Consolidations, Mergers and Sales of Assets No Loan Party will, nor will it permit any Subsidiary of a Loan Party to, consolidate or merge with or into, or sell, lease or otherwise transfer all or any substantial part of its assets to, any other Person, or discontinue or eliminate any business line or segment, provided that (a) a Loan Party may merge with another Person if (i) such Person was organized under the laws of the United States of America or one of its states, (ii) the Loan Party is the corporation surviving such merger, (iii) immediately after giving effect to such merger, no Default shall have occurred and be continuing, and (iv) if the Borrower merges with another Loan Party, the Borrower is the corporation surviving such merger, (b) Subsidiaries of a Loan Party (excluding Loan Parties) may merge with one another, (c) a Loan Party (other than the Borrower or an Eligible Guarantor) may transfer all or any part of its assets to another Loan Party, (d) a Loan Party may sell Inventory in the ordinary course of business and for fair value, and (e) the foregoing limitation on the sale, lease or other transfer of assets and on the discontinuation or elimination of a business line or segment shall not prohibit, during any Fiscal Quarter, a transfer of assets or the discontinuance or elimination of a business line or segment (in a single transaction or in a series of related transactions) unless the aggregate assets to be so transferred or utilized in a business line or segment to be so discontinued, when combined with all other assets transferred (excluding assets transferred under Sections 5.17(d)), and all other assets utilized in all other business lines or segments discontinued, during such Fiscal Quarter and the immediately preceding three Fiscal Quarters have a fair market value or book value whichever is greater (determined with respect to each such asset transferred or discontinued) of more than $20,000,000.
Consolidation and Merger; Asset Acquisitions The Borrower will not consolidate with or merge into any Person, or permit any other Person to merge into it, or acquire (in a transaction analogous in purpose or effect to a consolidation or merger) all or substantially all the assets of any other Person.
Conduct of Business of Parent Except as set forth in Section 6.2 of the Parent Disclosure Schedule, during the period from the date of this Agreement to the Effective Time (unless the Company shall otherwise agree in writing and except as otherwise contemplated by this Agreement), Parent will conduct its operations according to its ordinary and usual course of business consistent with past practice and shall use all reasonable efforts to preserve intact its current business organizations, keep available the service of its current officers and employees, maintain its material Permits and Contracts and preserve its relationships with customers, suppliers and others having business dealings with it. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, and except as otherwise contemplated by this Agreement or as set forth in Section 6.2 of the Parent Disclosure Schedule, Parent will not, without the prior written consent of the Company (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld):
(i) issue, sell, grant, dispose of, pledge or otherwise encumber, or authorize or propose the issuance, sale, disposition or pledge or other encumbrance of (A) any additional shares of capital stock of any class (including the shares of Parent Common Stock), or any securities or rights convertible into, exchangeable for, or evidencing the right to subscribe for any shares of capital stock, or any rights, warrants, options, calls, commitments or any other agreements of any character to purchase or acquire any shares of capital stock or any securities or rights convertible into, exchangeable for, or evidencing the right to subscribe for, any shares of capital stock or (B) any other securities in respect of, in lieu of, or in substitution for, shares of Parent Common Stock outstanding on the date hereof;
(ii) redeem, purchase or otherwise acquire, or propose to redeem, purchase or otherwise acquire, any of its outstanding shares of Parent Common Stock;
(iii) split, combine, subdivide or reclassify any shares of Parent Common Stock or declare, set aside for payment or pay any dividend, or make any other actual, constructive or deemed distribution in respect of any capital stock of Parent or otherwise make any payments to stockholders in their capacity as such, other than the declaration and payment of regular quarterly cash dividends on the Parent Common Stock in an amount no greater than $.72 per share per annum and in accordance with past dividend policy and other than the declaration and payment of dividends on Parent Preferred Stock pursuant to Parent's Certificate of Incorporation as in effect on the date hereof and except for dividends by a direct or indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Parent;
(iv) adopt a plan of complete or partial liquidation, dissolution, merger, consolidation, restructuring, recapitalization or other reorganization of Parent or any of the Parent Subsidiaries (other than the Merger), except for Parent Subsidiaries which are not material to the assets, liabilities, financial condition or results of operations of Parent and the Parent Subsidiaries taken as a whole;
