Limitation on Guarantees of Indebtedness by Restricted Subsidiaries The Company shall not permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, other than a Guarantor or the Issuer, to guarantee the payment of any First Lien Obligations, including any Indebtedness (or any interest on such Indebtedness) under the Senior Credit Facilities, the NXP Notes and the Existing Secured Notes unless:
(1) such Restricted Subsidiary within 30 days executes and delivers a supplemental indenture to this Indenture, the form of which is attached as Exhibit D hereto, providing for a Guarantee by such Restricted Subsidiary, except that with respect to a guarantee of Indebtedness of the Issuer or any Guarantor, if such Indebtedness is by its express terms subordinated in right of payment to the Notes or such Guarantor’s Guarantee, any such guarantee by such Restricted Subsidiary with respect to such Indebtedness shall be subordinated in right of payment to such Guarantee substantially to the same extent as such Indebtedness is subordinated to the Notes;
(2) such Restricted Subsidiary waives and shall not in any manner whatsoever claim or take the benefit or advantage of, any rights of reimbursement, indemnity or subrogation or any other rights against any Guarantor or any other Restricted Subsidiary as a result of any payment by such Person under its Guarantee or otherwise; and
(3) such Restricted Subsidiary shall deliver to the Trustee an Opinion of Counsel to the effect that:
(A) such Guarantee has been duly executed and authorized; and
(B) such Guarantee constitutes a valid, binding and enforceable obligation of such Restricted Subsidiary, except insofar as enforcement thereof may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency or similar laws (including, without limitation, all laws relating to fraudulent transfers) and except insofar as enforcement thereof is subject to general principles of equity.
Limitation on Issuances of Guarantees by Restricted Subsidiaries The Company will not permit any Restricted Subsidiary, directly or indirectly, to Guarantee any Indebtedness of the Company which is pari passu with or subordinate in right of payment to the Notes ("Guaranteed Indebtedness"), unless (i) such Restricted Subsidiary simultaneously executes and delivers a supplemental indenture to this Indenture providing for a Guarantee (a "Subsidiary Guarantee") of payment of the Notes by such Restricted Subsidiary and (ii) such Restricted Subsidiary waives and will not in any manner whatsoever claim or take the benefit or advantage of, any rights of reimbursement, indemnity or subrogation or any other rights against the Company or any other Restricted Subsidiary as a result of any payment by such Restricted Subsidiary under its Subsidiary Guarantee; provided that this paragraph shall not be applicable to any Guarantee of any Restricted Subsidiary that existed at the time such Person became a Restricted Subsidiary and was not Incurred in connection with, or in contemplation of, such Person becoming a Restricted Subsidiary. If the Guaranteed Indebtedness is (A) pari passu with the Notes, then the Guarantee of such Guaranteed Indebtedness shall be pari passu with, or subordinated to, the Subsidiary Guarantee or (B) subordinated to the Notes, then the Guarantee of such Guaranteed Indebtedness shall be subordinated to the Subsidiary Guarantee at least to the extent that the Guaranteed Indebtedness is subordinated to the Notes. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any Subsidiary Guarantee by a Restricted Subsidiary may provide by its terms that it shall be automatically and unconditionally released and discharged upon (i) any sale, exchange or transfer, to any Person not an Affiliate of the Company, of all of the Company's and each Restricted Subsidiary's Capital Stock in, or all or substantially all the assets of, such Restricted Subsidiary (which sale, exchange or transfer is not prohibited by this Indenture) or (ii) the release or discharge of the Guarantee which resulted in the creation of such Subsidiary Guarantee, except a discharge or release by or as a result of payment under such Guarantee.
Limitation on Subsidiary Guarantor Liability Each Subsidiary Guarantor, and by its acceptance of Notes, each Holder, hereby confirms that it is the intention of all such parties that the Subsidiary Guarantee of such Subsidiary Guarantor not constitute a fraudulent transfer or conveyance for purposes of Bankruptcy Law, the Uniform Fraudulent Conveyance Act, the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act or any similar federal or state law to the extent applicable to any Subsidiary Guarantee. To effectuate the foregoing intention, the Trustee, the Holders and the Subsidiary Guarantors hereby irrevocably agree that the obligations of such Subsidiary Guarantor will, after giving effect to such maximum amount and all other contingent and fixed liabilities of such Subsidiary Guarantor that are relevant under such laws, and after giving effect to any collections from, rights to receive contribution from or payments made by or on behalf of any other Subsidiary Guarantor in respect of the obligations of such other Subsidiary Guarantor under this Article Ten, result in the obligations of such Subsidiary Guarantor under its Subsidiary Guarantee not constituting a fraudulent transfer or conveyance. Each Subsidiary Guarantor that makes a payment for distribution under its Subsidiary Guarantee is entitled to a contribution from each other Subsidiary Guarantor in a pro rata amount based on the adjusted net assets of each Subsidiary Guarantor.
