Successors and Assigns; Participations and Assignments (a) This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the Borrower, the Lenders, the Administrative Agent, the Issuing Lenders, all future holders of the Loans and Letters of Credit and their respective successors and assigns, except that the Borrower may not assign or transfer any of its rights or obligations under this Agreement without the prior written consent of each Lender.
(b) Any Lender other than any Conduit Lender may, without the consent of the Borrower or the Administrative Agent, in accordance with applicable law, at any time sell to one or more banks, financial institutions or other entities (each, a “Participant”) participating interests in any Loan owing to such Lender, any Commitment of such Lender or any other interest of such Lender hereunder. In the event of any such sale by a Lender of a participating interest to a Participant, such Lender’s obligations under this Agreement to the other parties to this Agreement shall remain unchanged, such Lender shall remain solely responsible for the performance thereof, such Lender shall remain the holder of any such Loan for all purposes under this Agreement, and the Borrower, the Administrative Agent and the Issuing Lenders shall continue to deal solely and directly with such Lender in connection with such Lender’s rights and obligations under this Agreement. In no event shall any Participant under any such participation have any right to approve any amendment or waiver of any provision of this Agreement, or any consent to any departure by the Borrower therefrom, except to the extent that such amendment, waiver or consent would reduce the principal of, or interest on, the Loans or any fees payable hereunder, or postpone the date of the final maturity of the Loans, in each case to the extent subject to such participation. The Borrower agrees that if amounts outstanding under this Agreement and the Loans are due or unpaid, or shall have been declared or shall have become due and payable upon the occurrence of an Event of Default, each Participant shall, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, be deemed to have the right of setoff in respect of its participating interest in amounts owing under this Agreement to the same extent as if the amount of its participating interest were owing directly to it as a Lender under this Agreement, provided that, in purchasing such participating interest, such Participant shall be deemed to have agreed to share with the Lenders the proceeds thereof as provided in Section 9.7(a) as fully as if it were a Lender hereunder. The Borrower also agrees that each Participant shall be entitled to the benefits of Sections 2.14, 2.15 and 2.16 (subject to the requirements and limitations therein, including the requirements under Section 2.15(d) (it being understood that the documentation required under Section 2.15(d) shall be delivered to the participating Lender)) with respect to its participation in the Commitments and the Loans outstanding from time to time as if it was a Lender; provided that, in the case of Section 2.15, such Participant shall have complied with the requirements of said Section and provided, further, that no Participant shall be entitled to receive any greater amount pursuant to any such Section than the transferor Lender would have been entitled to receive in respect of the amount of the participation transferred by such transferor Lender to such Participant had no such transfer occurred. Each Lender that sells a participation shall, acting solely for this purpose as a non-fiduciary agent of the Borrower, maintain a register on which it enters the name and address of each Participant and the principal amounts (and stated interest) of each Participant’s interest in the Loans or other obligations under the Loan Documents (the “Participant Register”); provided that no Lender shall have any obligation to disclose all or any portion of the Participant Register to any Person (including the identity of any Participant or any information relating to a Participant’s interest in any Commitments, Loans, Letters of Credit or its other obligations under any Loan Document) except to the extent that such disclosure is necessary to establish that such Commitment, Loan, Letter of Credit or other obligation is in registered form under Section 5f.103-1(c) of the United States Treasury Regulations. The entries in the Participant Register shall be conclusive absent manifest error, and such Lender shall treat each Person whose name is recorded in the Participant Register as the owner of such participation for all purposes of this Agreement notwithstanding any notice to the contrary. For the avoidance of doubt, the Administrative Agent (in its capacity as Administrative Agent) shall have no responsibility for maintaining a Participant Register.
(c) Any Lender other than any Conduit Lender (an “Assignor”) may, in accordance with applicable law, at any time and from time to time assign to any Lender or, with the consent of the Borrower, the Administrative Agent and each Issuing Lender; provided, however, that no consent of any Issuing Lender shall be required for an assignment of all or any portion of a Term Loan, New Term Loan or New Term III Loan (which, in each case, shall not be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned; it being understood that (i) the Administrative Agent and each Lender effecting an assignment to any Person other than a Lender should notify the Borrower as promptly as possible of any request for assignment and the Borrower, in turn, should promptly consider such request for assignment; and (ii) the Borrower's consent shall not be considered to be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned if the Borrower withholds, delays or conditions its consent because, among other factors, it is concerned about a potential Assignee's capital adequacy, liquidity or ability to perform its obligations under this Agreement), to any Lender Affiliate, an additional bank, financial institution or other entity (an “Assignee”) all or any part of its rights and obligations under this Agreement pursuant to an Assignment and Acceptance, executed by such Assignee, such Assignor and any other Person whose consent is required pursuant to this paragraph, and delivered to the Administrative Agent for its acceptance and recording in the Register; provided that, unless otherwise agreed by the Borrower and the Administrative Agent, no such assignment to an Assignee (other than any Lender or any Lender Affiliate) shall be in an aggregate principal amount of less than $10,000,000, in each case except in the case of an assignment of all of a Lender’s interests under this Agreement. For purposes of the proviso contained in the preceding sentence, the amount described therein shall be aggregated in respect of each Lender and its Lender Affiliates, if any. Upon such execution, delivery, acceptance and recording, from and after the effective date determined pursuant to such Assignment and Acceptance, (x) the Assignee thereunder shall be a party hereto and, to the extent provided in such Assignment and Acceptance, have the rights and obligations of a Lender hereunder with a Commitment and/or Loans as set forth therein, and (y) the Assignor thereunder shall, to the extent provided in such Assignment and Acceptance, be released from its obligations under this Agreement (and, in the case of an Assignment and Acceptance covering all of an Assignor’s rights and obligations under this Agreement, such Assignor shall cease to be a party hereto). Notwithstanding any provision of this Section 9.6, the consent of the Borrower shall not be required for any assignment that occurs when an Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any Conduit Lender may assign at any time to its designating Lender hereunder without the consent of the Borrower or the Administrative Agent any or all of the Loans it may have funded hereunder and pursuant to its designation agreement and without regard to the limitations set forth in the first sentence of this Section 9.6(c).