(v) adopt any amendments to its Certificate of Incorporation or By-Laws or alter through merger, liquidation, reorganization, restructuring or in any other fashion the corporate structure or ownership of any direct or indirect subsidiary of Parent, except for Parent Subsidiaries which are not material to the assets, liabilities, financial condition or results of operations of Parent and the Parent Subsidiaries taken as a whole;
(vi) make, or permit any Parent Subsidiary to make, any material acquisition, by means of merger, consolidation or otherwise, or material disposition, of assets or securities;
(vii) other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, incur, or permit any Parent Subsidiary to incur, any material indebtedness for borrowed money or guarantee any such indebtedness or make any material loans, advances or capital contributions to, or material investments in, any other person other than Parent or any Parent Subsidiary;
(viii) change any method of accounting or accounting practice by Parent or any Parent Subsidiary, except for any such required change in GAAP or applicable statutory accounting principles;
(ix) permit any Parent Insurance Subsidiary to materially change its investment guidelines or policies and approved programs or transactions or conduct transactions in investments except in material compliance with the investment guidelines and policies of such Parent Insurance Subsidiary and all applicable insurance Laws;
(x) enter, or permit any Parent Insurance Subsidiary to enter, into any material reinsurance, coinsurance or similar Contract, whether as reinsurer or reinsured, except in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice;
(xi) (x) take, or agree or commit to take, or permit any Parent Subsidiary to take, or agree or commit to take, any action that would make any representation and warranty of Parent hereunder inaccurate in any material respect at the Effective Time (except for representations and warranties which speak as of a particular date, which need be accurate only as of such date), (y) omit, or agree or commit to omit, or permit any Parent Subsidiary to omit, or agree or commit to omit, to take any action necessary to prevent any such representation or warranty from being inaccurate in any material respect at the Effective Time (except for representations and warranties which speak as of a particular date, which need be accurate only as of such date), provided however that Parent shall be permitted to take or omit to take such action which can be cured, and in fact is cured, at or prior to the Effective Time or (z) take, or agree or commit to take, or permit any Parent Subsidiary to take, or agree or commit to take, any action that would result in, or is reasonably likely to result in, any of the conditions of the Merger set forth in Article VII not being satisfied; or
(xii) authorize, recommend, propose or announce an intention to do any of the foregoing, or enter into any contract, agreement, commitment or arrangement to do any of the foregoing.
Liquidations, Mergers, Consolidations, Acquisitions Holdings shall not, and shall not permit any of its Material Subsidiaries to, dissolve, liquidate, or wind-up its affairs, or become a party to any amalgamation, merger or consolidation, or acquire by purchase, lease, or otherwise all or substantially all of the assets or capital stock of or other ownership interest in any other Person, provided that
(1) any Material Subsidiary may consolidate, amalgamate or merge into Holdings or any other Material Subsidiary provided that the Company may not merge, amalgamate or consolidate with Holdings, and the Company may only merge, amalgamate or consolidate with another Material Subsidiary if the Company is the surviving entity of such merger, amalgamation or consolidation; and
(2) Holdings or any Material Subsidiary may acquire, whether by purchase, by amalgamation or by merger, (A) all of the ownership interests of another Person or (B) substantially all of the assets of another Person or of a business or division of another Person (each a “Permitted Acquisition”), provided that each of the following requirements is met:
(i) if Holdings or any Material Subsidiary is acquiring the ownership interests in such Person and such Person meets the criteria for a Material Subsidiary set forth in the definition of such term at Section 1.01, such Person shall execute a Guarantor Joinder and join this Agreement as a Guarantor pursuant to Section 10.18 [Joinder of Guarantors] on or before the date of such Permitted Acquisition;
(ii) the board of directors or other equivalent governing body of such Person shall have approved such Permitted Acquisition and Holdings or the relevant Material Subsidiary shall have delivered to the Banks written evidence of such approval of the board of directors (or equivalent body) of such Person for such Permitted Acquisition;
(iii) the business acquired, or the business conducted by the Person whose ownership interests are being acquired, as applicable, shall be substantially the same as, or otherwise complementary or related to, one or more lines of business conducted by Holdings or any Material Subsidiary, or otherwise incidental to the business of a financial services company, and shall comply with Section 7.02(j) [Continuation of or Change in Business];
(iv) no Potential Default or Event of Default shall exist immediately prior to and after giving effect to such Permitted Acquisition; and
(v) upon the reasonable request of Agent, Holdings or the relevant Material Subsidiary shall deliver to the Agent at least five (5) Business Days before such Permitted Acquisition such information about such Person or its assets as Agent may reasonably require.
