate have made all
required contributions to each Plan subject to Section 412 of the Code, and no
application for a funding waiver or an extension of any amortization period
pursuant to Section 412 of the Code has been made with respect to any Plan.
(b) There are no pending or, to the best knowledge of the Loan Parties,
threatened claims, actions or lawsuits, or action by any Governmental Authority,
with respect to any Plan that could reasonably be expected to have a Material
Adverse Effect. There has been no prohibited transaction or violation of the
fiduciary responsibility rules with respect to any Plan that has resulted or
could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(c) (i) No ERISA Event has occurred or is reasonably expected to occur;
(ii) no Pension Plan has any Unfunded Pension Liability in excess of
$10,000,000; (iii) no Loan Party nor any ERISA Affiliate has incurred, or
reasonably expects to incur, any liability under Title IV of ERISA with respect
to any Pension Plan (other than premiums due and not delinquent under Section
4007 of ERISA) in excess of $20,000,000; (iv) no Loan Party nor any ERISA
Affiliate has incurred, or reasonably expects to incur, any liability (and no
event has occurred which, with the giving of notice under Section 4219 of ERISA,
would result in such liability) under Sections 4201 or 4243 of ERISA with
respect to a Multiemployer Plan in excess of $20,000,000; and (v) no Loan Party
nor any ERISA Affiliate has engaged in a transaction that could be subject to
Sections 4069 or 4212(c) of ERISA.
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6.11 SUBSIDIARIES.
Each of the Company's Significant Subsidiaries is duly organized, validly
existing and in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of
organization, and has all powers and all material governmental licenses,
authorizations, consents and approvals required to carry on its business as now
conducted.
6.12 MARGIN REGULATIONS; INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT; PUBLIC UTILITY HOLDING
COMPANY ACT.
(a) No Borrower is engaged or will engage, principally or as one of its
important activities, in the business of purchasing or carrying margin stock
(within the meaning of Regulation U issued by the FRB), or extending credit for
the purpose of purchasing or carrying margin stock.
(b) None of the Company, any Person Controlling the Company, or any
Subsidiary (i) is a "holding company," or a "subsidiary company" of a "holding
company," or an "affiliate" of a "holding company" or of a "subsidiary company"
of a "holding company," within the meaning of the Public Utility Holding Company
Act of 1935, or (ii) is or is required to be registered as an "investment
company" under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
6.13 DISCLOSURE.
All information heretofore furnished by the Borrowers to the
Administrative Agent or any Lender for purposes of or in connection with this
Agreement or any transaction contemplated hereby is, and all such information
hereafter furnished by the Borrowers to the Administrative Agent or any Lender
will be, true and accurate in all material respects on the date as of which such
information is stated or certified. The Borrowers have disclosed to the Lenders
in writing any and all facts known to the Borrowers' management which could
reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
6.14 COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS.
Each of the Company and each Significant Subsidiary is in compliance in
all material respects with the requirements of all Laws and all orders, writs,
injunctions and decrees applicable to it or to its properties, except in such
instances in which (a) such requirement of Law or order, writ, injunction or
decree is being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings diligently
conducted or (b) the failure to comply therewith, either individually or in the
aggregate, could not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
6.15 REPRESENTATIONS AS TO FOREIGN OBLIGORS.
Each of the Company and each Foreign Obligor represents and warrants to
the Administrative Agent and the Lenders that:
(a) Such Foreign Obligor is subject to civil and commercial Laws
with respect to its obligations under this Agreement and the other Loan
Documents to which it is a party (collectively as to such Foreign Obligor,
the "Applicable Foreign Obligor Documents"), and the execution, delivery
and performance by such Foreign Obligor of the Applicable Foreign Obligor
Documents constitute and will constitute private and commercial acts and
not public or governmental acts. Neither such Foreign Obligor nor any of
its property has any immunity from jurisdiction of any court or from any
legal process (whether through service or notice, attachment prior to
judgment, attachment in aid of execution, execution or otherwise) under
the laws of the
59
jurisdiction in which such Foreign Obligor is organized and existing in
respect of its obligations under the Applicable Foreign Obligor Documents.
(b) The Applicable Foreign Obligor Documents are in proper legal
form under the Laws of the jurisdiction in which such Foreign Obligor is
organized and existing for the enforcement thereof against such Foreign
Obligor under the Laws of such jurisdiction, and to ensure the legality,
validity, enforceability, priority or admissibility in evidence of the
Applicable Foreign Obligor Documents. It is not necessary to ensure the
legality, validity, enforceability, priority or admissibility in evidence
of the Applicable Foreign Obligor Documents that the Applicable Foreign
Obligor Documents be filed, registered or recorded with, or executed or
notarized before, any court or other authority in the jurisdiction in
which such Foreign Obligor is organized and existing or that any
registration charge or stamp or similar tax be paid on or in respect of
the Applicable Foreign Obligor Documents or any other document, except for
(i) any such filing, registration, recording, execution or notarization as
has been made or is not required to be made until the Applicable Foreign
Obligor Document or any other document is sought to be enforced and (ii)
any charge or tax as has been timely paid.
(c) There is no tax, levy, impost, duty, fee, assessment or other
governmental charge, or any deduction or withholding, imposed by any
Governmental Authority in or of the jurisdiction in which such Foreign
Obligor is organized and existing either (i) on or by virtue of the
execution or delivery of the Applicable Foreign Obligor Documents or (ii)
on any payment to be made by such Foreign Obligor pursuant to the
Applicable Foreign Obligor Documents, except as has been disclosed to the
Administrative Agent.
(d) The execution, delivery and performance of the Applicable
Foreign Obligor Documents executed by such Foreign Obligor are, under
applicable foreign exchange control regulations of the jurisdiction in
which such Foreign Obligor is organized and existing, not subject to any
notification or authorization except (i) such as have been made or
obtained or (ii) such as cannot be made or obtained until a later date
(provided that any notification or authorization described in clause (ii)
shall be made or obtained as soon as is reasonably practicable).
6.16 USE OF PROCEEDS.
The proceeds of Credit Extensions hereunder will be used solely for the
purposes specified in Section 7.11 hereof.
ARTICLE VII
AFFIRMATIVE COVENANTS
So long as any Lender shall have any Commitment hereunder, any Loan or
other Obligation hereunder shall remain unpaid or unsatisfied, or any Letter of
Credit shall remain outstanding, each Loan Party shall and shall (except in the
case of the covenants set forth in Sections 7.01, 7.02, and 7.03) cause each
Subsidiary to:
7.01 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.
Deliver to the Administrative Agent and each Lender, in form and detail
reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and the Required Lenders:
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(a) within five (5) Business Days following the date such
information is filed with the SEC, and in any event not later than 95 days
after the end of each fiscal year of the Company (commencing with the
fiscal year ended September 30, 2005), a consolidated balance sheet of the
Company and its Subsidiaries as at the end of such fiscal year, and the
related consolidated statements of income or operations, shareholders'
equity and cash flows for such fiscal year, setting forth in each case in
comparative form the figures for the previous fiscal year, all in
reasonable detail and prepared in accordance with GAAP, audited and
accompanied by (i) a report and opinion of a Registered Public Accounting
Firm of nationally recognized standing, which report and opinion shall be
prepared in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards and
applicable Securities Laws and shall not be subject to any "going concern"
or like qualification or exception or any qualification or exception as to
the scope of such audit and (ii) an attestation report of such Registered
Public Accounting Firm as to the Borrower's internal controls pursuant to
Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley expressing a conclusion to which the
Required Lenders do not reasonably object; and
(b) within five (5) Business Days following the date such
information is filed with the SEC, and in any event not later than 50 days
after the end of each of the first three fiscal quarters of each fiscal
year of the Company (commencing with the fiscal quarter ended June 30,
2005), a consolidated balance sheet of the Company and its Subsidiaries as
at the end of such fiscal quarter, and the related consolidated statements
of income or operations, shareholders' equity and cash flows for such
fiscal quarter and for the portion of the Company's fiscal year then
ended, setting forth in each case in comparative form the figures for the
corresponding fiscal quarter of the previous fiscal year and the
corresponding portion of the previous fiscal year, all in reasonable
detail, certified by a Responsible Officer of the Company as fairly
presenting in all material respects the financial condition, results of
operations, shareholders' equity and cash flows of the Company and its
Subsidiaries in accordance with GAAP, subject only to normal year-end
audit adjustments and the absence of footnotes.
7.02 CERTIFICATES; OTHER INFORMATION.
Deliver to the Administrative Agent and each Lender, in form and detail
reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and the Required Lenders:
(a) concurrently with the delivery of the financial statements
referred to in Sections 7.01(a) and (b) (commencing with the delivery of
the financial statements for the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2005), a
duly completed Compliance Certificate signed by a Responsible Officer of
the Company;
(b) promptly after the same are available, copies of each annual
report, proxy or financial statement or other report or communication sent
to the stockholders of the Company, and copies of all annual, regular,
periodic and special reports and registration statements which the Company
may file or be required to file with the SEC under Section 13 or 15(d) of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and not otherwise required to be
delivered to the Administrative Agent pursuant hereto;
(c) promptly, and in any event within five Business Days after
receipt thereof by any Loan Party or any Subsidiary thereof, copies of
each notice or other correspondence received from the SEC (or comparable
agency in any applicable non-U.S. jurisdiction) concerning any
investigation or possible investigation or other inquiry by such agency
regarding financial or other operational results of any Loan Party or any
Subsidiary thereof; and
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(d) promptly, such additional information regarding the business,
financial or corporate affairs of the Company or any Subsidiary, or
compliance with the terms of the Loan Documents, as the Administrative
Agent or any Lender may from time to time reasonably request.