(d) The Administrative Agent shall, on behalf of the Borrower, maintain at its address referred to in Section 9.2 a copy of each Assignment and Acceptance delivered to it and a register (the “Register”) for the recordation of the names and addresses of the Lenders and the Commitment of, and the principal amount (and stated interest) of the Loans owing to, each Lender from time to time. The entries in the Register shall be conclusive, in the absence of manifest error, and the Borrower, the Administrative Agent, the Issuing Lenders and the Lenders shall treat each Person whose name is recorded in the Register as the owner of the Loans and any promissory notes evidencing the Loans recorded therein for all purposes of this Agreement. Any assignment of any Loan, whether or not evidenced by a promissory note, shall be effective only upon appropriate entries with respect thereto being made in the Register. Any assignment or transfer of all or part of a Loan evidenced by a promissory note shall be registered on the Register only upon surrender for registration of assignment or transfer of the promissory note evidencing such Loan, accompanied by a duly executed Assignment and Acceptance, and thereupon one or more new promissory notes shall be issued to the designated Assignee.
(e) Upon its receipt of an Assignment and Acceptance executed by an Assignor, an Assignee and any other Person whose consent is required by Section 9.6(c), together with payment to the Administrative Agent of a registration and processing fee of $3,500 (except that no such registration and processing fee shall be payable in the case of an Assignee which is a Lender Affiliate of the relevant Assignor), the Administrative Agent shall (i) promptly accept such Assignment and Acceptance and (ii) record the information contained therein in the Register on the effective date determined pursuant thereto.
(f) For avoidance of doubt, the parties to this Agreement acknowledge that the provisions of this Section 9.6 concerning assignments relate only to absolute assignments and that such provisions do not prohibit assignments creating security interests, including any pledge or assignment by a Lender to secure obligations to a Federal Reserve Bank in accordance with applicable law; provided that no such pledge or assignment shall release a Lender from any of its obligations hereunder or substitute any such pledgee or assignee for such Lender as a party hereto.
(g) The Borrower, upon receipt of written notice from the relevant Lender, agrees to issue a promissory note to any Lender requiring such a note to facilitate transactions of the type described in paragraph (f) above.
(h) Each of the Borrower, each Lender and the Administrative Agent hereby confirms that it will not institute against a Conduit Lender or join any other Person in instituting against a Conduit Lender any bankruptcy, reorganization, arrangement, insolvency or liquidation proceeding under any state bankruptcy or similar law, for one year and one day after the payment in full of the latest maturing commercial paper note issued by such Conduit Lender; provided, however, that each Lender designating any Conduit Lender hereby agrees to indemnify, save and hold harmless each other party hereto for any loss, cost, damage or expense arising out of its inability to institute such a proceeding against such Conduit Lender.
Participations and Assignments (a) The Warranty Provider may assign its obligations under this Agreement and any other Transaction Document to which it is a party to (i) its ultimate parent company Xxxxxxx Xxxxx & Co., Inc. (together with any successor entity, “ML & Co.”) or an Affiliate of the Warranty Provider or ML & Co. without the prior consent of the Fund or the Adviser, provided, (A) such Affiliate has the same or better long-term unsecured credit rating as the Warranty Provider, (B) such Affiliate assumes all of the obligations of the Warranty Provider hereunder, including without limitation, the obligation to provide audited financial statements prepared in accordance with applicable standards for filing an exhibit to the Fund’s Registration Statement, and (C) such assignment shall not reasonably be expected to have an Adverse Effect on the Fund and (ii) any other Person, subject to the prior consent of the Fund and the Adviser, in their sole discretion; provided that, if such Affiliate does not meet both criteria set forth in (A) and (B) requiring that it have the same or better long-term unsecured credit rating as the Warranty Provider and/or provide audited financial statements prepared in accordance with applicable standards for filing an exhibit to the Fund’s Registration Statement (the “Assignee Criteria”), then such Affiliate may still be an assignee provided that (i) another Affiliate (the “Guarantor Affiliate”) guarantees the Affiliate’s obligations under the Agreement and (ii) such Guarantor Affiliate meets the Assignee Criteria. Prior to any such assignment taking effect, any applicable conditions with respect to the Warranty Provider set forth in Section 2.3 shall have been fulfilled by such Affiliate assignee or waived by the Fund or the Adviser.
(b) The Warranty Provider shall have the right to issue participations in its rights under this Agreement with respect to the Financial Warranty; provided, that the Warranty Provider agrees that any such disposition will not alter or affect in any way whatsoever the Warranty Provider’s direct obligations hereunder and under the Financial Warranty, including consent and approval requirements; and provided further, that the Warranty Provider provides the Trust with all information reasonably requested by the Trust in order to meet its disclosure obligations under the Registration Statement.
(c) The Adviser may assign its obligations under the Investment Management Agreement to its Affiliate subject to the prior consent of the Warranty Provider, in its sole discretion;provided, that (A) such assignment shall not constitute an “assignment” for purposes of the Investment Company Act; (B) such Affiliate assignee is registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act; and (C) such Affiliate assignee agrees to assume the obligations of the Adviser under this Agreement and all other Transaction Documents to which the Adviser is a party.
Successors and Assigns Participations Assignments (a) This Agreement shall be binding upon and shall inure to the benefit of the Borrowers and the Lenders and their respective successors and assigns.
(b) The foregoing shall not authorize any assignment by any Borrower of its rights or duties hereunder, and, except as otherwise provided herein, no such assignment shall be made (or be effective) without the prior written approval of the Lenders.
(c) No Lenders may at any time assign or grant participations in such Lender’s rights and obligations hereunder and under the other Loan Documents except (i) by way of assignment to any Eligible Assignee in accordance with clause (d) of this Section, (ii) by way of a participation in accordance with the provisions of clause (e) of this Section or (iii) by way of a pledge or assignment of a security interest subject to the restrictions of clause (f) of this Section (and any other attempted assignment or transfer by any Lender shall be deemed to be null and void).