Limitation on Subsidiary Indebtedness The Company shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to Incur any Indebtedness, other than
(A) Indebtedness of any Subsidiary of the Company consisting of (i) Guarantees by such Subsidiary of Indebtedness of the Company under Credit Facilities or (ii) Liens granted by such Subsidiary to secure such Guarantee or such Indebtedness of the Company, in an aggregate principal amount (without duplication), when taken together with the aggregate principal amount of Indebtedness secured by Liens on the property or assets (which includes capital stock) of the Company and its Subsidiaries Incurred pursuant to the second sentence and clause (1) of the first paragraph of Section 3.02, not to exceed the Permitted Amount at the time of Incurrence of such Guarantee or Lien;
(B) Indebtedness of any Designated Subsidiary or any Subsidiary of such Designated Subsidiary, provided that, with respect to this clause (B) only, no portion of such Indebtedness is recourse to the Company or any of its other Subsidiaries;
(C) Acquired Indebtedness;
(D) Indebtedness existing on the Issue Date of any Subsidiary of the Company;
(E) Indebtedness of any Subsidiary of the Company issued in exchange for, or the net proceeds of which are used or will be used to extend, refinance, renew, replace, defease or refund, other Indebtedness that was permitted by this Supplemental Indenture to be Incurred under clause (C) or (D) of this Section 3.01; or
(F) Indebtedness in an aggregate principal amount, at anytime outstanding, not to exceed $250.0 million. The maximum amount of Indebtedness that may be Incurred pursuant to this Section 3.01 shall not be deemed to be exceeded with respect to any outstanding Indebtedness due solely to the result of fluctuations in the exchange rates of currencies.
Limitation on Incurrence of Additional Indebtedness The Company will not, and will not permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to, directly or indirectly, incur any Indebtedness other than Permitted Indebtedness; provided, however, that if no Default has occurred and is continuing at the time of or would occur as a consequence of the incurrence of any such Indebtedness, the Company or any Subsidiary Guarantor may incur Indebtedness (including Acquired Indebtedness), and Restricted Subsidiaries which are not Guarantors may incur Acquired Indebtedness, in each case if, after giving effect to the incurrence thereof, the Consolidated Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio of the Company is at least 2.0 to 1.0 (the “Coverage Ratio Exception”). The Company will not, directly or indirectly, in any event incur any Indebtedness that purports to be by its terms (or by the terms of any agreement governing such Indebtedness) subordinated to any other Indebtedness of the Company unless such Indebtedness is also by its terms (or by the terms of any agreement governing such Indebtedness) subordinated to the Notes to the same extent and in the same manner as such Indebtedness is subordinated to such other Indebtedness of the Company. No Subsidiary Guarantor will, directly or indirectly, in any event incur any Indebtedness that purports to be by its terms (or by the terms of any agreement governing such Indebtedness) subordinated to any other Indebtedness of such Subsidiary Guarantor unless such Indebtedness is also by its terms (or by the terms of any agreement governing such Indebtedness) subordinated to the Note Guarantee of such Subsidiary Guarantor to the same extent and in the same manner as such Indebtedness is subordinated to such other Indebtedness of such Subsidiary Guarantor. Notwithstanding any other provision in this Section 4.08, the maximum amount of Indebtedness that the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary may incur pursuant to this Section 4.08 shall not be deemed to be exceeded as a result of fluctuations in the exchange rates of currencies. For purposes of determining compliance with this Section 4.08:
(a) the outstanding principal amount of any particular Indebtedness shall be counted only once and any obligation arising under any guarantee, Lien, letter of credit or similar instrument supporting such Indebtedness shall be disregarded; and
(b) in the event that an item of Indebtedness meets the criteria of more than one of the categories of Permitted Indebtedness described in clauses (3) through (19) of the definition of “Permitted Indebtedness” or is entitled to be incurred pursuant to the Coverage Ratio Exception, the Company shall, in its sole discretion, classify such item of Indebtedness in any manner that complies with this Section 4.08 (provided that all outstanding Indebtedness under the Credit Agreement on the Issue Date shall be deemed to have been incurred pursuant to clause (3) of the definition of “Permitted Indebtedness”) and may later reclassify such item into any one or more of the categories of Permitted Indebtedness described in clauses (3) through (19) of the definition of “Permitted Indebtedness” (provided that at the time of reclassification it meets the criteria in such category or categories).
