Merger and Consolidation (a) The Borrower will not consolidate with or merge with or into, or convey, transfer or lease all or substantially all its assets, in one transaction or a series of related transactions, to any Person, unless:
(A) the Borrower is the surviving Person or the resulting, surviving or transferee Person (the “Successor Company”) will be a Person organized or existing under the laws of the jurisdiction of the Borrower or the United States of America, any State of the United States or the District of Columbia or any territory thereof and the Successor Company (if not the Borrower) will expressly assume all the obligations of the Borrower under the Loan Documents;
(B) immediately after giving effect to such transaction (and treating any Indebtedness that becomes an obligation of the applicable Successor Company or any Subsidiary of the applicable Successor Company as a result of such transaction as having been incurred by the applicable Successor Company or such Subsidiary at the time of such transaction), no Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing;
(C) immediately after giving pro forma effect to such transaction, either (a) the applicable Successor Company would be able to incur at least an additional $1.00 of Indebtedness pursuant to Section 7.03(a), or (b) the Consolidated Total Leverage Ratio of the Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries would not be higher than it was immediately prior to giving effect to such transaction;
(D) to the extent any assets of the Person which is merged or consolidated with or into the Borrower are assets of the type which would constitute Collateral under the Collateral Documents, the Borrower or the Successor Company, as applicable, will take such action, if any, as may be reasonably necessary to cause such property and assets to be made subject to the Lien of the applicable Collateral Documents in the manner and to the extent required in this Agreement or the applicable Collateral Documents and shall take all reasonably necessary action so that such Lien is perfected to the extent required by the applicable Collateral Documents; and
(E) the Administrative Agent and Revolver Agent shall have received all documentation and other information required by regulatory authorities under applicable “know your customer” and anti-money laundering rules and regulations, including without limitation the USA PATRIOT Act reasonably requested by the Lenders.
(b) [Reserved]
(c) The Successor Company will succeed to, and be substituted for, and may exercise every right and power of, the Borrower under this Agreement, and the Borrower will automatically and unconditionally be released and discharged from its obligations under this Agreement (except in the case of a lease).
(d) [Reserved].
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section 7.04, (i) the Borrower may consolidate or otherwise combine with, merge into or transfer all or part of its properties and assets to a Guarantor, (ii) the Borrower may consolidate or otherwise combine with or merge into an Affiliate incorporated or organized for the purpose of changing the legal domicile of the Borrower, reincorporating the Borrower in another jurisdiction, or changing the legal form of the Borrower, (iii) any Restricted Subsidiary may consolidate or otherwise combine with, merge into or transfer all or part of its properties and assets to the Borrower or a Guarantor, (iv) any Restricted Subsidiary may consolidate or otherwise combine with, merge into or transfer all or part of its properties and assets to any other Restricted Subsidiary and (v) the Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries may complete any Permitted Intercompany Activities, Permitted Tax Restructuring or related transactions; provided, that the entity that is surviving or the resulting, surviving or transferee entity will be an entity organized or existing under the laws of the jurisdiction of the Borrower or the United States of America, any State of the United States or the District of Columbia or any territory thereof.
(f) The foregoing provisions (other than the requirements of Section 7.04(a)(B)) shall not apply to the creation of a new Subsidiary as a Restricted Subsidiary of the Borrower.
(g) Subject to certain limitations described herein governing release of a Guarantee upon the sale, disposition or transfer of a Guarantor, no Guarantor may consolidate with or merge with or into, or convey, transfer or lease all or substantially all its assets, in one or a series of related transactions, to any Person, unless:
(i) (A) the other Person is the Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary that is a Guarantor or becomes a Guarantor concurrently with such transactions; or either (x) the Borrower or a Guarantor is the continuing Person or (y) the resulting, surviving or transferee Person expressly assumes all the obligations of the Guarantor under its Guarantee of the Secured Obligations, this Agreement and the Collateral Documents; and
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.
