No Restrictions on Subsidiaries No subsidiary of the Company is currently prohibited, directly or indirectly, under any agreement or other instrument to which it is a party or is subject, from paying any dividends to the Company, from making any other distribution on such subsidiary’s capital stock, from repaying to the Company any loans or advances to such subsidiary from the Company or from transferring any of such subsidiary’s properties or assets to the Company or any other subsidiary of the Company.
Certain Restrictions on Subsidiaries The Borrower will not permit any of its Subsidiaries (other than Financing Subsidiaries) to enter into or suffer to exist any indenture, agreement, instrument or other arrangement (other than the Loan Documents) that prohibits or restrains, in each case in any material respect, or imposes materially adverse conditions upon, the incurrence or payment of Indebtedness, the declaration or payment of dividends, the making of loans, advances, guarantees or Investments or the sale, assignment, transfer or other disposition of property to the Borrower by any Subsidiary; provided that the foregoing shall not apply to (i) indentures, agreements, instruments or other arrangements pertaining to other Indebtedness permitted hereby (provided that such restrictions would not adversely affect the exercise of rights or remedies of the Administrative Agent or the Lenders hereunder or under the Security Documents or restrict any Subsidiary in any manner from performing its obligations under the Loan Documents) and (ii) indentures, agreements, instruments or other arrangements pertaining to any lease, sale or other disposition of any asset permitted by this Agreement or any Lien permitted by this Agreement on such asset so long as the applicable restrictions only apply to the assets subject to such lease, sale, other disposition or Lien.
Restrictions on Subsidiaries Except for restrictions contained in this Agreement or any other agreement with respect to Indebtedness of any Borrower or Guarantor permitted hereunder as in effect on the date hereof, there are no contractual or consensual restrictions on any Borrower or Guarantor or any of its Subsidiaries which prohibit or otherwise restrict (a) the transfer of cash or other assets (i) between any Borrower or Guarantor and any of its or their Subsidiaries or (ii) between any Subsidiaries of any Borrower or Guarantor or (b) the ability of any Borrower or Guarantor or any of its or their Subsidiaries to incur Indebtedness or grant security interests to Agent or any Lender in the Collateral.
Limitation on Restrictions on Distributions from Restricted Subsidiaries The Company shall not, and shall not permit any Restricted Subsidiary to, create or otherwise cause or permit to exist or become effective any consensual encumbrance or restriction on the ability of any Restricted Subsidiary to (a) pay dividends or make any other distributions on its Capital Stock to the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary or pay any Indebtedness owed to the Company, (b) make any loans or advances to the Company or (c) transfer any of its property or assets to the Company, except:
(1) with respect to clauses (a), (b) and (c),
(A) any encumbrance or restriction pursuant to an agreement governing Indebtedness or Capital Stock and other agreements or instruments in effect at or entered into on the Issue Date;
(B) any encumbrance or restriction with respect to a Restricted Subsidiary pursuant to an agreement relating to any Indebtedness Incurred by such Restricted Subsidiary or Capital Stock or other agreement or instrument of such Restricted Subsidiary in existence on or prior to the date on which such Restricted Subsidiary was acquired by the Company or otherwise became a Restricted Subsidiary (other than Indebtedness Incurred, Capital Stock issued or agreements or instruments entered into as consideration in, or to provide all or any portion of the funds or credit support utilized to consummate, the transaction or series of related transactions pursuant to which such Restricted Subsidiary became a Restricted Subsidiary or was acquired by the Company) and outstanding on such date;
(C) any encumbrance or restriction pursuant to an agreement effecting a Refinancing in whole or in part of Indebtedness Incurred pursuant to an agreement referred to in subclause (A) or (B) of clause (1) of this Section 4.10 or this subclause (C) or subclause (B) of clause (2) of this Section 4.10 or contained in any amendment to, or modification, restatement, renewal, increase, supplement, replacement or extension of, an agreement referred to in subclause (A) or (B) of clause (1) of this Section 4.10 or this clause (C) or subclause (B) of clause (2) of this Section 4.10; provided, however, that the encumbrances and restrictions with respect to such Restricted Subsidiary contained in any such refinancing agreement or amendment, modification, restatement, renewal, increase, supplement, replacement or extension agreement are not materially more restrictive, taken as a whole, than encumbrances and restrictions with respect to such Restricted Subsidiary contained in such predecessor agreements;
