Consolidations and Mergers The Borrower shall not, and shall not permit any Subsidiary (other than any Allied Unrestricted Subsidiary, any Securitization Subsidiary or any Republic Insurance Entity) to, merge, consolidate with, or convey, transfer, lease or otherwise 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 other Person, except:
(a) any Subsidiary may merge with the Borrower or with any one or more Subsidiaries; provided that (i) if any transaction shall be between the Borrower and a Subsidiary, the Borrower shall be the continuing or surviving Person, (ii) if any transaction shall be between a Subsidiary and a Wholly-Owned Subsidiary, a Wholly-Owned Subsidiary shall be the continuing or surviving Person; and (iii) if any transaction shall be between an Excluded Subsidiary and a Subsidiary that is not an Excluded Subsidiary, a Subsidiary that is not an Excluded Subsidiary shall be the continuing or surviving Person;
(b) any Subsidiary (other than an Excluded Subsidiary) may sell or transfer all or substantially all of its assets (upon voluntary liquidation or otherwise) to the Borrower or a Wholly-Owned Subsidiary, and any Excluded Subsidiary may transfer all or substantially all of its assets to the Borrower or a Subsidiary that is not an Excluded Subsidiary for nominal consideration or as a result of the voluntary dissolution or liquidation of such Excluded Subsidiary; and
(c) any merger, consolidation or disposition in connection with a transaction permitted by Section 7.03 or an Acquisition permitted by Section 7.05.
Consolidation and Merger The Borrower will not (a) enter into any transaction of merger or (b) consolidate, liquidate, wind up or dissolve itself (or suffer any liquidation or dissolution); provided that, so long as no Default or Event of Default shall exist or be caused thereby, a Person may be merged or consolidated with or into the Borrower so long as the Borrower shall be the continuing or surviving Person.
DISSOLUTION, LIQUIDATION AND MERGER 49 Section 9.1. Dissolution upon Expiration Date......................................................49 Section 9.2.
Liquidations, Mergers, Consolidations, Acquisitions Holdings shall not, and shall not permit any of its Material Subsidiaries to, dissolve, liquidate, or wind-up its affairs, or become a party to any amalgamation, merger or consolidation, or acquire by purchase, lease, or otherwise all or substantially all of the assets or capital stock of or other ownership interest in any other Person, provided that
(1) any Material Subsidiary may consolidate, amalgamate or merge into Holdings or any other Material Subsidiary provided that the Company may not merge, amalgamate or consolidate with Holdings, and the Company may only merge, amalgamate or consolidate with another Material Subsidiary if the Company is the surviving entity of such merger, amalgamation or consolidation; and
(2) Holdings or any Material Subsidiary may acquire, whether by purchase, by amalgamation or by merger, (A) all of the ownership interests of another Person or (B) substantially all of the assets of another Person or of a business or division of another Person (each a “Permitted Acquisition”), provided that each of the following requirements is met:
(i) if Holdings or any Material Subsidiary is acquiring the ownership interests in such Person and such Person meets the criteria for a Material Subsidiary set forth in the definition of such term at Section 1.01, such Person shall execute a Guarantor Joinder and join this Agreement as a Guarantor pursuant to Section 10.18 [Joinder of Guarantors] on or before the date of such Permitted Acquisition;
(ii) the board of directors or other equivalent governing body of such Person shall have approved such Permitted Acquisition and Holdings or the relevant Material Subsidiary shall have delivered to the Banks written evidence of such approval of the board of directors (or equivalent body) of such Person for such Permitted Acquisition;
(iii) the business acquired, or the business conducted by the Person whose ownership interests are being acquired, as applicable, shall be substantially the same as, or otherwise complementary or related to, one or more lines of business conducted by Holdings or any Material Subsidiary, or otherwise incidental to the business of a financial services company, and shall comply with Section 7.02(j) [Continuation of or Change in Business];
(iv) no Potential Default or Event of Default shall exist immediately prior to and after giving effect to such Permitted Acquisition; and
(v) upon the reasonable request of Agent, Holdings or the relevant Material Subsidiary shall deliver to the Agent at least five (5) Business Days before such Permitted Acquisition such information about such Person or its assets as Agent may reasonably require.