Reliance by Holders of Senior Indebtedness on Subordination Provisions (a) Each Holder by accepting a Security of any series acknowledges and agrees that the foregoing subordination provisions are, and are intended to be, an inducement and a consideration to each holder of any Senior Indebtedness of the Issuer, whether such Senior Indebtedness was created or acquired before or after the issuance of the Securities, to acquire and continue to hold, or to continue to hold, such Senior Indebtedness and such holder of such Senior Indebtedness shall be deemed conclusively to have relied on such subordination provisions in acquiring and continuing to hold, or in continuing to hold, such Senior Indebtedness.
(b) Without in any way limiting the generality of paragraph (a) of this Section, the holders of Senior Indebtedness may, at any time and from time to time, without the consent of or notice to the Trustee or the Holders, without incurring responsibility to the Holders and without impairing or releasing the subordination provided in this Article Four or the obligations hereunder of the Holders to the holders of Senior Indebtedness, do any one or more of the following: (1) change the manner, place or terms of payment or extend the time of payment of, or renew or alter, Senior Indebtedness or any instrument evidencing the same or any agreement under which Senior Indebtedness is outstanding; (2) sell, exchange, release or otherwise deal with any property pledged, mortgaged or otherwise securing Senior Indebtedness; (3) release any Person liable in any manner for the collection of Senior Indebtedness; and (4) exercise or refrain from exercising any rights against the Issuer, any Guarantor or any other Person.
Limitation on Designations of Unrestricted Subsidiaries Level 3 shall not designate (1) the Borrower or Level 3 LLC as an Unrestricted Subsidiary or (2) any other Subsidiary (other than a newly created Subsidiary in which no Investment has previously been made) as an “Unrestricted Subsidiary” under this Agreement (a “Designation”) unless in the case of this clause (2):
(a) no Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing at the time of or after giving effect to such Designation;
(b) immediately after giving effect to such Designation, Level 3 would be able to Incur $1.00 of Indebtedness under paragraph (a) of Section 6.01; and
(c) Level 3 would not be prohibited under any provision of this Agreement from making an Investment at the time of Designation (assuming the effectiveness of such Designation) in an amount (the “Designation Amount”) equal to the portion (proportionate to Level 3’s equity interest in such Restricted Subsidiary) of the Fair Market Value of the net assets of such Restricted Subsidiary on such date. In the event of any such Designation, Level 3 shall be deemed to have made an Investment constituting a Restricted Payment pursuant to Section 6.03 for all purposes of this Agreement in the Designation Amount; provided, however, that, upon a Revocation of any such Designation of a Subsidiary, Level 3 shall be deemed to continue to have a permanent “Investment” in an Unrestricted Subsidiary of an amount (if positive) equal to (i) Level 3’s “Investment” in such Subsidiary at the time of such Revocation less (ii) the portion (proportionate to Level 3’s equity interest in such Subsidiary) of the Fair Market Value of the net assets of such Subsidiary at the time of such Revocation. At the time of any Designation of any Subsidiary as an Unrestricted Subsidiary, such Subsidiary shall not own any Capital Stock of Level 3 or any Restricted Subsidiary. In addition, neither Level 3 nor any Restricted Subsidiary shall at any time (x) provide credit support for, or a Guarantee of, any Indebtedness of any Unrestricted Subsidiary (including any undertaking, agreement or instrument evidencing such Indebtedness); provided, however, that Level 3 or a Restricted Subsidiary may pledge Capital Stock or Indebtedness of any Unrestricted Subsidiary on a nonrecourse basis such that the pledgee has no claim whatsoever against Level 3 other than to obtain such pledged Capital Stock or Indebtedness, (y) be directly or indirectly liable for any Indebtedness of any Unrestricted Subsidiary or (z) be directly or indirectly liable for any Indebtedness which provides that the holder thereof may (upon notice, lapse of time or both) declare a default thereon or cause the payment thereof to be accelerated or payable prior to its final scheduled maturity upon the occurrence of a default with respect to any Indebtedness, Lien or other obligation of any Unrestricted Subsidiary (including any right to take enforcement action against such Unrestricted Subsidiary), except in the case of clause (x) or (y) to the extent permitted under Sections 6.03 and 6.09. Unless Designated