(D) any customary encumbrance or restriction with respect to a Restricted Subsidiary imposed pursuant to a merger agreement or an agreement entered into for the sale or disposition of all or substantially all the Capital Stock or assets of such Restricted Subsidiary pending the closing of such sale or disposition;
(E) customary encumbrances and restrictions contained in agreements of the types described in the definition of the term “Permitted Business Investments;” and
(F) customary supermajority voting provisions and other customary provisions with respect to the disposition or distribution of assets, each contained in corporate charters, bylaws, stockholders’ agreements, limited liability company agreements, partnership agreements, joint venture agreements and other similar agreements entered into in the ordinary course of business of the Company and its Restricted Subsidiaries; and
(2) with respect to clause (c) only,
(A) any such encumbrance or restriction consisting of customary nonassignment provisions (including provisions forbidding subletting or sublicensing) in leases governing leasehold interests and licenses to the extent such provisions restrict the transfer of the lease or license or the property leased, or licensed thereunder;
(B) any encumbrance or restriction contained in credit agreements, security agreements or mortgages securing Indebtedness of the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary or in Production Payments and Reserve Sales, to the extent such encumbrance or restriction restricts the transfer of the property subject to such credit agreements, security agreements or mortgages or Production Payments and Reserve Sales;
(C) encumbrances and restrictions contained in any agreement, instrument or Capital Stock assumed by the Company or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries or for which any of them becomes liable as in effect at the time of such transaction (except to the extent such agreement, instrument or Capital Stock was entered into in connection with or in contemplation of such transaction), which encumbrances and restrictions are not applicable to any assets other than assets acquired in connection with such transaction and all improvements, additions and accessions thereto and products and proceeds thereof;
(D) restrictions on cash or other deposits imposed by customers under contracts entered into in the ordinary course of business;
(E) encumbrances and restrictions contained in contracts entered into in the ordinary course of business, not relating to any Indebtedness, and that do not, individually or in the aggregate, detract from the value of, or from the ability of the Company and the Restricted Subsidiaries to realize the value of, property or assets of the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary in any manner material to the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary;
(F) restrictions on the transfer of property or assets required by any regulatory authority having jurisdiction over the Company or such Restricted Subsidiary; and
(G) customary restrictions contained in asset sale agreements limiting the transfer of such assets pending the closing of such sale.
Limitation on Certain Restrictions on Subsidiaries Holdings will not, and will not permit any of the Restricted Subsidiaries to, directly or indirectly, create or otherwise cause or suffer to exist or become effective any consensual encumbrance or restriction on the ability of any such Restricted Subsidiary to (a) pay dividends or make any other distributions on its capital stock or any other interest or participation in its profits owned by the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, or pay any Indebtedness owed to the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, (b) make loans or advances to the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries or (c) transfer any of its properties or assets to the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, except for such encumbrances or restrictions existing under or by reason of:
(i) applicable law;
(ii) this Agreement and the other Credit Documents and the other definitive documentation entered into in connection with any of the foregoing;
(iii) any Refinancing Note Documents;
(iv) customary provisions restricting subletting or assignment of any lease governing any leasehold interest of Holdings or any of the Restricted Subsidiaries;