(d) Each assignment by a Lender of all or any portion of its rights and obligations hereunder and under the other Loan Documents, shall be subject to the following terms and conditions:
(i) each such assignment shall be made on a pro rata basis, and shall be in a minimum amount of the lesser of (x) Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000) or such lesser amount as the Agent shall agree and (y) the entire remaining amount of assigning Lender’s aggregate interest in the Revolving Credit (and participations in any outstanding Letters of Credit); provided however that, after giving effect to such assignment, in no event shall the entire remaining amount (if any) of assigning Lender’s aggregate interest in the Revolving Credit (and participations in any outstanding Letters of Credit) be less than $5,000,000; and
(ii) the parties to any assignment shall execute and deliver to Agent an Assignment Agreement substantially (as determined by Agent) in the form attached hereto as Exhibit H (with appropriate insertions acceptable to Agent), together with a processing and recordation fee in the amount, if any, required as set forth in the Assignment Agreement (provided however that such Lender need not deliver an Assignment Agreement in connection with assignments to such Lender’s Affiliates or to a Federal Reserve Bank). Until the Assignment Agreement becomes effective in accordance with its terms, and Agent has confirmed that the assignment satisfies the requirements of this Section 13.8, the Borrowers and the Agent shall be entitled to continue to deal solely and directly with the assigning Lender in connection with the interest so assigned. From and after the effective date of each Assignment Agreement that satisfies the requirements of this Section 13.8, the assignee thereunder shall be deemed to be a party to this Agreement, such assignee shall have the rights and obligations of a Lender under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents (including without limitation the right to receive fees payable hereunder in respect of the period following such assignment) and the assigning Lender shall relinquish its rights and be released from its obligations under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents. Upon request, Borrowers shall execute and deliver to the Agent, new Note(s) payable to the order of the assignee in an amount equal to the amount assigned to the assigning Lender pursuant to such Assignment Agreement, and with respect to the portion of the Indebtedness retained by the assigning Lender, to the extent applicable, new Note(s) payable to the order of the assigning Lender in an amount equal to the amount retained by such Lender hereunder. The Agent, the Lenders and each Borrower acknowledges and agrees that any such new Note(s) shall be given in renewal and replacement of the Notes issued to the assigning lender prior to such assignment and shall not effect or constitute a novation or discharge of the Indebtedness evidenced by such prior Note, and each such new Note may contain a provision confirming such agreement.
(e) The Borrowers and the Agent acknowledge that each of the Lenders may at any time and from time to time, subject to the terms and conditions hereof, grant participations in such Lender’s rights and obligations hereunder (on a pro rata basis only) and under the other Loan Documents to any Person (other than a natural person or to any Borrower or any of Borrower’s Affiliates or Subsidiaries); provided that any participation permitted hereunder shall comply with all applicable laws and shall be subject to a participation agreement that incorporates the following restrictions:
(i) such Lender shall remain the holder of its Notes hereunder (if such Notes are issued), notwithstanding any such participation;
(ii) a participant shall not reassign or transfer, or grant any sub-participations in its participation interest hereunder or any part thereof; and
(iii) such Lender shall retain the sole right and responsibility to enforce the obligations of the Credit Parties relating to the Notes and the other Loan Documents, including, without limitation, the right to proceed against any Guarantors, or cause the Agent to do so (subject to the terms and conditions hereof), and the right to approve any amendment, modification or waiver of any provision of this Agreement without the consent of the participant (unless such participant is an Affiliate of such Lender), except for those matters covered by Section 13.10(a) through (e) hereof (provided that a participant may exercise any of the approval rights granted above in this clause (iii) only on an indirect basis, acting through such Lender and the Credit Parties, Agent and the other Lenders may continue to deal directly with such Lender in connection with such Lender’s rights and duties hereunder). Notwithstanding the foregoing, however, in the case of any participation granted by any Lender hereunder, the participant shall not have any rights under this Agreement or any of the other Loan Documents against the Agent, any other Lender or any Credit Party; provided, however that the participant may have rights against such Lender in respect of such participation as may be set forth in the applicable participation agreement and all amounts payable by the Credit Parties hereunder shall be determined as if such Lender had not sold such participation. Each such participant shall be entitled to the benefits of Article 11 of this Agreement to the same extent as if it were a Lender and had acquired its interest by assignment pursuant to clause (d) of this Section, provided that no participant shall be entitled to receive any greater amount pursuant to such the provisions of Article 11 than the issuing Lender would have been entitled to receive in respect of the amount of the participation transferred by such issuing Lender to such participant had no such transfer occurred and each such participant shall also be entitled to the benefits of Section 9.6 hereof as though it were a Lender, provided that such participant agrees to be subject to Section 10.3 hereof as though it were a Lender.
(f) Any Lender may at any time pledge or assign a security interest in all or any portion of its rights under this Agreement (including its Notes, if any) to secure obligations of such Lender, including any pledge or assignment to secure obligations to a Federal Reserve Bank; provided that no such pledge or assignment shall release such Lender from any of its obligations hereunder or substitute any such pledge or assignee for such Lender as a party hereto.
(g) The Agent shall maintain at its principal office a copy of each Assignment Agreement delivered to it and a register (the “Register”) for the recordation of the names and addresses of the Lenders, the Percentages of such Lenders and the principal amount of each type of Advance owing to each such Lender from time to time. The entries in the Register shall be conclusive evidence, absent manifest error, and the Borrowers, the Agent, and the Lenders may treat each Person whose name is recorded in the Register as the owner of the Advances recorded therein for all purposes of this Agreement. The Register shall be available for inspection by the Borrowers or any Lender upon reasonable notice to the Agent and a copy of such information shall be provided to any such party on their prior written request. The Agent shall give prompt written notice to the Borrower Representative of the making of any entry in the Register or any change in such entry.
(h) Each Borrower authorizes each Lender to disclose to any prospective assignee or participant which has satisfied the requirements hereunder, any and all financial information in such Lender’s possession concerning the Credit Parties which has been delivered to such Lender pursuant to this Agreement, provided that each such prospective assignee or participant shall execute a confidentiality agreement consistent with the terms of Section 13.11 hereof or shall otherwise agree to be bound by the terms thereof.
(i) Nothing in this Agreement, the Notes or the other Loan Documents, expressed or implied, is intended to or shall confer on any Person other than the respective parties hereto and thereto and their successors and assignees and participants permitted hereunder and thereunder any benefit or any legal or equitable right, remedy or other claim under this Agreement, the Notes or the other Loan Documents.
Successors and Assigns; Assignments and Participations (a) This Agreement shall be binding upon, and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns, except that (i) Borrower may not, directly or indirectly, assign or transfer, or attempt to assign or transfer, any of its Rights, duties, or obligations under any Loan Documents without the express written consent of all Lenders, and (ii) except as permitted NBPLP CREDIT AGREEMENT under this Section, no Lender may transfer, pledge, assign, sell any participation in, or otherwise encumber its portion of the Obligation.
