Restrictions on Certain Actions During the earlier of (a) five years from the date of this Agreement or (b) two years after the termination of the Venture Agreement, except as permitted pursuant to Section 5 hereof, Buyer, without the prior consent of the Company's Board of Directors will not, nor will it permit any affiliate (as such term is defined in Rule 12b-2 of Regulation 12B under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act")) of Buyer to:
(a) acquire (other than through stock splits or stock dividends), directly or indirectly or in conjunction with or through any other person, by purchase or otherwise, beneficial ownership of any additional shares of Common Stock or any other securities of the Company entitled to vote generally for the election of directors ("Voting Securities");
(b) directly or indirectly or through any other person, solicit proxies with respect to Voting Securities under any circumstance; or become a "participant" in any "election contest" relating to the election of directors of the Company (as such terms are used in Rule 14a-11 of Regulation 14A under the Exchange Act); provided, however, that the foregoing shall not prohibit Buyer from soliciting proxies for the purpose of opposing any increase in the ownership limitation currently contained in the Company's Articles of Incorporation.
(c) deposit any Voting Securities in a voting trust, or subject any Voting Securities to a voting or similar agreement;
(d) directly or indirectly or through or in conjunction with any other person, engage in a tender or exchange offer for the Company's Voting Securities made by any other person or entity without the prior written approval of the Company, or engage in any proxy solicitation with any person or entity relating to the Company;
(e) take any action alone or in concert with any other person to acquire or change the control of the Company or, directly or indirectly, participate in any group seeking to obtain or take control of the Company; or
(f) sell, transfer, pledge or otherwise dispose of or encumber any Voting Securities except (i) as set forth in Section 7 hereof, (ii) to an affiliate of the Buyer, provided that the transferee agrees to be bound by all the provisions of this Agreement, or (iii) pursuant to a public offering of the Shares registered under the Securities Act.
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.
Certain Transactions The Warrant Agent, and its officers, directors and employees, may become the owner of, or acquire any interest in, Warrants, with the same rights that it or they would have if it were not the Warrant Agent hereunder, and, to the extent permitted by applicable law, it or they may engage or be interested in any financial or other transaction with the Company and may act on, or as depositary, trustee or agent for, any committee or body of holders of Warrant Securities or other obligations of the Company as freely as if it were not the Warrant Agent hereunder. Nothing in this Warrant Agreement shall be deemed to prevent the Warrant Agent from acting as trustee under any indenture to which the Company is a party.
Certain Transactions and Agreements To the Knowledge of the Company ----------------------------------- and the Shareholders, none of the directors or shareholders of the Company, nor any member of their immediate families, has any direct or indirect ownership interest in any firm or corporation that competes with the Company (except with respect to any interest in less than one percent of the stock of any corporation whose stock is publicly traded). None of said officers directors, shareholders or employees, nor any member of their immediate families, is directly or indirectly interested in any contract or informal arrangement with the Company, except for normal compensation for services as an officer, director or shareholder thereof. None of said officers, directors, shareholders or employees nor any member of their immediate families has any interest in any property, real or personal, tangible or intangible, including any Intellectual Property Rights, used in or pertaining to the business of the Company, except for the normal rights of a shareholder 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.
Limitation on Certain Restrictions The Borrower will not, and will not permit or cause any of its Subsidiaries to, directly or indirectly, create or otherwise cause or suffer to exist or become effective any restriction or encumbrance on (i) the ability of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries to perform and comply with their respective obligations under the Credit Documents or (ii) the ability of any Subsidiary of the Borrower to make any dividend payments or other distributions in respect of its Capital Stock, to repay Indebtedness owed to the Borrower or any other Subsidiary, to make loans or advances to the Borrower or any other Subsidiary, or to transfer any of its assets or properties to the Borrower or any other Subsidiary, in each case other than such restrictions or encumbrances existing under or by reason of the Credit Documents or applicable Requirements of Law.
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 Transactions If Debentures are issued to the Trust or a trustee of the Trust in connection with the issuance of Trust Securities by the Trust and (i) there shall have occurred any event that would constitute an Event of Default; (ii) the Company shall be in default with respect to its payment of any obligations under the Preferred Securities Guarantee relating to the Trust; or (iii) the Company shall have given notice of its election to defer payments of interest on such Debentures by extending the interest payment period as provided in this Indenture and such period, or any extension thereof, shall be continuing, then (a) the Company may not, and may not permit any Subsidiary to, declare or pay any dividend on, make any distributions with respect to, or redeem, purchase, acquire or make a liquidation payment with respect to, any of its capital stock (other than (1) the reclassification of any class of the Company's capital stock into another class of capital stock, (2) dividends or distributions payable in any class of the Company's common stock, (3) any declaration of a dividend in connection with the implementation of a shareholder rights plan, or the issuance of stock under any such plan in the future, or the redemption or repurchase of any such rights pursuant thereto, (4) payments under the Preferred Securities Guarantee and (5) purchases of the Company's common stock related to the rights under any of the Company's benefit plans for its or its subsidiaries' directors, officers or employees); (b) the Company shall not make any payment of interest, principal or premium, if any, or repay, repurchase or redeem any debt securities issued by the Company which rank pari passu with or junior to the Debentures; provided, however, that the Company may make payments pursuant to its obligations under the Preferred Securities Guarantee; and (c) the Company shall not redeem, purchase or acquire less than all of the outstanding Debentures or any of the Preferred Securities.