Mergers, Consolidations, Sales of Assets and Acquisitions (a) Merge into or consolidate with any other Person, or permit any other Person to merge into or consolidate with it, or sell, transfer, lease or otherwise dispose of (in one transaction or in a series of transactions) all or substantially all the assets (whether now owned or hereafter acquired) of the Borrower or less than all the Equity Interests of any Restricted Subsidiary, or purchase or otherwise acquire (in one transaction or a series of transactions) all or substantially all of the assets of any other Person or division or line of business of such Person, except that (i) the Borrower and any Restricted Subsidiary may purchase and sell inventory in the ordinary course of business and (ii) if at the time thereof and immediately after giving effect thereto no Event of Default or Default shall have occurred and be continuing (1) any Wholly Owned Restricted Subsidiary may merge into the Borrower in a transaction in which the Borrower is the surviving corporation, (2) any Wholly Owned Restricted Subsidiary may merge into or consolidate with any other Wholly Owned Restricted Subsidiary in a transaction in which the surviving entity is a Wholly Owned Restricted Subsidiary (provided that if any party to any such transaction is a Loan Party, the surviving entity of such transaction shall be a Loan Party), (3) any Restricted Subsidiary may dispose of any or all of its assets (upon voluntary liquidation or otherwise) to the Borrower or any other Restricted Subsidiary (which such recipient Restricted Subsidiary shall be a Loan Party if the disposing Restricted Subsidiary is a Loan Party), (4) any Restricted Subsidiary may liquidate (other than in connection with a merger or a consolidation which shall be governed by the other clauses of this Section 6.05(a)) and distribute its assets ratably to its shareholders if the Borrower determines in good faith that such liquidation or dissolution is in the best interests of the Borrower and is not materially disadvantageous to the Lenders, and (5) the Borrower and the Restricted Subsidiaries may make Permitted Acquisitions, including by means of mergers or consolidations.
(b) Make any Asset Sale otherwise permitted under paragraph (a) above unless (i) such Asset Sale is for consideration at least 75% of which consists of cash, (ii) such consideration is at least equal to the fair market value of the assets being sold, transferred, leased or disposed of and (iii) the fair market value of all assets sold, transferred, leased or disposed of pursuant to this paragraph (b) shall not exceed the greater of (i) $100,000,000 and (ii) 3.0% of the Consolidated Net Tangible Assets in any fiscal year.
Organization; Subsidiaries (a) The Company is a corporation duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the State of Delaware and has the requisite corporate power and authority to carry on its business as it is now being conducted. The Company is duly qualified and licensed as a foreign corporation to do business, and is in good standing (and has paid all relevant franchise or analogous taxes), in each jurisdiction where the character of its assets owned or held under lease or the nature of its business makes such qualification necessary, except where the failure to so qualify or be licensed, individually or in the aggregate, has not had and would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(b) Each Significant Subsidiary is a corporation, limited liability company, limited partnership or other business entity duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of organization and has the power and authority to carry on its business as it is now being conducted except where the failure to be in good standing or to have such power and authority, individually or in the aggregate, has not had and would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. Except as set forth in Section 3.1(b) of the disclosure schedule delivered by the Company to the Investors on the date hereof (the "Company Disclosure Schedule"), (i) the Company owns, either directly or indirectly through one or more Subsidiaries, all of the capital stock or other equity interests of the Significant Subsidiaries free and clear of all liens, charges, claims, security interests, restrictions, options, proxies, voting trusts or other encumbrances ("Encumbrances") and (ii) there are no outstanding subscription rights, options, warrants, convertible or exchangeable securities or other rights of any character whatsoever relating to issued or unissued capital stock or other equity interests of any Significant Subsidiary, or any contract, agreement or other commitment of any character whatsoever relating to issued or unissued capital stock or other equity interests of any Significant Subsidiary or pursuant to which any Significant Subsidiary is or may become bound to issue or grant additional shares of its capital stock or other equity interests or related subscription rights, options, warrants, convertible or exchangeable securities or other rights, or to grant preemptive rights. Except for the Subsidiaries and except as set forth on Section 3.1(b) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, the Company does not own, directly or indirectly, any interest in any corporation, limited liability company, partnership, business association or other Person.