Documents required to be delivered pursuant to Section 7.01(a) or (b) or
Section 7.02(b) (to the extent any such documents are included in materials
otherwise filed with the SEC) may be delivered electronically and if so
delivered, shall be deemed to have been delivered on the date (i) on which the
Company posts such documents, or provides a link thereto on the Company's
website on the Internet at the website address listed on Schedule 11.02; or (ii)
on which such documents are posted on the Company'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: (i) the Company shall deliver paper copies
of such documents to the Administrative Agent or any Lender that requests the
Company to deliver such paper copies until a written request to cease delivering
paper copies is given by the Administrative Agent or such Lender and (ii) the
Company shall notify the Administrative Agent and each Lender (by telecopier or
electronic mail) of the posting of any such documents and provide to the
Administrative Agent by electronic mail electronic versions (i.e., soft copies)
of such documents. Notwithstanding anything contained herein, in every instance
the Company shall be required to provide paper copies of the Compliance
Certificates required by Section 7.02(a) to the Administrative Agent. Except for
such Compliance Certificates, the Administrative Agent shall have no obligation
to request the delivery or to maintain copies of the documents referred to
above, and in any event shall have no responsibility to monitor compliance by
the Company with any such request for delivery, and each Lender shall be solely
responsible for requesting delivery to it or maintaining its copies of such
documents.
Each Borrower hereby acknowledges that (a) the Administrative Agent and/or
the Arrangers will make available to the Lenders and the L/C Issuer materials
and/or information provided by or on behalf of such Borrower hereunder
(collectively, "Borrower Materials") by posting the Borrower Materials on
IntraLinks or another similar electronic system (the "Platform") and (b) certain
of the Lenders may be "public-side" Lenders (i.e., Lenders that do not wish to
receive material non-public information with respect to any Borrower or its
securities) (each, a "Public Lender"). Each Borrower hereby agrees that (w) all
Borrower Materials that are to be made available to Public Lenders shall be
clearly and conspicuously marked "PUBLIC" which, at a minimum, shall mean that
the word "PUBLIC" shall appear prominently on the first page thereof; (x) by
marking Borrower Materials "PUBLIC," the Borrowers shall be deemed to have
authorized the Administrative Agent, the Arrangers, the L/C Issuer and the
Lenders to treat such Borrower Materials as not containing any material
non-public information with respect to the Borrowers or their respective
securities for purposes of United States Federal and state securities laws
(provided, however, that to the extent such Borrower Materials constitute
Information, they shall be treated as set forth in Section 11.07); (y) all
Borrower Materials marked "PUBLIC" are permitted to be made available through a
portion of the Platform designated "Public Investor;" and (z) the Administrative
Agent and the Arrangers shall be entitled to treat any Borrower Materials that
are not marked "PUBLIC" as being suitable only for posting on a portion of the
Platform not designated "Public Investor."
7.03 NOTICES.
Promptly notify the Administrative Agent and each Lender:
(a) of the occurrence of any Default or Event of Default;
(b) of any matter that has resulted or could reasonably be expected
to result in a Material Adverse Effect, including (i) breach or
non-performance of, or any default under, a
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Contractual Obligation of the Company or any Subsidiary; (ii) any dispute,
litigation, investigation, proceeding or suspension between the Company or
any Subsidiary and any Governmental Authority; or (iii) the commencement
of, or any material development in, any litigation or proceeding affecting
the Company or any Subsidiary, including pursuant to any applicable
Environmental Laws;
(c) of the occurrence of any ERISA Event;
(d) of any material change in accounting policies or financial
reporting practices by the Company or any Subsidiary not otherwise
reported in the Company's SEC filings; and
(e) of any published announcement by Moody's or S&P of any change or
possible change in a Debt Rating.
Each notice pursuant to this Section shall be accompanied by a statement
of a Responsible Officer of the Company setting forth details of the occurrence
referred to therein and stating what action the Company has taken and proposes
to take with respect thereto. Each notice pursuant to this Section 7.03 shall
describe with particularity any and all provisions of this Agreement and any
other Loan Document that have been breached.
7.04 PAYMENT OF OBLIGATIONS.
Pay and discharge as the same shall become due and payable, all its
material obligations and liabilities, including (a) all tax liabilities,
assessments and governmental charges or levies upon it or its properties or
assets, unless the same are being contested in good faith by appropriate
proceedings diligently conducted and adequate reserves in accordance with GAAP
are being maintained by the Company or such Subsidiary; (b) all lawful material
claims which, if unpaid, would by law become a Lien upon its property (other
than Permitted Liens); and (c) all Indebtedness, as and when due and payable,
but subject to any subordination provisions contained in any instrument or
agreement evidencing such Indebtedness.
7.05 PRESERVATION OF EXISTENCE, ETC.
(a) Preserve, renew and maintain in full force and effect its legal
existence, (b) preserve, renew and maintain in full force and effect its good
standing under the Laws of the jurisdiction of its organization except in a
transaction permitted by Section 8.03; (c) take all reasonable action to
maintain all rights, privileges, permits, licenses and franchises necessary or
desirable in the normal conduct of its business, except to the extent that
failure to do so could not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse
Effect; and (d) preserve or renew all of its registered patents, trademarks,
trade names and service marks, the non-preservation of which could reasonably be
expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; provided that nothing in this
Section 7.05 shall prohibit mergers or consolidations or sales of assets not
prohibited by Section 8.03 hereof or prevent the Company from liquidating or
selling any of its Subsidiaries.
7.06 MAINTENANCE OF PROPERTIES.
(a) Maintain, preserve and protect all of its material properties and
equipment necessary in the operation of its business in good working order and
condition, ordinary wear and tear excepted; and (b) make all necessary repairs
thereto and renewals and replacements thereof except where the failure to do so
could not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; provided,
that nothing in Section 7.06 shall prevent the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries from discontinuing the operations and
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maintenance of any of its properties or those of its Subsidiaries if such
discontinuance is, in the judgment of the Company or such Subsidiary, desirable
in the conduct of its or their business and which do not in the aggregate cause
a Material Adverse Effect. Except as provided above, the Borrowers shall
maintain direct ownership of substantially all of the tangible and intangible
assets employed in connection with (x) the Borrowers' United States domestic
carbon black business and (y) the Borrowers' United States domestic fumed silica
business.
7.07 MAINTENANCE OF INSURANCE.
The Company will, and will cause each of its Significant Subsidiaries to,
maintain with financially sound and reputable insurance companies not Affiliates
of the Company, insurance with respect to its properties and business against
loss or damage of the kinds customarily insured against by Persons engaged in
the same or similar business, of such types and in such amounts as are
customarily carried under similar circumstances by such other Persons and
providing prior notice to the Administrative Agent of termination, lapse or
cancellation of such insurance.
7.08 COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS.
Comply with the requirements of all Laws and all orders, writs,
injunctions and decrees applicable to it or to its business or property, except
in such instances in which (a) such requirement of Law or order, writ,
injunction or decree is being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings
diligently conducted; or (b) the failure to comply therewith could not
reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
7.09 BOOKS AND RECORDS.
Maintain proper books of record and account, in which full, true and
correct entries in conformity with GAAP consistently applied shall be made of
all financial transactions and matters involving the assets and business of the
Company or such Subsidiary, as the case may be.
7.10 INSPECTION RIGHTS.
Permit representatives and independent contractors of the Administrative
Agent and each Lender to visit and inspect any of its properties, to examine its
corporate, financial and operating records, and make copies thereof or abstracts
therefrom, and to discuss its affairs, finances and accounts with its directors,
officers, and independent public accountants, all at the expense of the Company
and at such reasonable times during normal business hours and not more than once
each fiscal year, upon reasonable advance notice to the Company; provided,
however, that when an Event of Default exists the Administrative Agent or any
Lender (or any of their respective representatives or independent contractors)
may do any of the foregoing at the expense of the Company at any time during
normal business hours and without advance notice.
7.11 USE OF PROCEEDS.
Use the proceeds of the Credit Extensions for general corporate purposes
not in contravention of any Law or of any Loan Document.
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ARTICLE VIII
NEGATIVE COVENANTS
So long as any Lender shall have any Commitment hereunder, any Loan or
other Obligation hereunder shall remain unpaid or unsatisfied, or any Letter of
Credit shall remain outstanding, no Borrower shall, nor shall it permit any
Subsidiary to, directly or indirectly:
8.01 LIENS.
Create, incur, assume or suffer to exist any Lien upon any of its
property, assets or revenues, whether now owned or hereafter acquired, other
than the following:
(a) Liens existing on the date hereof and listed on Schedule 8.01
and any renewals or extensions thereof;
(b) Liens (other than Liens imposed under ERISA) for taxes,
assessments, government charges or levies not yet due or which are being
contested in good faith and by appropriate proceedings diligently
conducted, if adequate reserves with respect thereto are maintained on the
books of the applicable Person in accordance with GAAP;
(c) carriers', warehousemen's, mechanics', materialmen's,
repairmen's or other like Liens arising in the ordinary course of business
which are not overdue for a period of more than 30 days or which are being
contested in good faith and by appropriate proceedings diligently
conducted, if adequate reserves with respect thereto are maintained on the
books of the applicable Person;
(d) pledges or deposits in the ordinary course of business in
connection with workers' compensation, unemployment insurance and other
social security legislation, other than any Lien imposed by ERISA;
(e) deposits to secure the performance of bids, trade contracts and
leases (other than Indebtedness), statutory obligations, surety and appeal
bonds, performance bonds and other obligations of a like nature incurred
in the ordinary course of business;
(f) easements, rights-of-way, restrictions and other similar
encumbrances affecting real property which, in the aggregate, are not
substantial in amount, and which do not in any case materially detract
from the value of the property subject thereto or materially interfere
with the ordinary conduct of the business of the applicable Person;
(g) Liens securing judgments for the payment of money not
constituting an Event of Default under Section 9.01(i);
(h) leases or subleases granted to others not interfering in any
material respect with the business of the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries;
(i) Liens securing Indebtedness permitted under Section 8.06;
provided that (i) such Liens do not at any time encumber any property
other than the property financed by such Indebtedness and (ii) the
Indebtedness secured thereby does not exceed the cost or fair market
value, whichever is lower, of the property being acquired on the date of
acquisition;
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(j) any interest of title of a lessor under, and Liens arising from
UCC financing statements (or equivalent filings, registrations or
agreements in foreign jurisdictions) relating to, leases permitted by this
Agreement;
(k) Liens created or deemed to exist in connection with a
Securitization Transaction (including any related filings of any UCC
financing statements) securing Indebtedness in an aggregate amount not to
exceed $200,000,000 during the term of this Agreement, but only to the
extent that any such Lien relates to the applicable property actually
sold, contributed, financed or otherwise conveyed or pledged pursuant to
such transaction;
(l) normal and customary rights of setoff upon deposits of cash in
favor of banks or other depository institutions;
(m) Liens on commodities subject to any arrangement permitted under
Section 8.03(e);
(n) any Lien existing on any asset (i) of any Person at the time
such Person becomes a Subsidiary, (ii) of any Person existing at the time
such Person is merged or consolidated with or into any Borrower or a
Subsidiary or (iii) prior to the acquisition thereof by a Borrower or a
Subsidiary and not created in contemplation of such acquisition;
(o) any Lien arising out of the refinancing, extension, renewal or
refunding of any Indebtedness secured by any Lien permitted by any of the
foregoing clauses of this Section, provided that such Indebtedness is not
increased and is not secured by any additional assets;
(p) Liens arising in the ordinary course of business which (i) do
not secure Indebtedness, (ii) do not secure any single obligation
exceeding the Threshold Amount and (iii) do not in the aggregate
materially detract from the value of its assets or materially impair the
use thereof in the operation of its business; and
(q) Liens not otherwise permitted by the foregoing clauses of this
Section securing Indebtedness in an aggregate principal amount at any time
outstanding not to exceed 10% of Consolidated Tangible Net Worth.
