Covenants and Restrictions on Conduct of Business (a) The Trust agrees to abide by the following restrictions:
(i) other than as contemplated by the Basic Documents and related documentation, the Trust shall not incur any indebtedness;
(ii) other than as contemplated by the Basic Documents and related documentation, the Trust shall not engage in any dissolution, liquidation, consolidation, merger or sale of assets;
(iii) other than as contemplated by the Basic Documents and related documentation, the Trust shall not engage in any business activity in which it is not currently engaged; and
(iv) other than as contemplated by the Basic Documents and related documentation, the Trust shall not form, or cause to be formed, any subsidiaries and shall not own or acquire any asset.
(b) The Trust shall:
(i) maintain books and records separate from any other person or entity;
(ii) maintain its office and bank accounts separate from any other person or entity;
(iii) not commingle its assets with those of any other person or entity;
(iv) conduct its own business in its own name and use stationery or other business forms under its own name and not that of the Certificateholder or any Affiliate;
(v) other than as contemplated by the Basic Documents and related documentation, pay its own liabilities and expenses only out of its own funds;
(vi) observe all formalities required under the Statutory Trust Statute;
(vii) not guarantee or become obligated for the debts of any other person or entity;
(viii) not hold out its credit as being available to satisfy the obligation of any other person or entity;
(ix) not acquire the obligations or securities of the Certificateholder or its Affiliates;
(x) other than as contemplated by the Basic Documents and related documentation, not make loans to any other person or entity or buy or hold evidence of indebtedness issued by any other person or entity;
(xi) other than as contemplated by the Basic Documents and related documentation, not pledge its assets for the benefit of any other person or entity;
(xii) hold itself out as a separate entity from the Certificateholder and not conduct any business in the name of the Certificateholder;
(xiii) correct any known misunderstanding regarding its separate identity;
(xiv) not identify itself as a division (other than for tax reporting purposes) of any other person or entity; and
(xv) except as required or specifically provided in the Trust Agreement, the Trust will conduct business with the Certificateholder or any Affiliate thereof on an arm’s length basis.
(c) So long as the Notes or any other amounts owed under the Indenture remain outstanding, the Trust shall not amend this Section 4.6 unless the Rating Agency Condition has been satisfied.
Interim Conduct of Business (a) Except (i) as contemplated by this Agreement or (ii) as set forth in Section 6.1(a) of the Company Disclosure Letter, at all times during the period commencing with the execution and delivery of this Agreement and continuing until the earlier to occur of the termination of this Agreement pursuant to Article X and the Effective Time, unless Parent otherwise provides its prior written consent (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed), the Company shall and shall cause its Subsidiaries to (A) carry on its business and conduct its operations in the usual, regular and ordinary course in substantially the same manner as heretofore conducted, and (B) use its commercially reasonable efforts, consistent with past practices and policies, to (I) keep available the services of the current officers, key employees and consultants of the Company and each of its Subsidiaries, (II) preserve the current relationships of the Company and each of its Subsidiaries with customers, suppliers and other Persons whom the Company or any of its Subsidiaries has significant business relations, (III) maintain all of its material operating assets in their current condition (normal wear and tear excepted) and (IV) maintain and preserve its business organization and its material rights and franchises.
(b) Except (i) as contemplated or permitted by this Agreement or (ii) as set forth in Section 6.1(b) of the Company Disclosure Letter, at all times during the period commencing with the execution and delivery of this Agreement and continuing until the earlier to occur of the termination of this Agreement pursuant to Article X and the Effective Time, unless Parent otherwise provides its prior written consent (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed), the Company shall not do any of the following and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to do any of the following:
(i) amend its certificate of incorporation or bylaws or comparable organizational documents or create any new Subsidiaries;
(ii) issue, sell, deliver or agree or commit to issue, sell or deliver (whether through the issuance or granting of options, warrants, commitments, subscriptions, rights to purchase or otherwise) any Company Securities or any Subsidiary Securities, except for (A) the issuance, delivery and sale of shares of Company Common Stock pursuant to Company Options, Company RSUs or Company Restricted Stock Awards which are outstanding as of the date hereof upon the exercise or vesting thereof, as applicable, or pursuant to the Company ESPP in compliance with this Agreement or (B) grants to newly hired employees or directors of (x) Company RSUs and (y) Company Options, in each case, issued in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, in accordance with the limitations specified on Section 6.1(b) of the Company Disclosure Letter and with respect to Company Options, with a per share exercise price that is no less than the then-current market price of a share of Company Common Stock;
(iii) directly or indirectly acquire, repurchase or redeem any Company Securities or Subsidiary Securities, except in connection with (A) Company RSUs in the ordinary course of business, (B) dissolution or reorganization of a wholly owned Subsidiary of the Company in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, (C) Tax withholdings and exercise price settlements upon the exercise of Company Options or vesting of Company RSUs or Company Restricted Stock Awards or (D) the forfeiture to or repurchase by the Company of Company Common Stock in connection with the termination of service of a holder of a Company Restricted Stock Award;
(iv) (A) split, combine, subdivide or reclassify any shares of capital stock, or (B) declare, set aside or pay any dividend or other distribution (whether in cash, shares or property or any combination thereof) in respect of any shares of capital stock, or make any other actual, constructive or deemed distribution in respect of the shares of capital stock, except for cash dividends made by any direct or indirect wholly-owned Subsidiary of the Company to the Company or one of its wholly-owned Subsidiaries;