Release of Subsidiary Guarantors from Guarantee (a) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Indenture, the Guarantee of any Subsidiary Guarantor may be released upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in Section 11.02(b) and in this Section 14.04. Provided that no Default shall have occurred and shall be continuing under this Indenture, the Guarantee incurred by a Subsidiary Guarantor pursuant to this Article XIV shall be unconditionally released and discharged (i) automatically upon (A) any sale, exchange or transfer, whether by way of merger or otherwise, to any Person that is not an Affiliate of the Partnership, of all of the Partnership’s direct or indirect limited partnership or other equity interests in such Subsidiary Guarantor (provided such sale, exchange or transfer is not prohibited by this Indenture) or (B) the merger of such Subsidiary Guarantor into either of the Issuers or any other Subsidiary Guarantor or the liquidation and dissolution of such Subsidiary Guarantor (in each case to the extent not prohibited by this Indenture) or (ii) upon the Issuers’ delivery of a written notice to the Trustee of the release or discharge of all guarantees by such Subsidiary Guarantor of any Debt of the Issuers other than obligations arising under this Indenture and any Debt Securities issued hereunder, except a discharge or release by or as a result of payment under such guarantees.
(b) The Trustee shall deliver an appropriate instrument evidencing any release of a Subsidiary Guarantor from the Guarantee upon receipt of a written request of the Issuers accompanied by an Officers’ Certificate and an Opinion of Counsel to the effect that the Subsidiary Guarantor is entitled to such release in accordance with the provisions of this Indenture. Any Subsidiary Guarantor not so released shall remain liable for the full amount of principal of (and premium, if any) and interest on the Debt Securities entitled to the benefits of the Guarantee as provided in this Indenture, subject to the limitations of Section 14.03.
Release of a Subsidiary Guarantor (a) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Indenture, a Subsidiary Guarantee as to any Subsidiary Guarantor shall automatically terminate and be of no further force or effect and such Subsidiary Guarantor shall be deemed to be released and discharged from all obligations under this Article 10 upon:
(i) a sale or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of any Subsidiary Guarantor, by way of merger, consolidation or otherwise permitted under this Indenture;
(ii) a sale or other disposition of all of the capital stock of any Subsidiary Guarantor permitted under this Indenture;
(iii) the Issuers’ exercise of their legal defeasance option as described under Section 8.04 or if the Issuers’ obligations under this Indenture are discharged in accordance with the terms of this Indenture;
(iv) such Person is the parent holding company of a Real Estate Subsidiary party to a Qualified Real Estate Financing Facility if such guaranty is prohibited by the terms of such Qualified Real Estate Financing Facility;
(v) the Issuers designating such Subsidiary Guarantor to be an Unrestricted Subsidiary in accordance with the provisions set forth under Section 4.04 and the definition of “Unrestricted Subsidiary”;
(vi) if any such Subsidiary Guarantor no longer guarantees any Reference Indebtedness or any Reference Indebtedness of such Subsidiary Guarantor is no longer outstanding; or
(vii) the applicable Subsidiary ceasing to be a Subsidiary as a result of any foreclosure of any pledge or security interest securing Obligations under the Credit Facilities or other exercise of remedies in respect thereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any Subsidiary Guarantor will automatically be released from all obligations under its Subsidiary Guarantee, and such Subsidiary Guarantee shall thereupon terminate and be discharged and of no further force and effect, upon the merger or consolidation of any Subsidiary Guarantor with and into an Issuer or another Subsidiary Guarantor that is the surviving Person in such merger or consolidation, or upon the liquidation or dissolution of such Subsidiary Guarantor following the transfer of all of its assets to an Issuer or another Subsidiary Guarantor.
Release of Subsidiary Guarantor (a) The Subsidiary Guarantee of a Subsidiary Guarantor shall be automatically released without any action required by the Trustee or Holders:
(i) in the event the Capital Stock of a Subsidiary Guarantor is sold or all of the assets of a Subsidiary Guarantor are sold (including by way of merger, consolidation or otherwise) by the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary and the sale complies with the provisions set forth in Section 4.10 and if as a result of such sale, such Subsidiary Guarantor ceases to be a Restricted Subsidiary;
(ii) upon the designation of any Subsidiary Guarantor to be an Unrestricted Subsidiary in compliance with the definition of “Unrestricted Subsidiary”;
(iii) upon legal defeasance or satisfaction and discharge of the Notes in compliance with the provisions of this Indenture described under Article Eight and Article Eleven, respectively;
(iv) if such Subsidiary Guarantor shall have been released from its guarantee of Indebtedness under all Material Credit Facilities; or
(v) if such Subsidiary Guarantee shall have been released pursuant to Section 9.02.