8.02 INVESTMENTS.
Make any Investments where the aggregate consideration for such Investment
exceeds $100,000,000, other than Permitted Investments and Permitted
Acquisitions.
8.03 FUNDAMENTAL CHANGES.
Merge, dissolve, liquidate, consolidate with or into another Person, or
Dispose of (whether in one transaction or in a series of transactions) all or
substantially all of its assets (whether now owned or hereafter acquired) to or
in favor of any Person, except that, so long as no Default or Event of Default
exists or would result therefrom:
(a) any Subsidiary (i) may merge with the Company, provided that the
Company shall be the continuing or surviving Person, (ii) may merge with
any Loan Party other than the Company provided that the Loan Party shall
be the continuing or surviving Person or (iii) which is not a Loan Party
may be merged with or into any other Subsidiary which is not a Loan Party;
and
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(b) any Subsidiary may Dispose of all or substantially all of its
assets (upon voluntary liquidation or otherwise) to the Company or to
another Subsidiary; provided that if the transferor in such a transaction
is a Borrower, then the transferee must either be the Company or another
Borrower.
8.04 TRANSACTIONS WITH AFFILIATES.
Enter into any transaction of any kind with any Affiliate of the Company,
whether or not in the ordinary course of business, other than (a) reasonable and
customary fees paid to members of the board of directors of the Company and its
Subsidiaries, (b) transactions otherwise expressly permitted hereunder between
the Company or any of its Subsidiaries and any such Affiliate or (c) on fair and
reasonable terms substantially as favorable to the Company or such Subsidiary as
would be obtainable by the Company or such Subsidiary at the time in a
comparable arm's length transaction with a Person other than an Affiliate.
8.05 BURDENSOME AGREEMENTS.
Enter into any Contractual Obligation (other than this Agreement or any
other Loan Document) that (a) limits the ability of the Company or any
Subsidiary to create, incur, assume or suffer to exist Liens on property of such
Person or (b) requires the grant of a Lien to secure an obligation of such
Person if a Lien is granted to secure another obligation of such Person.
8.06 FINANCIAL COVENANTS
(a) At any time during which the Company's Debt Rating is lower than
either BBB+ or Baa1, permit the Consolidated Interest Coverage Ratio as of the
end of any fiscal quarter of the Company to be less than 3.0 to 1.0.
(b) Consolidated Indebtedness will not exceed 60% of Total Capitalization
at any time.
(c) The aggregate Indebtedness of all Subsidiaries (excluding Indebtedness
of a Subsidiary owing to any Borrower or to another Subsidiary) will at no time
exceed 25% of Total Capitalization.
8.07 ORGANIZATION DOCUMENTS.
Amend, modify or change, or permit any Loan Party to amend, modify or
change, its Organization Documents in any manner which could adversely affect
the rights of the Administrative Agent or the Lenders.
8.08 USE OF PROCEEDS.
Use the proceeds of any Credit Extension, whether directly or indirectly,
and whether immediately, incidentally or ultimately, to purchase or carry margin
stock (within the meaning of Regulation U of the FRB) (other than stock of the
Company) or to extend credit to others for the purpose of purchasing or carrying
margin stock or to refund indebtedness originally incurred for such purpose.
8.09 SYNTHETIC LEASE OBLIGATIONS.
Permit the aggregate Attributable Indebtedness of all Synthetic Lease
Obligations of the Company and its Subsidiaries to exceed $30,000,000 at any one
time outstanding.
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ARTICLE IX
EVENTS OF DEFAULT AND REMEDIES
9.01 EVENTS OF DEFAULT.
Any of the following shall constitute an Event of Default:
(a) Non-Payment. Any Borrower or any other Loan Party fails to pay
(i) when and as required to be paid herein, and in the currency required
hereunder, any amount of principal of any Loan or any L/C Obligation, or
(ii) within five days after the same becomes due, any interest on any Loan
or on any L/C Obligation, or any fee due hereunder, or (iii) within five
days after the same becomes due, any other amount payable hereunder or
under any other Loan Document; or
(b) Specific Covenants. The Company fails to perform or observe any
term, covenant or agreement contained in any of Section 7.05(a), 7.10, or
7.11 or Article VIII; or
(c) Other Covenants. The Company fails to perform or observe any
term, covenant or agreement contained in any of Section 7.01, 7.02 or 7.03
and such failure continues for 5 Business Days after the earlier of a
Responsible Officer of a Loan Party becoming aware of such failure or
notice thereof by the Administrative Agent; or
(d) Other Defaults. Any Loan Party fails to perform or observe any
other covenant or agreement (not specified in subsection (a), (b) or (c)
above) contained in any Loan Document on its part to be performed or
observed and such failure continues for 30 days after written notice from
the Administrative Agent; or
(e) Representations and Warranties. Any representation, warranty,
certification or statement of fact made or deemed made by or on behalf of
the Company or any other Loan Party herein, in any other Loan Document, or
in any document delivered in connection herewith or therewith shall be
incorrect or misleading in any material respect when made or deemed made;
or
(f) Cross-Default. The Company or any Significant Subsidiary (i)
fails to make any payment when due (whether by scheduled maturity,
required prepayment, acceleration, demand, or otherwise) in respect of any
Indebtedness or Guarantee having an aggregate principal amount (including
undrawn committed or available amounts and including amounts owing to all
creditors under any combined or syndicated credit arrangement) of more
than $50,000,000, or (ii) fails to observe or perform any other agreement
or condition relating to any such Indebtedness or Guarantee having an
aggregate principal amount (including undrawn committed or available
amounts and including amounts owing to all creditors under any combined or
syndicated credit arrangement) of more than $50,000,000 or contained in
any instrument or agreement evidencing, securing or relating thereto, or
any other event occurs, the effect of which default or other event is to
cause, or to permit the holder or holders of such Indebtedness or the
beneficiary or beneficiaries of such Guarantee (or a trustee or agent on
behalf of such holder or holders or beneficiary or beneficiaries) to
cause, with the giving of notice if required, such Indebtedness to be
demanded or to become due or to be repurchased, prepaid, defeased or
redeemed (automatically or otherwise), or an offer to repurchase, prepay,
defease or redeem such Indebtedness to be made, prior to its stated
maturity, or such Guarantee to become payable or cash collateral in
respect thereof to be demanded; or
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(g) Insolvency Proceedings, Etc. Any Loan Party or any of its
Significant Subsidiaries institutes or consents to the institution of any
proceeding under any Debtor Relief Law, or makes an assignment for the
benefit of creditors; or applies for or consents to the appointment of any
receiver, trustee, custodian, conservator, liquidator, rehabilitator or
similar officer for it or for all or any material part of its property; or
any receiver, trustee, custodian, conservator, liquidator, rehabilitator
or similar officer is appointed without the application or consent of such
Person and the appointment continues undischarged or unstayed for 60
calendar days; or any proceeding under any Debtor Relief Law relating to
any such Person or to all or any material part of its property is
instituted without the consent of such Person and continues undismissed or
unstayed for 60 calendar days, or an order for relief is entered in any
such proceeding; or
(h) Inability to Pay Debts; Attachment. (i) The Company or any
Significant Subsidiary becomes unable or admits in writing its inability
or fails generally to pay its debts as they become due, or (ii) any writ
or warrant of attachment or execution or similar process is issued or
levied against all or any material part of the property of any such Person
and is not released, vacated or fully bonded within 30 days after its
issue or levy; or
(i) Judgments. There is entered against the Company or any
Subsidiary a final judgment or order for the payment of money in an
aggregate amount exceeding the Threshold Amount (to the extent not covered
by independent third-party insurance as to which the insurer does not
dispute coverage) and (i) enforcement proceedings are commenced by any
creditor upon such judgment or order, or (ii) there is a period of 10
consecutive days during which a stay of enforcement of such judgment, by
reason of a pending appeal or otherwise, is not in effect; or
(j) ERISA. (i) An ERISA Event occurs with respect to a Pension Plan
or Multiemployer Plan which has resulted or could reasonably be expected
to result in liability of the Company under Title IV of ERISA to the
Pension Plan, Multiemployer Plan or the PBGC in an aggregate amount in
excess of the Threshold Amount, or (ii) the Company or any ERISA Affiliate
fails to pay when due, after the expiration of any applicable grace
period, any installment payment with respect to its withdrawal liability
under Section 4201 of ERISA under a Multiemployer Plan in an aggregate
amount in excess of the Threshold Amount; or
(k) Invalidity of Loan Documents. Any material provision of any Loan
Document, at any time after its execution and delivery and for any reason
other than as expressly permitted hereunder or satisfaction in full of all
the Obligations, ceases to be in full force and effect; or any Loan Party
or any other Person contests in any manner the validity or enforceability
of any material provision of any Loan Document; or any Loan Party denies
that it has any or further liability or obligation under any material
provision of any Loan Document, or purports to revoke, terminate or
rescind any material provision of any Loan Document; or
(l) Change of Control. There occurs any Change of Control.