(v) propose or adopt a plan of complete or partial liquidation, dissolution, merger, consolidation, restructuring, recapitalization or other reorganization of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, except for the transactions contemplated by this Agreement;
(vi) (A) redeem, repurchase, prepay, defease, cancel, incur, create, assume or otherwise acquire or modify in any material respect any long-term or short-term debt for borrowed monies or issue or sell any debt securities or calls, options, warrants or other rights to acquire any debt securities of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or enter into any agreement having the economic effect of any of the foregoing, except for (1) debt incurred in the ordinary course of business under letters of credit, lines of credit or other credit facilities or arrangements in effect on the date hereof, and (2) loans or advances between the Company and any direct or indirect Subsidiaries, or between any direct or indirect Subsidiaries of the Company, (B) assume, guarantee, endorse or otherwise become liable or responsible (whether directly, contingently or otherwise) for the obligations of any other Person, except with respect to obligations of direct or indirect wholly-owned Subsidiaries of the Company, (C) make any loans, advances or capital contributions to or investments in any other Person (other than the Company or any direct or indirect wholly-owned Subsidiaries), except for travel advances and business expenses in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice to employees of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, or (D) mortgage or pledge any of the Assets, or create or suffer to exist any Lien thereupon (other than Permitted Liens), except pursuant to the terms of any letters of credit, lines of credit or other credit facilities or arrangements in effect on the date hereof;
(vii) except as may be required by applicable Law or the terms of any Employee Plan as in effect on the date hereof or as contemplated by this Agreement, (A) enter into, adopt, amend (including acceleration of vesting), modify or terminate any bonus, profit sharing, incentive, compensation, severance, retention, termination, option, appreciation right, performance unit, stock equivalent, share purchase agreement, pension, retirement, deferred compensation, employment, severance, change in control, pension, retirement, collective bargaining or other employee benefit agreement, trust, plan, fund or other arrangement for the compensation, benefit or welfare of any director, officer or employee in any manner, (B) increase the compensation payable or to become payable of any director, officer or employee, pay or agree to pay any special bonus or special remuneration to any director, officer or employee, or pay or agree to pay any benefit not required by any plan or arrangement as in effect as of the date hereof, except in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice with respect to any employee who is not a director or executive officer, except in any such case (1) in connection with the hiring of new employees who are not directors or executive officers in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, and (2) in connection with the promotion of employees who are not directors or executive officers (and who will not be directors or executive officers after such promotion) in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, (C) grant or pay any severance or termination pay to (or amend any such existing arrangement with) any current or former director, officer, employee or independent contractor of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, except in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice with respect to any independent contractor or employee who is not a director or executive officer or (D) increase benefits payable under any existing severance or termination pay policies or employment agreements.
(viii) settle any pending or threatened Legal Proceeding, except for the settlement of any Legal Proceeding (A) for solely money damages not in excess of $250,000.00 individually or $500,000.00 in the aggregate and (B) as would not be reasonably likely to have any adverse impact on any other Legal Proceedings;
(ix) except as may be required as a result of a change in applicable Law or in GAAP, make any material change in any of the accounting methods, principles or practices used by it or change an annual accounting period;
(x) (A) make or change any material Tax election, (B) settle or compromise any material federal, state, local or foreign income Tax liability, (C) consent to any extension or waiver of any limitation period with respect to any claim or assessment for material Taxes, (D) change any annual Tax accounting period or method of Tax accounting, (E) file any materially amended Tax Return, (F) enter into any closing agreement with respect to any Tax or (G) surrender any right to claim a material Tax refund;
(xi) other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, (A) acquire (by merger, consolidation or acquisition of stock or assets) any other Person or any material equity interest therein or (B) dispose of any properties or assets of the Company or its Subsidiaries, which are material to the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole; or
(xii) make any capital expenditures other than capital expenditures provided for in the capital budget provided to Parent prior to the date of this Agreement and set forth on Section 6.1(b)(xii) of the Company Disclosure Letter;
(xiii) make any changes or modifications to any investment or risk management policy or other similar policies (including with respect to hedging) or any cash management policy;
(xiv) permit any insurance policy naming the Company or any of its Subsidiaries as a beneficiary or a loss payable payee to lapse, be canceled or expire unless a new policy with substantially identical coverage is in effect as of the date of lapse, cancellation or expiration;
(xv) other than in the ordinary course of business, enter into, amend in any material respect, terminate or fail to renew any Material Contract, or any other Contract that would have been a Material Contract had it not been amended, terminated or non-renewed prior to the date of this Agreement; or
(xvi) enter into a Contract to or otherwise authorize, commit, resolve, propose or agree to take any of the actions prohibited by this Section 6.1(b). Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing in this Agreement is intended to give Parent, directly or indirectly, the right to control or direct the business or operations of the Company or its Subsidiaries at any time prior to the Appointment Time.