as an Unrestricted Subsidiary, any Person that becomes a Subsidiary of Level 3 will be classified as a Restricted Subsidiary; provided, however, that such Subsidiary shall not be designated as a Restricted Subsidiary and shall be automatically classified as an Unrestricted Subsidiary if either of the requirements set forth in clauses (a) and (b) of the immediately following paragraph will not be satisfied immediately following such classification. Except as provided in the first sentence of this Section 6.10, no Restricted Subsidiary may be redesignated as an Unrestricted Subsidiary. A Designation may be revoked (a “Revocation”) by a Board Resolution of Level 3 delivered to the Administrative Agent, provided that Level 3 will not make any Revocation unless:
(a) no Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing at the time of and after giving effect to such Revocation; and
(b) all Liens and Indebtedness of such Unrestricted Subsidiary outstanding immediately following such Revocation would, if Incurred at such time, have been permitted to be Incurred at such time for all purposes of this Agreement. All Designations and Revocations must be evidenced by Board Resolutions of Level 3 delivered to the Administrative Agent (i) certifying compliance with the foregoing provisions and (ii) giving the effective date of such Designation or Revocation. Upon Designation of a Restricted Subsidiary as an Unrestricted Subsidiary in compliance with this Section 6.10, such Restricted Subsidiary shall, by delivery of documentation providing for such release in form satisfactory to the Administrative Agent, be released from any Guarantee (in the case of a Guarantor) and its obligations under the Collateral Agreement (in the case of a Grantor) previously made by such Subsidiary.
Limitation on Additional Indebtedness The Company will not, and will not permit any Restricted Subsidiary to, directly or indirectly, Incur any Indebtedness unless, after giving effect thereto, either (i) the ratio of Indebtedness of the Company and the Restricted Subsidiaries (excluding, for purposes of this calculation only, purchase money mortgages that are Non-Recourse Indebtedness), to Consolidated Tangible Net Worth of the Company is less than 2.25 to 1; or (ii) the Consolidated Coverage Ratio exceeds 2.0 to 1. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company and its Restricted Subsidiaries may Incur: (i) Indebtedness under one or more Bank Credit Facilities in an amount not in excess of $550 million outstanding in the aggregate at any one time; (ii) purchase money mortgages that are Non-Recourse Indebtedness; (iii) Indebtedness Incurred under a Warehouse Facility, provided that the amount of such Indebtedness (excluding funding drafts issued thereunder) outstanding at any time pursuant to this clause (iii) may not exceed 98% of the value of the Mortgages pledged to secure Indebtedness thereunder; (iv) Indebtedness Incurred solely for the purpose of refinancing or repaying any existing Indebtedness so long as (A) the principal amount of such new Indebtedness does not exceed the principal amount of the existing Indebtedness refinanced or repaid (plus the premiums or other payments required to be paid in connection with such refinancing or repayment and the expenses incurred in connection therewith), (B) the maturity of such new Indebtedness is not earlier than that of the existing Indebtedness to be refinanced or repaid, (C) such new Indebtedness, determined as of the date of Incurrence, has an Average Life at least equal to the remaining Average Life of the Indebtedness to be refinanced or repaid, (D) the new Indebtedness is pari passu with or subordinate to the Indebtedness being refinanced or repaid, and (E) the existing and new Indebtedness are obligations of the same entity; and (v) if any Restricted Subsidiary guarantees payment of the Notes pursuant to Section 6.11, Indebtedness of the Company owed to a Guarantor and Indebtedness of any Guarantor owed to the Company or any other Guarantor; provided that upon any Guarantor ceasing to be a Guarantor or such Indebtedness being owed to any Person other than the Company or a Guarantor, the Company or such Restricted Subsidiary, as applicable, shall be deemed to have Incurred Indebtedness not permitted by this clause (v). For purposes of determining compliance with this Section 6.02, in the event that an item of proposed Indebtedness meets the criteria of more than one of the categories of Indebtedness permitted in clauses (i) through (v) above, or is entitled to be incurred pursuant to the first paragraph of this Section 6.02, the Company will be permitted to classify (or later classify or reclassify in whole or in part in its sole discretion) such item of Indebtedness in any manner that complies with this covenant.