9.02 REMEDIES UPON EVENT OF DEFAULT.
If any Event of Default occurs and is continuing, the Administrative Agent
shall, at the request of, or may, with the consent of, the Required Lenders,
take any or all of the following actions:
(a) declare the commitment of each Lender to make Loans and any
obligation of the L/C Issuer to make L/C Credit Extensions to be
terminated, whereupon such commitments and obligation shall be terminated;
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(b) declare the unpaid principal amount of all outstanding Loans,
all interest accrued and unpaid thereon, and all other amounts owing or
payable hereunder or under any other Loan Document to be immediately due
and payable, without presentment, demand, protest or other notice of any
kind, all of which are hereby expressly waived by the Borrowers;
(c) require that the Company Cash Collateralize the L/C Obligations
(in an amount equal to the then Outstanding Amount thereof); and
(d) exercise on behalf of itself and the Lenders all rights and
remedies available to it and the Lenders under the Loan Documents;
provided, however, that upon the occurrence of an actual or deemed entry of an
order for relief with respect to any Borrower under the Debtor Relief Laws, the
obligation of each Lender to make Loans and any obligation of the L/C Issuer to
make L/C Credit Extensions shall automatically terminate, the unpaid principal
amount of all outstanding Loans and all interest and other amounts as aforesaid
shall automatically become due and payable, and the obligation of the Company to
Cash Collateralize the L/C Obligations as aforesaid shall automatically become
effective, in each case without further act of the Administrative Agent or any
Lender.
9.03 APPLICATION OF FUNDS.
After the exercise of remedies provided for in Section 9.02 (or after the
Loans have automatically become immediately due and payable and the L/C
Obligations have automatically been required to be Cash Collateralized as set
forth in the proviso to Section 9.02), any amounts received on account of the
Obligations shall be applied by the Administrative Agent in the following order:
First, to payment of that portion of the Obligations constituting fees,
indemnities, expenses and other amounts (including fees, charges and
disbursements of counsel to the Administrative Agent and amounts payable under
Article III) payable to the Administrative Agent in its capacity as such;
Second, to payment of that portion of the Obligations constituting fees,
indemnities and other amounts (other than principal, interest and Letter of
Credit Fees) payable to the Lenders and the L/C Issuer (including fees, charges
and disbursements of counsel to the respective Lenders and the L/C Issuer and
amounts payable under Article III), ratably among them in proportion to the
respective amounts described in this clause Second payable to them;
Third, to payment of that portion of the Obligations constituting accrued
and unpaid Letter of Credit Fees and interest on the Loans, L/C Borrowings and
other Obligations, ratably among the Lenders and the L/C Issuer in proportion to
the respective amounts described in this clause Third payable to them;
Fourth, to payment of that portion of the Obligations constituting unpaid
principal of the Loans and L/C Borrowings, ratably among the Lenders and the L/C
Issuer in proportion to the respective amounts described in this clause Fourth
held by them;
Fifth, to the Administrative Agent for the account of the L/C Issuer, to
Cash Collateralize that portion of L/C Obligations comprised of the aggregate
undrawn amount of Letters of Credit; and
Last, the balance, if any, after all of the Obligations have been
indefeasibly paid in full, to the Company or as otherwise required by Law.
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Subject to Section 2.03(c), amounts used to Cash Collateralize the aggregate
undrawn amount of Letters of Credit pursuant to clause Fifth above shall be
applied to satisfy drawings under such Letters of Credit as they occur. If any
amount remains on deposit as Cash Collateral after all Letters of Credit have
either been fully drawn or expired, such remaining amount shall be applied to
the other Obligations, if any, in the order set forth above.
ARTICLE X
ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
10.01 APPOINTMENT AND AUTHORITY.
Each of the Lenders and the L/C Issuer hereby irrevocably appoints Bank of
America to act on its behalf as the Administrative Agent hereunder and under the
other Loan Documents and authorizes the Administrative Agent to take such
actions on its behalf and to exercise such powers as are delegated to the
Administrative Agent by the terms hereof or thereof, together with such actions
and powers as are reasonably incidental thereto. The provisions of this Article
are solely for the benefit of the Administrative Agent, the Lenders and the L/C
Issuer, and no Borrower shall have rights as a third party beneficiary of any of
such provisions.
10.02 RIGHTS AS A LENDER.
The Person 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 the term
"Lender" or "Lenders" shall, unless otherwise expressly indicated or unless the
context otherwise requires, include the Person serving as the Administrative
Agent hereunder in its individual capacity. Such Person and its Affiliates may
accept deposits from, lend money to, act as the financial advisor or in any
other advisory capacity for and generally engage in any kind of business with
the Borrowers or any Subsidiary or other Affiliate thereof as if such Person
were not the Administrative Agent hereunder and without any duty to account
therefor to the Lenders.
10.03 EXCULPATORY PROVISIONS.
The Administrative Agent shall not have any duties or obligations except
those expressly set forth herein and in the other Loan Documents. Without
limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Administrative Agent:
(a) shall not be subject to any fiduciary or other implied duties,
regardless of whether a Default has occurred and is continuing;
(b) shall not have any duty to take any discretionary action or
exercise any discretionary powers, except discretionary rights and powers
expressly contemplated hereby or by the other Loan Documents that the
Administrative Agent is required to exercise as directed in writing by the
Required Lenders (or such other number or percentage of the Lenders as
shall be expressly provided for herein or in the other Loan Documents),
provided that the Administrative Agent shall not be required to take any
action that, in its opinion or the opinion of its counsel, may expose the
Administrative Agent to liability or that is contrary to any Loan Document
or applicable law; and
(c) shall not, except as expressly set forth herein and in the other
Loan Documents, have any duty to disclose, and shall not be liable for the
failure to disclose, any information
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relating to any of the Borrowers or any of their respective Affiliates
that is communicated to or obtained by the Person serving as the
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 (i) with the consent or at the request of the Required Lenders (or such
other number or percentage of the Lenders as shall be necessary, or as the
Administrative Agent shall believe in good faith shall be necessary, under the
circumstances as provided in Sections 11.01 and 9.02) or (ii) 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 notice
describing such Default is given to the Administrative Agent by the Company, a
Lender or the L/C Issuer.
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 this Agreement or any other Loan Document, (ii) the
contents of any certificate, report or other document delivered hereunder or
thereunder or in connection herewith or therewith, (iii) the performance or
observance of any of the covenants, agreements or other terms or conditions set
forth herein or therein or the occurrence of any Default, (iv) the validity,
enforceability, effectiveness or genuineness of this Agreement, any other Loan
Document or any other agreement, instrument or document or (v) the satisfaction
of any condition set forth in Article V or elsewhere herein, other than to
confirm receipt of items expressly required to be delivered to the
Administrative Agent.
10.04 RELIANCE BY 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 (including any electronic
message, Internet or intranet website posting or other distribution) believed by
it to be genuine and to have been signed, sent or otherwise authenticated 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 have been made by the proper
Person, and shall not incur any liability for relying thereon. In determining
compliance with any condition hereunder to the making of a Loan, or the issuance
of a Letter of Credit, that by its terms must be fulfilled to the satisfaction
of a Lender or the L/C Issuer, the Administrative Agent may presume that such
condition is satisfactory to such Lender or the L/C Issuer unless the
Administrative Agent shall have received notice to the contrary from such Lender
or the L/C Issuer prior to the making of such Loan or the issuance of such
Letter of Credit. The Administrative Agent may consult with legal counsel (who
may be counsel for the Company), 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.
10.05 DELEGATION OF DUTIES.
The Administrative Agent may perform any and all of its duties and
exercise its rights and powers hereunder or under any other Loan Document 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 of its
duties and exercise its rights and powers by or through their respective Related
Parties. The exculpatory provisions of this Article 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.
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10.06 RESIGNATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT.
The Administrative Agent may at any time give notice of its resignation to
the Lenders, the L/C Issuer and the Company. Upon receipt of any such notice of
resignation, the Required Lenders shall have the right, with the consent of the
Company, which consent may not be unreasonably withheld, to appoint a successor,
which shall be a bank with an office in the United States, or an Affiliate of
any such bank with an office in the United States. If no such successor shall
have been so appointed by the Required Lenders and shall have accepted such
appointment within 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 L/C Issuer, appoint a successor Administrative Agent meeting the
qualifications set forth above; provided that if the Administrative Agent shall
notify the Company and the Lenders that no qualifying Person has accepted such
appointment, then such resignation shall nonetheless become effective in
accordance with such notice and (1) the retiring Administrative Agent shall be
discharged from its duties and obligations hereunder and under the other Loan
Documents (except that in the case of any collateral security held by the
Administrative Agent on behalf of the Lenders or the L/C Issuer under any of the
Loan Documents, the retiring Administrative Agent shall continue to hold such
collateral security until such time as a successor Administrative Agent is
appointed) and (2) all payments, communications and determinations provided to
be made by, to or through the Administrative Agent shall instead be made by or
to each Lender and the L/C Issuer directly, until such time as the Required
Lenders appoint a successor Administrative Agent as provided for above in this
Section. Upon the acceptance of a successor's appointment as Administrative
Agent hereunder, such successor shall succeed to and become vested with all of
the rights, powers, privileges and duties of the retiring (or retired)
Administrative Agent, and the retiring Administrative Agent shall be discharged
from all of its duties and obligations hereunder or under the other Loan
Documents (if not already discharged therefrom as provided above in this
Section). The fees payable by the Company to a successor Administrative Agent
shall be the same as those payable to its predecessor unless otherwise agreed
between the Company and such successor. After the retiring Administrative
Agent's resignation hereunder and under the other Loan Documents, the provisions
of this Article and Section 11.04 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 the retiring Administrative Agent was acting as Administrative Agent.