(b) Each Lender may assign to one or more Eligible Assignees all or a portion of its Rights and obligations under the Loan Documents (including, without limitation, all or a portion of its Borrowings and its Notes to the extent any Principal Debt owed to such assigning Lender is evidenced by a Note or Notes); provided, however, that:
(i) each such assignment shall be to an Eligible Assignee;
(ii) except in the case of an assignment to another Lender or in the case of an assignment of all of a Lender's Rights and obligations under the Loan Documents, any such partial assignment under the Facility shall not be less than $5,000,000 unless Borrower and Administrative Agent consent thereto (in their sole discretion) in writing which may be evidenced by their acceptance and execution of the related Assignment and Acceptance Agreement; provided that, no partial assignment for the Facility (including any assignment among Lenders) may result in any Lender holding less than $10,000,000, provided further that, a Lender may hold an amount less than $10,000,000 but greater than $5,000,000 only if such Lender shall hold at least $10,000,000 in the aggregate of this Facility and the Multi- Year Revolving Agreement (notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event the Multi-Year Revolving Agreement is terminated, any Lender may continue to hold an amount in this Facility greater than or equal to the amount such Lender held on the date of the termination of the Multi-Year Revolving Agreement);
(iii) the parties to such assignment shall execute and deliver to Administrative Agent for its acceptance an Assignment and Acceptance Agreement in the form of EXHIBIT E hereto, together with any Notes (to the extent any Principal Debt owed to such assigning Lender is evidenced by a Note or Notes) subject to such assignment and a processing fee of $3,500, including, without limitation, any assignment between Lenders; and
(iv) so long as any Lender is an Agent under this Agreement, such Lender (or an Affiliate of such Lender) shall retain an economic interest in the Loan Documents, will not assign all of its Rights, duties, or obligations under the Loan Documents, except to an Affiliate of such Lender, and will not enter into any Assignment and Acceptance Agreement that would have the effect of such Lender assigning all of its Rights, duties, or obligations under the Loan Documents to any Person other than an Affiliate of such Lender unless such Agent has relinquished such title in accordance with SECTION 13.1 (with respect to Administrative Agent) or SECTION 13.10 (with respect to the other Agents). Upon execution, delivery, and acceptance of such Assignment and Acceptance Agreement, the assignee thereunder shall be a party hereto and, to the extent of such assignment, have the obligations, Rights, and benefits of a Lender under the Loan Documents and the assigning Lender shall, to the extent of such assignment, relinquish its Rights and be released from its obligations under the Loan Documents. Upon the consummation of any assignment pursuant to this Section, but only upon the request of the assignor or assignee made through Administrative Agent, Borrower shall issue appropriate Notes to the assignor and the assignee, reflecting such Assignment and Acceptance. If the assignee is not incorporated under the laws of the United States of America or a state thereof, it shall deliver to Borrower and Administrative Agent certification as to exemption from deduction or withholding of Taxes in accordance with SECTION 4.6.
(c) Administrative Agent shall maintain at its address referred to in SECTION 14.3 a copy of each Assignment and Acceptance Agreement delivered to and accepted by it and a register for NBPLP CREDIT AGREEMENT the recordation of the names and addresses of the Lenders and the Commitment Percentage, and principal amount of the Borrowings owing to, each Lender from time to time (the "REGISTER"). The entries in the Register shall be conclusive and binding for all purposes, absent manifest error, and Borrower, Administrative Agent and the Lenders may treat each Person whose name is recorded in the Register as a Lender hereunder for all purposes of the Loan Documents. The Register shall be available for inspection by Borrower or any Lender at any reasonable time and from time to time upon reasonable prior notice. Upon the consummation of any assignment in accordance with this SECTION 14.13, SCHEDULE 2.1 shall automatically be deemed amended (to the extent required) by Administrative Agent to reflect the name, address, and, where appropriate, respective Committed Sums under the Facility (as the case may be) of the assignor and assignee.
(d) Upon its receipt of an Assignment and Acceptance Agreement executed by the parties thereto, together with any Notes (to the extent any Principal Debt owed to such assigning Lender is evidenced by a Note or Notes) subject to such assignment and payment of the processing fee, Administrative Agent shall, if such Assignment and Acceptance has been completed and is in substantially the form of EXHIBIT E hereto, (i) accept such Assignment and Acceptance Agreement, (ii) record the information contained therein in the Register, and (iii) give prompt notice thereof to the parties thereto.
(e) Subject to the provisions of this Section and in accordance with applicable Law, any Lender may, in the ordinary course of its commercial banking business and in accordance with applicable Law, at any time sell to one or more Persons (each a "PARTICIPANT") participating interests in its portion of the Obligation. In the event of any such sale to a Participant, (i) such Lender shall remain a "Lender" under the Loan Documents and the Participant shall not constitute a "Lender" hereunder, (ii) such Lender's obligations under the Loan Documents shall remain unchanged, (iii) such Lender shall remain solely responsible for the performance thereof, (iv) such Lender shall remain the holder of its share of the Principal Debt for all purposes under the Loan Documents, (v) Borrower and Administrative Agent shall continue to deal solely and directly with such Lender in connection with such Lender's Rights and obligations under the Loan Documents, and (vi) such Lender shall be solely responsible for any withholding taxes or any filing or reporting requirements relating to such participation and shall hold Borrower and Administrative Agent and their respective successors, permitted assigns, officers, directors, employees, agents, and representatives harmless against the same. Participants shall have no Rights under the Loan Documents, other than certain voting Rights as provided below. Subject to the following, each Lender shall be entitled to obtain (on behalf of its Participants) the benefits of SECTION 4 with respect to all participations in its part of the Obligation outstanding from time to time, so long as Borrower shall not be obligated to pay any amount in excess of the amount that would be due to such Lender under SECTION 4 calculated as though no participations have been made. No Lender shall sell any participating interest under which the Participant shall have any Rights to approve any amendment, modification, or waiver of any Loan Document, except to the extent such amendment, modification, or waiver extends the due date for payment of any amount in respect of principal (other than mandatory prepayments), interest, or fees due under the Loan Documents, reduces the interest rate or the amount of principal or fees applicable to the Obligation (except such reductions as are contemplated by the Loan Documents), or releases all or any substantial portion of the Guaranties under the Loan Documents; provided that, in those cases where a Participant is entitled to the benefits of SECTION 4 or a Lender grants Rights to its Participants to approve amendments to or waivers of the Loan Documents respecting the matters previously described in this sentence, such Lender must include a voting mechanism in the relevant participation agreement or agreements, as the case may be, whereby a majority of such Lender's portion of the Obligation (whether held by such Lender or Participant) shall control the vote for all of such Lender's portion of the Obligation. Except in the case of the sale of a participating interest to another Lender, the relevant participation agreement shall not permit the Participant to transfer, pledge, assign, sell participations in, or otherwise encumber its portion of the Obligation, unless the consent of the transferring Lender (which consent will not be unreasonably withheld) has been obtained. NBPLP CREDIT AGREEMENT
(f) Notwithstanding any other provision set forth in this Agreement, any Lender may, without notice to, or the consent of Borrower or Administrative Agent, at any time assign and pledge all or any portion of its Borrowings and its Notes (to the extent any Principal Debt owed to such assigning Lender is evidenced by a Note or Notes) to any Federal Reserve Bank as collateral security pursuant to Regulation A and any Operating Circular issued by such Federal Reserve Bank or any Lender which is a fund may pledge all or any portion of its Borrowings and its Notes (to the extent any Principal Debt owed to such assigning Lender is evidenced by a Note or Notes) to its trustee in support of its obligations to its trustee. No such assignment shall release the assigning Lender from its obligations hereunder.