(b) At the request of the Company, and upon delivery to the Trustee of an Officers’ Certificate and an Opinion of Counsel that a release complies with this Indenture, the Trustee shall execute and deliver such instruments reasonably requested by the Company evidencing the release of such Subsidiary Guarantor from its Subsidiary Guarantee (it being understood that the failure to obtain any such instrument shall not impair any automatic release pursuant to Section 10.05(a)). Any Subsidiary Guarantor not released from its obligations under its Subsidiary Guarantee as provided in Section 10.05(a) shall remain liable for the full amount of principal and interest, if any, on the Notes and for the other obligations of any Subsidiary Guarantor under this Indenture as provided in this Article Ten.
Release of Subsidiary Guarantors Unless otherwise specified pursuant to Section 301 with respect to a series of Securities, each Subsidiary Guarantee will remain in effect with respect to the respective Subsidiary Guarantor until the entire principal of, premium, if any, and interest on the Securities to which such Subsidiary Guarantee relates shall have been paid in full or otherwise satisfied and discharged in accordance with the provisions of such Securities and this Indenture and all amounts owing to the Trustee hereunder have been paid; provided, however, that if (i) such Subsidiary Guarantor ceases to be a Subsidiary in compliance with the applicable provisions of this Indenture, (ii) either Defeasance or Covenant Defeasance occurs with respect to such Securities pursuant to Article Fifteen or (iii) all or substantially all of the assets of such Subsidiary Guarantor or all of the Capital Stock of such Subsidiary Guarantor is sold (including by sale, merger, consolidation or otherwise) by the Company or any Subsidiary in a transaction complying with the requirements of this Indenture, then, in each case of (i), (ii) or (iii), upon delivery by the Company of an Officers’ Certificate and an Opinion of Counsel stating that all conditions precedent herein provided for relating to the release of such Subsidiary Guarantor from its obligations under its Subsidiary Guarantee and this Article Thirteen have been complied with, such Subsidiary Guarantor shall be released and discharged of its obligations under its Subsidiary Guarantee and under this Article Thirteen without any action on the part of the Trustee or any Holder, and the Trustee shall execute any documents reasonably required in order to acknowledge the release of such Subsidiary Guarantor from its obligations under its Subsidiary Guarantee endorsed on the Securities of such series and under this Article Thirteen.
Limitation of Subsidiary Guarantor's Liability Each Subsidiary Guarantor and by its acceptance hereof each Holder of Securities hereby confirms that it is the intention of all such parties that the guarantee by such Subsidiary Guarantor pursuant to its Subsidiary Guarantee not constitute a fraudulent transfer or conveyance for purposes of any federal, state or foreign law. To effectuate the foregoing intention, the Holders of Securities and each Subsidiary Guarantor hereby irrevocably agree that the obligations of each Subsidiary Guarantor under its Subsidiary Guarantee shall be limited to the maximum amount as will, after giving effect to all other contingent and fixed liabilities of such Subsidiary Guarantor and after giving effect to any collections from or payments made by or on behalf of any other Subsidiary Guarantor in respect of the obligations of such other Subsidiary Guarantor under its Subsidiary Guarantee, result in the obligations of such Subsidiary Guarantor under the Subsidiary Guarantee not constituting a fraudulent conveyance or fraudulent transfer under federal, state or foreign law.
Merger and Consolidation Conversion 18 Section 4. Reorganization...........................................................................................19 Section 5. Amendments...............................................................................................19 Section 6. Filing of Copies, References, Headings...................................................................19 Section 7.