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, the Borrower shall not, nor shall it permit any Subsidiary to, directly or indirectly:
Existence; Conduct of Business The Borrower will, and will cause each of its Subsidiaries to, do or cause to be done all things necessary to preserve, renew and keep in full force and effect its legal existence and the rights, licenses, permits, privileges and franchises material to the conduct of its business; provided that the foregoing shall not prohibit any merger, consolidation, liquidation or dissolution permitted under Section 6.03.
AFFIRMATIVE AND NEGATIVE COVENANTS The Borrower covenants and agrees that, so long as any Bank has any Commitment hereunder or any Obligations remain unpaid:
Negative Covenant Except as otherwise expressly permitted by this Agreement, between the date of this Agreement and the Closing Date, Sellers will not, and will cause the Company not to, without the prior consent of Buyer, take any affirmative action, or fail to take any reasonable action within their or its control, as a result of which any of the changes or events listed in Section 3.16 is likely to occur.
Maintenance of Existence and Conduct of Business Each Credit Party shall: do or cause to be done all things necessary to preserve and keep in full force and effect its corporate existence and its rights and franchises; continue to conduct its business substantially as now conducted or as otherwise permitted hereunder; at all times maintain, preserve and protect all of its assets and properties used or useful in the conduct of its business, and keep the same in good repair, working order and condition in all material respects (taking into consideration ordinary wear and tear) and from time to time make, or cause to be made, all necessary or appropriate repairs, replacements and improvements thereto consistent with industry practices; and transact business only in such corporate and trade names as are set forth in Disclosure Schedule (5.1).
Certain Negative Covenants So long as any Recovery Bonds are Outstanding, the Issuer shall not:
(a) except as expressly permitted by this Indenture and the other Basic Documents, sell, transfer, exchange or otherwise dispose of any of the properties or assets of the Issuer, including those included in the Recovery Bond Collateral, unless directed to do so by the Indenture Trustee in accordance with Article V;
(b) claim any credit on, or make any deduction from the principal or premium, if any, or interest payable in respect of, the Recovery Bonds (other than amounts properly withheld from such payments under the Code or other tax laws) or assert any claim against any present or former Holder by reason of the payment of the taxes levied or assessed upon any part of the Recovery Bond Collateral;
(c) terminate its existence or dissolve or liquidate in whole or in part, except in a transaction permitted by Section 3.10;
(i) permit the validity or effectiveness of this Indenture or the other Basic Documents to be impaired, or permit the Lien of this Indenture and the Series Supplement to be amended, hypothecated, subordinated, terminated or discharged, or permit any Person to be released from any covenants or obligations with respect to the Recovery Bonds under this Indenture except as may be expressly permitted hereby, (ii) permit any Lien (other than the Lien of this Indenture or of the Series Supplement) to be created on or extend to or otherwise arise upon or burden the Recovery Bond Collateral or any part thereof or any interest therein or the proceeds thereof (other than tax liens arising by operation of law with respect to amounts not yet due), or (iii) permit the Lien of this Indenture or of the Series Supplement not to constitute a valid first priority perfected security interest in the Recovery Bond Collateral;
(e) elect to be classified as an association taxable as a corporation for federal income tax purposes or otherwise take any action, file any tax return, or make any election inconsistent with the treatment of the Issuer, for purposes of federal taxes and, to the extent consistent with applicable State tax law, State income and franchise tax purposes, as a disregarded entity that is not separate from the sole owner of the Issuer;
(f) change its name, identity or structure or the location of its chief executive office, unless at least ten (10) Business Days’ prior to the effective date of any such change the Issuer delivers to the Indenture Trustee (with copies to the Rating Agencies) such documents, instruments or agreements, executed by the Issuer, as are necessary to reflect such change and to continue the perfection of the security interest of this Indenture and the Series Supplement;
(g) take any action which is subject to a Rating Agency Condition without satisfying the Rating Agency Condition;
(h) except to the extent permitted by applicable law, voluntarily suspend or terminate its filing obligations with the SEC as described in Section 3.07(g); or
(i) issue any recovery bonds under the Wildfire Financing Law or any similar law (other than the Recovery Bonds).