(g) Any Lender may furnish any information concerning the Loan Parties in the possession of such Lender from time to time to Eligible Assignees and Participants (including prospective Eligible Assignees and Participants), subject to the provisions of SECTION 14.14.
Successors and Assigns; Participations; New Lenders (a) This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of Borrowers, Agent, each Lender, all future holders of the Obligations and their respective successors and assigns, except that no Borrower may assign or transfer any of its rights or obligations under this Agreement without the prior written consent of Agent and each Lender.
(b) Each Borrower acknowledges that in the regular course of commercial banking business one or more Lenders may at any time and from time to time sell participating interests in the Advances to other financial institutions (each such transferee or purchaser of a participating interest, a "Transferee"). Each Transferee may exercise all rights of payment (including without limitation rights of set-off) with respect to the portion of such Advances held by it or other Obligations payable hereunder as fully as if such Transferee were the direct holder thereof provided that Borrowers shall not be required to pay to any Transferee more than the amount which it would have been required to pay to Lender which granted an interest in its Advances or other Obligations payable hereunder to such Transferee had such Lender retained such interest in the Advances hereunder or other Obligations payable hereunder and in no event shall Borrowers be required to pay any such amount arising from the same circumstances and with respect to the same Advances or other Obligations payable hereunder to both such Lender and such Transferee. Each Borrower hereby grants to any Transferee a continuing security interest in any deposits, moneys or other property actually or constructively held by such Transferee as security for the Transferee's interest in the Advances.
(c) Any Lender may with the consent of Agent which shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed sell, assign or transfer all or any part of its rights under this Agreement and the Other Documents to one or more additional banks or financial institutions and one or more additional banks or financial institutions may commit to make Advances hereunder (each a "Purchasing Lender"), in minimum amounts of not less than $5,000,000, pursuant to a Commitment Transfer Supplement, executed by a Purchasing Lender, the transferor Lender, and Agent and delivered to Agent for recording. Upon such execution, delivery, acceptance and recording, from and after the transfer effective date determined pursuant to such Commitment Transfer Supplement, (i) Purchasing Lender thereunder shall be a party hereto and, to the extent provided in such Commitment Transfer Supplement, have the rights and obligations of a Lender thereunder with a Commitment Percentage as set forth therein, and (ii) the transferor Lender thereunder shall, to the extent provided in such Commitment Transfer Supplement, be released from its obligations under this Agreement, the Commitment Transfer Supplement creating a novation for that purpose. Such Commitment Transfer Supplement shall be deemed to amend this Agreement to the extent, and only to the extent, necessary to reflect the addition of such Purchasing Lender and the resulting adjustment of the Commitment Percentages arising from the purchase by such Purchasing Lender of all or a portion of the rights and obligations of such transferor Lender under this Agreement and the Other Documents. Borrowers hereby consent to the addition of such Purchasing Lender and the resulting adjustment of the Commitment Percentages arising from the purchase by such Purchasing Lender of all or a portion of the rights and obligations of such transferor Lender under this Agreement and the Other Documents. Borrowers shall execute and deliver such further documents and do such further acts and things in order to effectuate the foregoing.
(d) Agent shall maintain at its address a copy of each Commitment Transfer Supplement delivered to it and a register (the "Register") for the recordation of the names and addresses of the Advances owing to each Lender from time to time. The entries in the Register shall be conclusive, in the absence of manifest error, and Borrowers, Agent and Lenders may treat each Person whose name is recorded in the Register as the owner of the Advance recorded therein for the purposes of this Agreement. The Register shall be available for inspection by Borrowers or any Lender at any reasonable time and from time to time upon reasonable prior notice. Agent shall receive a fee in the amount of $3,500 payable by the applicable Purchasing Lender upon the effective date of each transfer or assignment to such Purchasing Lender.
(e) Each Borrower authorizes each Lender to disclose to any Transferee or Purchasing Lender and any prospective Transferee or Purchasing Lender any and all financial information in such Lender's possession concerning such Borrower which has been delivered to such Lender by or on behalf of such Borrower pursuant to this Agreement or in connection with such Lender's credit evaluation of such Borrower.
Successors and Assigns Participations (a) Whenever in this Agreement any of the parties hereto is referred to, such reference shall be deemed to include the successors and assigns of such party; and all covenants, promises and agreements by or on behalf of the Borrowers or the Lenders that are contained in this Agreement shall bind and inure to the benefit of their respective successors and assigns. Neither Borrower may assign or transfer any of its rights or obligations hereunder without the prior written consent of all the Lenders.