(v) customary provisions restricting assignment of any licensing agreement (in which Holdings or any of the Restricted Subsidiaries is the licensee) or other contract entered into by Holdings or any of the Restricted Subsidiaries in the ordinary course of business;
(vi) restrictions on the transfer of any asset pending the close of the sale of such asset;
(vii) any agreement or instrument governing Indebtedness assumed in connection with a Permitted Acquisition, to the extent the relevant encumbrance or restriction was not agreed to or adopted in connection with, or in anticipation of, the respective Permitted Acquisition and does not apply to Holdings or any Restricted Subsidiary of Holdings, or the properties of any such Person, other than the Persons or the properties acquired in such Permitted Acquisition;
(viii) encumbrances or restrictions on cash or other deposits or net worth imposed by customers under agreements entered into in the ordinary course of business;
(ix) any agreement or instrument relating to Indebtedness of a Foreign Subsidiary incurred pursuant to Section 10.04 to the extent such encumbrance or restriction only applies to such Foreign Subsidiary;
(x) an agreement effecting a refinancing, replacement or substitution of Indebtedness issued, assumed or incurred pursuant to an agreement or instrument referred to in clause (vii) above; provided that the provisions relating to such encumbrance or restriction contained in any such refinancing, replacement or substitution agreement are no less favorable to Holdings or the Lenders in any material respect than the provisions relating to such encumbrance or restriction contained in the agreements or instruments referred to in such clause (vii);
(xi) restrictions on the transfer of any asset subject to a Lien permitted by Section 10.01;
(xii) restrictions and conditions imposed by the terms of the documentation governing any Indebtedness of a Restricted Subsidiary of the Borrower that is not a Subsidiary Guarantor, which Indebtedness is permitted by Section 10.04;
(xiii) customary provisions in joint venture agreements and other similar agreements applicable to joint ventures permitted under Section 10.05 and applicable solely to such joint venture;
(xiv) on or after the execution and delivery thereof, (x) the Permitted Junior Debt Documents and (y) the Permitted Pari Passu Notes Documents;
(xv) negative pledges and restrictions on Liens in favor of any holder of Indebtedness for borrowed money permitted under Section 10.04 but only if such negative pledge or restriction expressly permits Liens for the benefit of the Administrative Agent and/or the Collateral Agent and the Secured Creditors with respect to the credit facilities established hereunder and the Obligations under the Credit Documents on a senior basis and without a requirement that such holders of such Indebtedness be secured by such Liens securing the Obligations under the Credit Documents equally and ratably or on a junior basis; and
(xvi) restrictions and conditions under the terms of the documentation governing any Qualified Securitization Transaction or a Receivables Facility that, in each case, permitted by Section 10.04, are necessary or advisable, in the good faith determination of the Borrower or the applicable Restricted Subsidiary, to effect such Qualified Securitization Transaction or such Receivables Facility.
Restrictions on Investments Neither the Borrower nor the Trust will, nor will either of them permit any of its Subsidiaries to, make or permit to exist or to remain outstanding any Investment except Investments in:
(a) marketable direct or guaranteed obligations of the United States of America that mature within one (1) year from the date of purchase by the Borrower or its Subsidiary;
(b) marketable direct obligations of any of the following: Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, Student Loan Marketing Association, Federal Home Loan Banks, Federal National Mortgage Association, Government National Mortgage Association, Bank for Cooperatives, Federal Intermediate Credit Banks, Federal Financing Banks, Export-Import Bank of the United States, Federal Land Banks, or any other agency or instrumentality of the United States of America;
(c) demand deposits, certificates of deposit, bankers acceptances and time deposits of United States banks having total assets in excess of $100,000,000; provided, however , that the aggregate amount at any time so invested with any single bank having total assets of less than $1,000,000,000 will not exceed $200,000;
(d) [Intentionally Deleted];
(e) [Intentionally Deleted];