Maintenance of Existence; Conduct of Business Except as permitted by Section 11.3, the Borrower will, and will cause each Subsidiary of the Borrower to, preserve and maintain (a) its corporate existence and (b) all of its leases, privileges, Permits, franchises, qualifications and rights that are necessary in the ordinary conduct of its business. The Borrower will, and will cause each Subsidiary of the Borrower to, conduct its business in an orderly and efficient manner in accordance with good business practices.
Covenants Relating to Conduct of Business (a) Except for matters set forth in Schedule 4.01 or otherwise expressly permitted by the terms of this Agreement, from the date hereof to the Closing, each Parent Party shall cause its respective Existing Business to be conducted in the usual, regular and ordinary course in substantially the same manner as previously conducted (including with respect to advertising, promotions, capital expenditures and inventory levels) and use all reasonable efforts to keep intact the respective businesses of such Parent Party's Existing Business, keep available the services of their current employees and preserve their relationships with customers, suppliers, licensors, licensees, distributors and others with whom they deal to the end that their respective businesses shall be unimpaired at the Closing. Each Parent Party shall not, and shall not permit any of its Affiliates to, take any action that would, or that could reasonably be expected to, result in any of the conditions set forth in Article V not being satisfied. In addition (and without limiting the generality of the foregoing), except as set forth in Schedule 4.01 or otherwise expressly permitted or required by the terms of this Agreement, each Parent Party shall not, and shall not permit any of its Affiliates to, do any of the following in connection with its Existing Business without the prior written consent of the other Parent Party:
(i) with respect to any of its Contributed Subsidiaries, amend its Organizational Documents, except as is necessary to consummate the Transactions;
(ii) other than sweeping cash in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, make any declaration or payment of any dividend or any other distribution in respect of its equity interest in any Contributed Subsidiary;
(iii) with respect to any of its Contributed Subsidiaries, redeem or otherwise acquire any shares of its capital stock or issue any capital stock (except upon the exercise of outstanding options) or any option, warrant or right relating thereto or any securities convertible into or exchangeable for any shares of such capital stock;
(iv) incur or assume any indebtedness for borrowed money or guarantee any such indebtedness in connection with its Existing Business;
(v) permit, allow or suffer any Contributed Assets to become subjected to any Lien of any nature whatsoever, except Permitted Liens;
(vi) cancel any material indebtedness (individually or in the aggregate) or waive any claims or rights of substantial value relating to its Existing Business;
(vii) except for intercompany loans among Contributed Subsidiaries in the ordinary course of business or transactions in the ordinary course, consistent with past practice and not material in amount, pay, loan or advance any amount to, or sell, transfer or lease any of its assets to, or enter into any agreement or arrangement with any of its Affiliates;
(viii) make any change in any method of financial accounting or financial accounting practice or policy of its Existing Business other than those required by generally accepted accounting principles;
(ix) make any change in the methods or timing of collecting receivables or paying payables with respect to its Existing Business;
(x) other than in the ordinary course of business, make or incur any capital expenditure in connection with its Existing Business that is not currently approved in writing or budgeted;
(xi) sell, lease, license or otherwise dispose of any of the assets of its Existing Business, except inventory, programming or other goods or services sold in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice; or
(xii) authorize any of, or commit or agree to take, whether in writing or otherwise, to do any of, the foregoing actions.
(b) Except as set forth in Schedule 4.01 or otherwise expressly permitted by the terms of this Agreement or any ancillary agreements that may be entered into in connection with the Transactions, USAi shall not, and shall not permit any of its Affiliates to:
(i) adopt or amend any USAi Benefit Arrangement (or any plan or arrangement that would be an USAi Benefit Arrangement if adopted) relating primarily to its Existing Business or enter into, adopt, extend (beyond the Closing Date), renew or amend any collective bargaining agreement or other Contract relating to its Existing Business with any labor organization, union or association, except in each case, in the ordinary course of business and consistent with past practice or as required by Applicable Law; or
(ii) (A) grant to any USAi Business Employee any increase in compensation or benefits, except grants in the ordinary course of business and consistent with past practice or as may be required under agreements in existence on the date of this Agreement or (B) grant new options or restricted stock to any USAi Business Employee except as may be required under agreements in existence on the date of this Agreement.
(c) Each Parent Party shall promptly advise the other Parent Party in writing of the occurrence of any matter or event that is material to the business, assets, financial condition, or results of operations of its Existing Business, taken as a whole.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, following the date hereof, each Parent Party shall manage its cash (including any sweeps thereof), payables and receivables relating to its Existing Business in each case in the ordinary course of business and consistent with past practice.