Formation or Acquisition of Subsidiaries Notwithstanding and without limiting the negative covenants contained in Sections 7.3 and 7.7 hereof, at the time that Borrower or any Guarantor forms any direct or indirect Subsidiary or acquires any direct or indirect Subsidiary after the Effective Date, Borrower and such Guarantor shall (a) cause such new Subsidiary to provide to Bank a joinder to this Agreement to become a co-borrower hereunder or a Guaranty to become a Guarantor hereunder, together with such appropriate financing statements and/or Control Agreements, all in form and substance satisfactory to Bank (including being sufficient to grant Bank a first priority Lien (subject to Permitted Liens) in and to the assets of such newly formed or acquired Subsidiary), (b) provide to Bank appropriate certificates and powers and financing statements, pledging all of the direct or beneficial ownership interest in such new Subsidiary, in form and substance satisfactory to Bank; and (c) provide to Bank all other documentation in form and substance satisfactory to Bank, including one or more opinions of counsel satisfactory to Bank, which in its opinion is appropriate with respect to the execution and delivery of the applicable documentation referred to above. Any document, agreement, or instrument executed or issued pursuant to this Section 6.13 shall be a Loan Document.
Permitted Activities of Holdings Holdings shall not:
(a) incur any third party Indebtedness for borrowed money other than Guarantees of Indebtedness or other obligations of the Borrower and/or any Restricted Subsidiary, which Indebtedness or other obligations are otherwise permitted or not prohibited hereunder;
(b) create or suffer to exist any Lien on any asset now owned or hereafter acquired by it other than (i) the Liens created under the Collateral Documents and, subject to the Closing Date Intercreditor Agreement, the collateral documents relating to any Second Lien Term Loans, in each case, to which it is a party, (ii) any other Lien created in connection with the Transactions, (iii) Liens on the Collateral that are secured on a pari passu or junior basis with the Secured Obligations, so long as such Liens secure Guarantees permitted under clause (a)(ii) above and the underlying Indebtedness subject to such Guarantee is permitted to be secured on the same basis pursuant to Section 6.02 and (iv) Liens of the type permitted under Section 6.02 (other than in respect of debt for borrowed money); or
(c) consolidate or amalgamate with, or merge with or into, or convey, sell or otherwise transfer all or substantially all of its assets to, any Person; provided that, so long as no Default or Event of Default exists or would result therefrom and subject to Sections 6.11(a) and (b), (A) Holdings may consolidate or amalgamate with, or merge with or into, any other Person (other than the Borrower and any of its subsidiaries) so long as (i) Holdings is the continuing or surviving Person or (ii) if the Person formed by or surviving any such consolidation, amalgamation or merger is not Holdings (w) the successor Person (such successor Person, “Successor Holdings”) expressly assumes all obligations of Holdings under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents to which Holdings is a party pursuant to a supplement hereto and/or thereto in a form reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent, (x) Successor Holdings shall be an entity organized or existing under the laws of the US, any state thereof or the District of Columbia, (y) the Administrative Agent shall have a security interest in the Collateral for the benefit of the Secured Parties pursuant to the Collateral Documents that is perfected to at least the same extent as in effect immediately prior to such merger, consolidation or amalgamation and all actions reasonably requested by the Administrative Agent to maintain such perfected status have been or will promptly be taken (subject to the terms of the applicable Loan Documents), and (z) the Borrower delivers a certificate of a Responsible Officer with respect to the satisfaction of the conditions set forth in clause (w) of this clause (A)(ii) and (B) Holdings may otherwise convey, sell or otherwise transfer all or substantially all of its assets to any other Person organized or existing under the laws of the US, any state thereof or the District of Columbia (other than the Borrower and any of its subsidiaries) so long as (x) no Change of Control results therefrom, (y) the Person acquiring such assets expressly assumes all of the obligations of Holdings under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents to which Holdings is a party pursuant to a supplement hereto and/or thereto in a form reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and (z) the Borrower delivers a certificate of a Responsible Officer with respect to the satisfaction of the conditions under clause (y) set forth in this clause (B); provided, further, that (1) if the conditions set forth in the preceding proviso are satisfied, Successor Holdings will succeed to, and be substituted for, Holdings under this Agreement and (2) it is understood and agreed that Holdings may convert into another form of entity organized or existing under the laws of the US, any state thereof or the District of Columbia so long as such conversion does not adversely affect the value of the Guarantees under the Loan Guaranty or the Collateral.