(f) repurchase agreements having a term not greater than ninety (90) days and fully secured by securities described in the foregoing subsection (a), (b) or (e) with banks described in the foregoing subsection (c) or with financial institutions or other corporations having total assets in excess of $500,000,000;
(g) shares of so-called “money market funds” registered with the SEC under the Investment Company Act of 1940 which maintain a level per-share value, invest principally in investments described in the foregoing subsections (a) through (f) and have total assets in excess of $50,000,000;
(h) the acquisition of fee interests by the Borrower or its Subsidiaries in Real Estate which is utilized principally for shopping centers, and, subject to the restrictions set forth in §8.3 and §8.9 for development of new shopping centers, the acquisition of undeveloped Real Estate;
(i) Subsidiaries of the Borrower or the Trust that are not one hundred percent (100%) owned by the Borrower or the Trust or in Unconsolidated Affiliates, which Subsidiaries or Unconsolidated Affiliates are engaged in the ownership of Real Estate or development activity pursuant to §8.3 or §8.9, provided that in no event shall such Investments exceed fifteen percent (15%) of Borrower’s Consolidated Total Adjusted Asset Value in the aggregate without the prior written consent of the Required Banks;
(j) (i) in any preferred stock issued by Trust which has been repurchased solely with the proceeds of a new issue of common or preferred stock issued by Trust, or (ii) in any common stock issued by Trust which has been repurchased by the Trust, Borrower or any of their respective Subsidiaries, provided that in no event shall such Investments pursuant to clause (ii) exceed in the aggregate $50,000,000.00 (calculated based upon the consideration given for such stock);
(k) subject to the restrictions set forth in §8.9, (i) in securities of real estate investment trusts which own real property which is used principally for fee interests in Real Estate utilized principally for shopping centers located within the United States, and (ii) in mortgages and notes receivables, provided that in no event shall the aggregate costs of all Investments pursuant to this §8.3(k) exceed five percent (5%) of Borrower’s Consolidated Total Adjusted Asset Value in the aggregate. For the purposes of this §8.3(k)(ii) only, notes receivable shall be valued at the lesser of face value (subject to reduction as a result of payments thereon) or book value determined in accordance with GAAP;
(l) whether directly or through a Subsidiary or Unconsolidated Affiliate, in development permitted by §8.9 which at any time has a total cost (including acquisition, construction and other costs), whether such total costs are incurred directly by the Borrower, the Trust or such Subsidiary or through an Investment in an Unconsolidated Affiliate permitted under this Agreement, individually for each development project that is not in excess of ten percent (10%) of the Consolidated Total Adjusted Asset Value of the Borrower, and in the aggregate for all development projects that is not in excess of fifteen percent (15%) of the Consolidated Total Adjusted Asset Value of the Borrower. For the purposes of calculating the cost of developments by Subsidiaries or Unconsolidated Affiliates, the cost of such developments shall be based upon the Borrower’s interest in such Subsidiaries or Unconsolidated Affiliates. For purposes of this §8.3(l) and §8.9, the term “total cost” shall not include (i) costs specifically reimbursable by tenants or shadow anchors (other than through rent or a gross up of rent), (ii) capitalized general and administrative expenses, or (iii) operating expenses and interest to the extent of operating income received from the applicable development property;
(m) whether directly or through a Subsidiary or an Unconsolidated Affiliate, in undeveloped parcels of Real Estate which in the aggregate do not exceed five percent (5%) of the Consolidated Total Adjusted Asset Value of the Borrower, provided that the acquisition or holding of any outlots or property adjacent to any Real Estate owned by the Borrower (or any Subsidiary or Unconsolidated Affiliate thereof), the Trust or any Subsidiary thereof shall not be deemed to be an undeveloped parcel of Real Estate for this purpose and options and purchase agreements to acquire any property shall not be deemed an acquisition or holding of such property; and
(n) subsidiaries that are one hundred percent (100%) owned by the Borrower. Notwithstanding the foregoing or §8.9, in no event shall the aggregate Investments of the Borrower, the Trust and their Subsidiaries in the Investments described in §8.3(i), (k), (l) and (m) exceed twenty-five percent (25%) of Borrower’s Consolidated Total Adjusted Asset Value at any time.