Any resignation by Bank of America as Administrative Agent pursuant to
this Section shall also constitute its resignation as L/C Issuer and Swing Line
Lender. Upon the acceptance of a successor's appointment as Administrative Agent
hereunder, (a) such successor shall succeed to and become vested with all of the
rights, powers, privileges and duties of the retiring L/C Issuer and Swing Line
Lender, (b) the retiring L/C Issuer and Swing Line Lender shall be discharged
from all of their respective duties and obligations hereunder or under the other
Loan Documents, and (c) the successor L/C Issuer shall issue letters of credit
in substitution for the Letters of Credit, if any, outstanding at the time of
such succession or make other arrangements satisfactory to the retiring L/C
Issuer to effectively assume the obligations of the retiring L/C Issuer with
respect to such Letters of Credit.
10.07 NON-RELIANCE ON ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT AND OTHER LENDERS.
Each Lender and the L/C Issuer acknowledges that it has, independently and
without reliance upon the Administrative Agent or any other Lender or any of
their Related Parties and based on such documents and information as it has
deemed appropriate, made its own credit analysis and decision to enter into this
Agreement. Each Lender and the L/C Issuer also acknowledges that it will,
independently and without reliance upon the Administrative Agent or any other
Lender or any of their Related Parties and based on such documents and
information 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 other Loan Document or any related agreement or any document furnished
hereunder or thereunder.
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10.08 NO OTHER DUTIES, ETC.
Anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding, none of the Syndication
Agent, Arrangers or Sole Book Manager listed on the cover page hereof shall have
any powers, duties or responsibilities under this Agreement or any of the other
Loan Documents, except in its capacity, as applicable, as the Administrative
Agent, a Lender or the L/C Issuer hereunder.
10.09 ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT MAY FILE PROOFS OF CLAIM.
In case of the pendency of any receivership, insolvency, liquidation,
bankruptcy, reorganization, arrangement, adjustment, composition or other
judicial proceeding relative to any Loan Party, the Administrative Agent
(irrespective of whether the principal of any Loan or L/C Obligation shall then
be due and payable as herein expressed or by declaration or otherwise and
irrespective of whether the Administrative Agent shall have made any demand on
any Borrower) shall be entitled and empowered, by intervention in such
proceeding or otherwise
(a) to file and prove a claim for the whole amount of the principal
and interest owing and unpaid in respect of the Loans, L/C Obligations and
all other Obligations that are owing and unpaid and to file such other
documents as may be necessary or advisable in order to have the claims of
the Lenders, the L/C Issuer and the Administrative Agent (including any
claim for the reasonable compensation, expenses, disbursements and
advances of the Lenders, the L/C Issuer and the Administrative Agent and
their respective agents and counsel and all other amounts due the Lenders,
the L/C Issuer and the Administrative Agent under Sections 2.03(i) and
(j), 2.09 and 11.04) allowed in such judicial proceeding; and
(b) to collect and receive any monies or other property payable or
deliverable on any such claims and to distribute the same;
and any custodian, receiver, assignee, trustee, liquidator, sequestrator or
other similar official in any such judicial proceeding is hereby authorized by
each Lender and the L/C Issuer to make such payments to the Administrative Agent
and, in the event that the Administrative Agent shall consent to the making of
such payments directly to the Lenders and the L/C Issuer, to pay to the
Administrative Agent any amount due for the reasonable compensation, expenses,
disbursements and advances of the Administrative Agent and its agents and
counsel, and any other amounts due the Administrative Agent under Sections 2.09
and 11.04.
Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to authorize the Administrative
Agent to authorize or consent to or accept or adopt on behalf of any Lender or
the L/C Issuer any plan of reorganization, arrangement, adjustment or
composition affecting the Obligations or the rights of any Lender or to
authorize the Administrative Agent to vote in respect of the claim of any Lender
in any such proceeding.
ARTICLE XI
MISCELLANEOUS
11.01 AMENDMENTS, ETC.
No amendment or waiver of any provision of this Agreement or any other
Loan Document, and no consent to any departure by the Company or any other Loan
Party therefrom, shall be effective unless in writing signed by the Required
Lenders and the Company or the applicable Loan Party, as the case may
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be, and acknowledged by the Administrative Agent, and each such waiver or
consent shall be effective only in the specific instance and for the specific
purpose for which given; provided, however, that no such amendment, waiver or
consent shall:
(a) other than pursuant to Section 2.15 hereof, extend or increase
the Commitment of any Lender (or reinstate any Commitment terminated
pursuant to Section 9.02) without the written consent of such Lender;
(b) postpone any date fixed by this Agreement or any other Loan
Document for any payment of principal, interest, fees or other amounts due
to the Lenders (or any of them) hereunder or under any other Loan Document
without the written consent of each Lender directly affected thereby;
(c) reduce the principal of, or the rate of interest specified
herein on, any Loan or L/C Borrowing, or (subject to clause (iv) of the
second proviso to this Section 11.01) any fees or other amounts payable
hereunder or under any other Loan Document without the written consent of
each Lender directly affected thereby; provided, however, that only the
consent of the Required Lenders shall be necessary to amend the definition
of "Default Rate" or to waive any obligation of any Borrower to pay
interest or Letter of Credit Fees at the Default Rate;
(d) change Section 2.13 or Section 9.03 in a manner that would alter
the pro rata sharing of payments required thereby without the written
consent of each Lender;
(e) amend Section 1.06 or the definition of "Alternative Currency"
without the written consent of each Lender;
(f) change any provision of this Section or the definition of
"Required Lenders" or any other provision hereof specifying the number or
percentage of Lenders required to amend, waive or otherwise modify any
rights hereunder or make any determination or grant any consent hereunder
without the written consent of each Lender; or
(g) release the Company from its obligations under the Loan
Documents without the written consent of each Lender;
and, provided further, that (i) no amendment, waiver or consent shall, unless in
writing and signed by the L/C Issuer in addition to the Lenders required above,
affect the rights or duties of the L/C Issuer under this Agreement or any Issuer
Document relating to any Letter of Credit issued or to be issued by it; (ii) no
amendment, waiver or consent shall, unless in writing and signed by the Swing
Line Lender in addition to the Lenders required above, affect the rights or
duties of the Swing Line Lender under this Agreement; (iii) no amendment, waiver
or consent shall, unless in writing and signed by the Administrative Agent in
addition to the Lenders required above, affect the rights or duties of the
Administrative Agent under this Agreement or any other Loan Document; (iv) the
Fee Letter may be amended, or rights or privileges thereunder waived, in a
writing executed only by the parties thereto. Notwithstanding anything to the
contrary herein, no Defaulting Lender shall have any right to approve or
disapprove any amendment, waiver or consent hereunder, except that the
Commitment of such Lender may not be increased or extended without the consent
of such Lender.
11.02 NOTICES; EFFECTIVENESS; ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION.
(a) Notices Generally. Except in the case of notices and other
communications expressly permitted to be given by telephone (and except as
provided in subsection (b) below), all notices and other
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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 telecopier as follows, and all notices and other communications
expressly permitted hereunder to be given by telephone shall be made to the
applicable telephone number, as follows:
(i) if to the Borrowers, the Administrative Agent, the L/C Issuer or
the Swing Line Lender, to the address, telecopier number, electronic mail
address or telephone number specified for such Person on Schedule 11.02;
and
(ii) if to any other Lender, to the address, telecopier number,
electronic mail address or telephone number specified 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 telecopier 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 communications to the extent
provided in subsection (b) below, shall be effective as provided in such
subsection (b).
(b) Electronic Communications. Notices and other communications to the
Lenders and the L/C Issuer hereunder may be delivered or furnished by electronic
communication (including e-mail and Internet or intranet websites) pursuant to
procedures approved by the Administrative Agent, provided that the foregoing
shall not apply to notices to any Lender or the L/C Issuer pursuant to Article
II if such Lender or the L/C Issuer, as applicable, has notified the
Administrative Agent that it is incapable of receiving notices under such
Article by electronic communication. The Administrative Agent or the Company
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), provided that if such notice 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, 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.
(c) The Platform. THE PLATFORM IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE." THE
AGENT PARTIES (AS DEFINED BELOW) DO NOT WARRANT THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF
THE BORROWER MATERIALS OR THE ADEQUACY OF THE PLATFORM, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM
LIABILITY FOR ERRORS IN OR OMISSIONS FROM THE BORROWER MATERIALS. NO WARRANTY OF
ANY KIND, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING 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 BORROWER MATERIALS OR THE PLATFORM. In no event
shall the Administrative Agent or any of its Related Parties (collectively, the
"Agent Parties") have any liability to any Borrower, any Lender, the L/C Issuer
or any other Person for losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses of any
kind (whether in tort, contract or otherwise) arising out of any Borrower's or
the
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Administrative Agent's transmission of Borrower Materials through the Internet,
except to the extent that such losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses
are determined by a court of competent jurisdiction by a final and nonappealable
judgment to have resulted from the gross negligence or willful misconduct of
such Agent Party; provided, however, that in no event shall any Agent Party have
any liability to any Borrower, any Lender, the L/C Issuer or any other Person
for indirect, special, incidental, consequential or punitive damages (as opposed
to direct or actual damages).
(d) Change of Address, Etc. Each of the Borrowers, the Administrative
Agent, the L/C Issuer and the Swing Line Lender may change its address,
telecopier or telephone number for notices and other communications hereunder by
notice to the other parties hereto. Each other Lender may change its address,
telecopier or telephone number for notices and other communications hereunder by
notice to the Company, the Administrative Agent, the L/C Issuer and the Swing
Line Lender. In addition, each Lender agrees to notify the Administrative Agent
from time to time to ensure that the Administrative Agent has on record (i) an
effective address, contact name, telephone number, telecopier number and
electronic mail address to which notices and other communications may be sent
and (ii) accurate wire instructions for such Lender.