(b) Each Lender may assign to one or more assignees all or a portion of its interests, rights and obligations under this Agreement (including, without limitation, all or a portion of its Rollover Term Loan or all or a portion of any of its Revolving Credit Commitment and the same portion of the related Revolving Credit Loans at the time owing to it and the related participations in Letters of Credit and the Note or Notes held by it); provided, however, that (i) except in the case of an assignment to a Lender or an affiliate of a Lender or for an assignment by a Lender to a Federal Reserve Bank, the Administrative Agent and NWS must give their prior written consent by countersigning the Assignment and Acceptance (which consents shall not be unreasonably withheld), (ii) each such assignment of a Revolving Credit Commitment or any Revolving Credit Exposure shall be of a constant, and not a varying, percentage of all the assigning Lender's rights and obligations under this Agreement in respect of its Revolving Credit Commitment, Revolving Credit Loans and participations in Letters of Credit to be assigned, (iii) in the case of a partial assignment, each such assignment shall be in an amount which is not less than $5,000,000 (unless NWS shall consent to a partial assignment of a lesser amount) and is an integral multiple of $1,000,000 (provided, however, that any assignment may in any event be equal to the entire amount of the Rollover Term Loan or the entire amount of the Revolving Credit Loans, participations in Letters of Credit and Revolving Credit Commitment of the assigning Lender), (iv) the parties to each such assignment 113 108 shall execute and deliver to the Administrative Agent, for its acceptance and recording in the Register, an Assignment and Acceptance, together with any Note subject to such assignment and a processing and recordation fee of $3,500 and (v) the assignee, if it shall not be a Lender, shall deliver to the Administrative Agent an Administrative Questionnaire. Upon such execution, delivery, acceptance and recording, from and after the effective date specified in each Assignment and Acceptance, which effective date shall be at least five Business Days after the execution thereof, (x) the assignee thereunder shall be a party hereto and, to the extent provided in such Assignment and Acceptance, have the rights and obligations of a Lender hereunder and (y) the assigning Lender thereunder shall, to the extent provided in such assignment, be released from its obligations under this Agreement (and, in the case of an Assignment and Acceptance covering all or the remaining portion of an assigning Lender's rights and obligations under this Agreement, such Lender shall cease to be a party hereto. Assignments in accordance with this paragraph are not required to be made pro rata as between the assigning Lender's Rollover Term Loan, on the one hand, and Revolving Credit Commitment and Revolving Credit Exposure, on the other.
(c) By executing and delivering an Assignment and Acceptance, the Lender assignor thereunder and the assignee thereunder confirm to and agree with each other and the other parties hereto as follows: (i) other than the representation and warranty that it is the legal and beneficial owner of the interest being assigned thereby free and clear of any adverse claim, such Lender assignor makes no representation or warranty and assumes no responsibility with respect to any statements, warranties or representations made in or in connection with this Agreement or the execution, legality, validity, enforceability, genuineness, sufficiency or value of this Agreement, any other Loan Document or any other instrument or document furnished pursuant hereto; (ii) such Lender assignor makes no representation or warranty and assumes no responsibility with respect to the financial condition of the Loan Parties or the performance or observance by the Loan Parties of any of their obligations under this Agreement or any other instrument or document furnished pursuant hereto; (iii) such assignee represents and warrants that it is legally authorized to enter into such Assignment and Acceptance; (iv) such assignee confirms that it has received a copy of this Agreement, together with copies of the most recent 114 109 financial statements referred to in Section 3.05 or delivered under Section 5.05 and such other documents and information as it has deemed appropriate to make its own credit analysis and decision to enter into such Assignment and Acceptance; (v) such assignee will, independently and without reliance upon the Administrative Agent, the Collateral Agent, such Lender assignor or any other Lender and based on such documents and information as it shall deem appropriate at the time, continue to make its own credit decisions in taking or not taking action under this Agreement; (vi) such assignee appoints and authorizes the Administrative Agent and the Collateral Agent, respectively, to take such action as agent on its behalf and to exercise such powers under this Agreement as are delegated to the Administrative Agent or the Collateral Agent by the terms hereof or any other Loan Document, together with such powers as are reasonably incidental thereto; and (vii) such assignee agrees that it will perform in accordance with their terms all of the obligations which by the terms of this Agreement are required to be performed by it as a Lender.
(d) The Administrative Agent shall maintain at one of its offices in The City of New York a copy of each Assignment and Acceptance delivered to it and a register for the recordation of the names and addresses of the Lenders and the Revolving Credit Commitments of, and principal amount of the Loans owing to, each Lender from time to time (the "Register"). The entries in the Register shall be conclusive, in the absence of manifest error, and the Borrowers, the Administrative Agent, the Collateral Agent, the Issuing Bank and the Lenders may treat each person whose name is recorded in the Register as a Lender hereunder for all purposes of this Agreement. The Register shall be available for inspection by the Borrowers, the Collateral Agent, the Issuing Bank or any Lender at any reasonable time and from time to time upon reasonable prior notice.
(e) Upon its receipt of an Assignment and Acceptance executed by an assigning Lender and an assignee together with any Note subject to such assignment, and the fee referred to in Section 9.03(b), the Administrative Agent shall, if such Assignment and Acceptance has been completed and is in the form of Exhibit B hereto and, if required, the Administrative Agent and NWS have consented to such assignment as contemplated by paragraph (b) above, (i) accept such Assignment and Acceptance, (ii) record the information contained therein in the Register, and 115 110
Successors and Assigns; Participations; Purchasing Lenders (a) This Amended Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the Company, the Lenders, the Agents, all future holders of the Loans, and their respective successors and assigns, except that the Company may not assign or transfer any of its rights or obligations under this Amended Agreement without the prior written consent of each Lender.