Sale of Assets, Consolidation, Merger, Dissolution, Etc Each Borrower and Guarantor shall not directly or indirectly:
(a) merge into or with or consolidate with any other Person or permit any other Person to merge into or with or consolidate with it except that (i) any Borrower or Guarantor may merge with or into or consolidate with any other Borrower or Guarantor (including any Person which becomes a Borrower or Guarantor in connection with a Permitted Acquisition subject to the terms of Section 9.21(d) hereof) and (ii) any Borrower or Guarantor may merge with a newly formed corporation or limited liability company organized in any state in the United States of America which has no assets or liabilities solely for the purpose of either changing the type of organization of such Borrower or Guarantor to a corporation or limited liability company or changing the jurisdiction of organization of such Borrower or Guarantor to any state in the United States of America, provided, that, in each case each of the following conditions is satisfied as determined by Agent in good faith: (A) Agent shall receive prompt written notice of any such merger or consolidation, (B) as of the effective date of the merger or consolidation and after giving effect thereto, no Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing, (C) in the case of a merger between any Borrower or Guarantor and such newly formed corporation or limited liability company where such corporation or limited liability company is the surviving corporation or limited liability company, such corporation or limited liability company shall have expressly confirmed, ratified and assumed the Obligations of such Borrower or Guarantor and the Financing Agreements to which such Borrower or Guarantor is a party, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to Agent, and in the case of a merger between any Borrower or Guarantor and such newly formed corporation or limited liability company, such Borrower, Guarantor or newly formed corporation or limited liability company shall execute and deliver such other agreements, documents and instruments as Agent may reasonably request in connection therewith, and (D) Agent shall promptly receive true, correct and complete copies of all material agreements, documents and instruments relating to such merger or consolidation; provided, further, that, prior to the Petro Existing Security Agreement Termination Date, no Petro Company shall be merged with or consolidate into any Borrower or Guarantor other than another Petro Company;
(b) sell, issue, assign, lease, license, transfer, abandon or otherwise dispose of any Capital Stock or Indebtedness to any other Person or any of its assets to any other Person, except for
(i) sales of Inventory in the ordinary course of business,
(ii) the sale or other disposition of Equipment (including worn-out or obsolete Equipment or Equipment no longer used or useful in the business of any Borrower or Guarantor) and the sale of Real Property or the Capital Stock of any Propco; provided, that, (A) as of the date of such sale or disposition and after giving effect thereto, no Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing, (B) such sale or disposition shall be on commercially reasonable terms in a bona fide arms length transaction, (C) as of the date of such sale or disposition and after giving effect thereto, Excess Availability plus Unrestricted Cash shall not be less than $20,000,000, (D) such sale or disposition shall not be in connection with any sale-leaseback transaction (it being understood that any such sale-leaseback transaction shall be governed by the terms of Section 9.7(b)(x) hereof), (E) if the Equipment or Real Property to be sold or disposed of (including the Equipment or Real Property owned by any Propco) is included in the Borrowing Base or if a Cash Dominion Period exists, all of the net cash proceeds of such sale or disposition shall promptly be paid to Agent for application to the Obligations in accordance with Section 6.4(a) hereof,
(iii) the issuance and sale by Parent of Capital Stock of Parent (other than Disqualified Capital Stock) after the date hereof; provided, that, (A) if a Cash Dominion Period exists, Agent shall receive prompt written notice of such issuance and sale and (B) if a Cash Dominion Period exists, all of the net cash proceeds of the sale and issuance of such Capital Stock shall promptly be paid to Agent for application to the Obligations in accordance with Section 6.4(a) hereof,
(iv) the issuance of Capital Stock of any Borrower or Guarantor consisting of common stock pursuant to an employee stock option or grant or similar equity plan or 401(k) plans of such Borrower or Guarantor for the benefit of its employees, directors and consultants, provided, that, in no event shall such Borrower or Guarantor be required to issue, or shall such Borrower or Guarantor issue, Capital Stock pursuant to such stock plans or 401(k) plans which would result in a Change of Control or other Event of Default, and
(v) the sale, transfer, lease, sublease or other disposition of assets of any Borrower or Guarantor to another Borrower or Guarantor,
(vi) the grant of non-exclusive licenses of Intellectual Property in the ordinary course of business,
(vii) leases or subleases of Real Property permitted under Section 9.8(m) or 9.12 hereof,
(viii) the sale or other disposition of Cash Equivalents for fair market value in the ordinary course of business,
(ix) the issuance and sale by any Borrower (other than Parent) or Guarantor of its Capital Stock (other than Disqualified Capital Stock) to another Borrower or Guarantor; provided, that, Agent shall have received, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to Agent (A) evidence that Agent has a valid and perfected first priority security interest in and lien upon all such Capital Stock and (B) such other agreements, documents and instruments as Agent may reasonably request to effectuate the purpose and intent of clause (A) above,
(x) the sale of Real Estate and Equipment in connection with a sale-leaseback transaction permitted under Section 9.7(d) hereof (including the sale of the Capital Stock of any Propco and the leaseback of Real Property and Equipment owned by such Propco),
(xi) the sale, transfer or other disposition by the Petro Companies to an Excluded Subsidiary of the franchise agreements between any of the Petro Companies and its franchisees; provided, that, as of the date of such sale, transfer or disposition and after giving effect thereto, no Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing, and