(e) Reliance by Administrative Agent, L/C Issuer and Lenders. The
Administrative Agent, the L/C Issuer and the Lenders shall be entitled to rely
and act upon any notices (including telephonic Committed Loan Notices and Swing
Line Loan Notices) purportedly given by or on behalf of any Borrower even if (i)
such notices were not made in a manner specified herein, were incomplete or were
not preceded or followed by any other form of notice specified herein, or (ii)
the terms thereof, as understood by the recipient, varied from any confirmation
thereof. The Company shall indemnify the Administrative Agent, the L/C Issuer,
each Lender and the Related Parties of each of them from all losses, costs,
expenses and liabilities resulting from the reliance by such Person on each
notice purportedly given by or on behalf of any Borrower. All telephonic notices
to and other telephonic communications with the Administrative Agent may be
recorded by the Administrative Agent, and each of the parties hereto hereby
consents to such recording.
11.03 NO WAIVER; CUMULATIVE REMEDIES.
No failure by any Lender or the Administrative Agent to exercise, and no
delay by any such Person in exercising, any right, remedy, power or privilege
hereunder shall operate as a waiver thereof; nor shall any single or partial
exercise of any right, remedy, power or privilege hereunder preclude any other
or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any other right, remedy, power or
privilege. The rights, remedies, powers and privileges herein provided are
cumulative and not exclusive of any rights, remedies, powers and privileges
provided by law.
11.04 EXPENSES; INDEMNITY; DAMAGE WAIVER.
(a) Costs and Expenses. The Company shall pay (i) all reasonable
out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the Administrative Agent and its Affiliates
(including the reasonable fees, charges and disbursements of counsel for the
Administrative Agent), in connection with the syndication of the credit
facilities provided for herein, the preparation, negotiation, execution,
delivery 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 the L/C
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 Lender or the
L/C Issuer (including the reasonable fees, charges and disbursements of any
counsel for the Administrative Agent, any Lender or the L/C Issuer), in
connection with the enforcement or protection of its rights in
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connection with this Agreement and the other Loan Documents, including all
out-of-pocket expenses incurred during any workout, restructuring or
negotiations in respect of such Loans or Letters of Credit.
(b) Indemnification by the Company. The Company shall indemnify the
Administrative Agent (and any sub-agent thereof), each Lender and the L/C
Issuer, 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, penalties, liabilities and reasonable
related expenses (including the reasonable fees, charges and disbursements of
any counsel for any Indemnitee), and shall indemnify and hold harmless each
Indemnitee from all fees and time charges and disbursements for attorneys who
may be employees of any Indemnitee, incurred by any Indemnitee or asserted
against any Indemnitee by any third party or by any Borrower or any other Loan
Party arising out of, in connection with, or as a result of (i) the execution or
delivery of this Agreement, any other Loan Document or any agreement or
instrument contemplated hereby or thereby, the performance by the parties hereto
of their respective obligations hereunder or thereunder, the consummation of the
transactions contemplated hereby or thereby, or, in the case of the
Administrative Agent (and any sub-agent thereof) and its Related Parties only,
the administration of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents, (ii) any Loan
or Letter of Credit or the use or proposed use of the proceeds therefrom
(including any refusal by the L/C 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 any Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries, or any
Environmental Liability related in any way to any Borrower or any of its
Subsidiaries, (iv) any civil penalty or fine assessed by OFAC against, and all
reasonable costs and expenses (including counsel fees and disbursements)
incurred in connection with defense thereof, by the Administrative Agent or any
Lender as a result conduct of the Borrower that violates a sanction enforced by
OFAC, or (v) any actual or prospective claim, litigation, investigation or
proceeding relating to any of the foregoing, whether based on contract, tort or
any other theory, whether brought by a third party or by the Company or any
other Loan Party, and regardless of whether any Indemnitee is a party thereto,
in all cases, whether or not caused by or arising, in whole or in part, out of
the comparative, contributory or sole negligence of the Indemnitee; provided
that such indemnity shall not, as to any Indemnitee, be available to the extent
that such losses, claims, damages, penalties, liabilities or related expenses
(x) are determined by a court of competent jurisdiction to have resulted from
the gross negligence or willful misconduct of such Indemnitee or (y) result from
a claim brought by the Company or any other Loan Party against an Indemnitee for
breach in bad faith of such Indemnitee's obligations hereunder or under any
other Loan Document, if the Company or such other Loan Party has obtained a
judgment in its favor on such claim as determined by a court of competent
jurisdiction.
(c) Reimbursement by Lenders. To the extent that the Company for any
reason fails to indefeasibly pay any amount required under subsection (a) or (b)
of this Section to be paid by it to the Administrative Agent (or any sub-agent
thereof), the L/C Issuer or any Related Party of any of the foregoing, each
Lender severally agrees to pay to the Administrative Agent (or any such
sub-agent), the L/C Issuer or such Related Party, as the case may be, such
Lender's Applicable Percentage (determined as of the time that the applicable
unreimbursed expense or indemnity payment is sought) of such unpaid amount,
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 any such sub-agent) or the L/C Issuer in
its capacity as such, or against any Related Party of any of the foregoing
acting for the Administrative Agent (or any such sub-agent) or L/C Issuer in
connection with such capacity. The obligations of the Lenders under this
subsection (c) are subject to the provisions of Section 2.12(d).
(d) Waiver of Consequential Damages, Etc. To the fullest extent permitted
by applicable law, no Borrower shall assert, and hereby waives, any claim
against any Indemnitee, on any theory of
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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, the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby, any Loan
or Letter of Credit or the use of the proceeds thereof. No Indemnitee referred
to in subsection (b) above shall be liable for any damages arising from the use
by unintended recipients of any information or other materials distributed by it
through telecommunications, electronic or other information transmission systems
in connection with this Agreement or the other Loan Documents or the
transactions contemplated hereby or thereby.
(e) Payments. All amounts due under this Section shall be payable not
later than ten Business Days after demand therefor.
(f) Survival. The agreements in this Section shall survive the resignation
of the Administrative Agent and the L/C Issuer, the replacement of any Lender,
the termination of the Aggregate Commitments and the repayment, satisfaction or
discharge of all the other Obligations.
11.05 PAYMENTS SET ASIDE.
To the extent that any payment by or on behalf of any Borrower is made to
the Administrative Agent, the L/C Issuer or any Lender, or the Administrative
Agent, the L/C Issuer or any Lender exercises its right of setoff, and such
payment or the proceeds of such setoff or any part thereof is subsequently
invalidated, declared to be fraudulent or preferential, set aside or required
(including pursuant to any settlement entered into by the Administrative Agent,
the L/C Issuer or such Lender in its discretion) to be repaid to a trustee,
receiver or any other party, in connection with any proceeding under any Debtor
Relief Law or otherwise, then (a) to the extent of such recovery, the obligation
or part thereof originally intended to be satisfied shall be revived and
continued in full force and effect as if such payment had not been made or such
setoff had not occurred, and (b) each Lender and the L/C Issuer severally agrees
to pay to the Administrative Agent upon demand its applicable share (without
duplication) of any amount so recovered from or repaid by the Administrative
Agent, plus interest thereon from the date of such demand to the date such
payment is made at a rate per annum equal to the applicable Overnight Rate from
time to time in effect, in the applicable currency of such recovery or payment.
The obligations of the Lenders and the L/C Issuer under clause (b) of the
preceding sentence shall survive the payment in full of the Obligations and the
termination of this Agreement.
11.06 SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNS.
(a) Successors and Assigns Generally. 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, except that no Borrower may
assign or otherwise transfer any of its rights or obligations hereunder without
the prior written consent of the Administrative Agent and each Lender and no
Lender may assign or otherwise transfer any of its rights or obligations
hereunder except (i) to an Eligible Assignee in accordance with the provisions
of subsection (b) of this Section, (ii) by way of participation in accordance
with the provisions of subsection (d) of this Section, (iii) by way of pledge or
assignment of a security interest subject to the restrictions of subsection (f)
of this Section (and any other attempted assignment or transfer by any party
hereto shall be null and void). 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, Participants to the
extent provided in subsection (d) of this Section and, to the extent expressly
contemplated hereby, the Related Parties of each of the Administrative Agent,
the L/C Issuer and the Lenders) any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim
under or by reason of this Agreement.
79
(b) Assignments by Lenders. Any Lender may at any time assign to one or
more Eligible Assignees all or a portion of its rights and obligations under
this Agreement (including all or a portion of its Commitment and the Loans
(including for purposes of this subsection (b), participations in L/C
Obligations and in Swing Line Loans) at the time owing to it); provided that
(i) except in the case of an assignment of the entire remaining
amount of the assigning Lender's Commitment and the Loans at the time
owing to it or in the case of an assignment to a Lender or an Affiliate of
a Lender or an Approved Fund with respect to a Lender, the aggregate
amount of the Commitment (which for this purpose includes Loans
outstanding thereunder) or, if the Commitment is not then in effect, the
principal outstanding balance of the 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 or, if "Trade Date" is specified in the Assignment
and Assumption, as of the Trade Date, shall not be less than $5,000,000
unless each of the Administrative Agent and, so long as no Event of
Default has occurred and is continuing, the Company otherwise consents
(each such consent not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed); provided,
however, that concurrent assignments to members of an Assignee Group and
concurrent assignments from members of an Assignee Group to a single
Eligible Assignee (or to an Eligible Assignee and members of its Assignee
Group) will be treated as a single assignment for purposes of determining
whether such minimum amount has been met;
(ii) 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 with respect to the Loans or the Commitment assigned,
except that this clause (ii) shall not apply to rights in respect of Swing
Line Loans;
(iii) any assignment of a Commitment must be approved by the
Administrative Agent, the L/C Issuer and the Swing Line Lender unless the
Person that is the proposed assignee is itself a Lender (whether or not
the proposed assignee would otherwise qualify as an Eligible Assignee);
and
(iv) the parties to each assignment shall execute and deliver to the
Administrative Agent an Assignment and Assumption, together with a
processing and recordation fee in the amount, if any, required as set
forth in Schedule 11.06, and the Eligible Assignee, if it shall not be a
Lender, shall deliver to the Administrative Agent an Administrative
Questionnaire.
Subject to acceptance and recording thereof by the Administrative Agent pursuant
to subsection (c) of this Section, from and after the effective date specified
in each Assignment and Assumption, the Eligible Assignee thereunder shall be a
party to this Agreement 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 3.01, 3.04, 3.05, and 11.04 with
respect to facts and circumstances occurring prior to the effective date of such
assignment. Upon request, each Borrower (at its expense) shall execute and
deliver a Note to the assignee Lender. Any assignment or transfer by a Lender of
rights or obligations under this Agreement that does not comply with this
subsection 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
subsection (d) of this Section.