(b) Any Lender other than any Conduit Lender may, in the ordinary course of its business and in accordance with applicable law, at any time sell to one or more banks or other financial institutions or Lender Affiliates (“Participants”) participating interests in any Loan owing to such Lender, any participating interest of such Lender in the Letters of Credit, any Note held by such Lender, any Commitment of such Lender or any other interest of such Lender hereunder and under the other Credit Documents. In the event of any such sale by a Lender of participating interests to a Participant, such Lender’s obligations under this Amended Agreement to the other parties to this Amended Agreement shall remain unchanged, such Lender shall remain solely responsible for the performance thereof, such Lender shall remain the holder of any such Loan for all purposes under this Amended Agreement and the other Credit Documents, the Company and the Administrative Agent shall continue to deal solely and directly with such Lender in connection with such Lender’s rights and obligations under this Amended Agreement and the other Credit Documents; provided, however, that such Lender shall not, without the consent of the Participant, agree to any amendment, waiver or other modification described in Section 12.1(i) that affects such Participant. The Company agrees that if amounts outstanding under this Amended Agreement and the Loans are due and unpaid, or shall have been declared or shall have become due and payable upon the occurrence of an Event of Default, each Participant shall be deemed to have the right of setoff in respect of its participating interest in amounts owing under this Amended Agreement and any Loan to the same extent as if the amount of its participating interest were owing directly to it as a Lender under this Amended Agreement or any Loan; provided that such Participant shall only be entitled to such right of setoff if it shall have agreed in the agreement pursuant to which it shall have acquired its participating interest to share with the Lenders the proceeds thereof, as provided in Section 12.7. The Company also agrees that each Participant shall be entitled to the benefits of Sections 5.12, 5.19, 5.20, 5.21 and 5.23 with respect to its participation in the Letters of Credit and in the Commitments and the Loans outstanding from time to time; provided that (x) no Participant shall be entitled to receive any greater amount pursuant to such Sections than the transferor Lender would have been entitled to receive in respect of the amount of the participation transferred by such transferor Lender to such Participant had no such transfer occurred, (y) each Participant shall be subject to the provisions of paragraph (c) of Section 5.20 and (z) a Participant that would be a Foreign Lender if it were a Lender shall not be entitled to the benefits of Section 5.23 unless the Company is notified of the participation interest sold to such Participant and such Participant agrees, for the benefit of the Company, to comply with Section 5.23(e) and (h) as through it were a Lender.
(c) Any Lender other than any Conduit Lender may, in the ordinary course of its business and in accordance with applicable law, with the prior written consent of the Issuing Lender and the Swing Line Lender (in the case of the Revolving Credit Facility, at any time sell to any Lender or any Affiliate or Lender Affiliate thereof (including any Affiliate or Subsidiary of such transferor Lender) and, with the prior written consent of the Company (subject to the penultimate sentence of this clause (c)) and the Administrative Agent (which in each case shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned, or delayed), sell to one or more additional banks or financial institutions (an “Assignee”), all or any part of its rights and obligations under this Amended Agreement, the Notes and the other Credit Documents and, with respect to the Letters of Credit, such Lender’s L/C Participating Interest, pursuant to an Assignment and Acceptance executed by such Assignee, such assigning Lender (and by the Company, the Administrative Agent, the Issuing Lender and the Swing Line Lender, to the extent their consent is required), and delivered to the Administrative Agent for its acceptance and recording in the Register; provided that (A) each such sale pursuant to this Section 12.6(c) of a Lender’s rights and obligations (I) to a Person which is not then a Lender or an Affiliate or Lender Affiliate of a Lender shall be of the entire remaining amount of the Assigning Lenders rights and obligations or, if less than such entire remaining amount, of Commitments and/or Loans of $5,000,000 (or in the case of any Incremental Term Loan Commitments and Incremental Term Loans, $1,000,000) or more unless otherwise agreed by the Company and the Administrative Agent; and (II) to a Person which is then a Lender or an Affiliate or Lender Affiliate of a Lender may be in any amount and shall not require the consent of the Company or the Administrative Agent, and (B) each Assignee which is a Foreign Lender shall comply with the provisions of Section 5.23(e) and (h) hereof; and provided, further that the foregoing shall not prohibit a Lender from selling participating interests in accordance with Section 12.6(b) in all or any portion of its Commitments and/or Loans (without duplication). For purposes of clauses (A) and (B) of the first proviso contained in the preceding sentence, the amount described therein shall be aggregated in respect of each Lender and its Lender Affiliates, if any. Upon such execution, delivery, acceptance and recording, from and after the effective date determined pursuant to such Assignment and Acceptance, (x) the Assignee thereunder shall be a party hereto and, to the extent provided in such Assignment and Acceptance, have the rights and obligations of a Lender hereunder with the Commitments and Loans as set forth therein, and (y) the assigning Lender thereunder shall, to the extent of the interest transferred, as reflected in such Assignment and Acceptance, be released from its obligations under this Amended Agreement (and, in the case of an Assignment and Acceptance covering all or the remaining portion of an assigning Lender’s rights and obligations under this Amended Agreement, such assigning Lender shall cease to be a party hereto). Such Assignment and Acceptance shall be deemed to amend this Amended Agreement to the extent, and only to the extent, necessary to reflect the addition of such Assignee and the resulting adjustment of Commitment Percentages arising from the purchase by such Assignee of all or a portion of the rights and obligations of such assigning Lender under this Amended Agreement. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary (and to the extent permitted by law), after the occurrence and during the continuance of an Event of Default any Lender may sell all or any part of its rights and obligations under this Amended Agreement without the consent of the Company. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any Conduit Lender may assign at any time to its designating Lender hereunder without the consent of the Company or the Administrative Agent any or all of the Loans it may have funded hereunder and pursuant to its designation agreement and without regard to the limitations set forth in the first sentence of this Section 12.6(c).
(d) The Administrative Agent acting on behalf of and as agent for the Company, shall maintain at the address of the Administrative Agent referred to in Section 12.2 a copy of each Assignment and Acceptance delivered to it and a register (the “Register”) for the recordation of the names and addresses of the Lenders and the Commitment of, the principal amount of any Swing Line Loans, Revolving Credit Loans and Incremental Term Loans, if any owing to, and if such Lender has any Revolving Credit Commitment, the L/C Participating Interests of, each Lender from time to time. The entries in the Register shall be conclusive, in the absence of manifest error, and the Company, the Administrative Agent and the Lenders shall treat each Person whose name is recorded in the Register as the owner of the Loans or L/C Participating Interests recorded therein for all purposes of this Amended Agreement, notwithstanding any notice to the contrary. The Register shall be available for inspection by the Company or any Lender at any reasonable time and from time to time upon reasonable prior notice. No assignment shall be effective for purposes of this Amended Agreement unless it has been recorded in the Register as provided in this paragraph.