Limitations on Transactions with Affiliates The Borrower shall not, and shall not permit any Restricted Subsidiary to, directly or indirectly, pay any funds to or for the account of, make any Investment in, lease, sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of any assets, tangible or intangible, to, or participate in, or effect any transaction in connection with any joint enterprise or other joint arrangement with, any Affiliate; provided that the foregoing shall not prohibit:
(a) the Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary from performing its obligations under the Existing Affiliate Agreements;
(b) the Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary from making any Investment permitted by Section 7.08;
(c) the Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary from making sales or leases to or purchases or leases from any Affiliate and, in connection therewith, extending credit or making payments, or from making payments for services rendered by any Affiliate, if such sales, leases or purchases are made or such services are rendered in the ordinary course of business and on terms and conditions at least as favorable to the Borrower or such Restricted Subsidiary as the terms and conditions which would apply in a similar transaction with a Person not an Affiliate;
(d) transactions between or among any of the Credit Parties and the Restricted Subsidiaries not involving any other Affiliate;
(e) the Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary from making payments of principal, interest and premium on any of its Indebtedness held by an Affiliate if the terms of such Indebtedness are substantially as favorable to the Borrower or such Restricted Subsidiary as the terms which could have been obtained at the time of the creation of such Indebtedness from a lender which was not an Affiliate;
(f) to the extent permitted by Section 7.08, the Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary from participating in, or effecting any transaction in connection with, any joint enterprise or other joint arrangement with any Affiliate if the Borrower or such Restricted Subsidiary participates in the ordinary course of its business and on a basis no less advantageous than the basis on which such Affiliate participates;
(g) the Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary from maintaining, entering into or adopting any executive or employee incentive or compensation plan, contract or other arrangement (including any loans or extensions of credit in connection therewith to the extent permitted by Section 7.08), or any arrangement to terminate any of the foregoing, if such plan, contract, or arrangement (i) has been or is approved either (x) at any time by the shareholders of the Borrower in accordance with such voting requirements as may be applicable or (y) at any time by the board of directors of the Borrower or such Restricted Subsidiary (or a duly constituted committee of such board), (ii) is immaterial in amount, or (iii) is maintained, entered into or adopted in the ordinary course of business of the Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary;
(h) to the extent permitted by Section 7.08, the Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary from making any loan, guarantee or other accommodation in accordance with the Borrower’s policies and practices concerning employee relocation in the ordinary course of its business;
(i) any Restricted Payments permitted by Section 7.07; and
(j) transactions not constituting Investments or Restricted Payments and involving payments, transfers of property or other obligations with a fair value not to exceed, for all such transactions after the Closing Date, $5,000,000.
Certain Transactions and Confidentiality Each Purchaser, severally and not jointly with the other Purchasers, covenants that neither it nor any Affiliate acting on its behalf or pursuant to any understanding with it will execute any purchases or sales, including Short Sales of any of the Company’s securities during the period commencing with the execution of this Agreement and ending at such time that the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are first publicly announced pursuant to the initial press release as described in Section 4.4. Each Purchaser, severally and not jointly with the other Purchasers, covenants that until such time as the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are publicly disclosed by the Company pursuant to the initial press release as described in Section 4.4, such Purchaser will maintain the confidentiality of the existence and terms of this transaction and the information included in the Disclosure Schedules. Notwithstanding the foregoing and notwithstanding anything contained in this Agreement to the contrary, the Company expressly acknowledges and agrees that (i) no Purchaser makes any representation, warranty or covenant hereby that it will not engage in effecting transactions in any securities of the Company after the time that the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are first publicly announced pursuant to the initial press release as described in Section 4.4, (ii) no Purchaser shall be restricted or prohibited from effecting any transactions in any securities of the Company in accordance with applicable securities laws from and after the time that the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are first publicly announced pursuant to the initial press release as described in Section 4.4 and (iii) no Purchaser shall have any duty of confidentiality or duty not to trade in the securities of the Company to the Company or its Subsidiaries after the issuance of the initial press release as described in Section 4.4. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the case of a Purchaser that is a multi-managed investment vehicle whereby separate portfolio managers manage separate portions of such Purchaser’s assets and the portfolio managers have no direct knowledge of the investment decisions made by the portfolio managers managing other portions of such Purchaser’s assets, the covenant set forth above shall only apply with respect to the portion of assets managed by the portfolio manager that made the investment decision to purchase the Securities covered by this Agreement.