80
(c) Register. The Administrative Agent, acting solely for this purpose as
an agent of the Borrowers, shall maintain at the Administrative Agent's Office 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 Commitments of,
and principal amounts of the Loans and L/C Obligations owing to, each Lender
pursuant to the terms hereof from time to time (the "Register"). The entries in
the Register shall be conclusive, and the Borrowers, the Administrative Agent
and the Lenders may 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 each of the Borrowers and the L/C Issuer at any
reasonable time and from time to time upon reasonable prior notice. In addition,
at any time that a request for a consent for a material or substantive change to
the Loan Documents is pending, any Lender may request and receive from the
Administrative Agent a copy of the Register.
(d) Participations. Any Lender may at any time, without the consent of, or
notice to, any Borrower or the Administrative Agent, sell participations to any
Person (other than a natural person or the Company or any of the Company's
Affiliates or Subsidiaries) (each, a "Participant") in all or a portion of such
Lender's rights and/or obligations under this Agreement (including all or a
portion of its Commitment and/or the Loans (including such Lender's
participations in L/C Obligations and/or Swing Line Loans) owing to it);
provided that (i) such Lender's obligations under this Agreement shall remain
unchanged, (ii) such Lender shall remain solely responsible to the other parties
hereto for the performance of such obligations and (iii) the Borrowers, the
Administrative Agent, the Lenders and the L/C Issuer 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, waiver or other modification described in the first proviso to
Section 11.01 that affects such Participant. Subject to subsection (e) of this
Section, each Borrower agrees that each Participant shall be entitled to the
benefits of Sections 3.01, 3.04 and 3.05 to the same extent as if it were a
Lender and had acquired its interest by assignment pursuant to subsection (b) of
this Section. To the extent permitted by law, each Participant also shall be
entitled to the benefits of Section 11.08 as though it were a Lender, provided
such Participant agrees to be subject to Section 2.13 as though it were a
Lender.
(e) Limitation upon Participant Rights. A Participant shall not be
entitled to receive any greater payment under Section 3.01 or 3.04 than the
applicable Lender would have been entitled to receive with respect to the
participation sold to such Participant, unless the sale of the participation to
such Participant is made with the Company's prior written consent. A Participant
that would be a Foreign Lender if it were a Lender shall not be entitled to the
benefits of Section 3.01 unless the Company is notified of the participation
sold to such Participant and such Participant agrees, for the benefit of the
Borrowers, to comply with Section 3.01(e) as though it were a Lender.
(f) Certain Pledges. Any Lender may at any time pledge or assign a
security interest in all or any portion of its rights under this Agreement
(including under its Note(s), if any) to secure obligations of such Lender,
including any pledge or assignment to secure obligations to a Federal Reserve
Bank; provided that no such pledge or assignment shall release such Lender from
any of its obligations hereunder or substitute any such pledgee or assignee for
such Lender as a party hereto.
(g) Electronic Execution of Assignments. The words "execution," "signed,"
"signature," and words of like import in any Assignment and Assumption shall be
deemed to include electronic signatures
81
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 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.
(h) Resignation as L/C Issuer or Swing Line Lender after Assignment.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, if at any time Bank
of America assigns all of its Commitment and Loans pursuant to subsection (b)
above, Bank of America may, (i) upon 30 days' notice to the Company and the
Lenders, resign as L/C Issuer and/or (ii) upon 30 days' notice to the Company,
resign as Swing Line Lender. In the event of any such resignation as L/C Issuer
or Swing Line Lender, the Company shall be entitled to appoint from among the
Lenders a successor L/C Issuer or Swing Line Lender hereunder; provided,
however, that no failure by the Company to appoint any such successor shall
affect the resignation of Bank of America as L/C Issuer or Swing Line Lender, as
the case may be. If Bank of America resigns as L/C Issuer, it shall retain all
the rights, powers, privileges and duties of the L/C Issuer hereunder with
respect to all Letters of Credit outstanding as of the effective date of its
resignation as L/C Issuer and all L/C Obligations with respect thereto
(including the right to require the Lenders to make Base Rate Committed Loans or
fund risk participations in Unreimbursed Amounts pursuant to Section 2.03(c)).
If Bank of America resigns as Swing Line Lender, it shall retain all the rights
of the Swing Line Lender provided for hereunder with respect to Swing Line Loans
made by it and outstanding as of the effective date of such resignation,
including the right to require the Lenders to make Base Rate Committed Loans or
fund risk participations in outstanding Swing Line Loans pursuant to Section
2.04(c). Upon the appointment of a successor L/C Issuer and/or Swing Line
Lender, (a) such successor shall succeed to and become vested with all of the
rights, powers, privileges and duties of the retiring L/C Issuer or Swing Line
Lender, as the case may be, and (b) the successor L/C Issuer shall issue letters
of credit in substitution for the Letters of Credit, if any, outstanding at the
time of such succession or make other arrangements satisfactory to Bank of
America to effectively assume the obligations of Bank of America with respect to
such Letters of Credit.
11.07 TREATMENT OF CERTAIN INFORMATION; CONFIDENTIALITY.
Each of the Administrative Agent, the Lenders and the L/C Issuer agrees to
maintain the confidentiality of the Information (as defined below), except that
Information may be disclosed (a) to its Affiliates and to its and its
Affiliates' respective partners, directors, officers, employees, agents,
advisors and representatives (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 purporting to have jurisdiction
over it (including any self-regulatory authority, such as the National
Association of Insurance Commissioners), (c) to the extent required by
applicable laws or regulations or by any subpoena or similar legal process, (d)
to any other party hereto, (e) in connection with the exercise of any remedies
hereunder or under any other Loan Document or any 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
a Borrower and its obligations, (g) with the consent of the Company or (h) to
the extent such Information (x) becomes publicly available other than as a
result of a breach of this Section or (y) becomes available to the
Administrative Agent, any Lender, the L/C Issuer or any of their respective
Affiliates on a nonconfidential basis from a source other than the Company.
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For purposes of this Section, "Information" means all information received
from the Company or any Subsidiary relating to the Company or any Subsidiary or
any of their respective businesses, other than any such information that is
available to the Administrative Agent, any Lender or the L/C Issuer on a
nonconfidential basis prior to disclosure by the Company or any Subsidiary,
provided that, in the case of information received from the Company or any
Subsidiary 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.
Each of the Administrative Agent, the Lenders and the L/C Issuer
acknowledges that (a) the Information may include material non-public
information concerning the Company or a Subsidiary, as the case may be, (b) it
has developed compliance procedures regarding the use of material non-public
information and (c) it will handle such material non-public information in
accordance with applicable Law, including Federal and state securities Laws.
11.08 RIGHT OF SETOFF.
If an Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing, each Lender,
the L/C Issuer and each of their respective Affiliates is hereby authorized at
any time and from time to time, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable
law, to set off and apply any and all deposits (general or special, time or
demand, provisional or final, in whatever currency) at any time held and other
obligations (in whatever currency) at any time owing by such Lender, the L/C
Issuer or any such Affiliate to or for the credit or the account of any Borrower
against any and all of the obligations of such Borrower now or hereafter
existing under this Agreement or any other Loan Document to such Lender or the
L/C Issuer, irrespective of whether or not such Lender or the L/C Issuer shall
have made any demand under this Agreement or any other Loan Document and
although such obligations of such Borrower may be contingent or unmatured or are
owed to a branch or office of such Lender or the L/C Issuer different from the
branch or office holding such deposit or obligated on such indebtedness. The
rights of each Lender, the L/C Issuer and their respective Affiliates under this
Section are in addition to other rights and remedies (including other rights of
setoff) that such Lender, the L/C Issuer or their respective Affiliates may
have. Each Lender and the L/C Issuer agrees to notify the Company and the
Administrative Agent promptly after any such setoff and application, provided
that the failure to give such notice shall not affect the validity of such
setoff and application.
11.09 INTEREST RATE LIMITATION.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any Loan Document,
the interest paid or agreed to be paid under the Loan Documents shall not exceed
the maximum rate of non-usurious interest permitted by applicable Law (the
"Maximum Rate"). If the Administrative Agent or any Lender shall receive
interest in an amount that exceeds the Maximum Rate, the excess interest shall
be applied to the principal of the Loans or, if it exceeds such unpaid
principal, refunded to the Company. In determining whether the interest
contracted for, charged, or received by the Administrative Agent or a Lender
exceeds the Maximum Rate, such Person may, to the extent permitted by applicable
Law, (a) characterize any payment that is not principal as an expense, fee, or
premium rather than interest, (b) exclude voluntary prepayments and the effects
thereof, and (c) amortize, prorate, allocate, and spread in equal or unequal
parts the total amount of interest throughout the contemplated term of the
Obligations hereunder.
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11.10 COUNTERPARTS; INTEGRATION; EFFECTIVENESS.
This Agreement may be executed in counterparts (and by different parties
hereto in different counterparts), each of which shall constitute an original,
but all of which when taken together shall constitute a single contract. This
Agreement and the other Loan Documents 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 5.01, 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 that, when
taken together, bear the signatures of each of the other parties hereto.
Delivery of an executed counterpart of a signature page of this Agreement by
telecopy shall be effective as delivery of a manually executed counterpart of
this Agreement.
11.11 SURVIVAL OF REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES.
All representations and warranties made hereunder and in any other Loan
Document or other document delivered pursuant hereto or thereto or in connection
herewith or therewith shall survive the execution and delivery hereof and
thereof. Such representations and warranties have been or will be relied upon by
the Administrative Agent and each Lender, regardless of any investigation made
by the Administrative Agent or any Lender or on their behalf and notwithstanding
that the Administrative Agent or any Lender may have had notice or knowledge of
any Default at the time of any Credit Extension, and shall continue in full
force and effect as long as any Loan or any other Obligation hereunder shall
remain unpaid or unsatisfied or any Letter of Credit shall remain outstanding.