(e) Upon its receipt of an Assignment and Acceptance executed by an assigning Lender and an Assignee (and by the Company, the Issuing Lender, the Swing Line Lender and the Administrative Agent to the extent required hereby), together with payment to the Administrative Agent of a registration and processing fee of $3,500 (which fee the Company shall have no obligation to pay and which fee may be waived by the Administrative Agent in its discretion), the Administrative Agent shall (i) promptly accept such Assignment and Acceptance and (ii) on the effective date determined pursuant thereto, record the information contained therein in the Register and give notice of such acceptance and recordation to the Lenders and the Company.
(f) If, pursuant to this Section 12.6, any interest in this Amended Agreement or any Loan or Letter of Credit is transferred to any Transferee which would be a Foreign Lender upon the effectiveness of such transfer, the assigning Lender shall cause such Transferee, concurrently with the effectiveness of such transfer, (i) to represent to the assigning Lender (for the benefit of the assigning Lender, the Administrative Agent and the Company) that under applicable law and treaties no Taxes will be required to be withheld by the Administrative Agent, the Company or the assigning Lender with respect to any payments to be made to such Transferee in respect of the Loans or L/C Participating Interests, (ii) to furnish to the assigning Lender (and, in the case of any Assignee registered in the Register, the Administrative Agent and the Company) such Internal Revenue Service Forms required to be furnished pursuant to Section 5.23(e) and (h) and (iii) to agree (for the benefit of the assigning Lender, the Administrative Agent and the Company) to be bound by the provisions of Section 5.23(e) and (h).
(g) For avoidance of doubt, the parties to this Amended Agreement acknowledge that the provisions of this Section concerning assignments of Loans and Notes relate only to absolute assignments and that such provisions do not prohibit assignments creating security interests, including, without limitation, any pledge or assignment (i) by a Lender of any Loan or Note to any Federal Reserve Bank in accordance with applicable law and (ii) by a Lender or a Lender Affiliate which is a fund to its trustee in support of its obligations to its trustee; provided that any transfer of Loans or Notes upon, or in lieu of, enforcement of or the exercise of remedies under any such pledge shall be treated as an assignment thereof which shall not be made without compliance with the requirements of this Section 12.6.
(h) The Company, upon receipt of written notice from the relevant Lender, agrees to issue Notes to any Lender requiring Notes to facilitate transactions of the type described in paragraph (h) above.
(i) Each of the Company, each Lender and the Administrative Agent hereby confirms that it will not institute against a Conduit Lender or join any other Person in instituting against a Conduit Lender any bankruptcy, reorganization, arrangement, insolvency or liquidation proceeding under any state bankruptcy or similar law, for one year and one day after the payment in full of the latest maturing commercial paper note issued by such Conduit Lender; provided, however (i) that each Lender designating any Conduit Lender hereby agrees to indemnify, save and hold harmless each other party hereto for any loss, cost, damage or expense arising out of its inability to institute such a proceeding against such Conduit Lender during such period forbearance and (ii) the foregoing shall not prohibit or limit the ability of any such Person to file claims against a Conduit Lender in connection with any such proceeding.
Assignments and Participations Successors 83 14.1. Assignments and Participations................................................................83 14.2. Successors....................................................................................85 15.
Successors and Assignments 5.5.1 With the written consent of the Owner, the Professional may assign a portion of his financial interest to a recognized financial institution for underwriting operations covered by this Agreement. The Owner and the Professional each binds himself, his Partners, Successors, Assigns, and legal Representatives or such other party in respect to all covenants of this Agreement. Neither the Owner, nor the Professional, shall assign, sublet, or transfer interest in this Agreement without the written consent of the Owner.
Assignment and Participations (a) Subject to the terms of this Section 9.1, any Lender may make an assignment to a Qualified Assignee of, or sell participations in, at any time or times, the Loan Documents, Loans, Letter of Credit Obligations and any Commitment or any portion thereof or interest therein, including any Lender's rights, title, interests, remedies, powers or duties thereunder. Any assignment by a Lender shall: (i) require the consent of Agent (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed with respect to a Qualified Assignee) and, so long as no Event of Default has occurred and is then continuing, Borrower (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed; provided, that any assignment to Black Diamond Capital Management or any of its Affiliates shall require the consent of Borrower so long as no Event of Default pursuant to Sections 8.1(a)(i), 8.1(a)(ii), 8.1(h) or 8.1(i) has occurred and is then continuing), and the execution of an assignment agreement (an "Assignment Agreement") substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit 9.1(a) and otherwise in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to, and acknowledged by, Agent; (ii) be conditioned on such assignee Lender representing to the assigning Lender and Agent that it is purchasing the applicable Loans to be assigned to it for its own account, for investment purposes and not with a view to the distribution thereof; (iii) after giving effect to any such partial assignment, the assignee Lender shall have Commitments in an amount at least equal to $5,000,000 and the assigning Lender shall have retained Commitments in an amount at least equal to $2,500,000; and (iv) include a payment to Agent of an assignment fee of $3,500. In the case of an assignment by a Lender under this Section 9.1, the assignee shall have, to the extent of such assignment, the same rights, benefits and obligations as all
(a) have been complied with. Agent hereby agrees to provide Borrower with commercially reasonable prior written notice of any assignment or sale contemplated by this Section 9.1(a), the consummation of which does not require consent of Borrower.
(b) Any participation by a Lender of all or any part of its Commitments shall be made with the understanding that all amounts payable by Borrower hereunder shall be determined as if that Lender had not sold such participation, and that the holder of any such participation shall not be entitled to require such Lender to take or omit to take any action hereunder except actions directly affecting (i) any reduction in the principal amount of, or interest rate or Fees payable with respect to, any Loan in which such holder participates, (ii) any extension of the scheduled amortization of the principal amount of any Loan in which such holder participates or the final maturity date thereof, and (iii) any release of all or substantially all of the Collateral (other than in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, the Collateral Documents or the other Loan Documents). Solely for purposes of Sections 1.13, 1.15, 1.16 and 9.8, Borrower acknowledges and agrees that a participation shall give rise to a direct obligation of Borrower to the participant and the participant shall be considered to be a "Lender". Except as set forth in the preceding sentence, neither Borrower nor any other Credit Party shall have any obligation or duty to any participant. Neither Agent nor any Lender (other than the Lender selling a participation) shall have any duty to any participant and may continue to deal solely with the Lender selling a participation as if no such sale had occurred.