(xii) the sale or other disposition of assets of any Borrower or Guarantor not otherwise permitted under the foregoing provisions of this Section 9.7(b) above (other than the sale or disposition of Accounts of any Borrower or Guarantor or Capital Stock of any Borrower); provided, that, (A) as of the date of such sale or disposition and after giving effect thereto, no Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing, (B) such sale or disposition shall be on commercially reasonable terms in a bona fide arms length transaction, (C) as of the date of such sale or disposition and after giving effect thereto, the aggregate net book value of all of the assets so sold or disposed of in any fiscal year of Parent shall not exceed $20,000,000, (D) as of the date of such sale or disposition and after giving effect thereto, Excess Availability plus Unrestricted Cash shall not be less than $20,000,000, (E) such sale or disposition shall not be in connection with any sale-leaseback transaction (it being understood that any such sale-leaseback transaction shall be governed by the terms of Section 9.7(b)(x) hereof), (F) if any of the assets to be sold or disposed of (including the Equipment or Real Property owned by any Propco) is included in the Borrowing Base or if a Cash Dominion Period exists, all of the net cash proceeds of such sale or disposition shall promptly be paid to Agent for application to the Obligations in accordance with Section 6.4(a) hereof,
(c) wind up, liquidate or dissolve except that any Guarantor may wind up, liquidate and dissolve, provided, that, each of the following conditions is satisfied, (i) effective upon such winding up, liquidation or dissolution, all of the assets and properties of such Guarantor shall be duly and validly transferred and assigned to a Borrower or another Guarantor, (ii) Agent shall have received all documents and agreements that any Borrower or Guarantor has filed with any Governmental Authority or as are otherwise required to effectuate such winding up, liquidation or dissolution, (iii) no Borrower or Guarantor shall assume any Indebtedness, obligations or liabilities as a result of such winding up, liquidation or dissolution, or otherwise become liable in respect of any obligations or liabilities of the entity that is winding up, liquidating or dissolving, unless such Indebtedness is otherwise expressly permitted hereunder, (iv) Agent shall receive prompt written notice of any such winding up, liquidation or dissolution, and (v) as of the date of such winding up, liquidation or dissolution and after giving effect thereto, no Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing;
(d) enter into any sale-leaseback transaction, except for the sale-leaseback of Real Property and Equipment (including the sale of the Capital Stock of any Propco and the leaseback of Real Property and Equipment owned by such Propco); provided, that, each of the following conditions is satisfied: (i) Agent shall receive prompt written notice of any such sale-leaseback, (ii) promptly upon Agent’s request, Agent shall have received true, correct and complete copies of all material agreements, documents and instruments related to such sale-leaseback, (iii) as of the date of the consummation of such sale-leaseback and after giving effect thereto, no Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing, (iv) if any Equipment or Real Property subject to such sale leaseback transaction (whether directly or indirectly through Propco) is included in the Borrowing Base or if a Cash Dominion Period exists, all of the net cash proceeds of such sale-leaseback shall promptly be paid to Agent for application to the Obligations in accordance with Section 6.4(a) hereof, (v) such sale-leaseback transaction shall be on commercially reasonable terms in a bona fide arms-length transaction, and (vi) as of the date of such sale-leaseback transaction and after giving effect thereto, Excess Availability plus Unrestricted Cash shall not be less than $20,000,000; and
(e) agree to do any of the foregoing. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement, no Borrower or Guarantor (other than a Petro Company) shall, prior to the Petro Existing Security Agreement Termination Date, sell, lease, transfer, assign, license, abandon or otherwise dispose of any Capital Stock, Indebtedness or other assets to a Petro Company unless, as of the date of any such sale, lease, transfer, assignment, license, abandonment or disposition, no Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing and Excess Availability plus Unrestricted Cash shall not be less than an amount equal to the thirty-five (35%) percent of the Maximum Credit.
Mergers, Consolidations and Sales Except with the prior written consent of the Required Lenders (which shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed), the Borrower shall not, nor shall it permit Whitestone REIT or any Subsidiary to, effect any merger or consolidation, or sell, transfer, lease or otherwise dispose of all or any part of its Property, including any disposition of Property as part of a sale and leaseback transaction, or in any event sell or discount (with or without recourse) any of its notes or accounts receivable; provided, however, so long as no Default or Event of Default then exist, this Section shall not apply to nor operate to prevent:
(a) the sale, transfer, lease or other disposition of Property of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries to one another in the ordinary course of its business;
(b) sales of shares of capital stock or other equity interests by Borrower or Whitesone REIT, so long as no Change of Control results therefrom;
(c) the merger of any Subsidiary with and into the Borrower or any other Subsidiary, provided that, in the case of any merger involving the Borrower, the Borrower is the entity surviving the merger;
(d) the sale, transfer or other disposition of any tangible personal property that, in the reasonable business judgment of the Borrower or its Subsidiary, has become obsolete or worn out, and which is disposed of in the ordinary course of business;
(e) the sale, transfer, lease or other disposition of Property of the Borrower or any Subsidiary (including any disposition of Property as part of a sale and leaseback transaction) aggregating not more than 20% of the Total Asset Value of the Borrower for all such transactions after the date of this Agreement;
(f) any merger if it results in the simultaneous payoff in immediately available funds of the Obligations; and
(g) the merger or consolidation of the Borrower with another Person not otherwise permitted under clauses (c) and (f) above, so long as (i) the Borrower is the surviving entity, (ii) the Borrower has delivered evidence reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent that it will be in pro forma compliance with all provisions of this Agreement upon and after such merger or consolidation and (iii) the Borrower will not engage in any material line of business substantially different from that engaged in on the Closing Date.