11.12 SEVERABILITY.
If any provision of this Agreement or the other Loan Documents is held to
be illegal, invalid or unenforceable, (a) the legality, validity and
enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Agreement and the other Loan
Documents shall not be affected or impaired thereby and (b) the parties shall
endeavor in good faith negotiations to replace the illegal, invalid or
unenforceable provisions with valid provisions the economic effect of which
comes as close as possible to that of the illegal, invalid or unenforceable
provisions. The invalidity of a provision in a particular jurisdiction shall not
invalidate or render unenforceable such provision in any other jurisdiction.
11.13 REPLACEMENT OF LENDERS.
If (i) any Lender requests compensation under Section 3.04, (ii) any
Borrower is required to pay any additional amount to any Lender or any
Governmental Authority for the account of any Lender pursuant to Section 3.01,
(iii) a Lender (a "Non-Consenting Lender") does not consent to a proposed
change, waiver, discharge or termination with respect to any Loan Document that
has been approved by the Required Lenders as provided in Section 11.01 but
requires unanimous consent of all Lenders or all Lenders directly affected
thereby (as applicable), (iv) any Lender is a Defaulting Lender or (v) any
Lender is a Non-Extending Lender pursuant to Section 2.15(b), then the Company
may, at its sole expense and effort, upon notice to such Lender and the
Administrative Agent, require such Lender to assign and delegate, without
recourse (in accordance with and subject to the restrictions contained in, and
consents required by, Section 11.06), all of its interests, rights and
obligations under this Agreement and the related Loan Documents to an assignee
that shall assume such obligations (which assignee may be another Lender, if a
Lender accepts such assignment), provided that:
(a) the Company shall have paid (or caused a Designated Subsidiary
to pay) to the Administrative Agent the assignment fee specified in
Section 11.06(b);
84
(b) such Lender shall have received payment of an amount equal to
the outstanding principal of its Loans and L/C Advances, accrued interest
thereon, accrued fees and all other amounts payable to it hereunder and
under the other Loan Documents (including any amounts under Section 3.05)
from the assignee (to the extent of such outstanding principal and accrued
interest and fees) or the Company or applicable Designated Subsidiary (in
the case of all other amounts);
(c) in the case of any such assignment resulting from a claim for
compensation under Section 3.04 or payments required to be made pursuant
to Section 3.01, such assignment will result in a reduction in such
compensation or payments thereafter;
(d) such assignment does not conflict with applicable Laws; and
(e) in the case of any such assignment resulting from a
Non-Consenting Lender's failure to consent to a proposed change, waiver,
discharge or termination with respect to any Loan Document, the applicable
replacement bank, financial institution or Fund consents to the proposed
change, waiver, discharge or termination; provided that the failure by
such Non-Consenting Lender to execute and deliver an Assignment and
Assumption shall not impair the validity of the removal of such
Non-Consenting Lender and the mandatory assignment of such Non-Consenting
Lender's Commitments and outstanding Loans and participations in L/C
Obligations and Swing Line Loans pursuant to this Section 11.13 shall
nevertheless be effective without the execution by such Non-Consenting
Lender of an Assignment and Assumption.
A Lender shall not be required to make any such assignment or delegation
if, prior thereto, as a result of a waiver by such Lender or otherwise, the
circumstances entitling the Company to require such assignment and delegation
cease to apply.
11.14 GOVERNING LAW; JURISDICTION; ETC.
(a) GOVERNING LAW. THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY, AND CONSTRUED IN
ACCORDANCE WITH, THE LAW OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
(b) SUBMISSION TO JURISDICTION. EACH BORROWER IRREVOCABLY AND
UNCONDITIONALLY SUBMITS, FOR ITSELF AND ITS PROPERTY, TO THE NONEXCLUSIVE
JURISDICTION OF THE COURTS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK SITTING IN NEW YORK CITY AND
OF THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT OF THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK, AND
ANY APPELLATE COURT FROM ANY THEREOF, IN ANY ACTION OR PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF
OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT OR ANY OTHER LOAN DOCUMENT, OR FOR RECOGNITION OR
ENFORCEMENT OF ANY JUDGMENT, AND EACH OF THE PARTIES HERETO 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 COURT OR, TO THE
FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE 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 IN
ANY OTHER LOAN DOCUMENT SHALL AFFECT ANY RIGHT THAT THE ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT,
ANY LENDER OR THE L/C ISSUER MAY OTHERWISE HAVE TO BRING ANY ACTION OR
PROCEEDING RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT OR ANY OTHER
85
LOAN DOCUMENT AGAINST ANY BORROWER OR ITS PROPERTIES IN THE COURTS OF ANY
JURISDICTION.
(c) WAIVER OF VENUE. EACH BORROWER IRREVOCABLY AND UNCONDITIONALLY WAIVES,
TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ANY OBJECTION THAT IT MAY NOW
OR HEREAFTER HAVE TO THE LAYING OF VENUE OF ANY 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 APPLICABLE LAW, THE
DEFENSE OF AN INCONVENIENT FORUM TO THE MAINTENANCE OF SUCH ACTION OR PROCEEDING
IN ANY SUCH COURT.
(d) SERVICE OF PROCESS. EACH PARTY HERETO IRREVOCABLY CONSENTS TO SERVICE
OF PROCESS IN THE MANNER PROVIDED FOR NOTICES IN SECTION 11.02. NOTHING IN THIS
AGREEMENT WILL AFFECT THE RIGHT OF ANY PARTY HERETO TO SERVE PROCESS IN ANY
OTHER MANNER PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW.
11.15 WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL.
EACH PARTY HERETO HEREBY IRREVOCABLY 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 OR 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 PERSON HAS
REPRESENTED, EXPRESSLY OR OTHERWISE, THAT SUCH OTHER PERSON WOULD NOT, IN THE
EVENT OF LITIGATION, SEEK TO ENFORCE THE FOREGOING WAIVER AND (B) ACKNOWLEDGES
THAT IT AND THE OTHER PARTIES HERETO HAVE BEEN INDUCED TO ENTER INTO THIS
AGREEMENT AND THE OTHER LOAN DOCUMENTS BY, AMONG OTHER THINGS, THE MUTUAL
WAIVERS AND CERTIFICATIONS IN THIS SECTION.
11.16 USA PATRIOT ACT NOTICE.
Each Lender that is subject to the Act (as hereinafter defined) and the
Administrative Agent (for itself and not on behalf of any Lender) hereby
notifies the Borrowers that pursuant to the requirements of the USA Patriot Act
(Title III of Pub. L. 107-56 (signed into law October 26, 2001)) (the "Act"), it
is required to obtain, verify and record information that identifies the
Borrowers, which information includes the name and address of each Borrower and
other information that will allow such Lender or the Administrative Agent, as
applicable, to identify such Borrower in accordance with the Act.
11.17 JUDGMENT CURRENCY.
If, for the purposes of obtaining judgment in any court, it is necessary
to convert a sum due hereunder or any other Loan Document in one currency into
another currency, the rate of exchange used shall be that at which in accordance
with normal banking procedures the Administrative Agent could purchase the first
currency with such other currency on the Business Day preceding that on which
final judgment is given. The obligation of each Borrower in respect of any such
sum due from it to the Administrative Agent or the Lenders hereunder or under
the other Loan Documents shall, notwithstanding any judgment in a currency (the
"Judgment Currency") other than that in which such sum is denominated
86
in accordance with the applicable provisions of this Agreement (the "Agreement
Currency"), be discharged only to the extent that on the Business Day following
receipt by the Administrative Agent of any sum adjudged to be so due in the
Judgment Currency, the Administrative Agent may in accordance with normal
banking procedures purchase the Agreement Currency with the Judgment Currency.
If the amount of the Agreement Currency so purchased is less than the sum
originally due to the Administrative Agent from any Borrower in the Agreement
Currency, such Borrower agrees, as a separate obligation and notwithstanding any
such judgment, to indemnify the Administrative Agent or the Person to whom such
obligation was owing against such loss. If the amount of the Agreement Currency
so purchased is greater than the sum originally due to the Administrative Agent
in such currency, the Administrative Agent agrees to return the amount of any
excess to such Borrower (or to any other Person who may be entitled thereto
under applicable law).
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be
duly executed as of the date first above written.
CABOT CORPORATION
By: /s/ Irene S. Sudac
---------------------------------
Name: Irene S. Sudac
Title: Treasurer
S-1
BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., as
Administrative Agent
By: /s/ Matthew C. Correia
---------------------------------
Name: Matthew C. Correia
Title: Assistant Vice President
S-2
BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., as a Lender,
L/C Issuer and Swing Line Lender
By: /s/ Kenneth S. Struglia
---------------------------------
Name: Kenneth S. Struglia
Title: Managing Director
S-3
OTHER LENDERS
CITICORP NORTH AMERICA, INC.
By: /s/ Irina Lurye
---------------------------------
Name: Irina Lurye
Title: Director
JPMORGAN CHASE BANK N.A.
By: /s/ D. Scott Farguhar
---------------------------------
Name: D. Scott Farguhar
Title: Vice President
MIZUHO CORPORATE BANK, LTD.
By: /s/ Raymond Ventura
-------------------------------
Name: Raymond Ventura
Title: Senior Vice President
WACHOVIA BANK, N.A.
By: /s/ Barbara Van Meerten
--------------------------------
Name: Barbara Van Meerten
Title: Director
S-4
COMMERZBANK AG, NEW YORK AND GRAND
CAYMAN BRANCHES
By: /s/ Robert S. Taylor
---------------------------------
Name: Robert S. Taylor
Title: Senior Vice President
COMMERZBANK AG, NEW YORK AND GRAND
CAYMAN BRANCHES
By: /s/ Subash R. Viswanathan
--------------------------------
Name: Subash R. Viswanathan
Title: Senior Vice President
BANK OF CHINA, NEW YORK BRANCH
By: /s/ Xiaojing Li
---------------------------------
Name: Xiaojing Li
Title: First Deputy General Manager
HSBC BANK USA, N.A.
By: /s/ Manuel Burgueno
---------------------------------
Name: Manuel Burgueno
Title: Vice President, RM
S-5