Designation of Unrestricted Subsidiaries The Borrower Representative may at any time after the Closing Date designate any Restricted Subsidiary as an Unrestricted Subsidiary and subsequently re-designate any Unrestricted Subsidiary as a Restricted Subsidiary, if other than for purposes of designating a Restricted Subsidiary as an Unrestricted Subsidiary that is a Receivables Subsidiary in connection with the establishment of a Qualified Receivables Financing (i) the Interest Coverage Ratio of UK Holdco and the Restricted Subsidiaries for the most recently ended Reference Period preceding such designation or re-designation, as applicable, would have been, on a Pro Forma Basis, at least the lesser of (x) 2.00 to 1.00 and (y) the Interest Coverage Ratio as of the most recently ended Reference Period and (ii) no Event of Default has occurred and is continuing or would result therefrom. The designation of any Restricted Subsidiary as an Unrestricted Subsidiary after the Closing Date shall constitute an Investment by the applicable Loan Party or Restricted Subsidiary therein at the date of designation in an amount equal to the Fair Market Value of the applicable Loan Party’s or Restricted Subsidiary’s investment therein; provided that if any subsidiary (a “Subject Subsidiary”) being designated as an Unrestricted Subsidiary has a subsidiary that was previously designated as an Unrestricted Subsidiary (the “Previously Designated Unrestricted Subsidiary”) in compliance with the provisions of this Agreement, the Investment of such Subject Subsidiary in such Previously Designated Unrestricted Subsidiary shall not be taken into account, and shall be excluded, in determining whether the Subject Subsidiary may be designated as an Unrestricted Subsidiary hereunder. The designation of any Unrestricted Subsidiary as a Restricted Subsidiary shall constitute (x) the incurrence at the time of designation of Indebtedness or Liens of such Subsidiary existing at such time, and (y) a return on any Investment by the applicable Loan Party or Restricted Subsidiary in Unrestricted Subsidiaries pursuant to the preceding sentence in an amount equal to the Fair Market Value at the date of such designation of such Loan Party’s or Restricted Subsidiary’s Investment in such Subsidiary. For the avoidance of doubt, neither a Borrower nor UK Holdco shall be permitted to be an Unrestricted Subsidiary. At any time a Subsidiary is designated as an Unrestricted Subsidiary hereunder, the Borrower Representative shall cause such Subsidiary to be designated as an Unrestricted Subsidiary (or any similar applicable term) under the Senior Secured Notes.
Additional Subsidiary Guarantees If the Partnership or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries acquires or creates another Restricted Subsidiary after the Issue Date that guarantees any Indebtedness of either of the Issuers, then that newly acquired or created Restricted Subsidiary must become a Subsidiary Guarantor and execute a supplemental indenture satisfactory to the Trustee and deliver an Opinion of Counsel to the Trustee within 10 Business Days of the date on which it was acquired or created. If a Restricted Subsidiary that is not then a Subsidiary Guarantor guarantees Indebtedness of either of the Issuers or any other Restricted Subsidiary, such Restricted Subsidiary shall execute and deliver a Guarantee. The Partnership will not permit any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, directly or indirectly, to guarantee or pledge any assets to secure the payment of any other Indebtedness of either Issuer unless such Restricted Subsidiary simultaneously executes and delivers a supplemental indenture providing for the guarantee of the payment of the Notes by such Restricted Subsidiary, which Guarantee shall be senior to or pari passu with such Restricted Subsidiary's guarantee of or pledge to secure such other Indebtedness, unless such other Indebtedness is Senior Debt, in which case the Guarantee of the Notes may be subordinated to the guarantee of such Senior Debt to the same extent as the Notes are subordinated to such Senior Debt. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any Guarantee of a Restricted Subsidiary that was incurred pursuant to this paragraph shall provide by its terms that it shall be automatically and unconditionally released upon the release or discharge of the guarantee which resulted in the creation of such Restricted Subsidiary's Subsidiary Guarantee, except a discharge or release by, or as a result of payment under, such guarantee.