Restrictions on Indebtedness The Borrower shall not directly or indirectly create, incur, issue, assume, permit, suffer to exist or otherwise be or become liable with respect to, contingently or otherwise (collectively, “incur”), any Indebtedness; provided, however, that the Borrower may incur any of the following items of Indebtedness:
(a) Indebtedness existing under the Initial Senior Bond Indentures in an amount not to exceed the amount of Indebtedness outstanding under the Initial Senior Bond Indentures as of the date of the Fifth Omnibus Amendment;
(b) Permitted Refinancing Indebtedness of the Borrower in exchange for, or the net proceeds of which are used to renew, refund, refinance, replace, defease or discharge any Indebtedness (other than intercompany Indebtedness) that was permitted to be incurred under clause (a), (b) or (c) of this Section 2.5, provided that each of the following conditions shall have been satisfied:
(1) the Senior Facility Agent shall have received a certificate from an Authorized Officer of the Borrower to the effect that the outstanding Senior Debt (other than Working Capital Debt and Indebtedness incurred pursuant to clauses (f), (g), (h), (i), (j), (k), (l), (m), and (o) of this Section 2.5) (after giving effect to the incurrence and application of proceeds of such Permitted Refinancing
(2) using an interest rate equal to the weighted average interest rate of all such Senior Debt outstanding after giving effect to the incurrence of the Permitted Refinancing Indebtedness and the application of the proceeds therefrom);
Limitation on Restrictions on Subsidiary Distributions Enter into or suffer to exist or become effective any consensual encumbrance or restriction on the ability of any Subsidiary to (a) make Restricted Payments in respect of any Capital Stock of such Subsidiary held by, or pay or subordinate any Indebtedness owed to, the Borrower or any other Subsidiary, (b) make Investments in the Borrower or any other Subsidiary or (c) transfer any of its assets to the Borrower or any other Subsidiary, except for such encumbrances or restrictions existing under or by reason of (i) any restrictions existing under the Loan Documents, (ii) any restrictions existing under the New Senior Note Indenture, the New Senior Note Indenture and any agreements governing Indebtedness permitted by Sections 6.2(f), to the extent such restrictions are no more restrictive than those in the Senior Note Indenture or the New Senior Note Indenture, (iii) any restrictions with respect to a Subsidiary imposed pursuant to an agreement that has been entered into in connection with the Disposition of all or substantially all of the Capital Stock or assets of such Subsidiary, (iv) customary net worth provisions contained in real property leases entered into in by any Loan Party so long as such net worth provisions would not reasonably be expected to impair materially the ability of the Loan Parties to meet their ongoing obligations under this Agreement or any of the other Loan Documents, and (v) with respect to clause (c) only, (i) customary non-assignment provisions in licenses or sublicenses by the Borrower and its Subsidiaries in the ordinary course of business (in which case such prohibition or limitation shall only be effective against the Intellectual Property subject thereto), (ii) customary provisions in joint venture agreements and similar agreements that restrict transfers of assets of, or equity interests in, such joint venture, (iii) agreements governing Indebtedness permitted by Sections 6.2(g), (h) and (m) (provided that, in the case of such agreements governing Indebtedness permitted by Section 6.2(h), such prohibition or limitation shall be effective only against the property acquired thereby), (iv) agreements entered into by a Subsidiary that is not a Subsidiary Guarantor governing Liens permitted by Section 6.3(m) or the Indebtedness secured thereby (in which case such prohibition or limitation shall only be effective against the assets of such Subsidiary subject to such Lien) and (v) any agreements governing any purchase money Liens or Capital Lease Obligations otherwise permitted hereby (in which case, any prohibition or limitation shall only be effective against the assets financed thereby).