Organization; Powers; Subsidiaries The Borrower and its Material Subsidiaries are duly organized, validly existing and in good standing (to the extent such concept is applicable in the relevant jurisdiction) under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization, have all requisite power and authority to carry on their respective business as now conducted and, except where the failure to do so, individually or in the aggregate, would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, are qualified to do business in, and are in good standing (to the extent such concept is applicable) in, every jurisdiction where such qualification is required. All of the outstanding shares of capital stock and other equity interests on the Closing Date, to the extent owned by the Borrower or any Subsidiary, of each Material Subsidiary are validly issued and outstanding and fully paid and nonassessable (if applicable) and all such shares and other equity interests are owned, beneficially and of record, by the Borrower or such other Subsidiary on the Closing Date free and clear of all Liens, other than Liens permitted under Section 6.02; provided that any untruth, misstatement or inaccuracy of the foregoing representation in this sentence shall only be deemed a breach of such representation to the extent such untruth, misstatement or inaccuracy is material to the interests of the Lenders. As of the Closing Date, there are no outstanding commitments or other obligations of the Borrower or any Subsidiary to issue, and no options, warrants or other rights of any Person other than the Borrower or any Subsidiary to acquire, any shares of any class of capital stock or other equity interests of any Material Subsidiary, except as disclosed on Schedule 3.01.
Organization and Ownership of Shares of Subsidiaries; Affiliates (a) Schedule 5.4 contains (except as noted therein) complete and correct lists of (1) the Parent Guarantor’s Subsidiaries, showing, as to each Subsidiary, the name thereof, the jurisdiction of its organization, the percentage of shares of each class of its Capital Stock outstanding owned by the Parent Guarantor and each other Subsidiary and whether such Subsidiary is a Qualified Asset Guarantor or another Subsidiary Guarantor, (2) the Unconsolidated Affiliates, and (3) each Constituent Company’s directors and senior officers.
(b) All of the outstanding shares of Capital Stock of each Subsidiary shown in Schedule 5.4 as being owned by the Parent Guarantor and its Subsidiaries have been validly issued, are fully paid and non-assessable and are owned by the Parent Guarantor or another Subsidiary free and clear of any Lien that is prohibited by this Agreement.
(c) Each Subsidiary (other than a Subsidiary Guarantor) is a corporation or other legal entity duly organized, validly existing and, where applicable, in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of organization, and is duly qualified as a foreign corporation or other legal entity and, where applicable, is in good standing in each jurisdiction in which such qualification is required by law, other than those jurisdictions as to which the failure to be so qualified or in good standing could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. Each such Subsidiary has the corporate or other power and authority to own or hold under lease the properties it purports to own or hold under lease and to transact the business it transacts and proposes to transact, except where the failure to do so could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(d) No Subsidiary is subject to any legal, regulatory, contractual or other restriction (other than the agreements listed on Schedule 5.4 and customary limitations imposed by corporate law or similar statutes) restricting the ability of such Subsidiary to pay dividends out of profits or make any other similar distributions of profits to the Parent Guarantor or any of its Subsidiaries that owns outstanding shares of Capital Stock of such Subsidiary.