Future Subsidiary Guarantors (a) If the Company or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries acquires or creates another Subsidiary after the Issue Date, then the Company shall cause such newly acquired or created Subsidiary to become a Subsidiary Guarantor (in the event that such Subsidiary provides a guarantee of any other Indebtedness of the Company or a Subsidiary Guarantor of the type specified under clauses (1) or (2) of the definition of “Indebtedness”), at which time such Subsidiary shall:
(1) execute a supplemental indenture in the form attached as Exhibit D hereto pursuant to which such Subsidiary shall unconditionally guarantee, on a senior basis, all of the Company’s Obligations under this Indenture and the Notes on the terms set forth in this Indenture;
(2) take such further action and execute and deliver such other documents as otherwise may be reasonably requested by the Trustee to give effect to the foregoing; and
(3) deliver to the Trustee an Opinion of Counsel that (i) such supplemental indenture and any other documents required to be delivered have been duly authorized, executed and delivered by such Subsidiary and constitute legal, valid, binding and enforceable Obligations of such Subsidiary.
(b) Notwithstanding the foregoing, any Guarantee of the Notes created pursuant to the provisions described in paragraph (a) above may provide by its terms that it will be automatically and unconditionally released and discharged upon:
(1) (with respect to any Guarantee created after the date of this Indenture) the release by the holders of the Company’s or the Subsidiary Guarantor’s Indebtedness described in paragraph (a) above, of their guarantee by such Restricted Subsidiary (including any deemed release upon payment in full of all obligations under such Indebtedness other than as a result of payment under such guarantee), at a time when:
(A) no other Indebtedness of either the Company or any Subsidiary Guarantor has been guaranteed by such Restricted Subsidiary; or
(B) the holders of all such other Indebtedness that is guaranteed by such Restricted Subsidiary also release their guarantee by such Restricted Subsidiary (including any deemed release upon payment in full of all obligations under such Indebtedness other than as a result of payment under such guarantee); or
(2) the release of the Note Guarantees on the terms and conditions and in the circumstances described in Section 11.08 hereof.
(c) Each additional Note Guarantee will be limited as necessary to recognize certain defences generally available to guarantors (including those that relate to fraudulent conveyance or transfer, voidable preference, financial assistance, corporate purpose, capital maintenance or similar laws, regulations or defences affecting the rights of creditors generally) or other considerations under applicable law. Notwithstanding Section 4.17(a) hereof, the Company shall not be obligated to cause such Restricted Subsidiary to Guarantee the Notes to the extent that such Guarantee by such Restricted Subsidiary would reasonably be expected to give rise to or result in (i) any liability for the officers, directors or shareholders of such Restricted Subsidiary or (ii) any significant cost, expense, liability or obligation (including with respect of any Taxes, but excluding any reasonable guarantee or similar fee payable to the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary of the Company) other than reasonable out of pocket expenses.
Subsidiary Guarantors May Consolidate, etc., on Certain Terms In case of any such consolidation, merger, sale or conveyance involving a Subsidiary Guarantor where the successor Person is required to become a Subsidiary Guarantor upon the assumption by the successor Person, by supplemental indenture, executed and delivered to the Trustee and reasonably satisfactory in form to the Trustee, of the Subsidiary Guarantee endorsed upon the Notes, such successor Person shall succeed to and be substituted for the Subsidiary Guarantor with the same effect as if it had been named herein as a Subsidiary Guarantor. Such successor Person thereupon may cause to be signed any or all of the Subsidiary Guarantees to be endorsed upon all of the Notes issuable hereunder which theretofore shall not have been signed by the Company and delivered to the Trustee. All the Subsidiary Guarantees so issued shall in all respects have the same legal rank and benefit under this Indenture as the Subsidiary Guarantees theretofore and thereafter issued in accordance with the terms of this Indenture as though all of such Subsidiary Guarantees had been issued at the date of the execution hereof. Except as set forth in Articles 4 and 5 hereof, nothing contained in this Indenture or in any of the Notes shall prevent any consolidation or merger of a Subsidiary Guarantor with or into the Company or another Restricted Subsidiary or any other Person, or shall prevent any sale or conveyance of the property of a Subsidiary Guarantor as an entirety or substantially as an entirety to the Company, another Subsidiary or any other Person.