Restrictions on Subsidiary Distributions Except as provided herein, no Credit Party shall, nor shall it permit any of its Subsidiaries to, create or otherwise cause or suffer to exist or become effective any consensual encumbrance or restriction of any kind on the ability of any Subsidiary of Borrower to (a) pay dividends or make any other distributions on any of such Subsidiary’s Equity Interests owned by Borrower or any other Subsidiary of Borrower, (b) repay or prepay any Indebtedness owed by such Subsidiary to Borrower or any other Subsidiary of Borrower, (c) make loans or advances to Borrower or any other Subsidiary of Borrower, or (d) transfer, lease or license any of its property or assets to Borrower or any other Subsidiary of Borrower other than restrictions (i) imposed by law or by any Credit Document, (ii) in agreements evidencing Indebtedness permitted by Section 6.1(k) that impose restrictions on the property so acquired, and any amendments, modifications, extensions or renewals thereof (including any such extension or renewal arising as a result of an extension, renewal or refinancing of any Indebtedness containing such restriction or condition) that do not materially expand the scope of any such restriction or condition taken as a whole, (iii) by reason of customary provisions restricting assignments, subletting or other transfers contained in leases, licenses, Joint Venture agreements and similar agreements entered into in the ordinary course of business, (iv) that are or were created by virtue of any transfer of, agreement to transfer or option or right with respect to any property, assets or Equity Interests not otherwise prohibited under this Agreement, (v) in the case of any Subsidiary that is not directly or indirectly wholly owned by Borrower, restrictions and conditions imposed by its Organizational Documents or any related joint venture, shareholders’ or similar agreement; provided that such restrictions and conditions apply only to such Subsidiary and to any Equity Interests in such Subsidiary, or (vi) identified on Schedule 6.5, and any amendments, modifications, extensions or renewals thereof (including any such extension or renewal arising as a result of an extension, renewal or refinancing of any Indebtedness containing such restriction or condition) that do not materially expand the scope of any such restriction or condition taken as a whole.
Restrictions on Liens Create, incur, assume or suffer to exist any Lien upon or with respect to any property or assets (real or personal, tangible or intangible, including, without limitation, the Borrowing Base Properties), whether now owned or hereafter acquired, or sell any such property or assets subject to an understanding or agreement, contingent or otherwise, to repurchase such property or assets (including sales of accounts receivable with recourse) or assign any right to receive income or permit the filing of any financing statement under the UCC or any other similar notice of Lien under any similar recording or notice statute, or grant rights with respect to, or otherwise encumber or create a security interest in, such property or assets (including, without limitation, any item of Collateral) or any portion thereof or any other revenues therefrom or the proceeds payable upon the sale, transfer or other disposition of such property or asset or any portion thereof, or permit or suffer any such action to be taken, except the following (singly and collectively, “Permitted Liens”):
8.2.1 Liens created by the Loan Documents;
8.2.2 Liens to secure Permitted Debt that by the terms of Section 8.4 is permitted to be secured, provided that (x) the Borrower will be in compliance with the Financial Covenants considering the consequences of the granting of any such Lien and (y) no such Lien shall be secured by any Borrowing Base Property, the ownership interest in any Borrowing Base Property Owner, or any other assets of any Borrowing Base Property Owner;
8.2.3 Liens for taxes, assessments or other governmental charges not yet delinquent or which are being diligently contested in good faith and by appropriate proceedings, if (x) to the extent such contest concerns a Borrowing Base Property, reasonable reserves in an amount not less than the tax, assessment or governmental charge being so contested shall have been established in a manner reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent or deposited in cash (or cash equivalents) with the Administrative Agent to be held during the pendency of such contest, or such contested amount shall have been duly bonded in accordance with applicable law, (y) no imminent risk of sale, forfeiture or loss of any interest in any Borrowing Base Property or the Collateral or any part thereof arises during the pendency of such contest and (z) such contest does not have and could not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;
8.2.4 Liens in respect of property or assets imposed by law, which do not secure Debt, such as judgment Liens (provided such judgment Liens do not cause the occurrence of an Event of Default under Section 10.1), carriers’, warehousemen’s, material men’s and mechanics’ liens and other similar Liens arising in the ordinary course of business, (x) which, except for such judgment Liens, do not in the aggregate materially detract from the value of any property or assets or have, and could not reasonably be expected to have, a Material Adverse Effect, (y) which, except for such judgment Liens, are being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings, which proceedings have the effect of preventing the forfeiture or sale of the property or assets subject to any such Lien, and (z) which as to any Borrowing Base Property do not have a lien priority prior to the Lien in favor of the Administrative Agent, for the benefit of the Lenders, with respect to the Obligations, including, without limitation, any future Loan Advances;
8.2.5 Personal property financing leases entered into in the ordinary course of business with respect to equipment, fixtures, furniture, furnishings and similar assets.