Consolidation and Merger; Asset Acquisitions The Borrower will not consolidate with or merge into any Person, or permit any other Person to merge into it, or acquire (in a transaction analogous in purpose or effect to a consolidation or merger) all or substantially all the assets of any other Person.
Consolidations, Mergers and Sales of Assets No Loan Party will, nor will it permit any Subsidiary of a Loan Party to, consolidate or merge with or into, or sell, lease or otherwise transfer all or any substantial part of its assets to, any other Person, or discontinue or eliminate any business line or segment, provided that (a) a Loan Party may merge with another Person if (i) such Person was organized under the laws of the United States of America or one of its states, (ii) the Loan Party is the corporation surviving such merger, (iii) immediately after giving effect to such merger, no Default shall have occurred and be continuing, and (iv) if the Borrower merges with another Loan Party, the Borrower is the corporation surviving such merger, (b) Subsidiaries of a Loan Party (excluding Loan Parties) may merge with one another, (c) a Loan Party (other than the Borrower or an Eligible Guarantor) may transfer all or any part of its assets to another Loan Party, (d) a Loan Party may sell Inventory in the ordinary course of business and for fair value, and (e) the foregoing limitation on the sale, lease or other transfer of assets and on the discontinuation or elimination of a business line or segment shall not prohibit, during any Fiscal Quarter, a transfer of assets or the discontinuance or elimination of a business line or segment (in a single transaction or in a series of related transactions) unless the aggregate assets to be so transferred or utilized in a business line or segment to be so discontinued, when combined with all other assets transferred (excluding assets transferred under Sections 5.17(d)), and all other assets utilized in all other business lines or segments discontinued, during such Fiscal Quarter and the immediately preceding three Fiscal Quarters have a fair market value or book value whichever is greater (determined with respect to each such asset transferred or discontinued) of more than $20,000,000.
Termination Liquidation and Merger 51 SECTION 9.1. Dissolution Upon Expiration Date....................................................51 SECTION 9.2.
Mergers, Consolidations and Sales of Assets (a) The Borrower will not consolidate with or merge into any other Person or convey or transfer its properties and assets substantially as an entirety to any Person, unless:
(i) the Borrower or a Consolidated Subsidiary that is incorporated under the laws of the United States, any state thereof or the District of Columbia is the surviving corporation of any such consolidation or merger or is the Person that acquires by conveyance or transfer the properties and assets of the Borrower substantially as an entirety;
(ii) if a Consolidated Subsidiary is the surviving corporation or is the Person that acquires the property and assets of the Borrower substantially as an entirety, it shall expressly assume the performance of every covenant of this Agreement and of the Notes on the part of the Borrower to be performed or observed;
(iii) immediately after giving effect to such transaction, no Default shall have occurred and be continuing; and
(iv) if the Borrower is not the surviving entity, the Borrower has delivered to the Administrative Agent an Officer’s Certificate and a legal opinion of its General Counsel, Associate General Counsel or Assistant General Counsel, upon the express instruction of the Borrower for the benefit of the Administrative Agent and the Lenders, each stating that such transaction complies with this Section and that all conditions precedent herein provided for relating to such transaction have been complied with.
(b) Upon any consolidation by the Borrower with, or merger by the Borrower into, a Consolidated Subsidiary, the result of which is that such Consolidated Subsidiary is the surviving entity, or any conveyance or transfer of the properties and assets of the Borrower substantially as an entirety to a Consolidated Subsidiary, the Consolidated Subsidiary into which the Borrower is merged or consolidated or to which such conveyance or transfer is made shall succeed to, and be substituted for, and may exercise every right and power of, the Borrower, as the case may be, under this Agreement with the same effect as if such Consolidated Subsidiary had been named as the Borrower, as the case may be, herein, and thereafter, in the case of a transfer or conveyance permitted by Section 5.07(a), the Borrower shall be relieved of all obligations and covenants under this Agreement and the Notes.
