CREDIT AGREEMENT Dated as of September 23, 2008 among AQUILA, INC., as the Borrower, GREAT PLAINS ENERGY INCORPORATED, as the Guarantor, CERTAIN LENDERS, BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., as Administrative Agent, UNION BANK OF CALIFORNIA, N.A., as Syndication...
Exhibit
10.1
Published
CUSIP Number:
Dated as
of September 23, 2008
among
AQUILA,
INC.,
as the
Borrower,
GREAT
PLAINS ENERGY INCORPORATED,
as the
Guarantor,
CERTAIN
LENDERS,
BANK OF
AMERICA, N.A.,
as
Administrative Agent,
UNION
BANK OF CALIFORNIA, N.A.,
as
Syndication Agent
and
BNP
PARIBAS, JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A. and
THE ROYAL
BANK OF SCOTLAND PLC
as
Co-Documentation Agents
BANC OF
AMERICA SECURITIES LLC
and
UNION
BANK OF CALIFORNIA, N.A.,
as Joint
Lead Arrangers and Joint Book Managers
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ARTICLE
I DEFINITIONS
|
1
|
||||||||
1.1
|
Definitions.
|
1
|
|||||||
1.2
|
Accounting
Principles.
|
17
|
|||||||
1.3
|
Letter
of Credit Amounts.
|
17
|
|||||||
ARTICLE
II THE CREDITS
|
17
|
||||||||
2.1
|
Commitment.
|
17
|
|||||||
2.2
|
Required
Payments; Termination.
|
18
|
|||||||
2.3
|
Ratable
Loans.
|
18
|
|||||||
2.4
|
Types
of Advances; Minimum Amount.
|
18
|
|||||||
2.5
|
Facility
Fee.
|
18
|
|||||||
2.6
|
Changes
in Aggregate Commitment.
|
19
|
|||||||
2.7
|
Optional
Prepayments.
|
20
|
|||||||
2.8
|
Method
of Selecting Types and Interest Periods for New Advances.
|
21
|
|||||||
2.9
|
Conversion
and Continuation of Outstanding Advances.
|
21
|
|||||||
2.10
|
Changes
in Interest Rate, etc.
|
22
|
|||||||
2.11
|
Rates
Applicable After Default.
|
22
|
|||||||
2.12
|
Method
of Payment.
|
23
|
|||||||
2.13
|
Noteless
Agreement; Evidence of Indebtedness.
|
23
|
|||||||
2.14
|
Telephonic
Notices.
|
24
|
|||||||
2.15
|
Interest
Payment Dates; Interest and Fee Basis.
|
24
|
|||||||
2.16
|
Notification
of Advances, Interest Rates, Prepayments and Commitment
Reductions.
|
25
|
|||||||
2.17
|
Lending
Installations.
|
25
|
|||||||
2.18
|
Non-Receipt
of Funds by the Administrative Agent.
|
25
|
|||||||
2.19
|
Letters
of Credit.
|
26
|
|||||||
2.20
|
Swing
Line Loans.
|
31
|
|||||||
2.21
|
Extension
of Facility Termination Date.
|
34
|
|||||||
ARTICLE
III YIELD PROTECTION; TAXES
|
35
|
||||||||
3.1
|
Yield
Protection.
|
35
|
|||||||
3.2
|
Changes
in Capital Adequacy Regulations.
|
36
|
|||||||
3.3
|
Availability
of Types of Advances.
|
37
|
|||||||
3.4
|
Funding
Indemnification.
|
37
|
|||||||
3.5
|
Taxes.
|
37
|
|||||||
3.6
|
Lender
Statements; Survival of Indemnity.
|
39
|
|||||||
ARTICLE
IV GUARANTY
|
40
|
||||||||
4.1
|
The
Guaranty.
|
40
|
|||||||
4.2
|
Obligations
Unconditional.
|
40
|
|||||||
4.3
|
Reinstatement.
|
41
|
|||||||
4.4
|
Certain
Additional Waivers.
|
41
|
|||||||
4.5
|
Remedies.
|
42
|
|||||||
4.6
|
Guarantee
of Payment; Continuing Guarantee.
|
42
|
|||||||
ARTICLE
V CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
|
42
|
||||||||
5.1
|
Initial
Credit Extension.
|
42
|
5.2
|
Each
Credit Extension.
|
44
|
|||||
ARTICLE
VI REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES
|
44
|
||||||
6.1
|
Existence
and Standing.
|
44
|
|||||
6.2
|
Authorization
and Validity.
|
45
|
|||||
6.3
|
No
Conflict; Government Consent.
|
45
|
|||||
6.4
|
Financial
Statements.
|
45
|
|||||
6.5
|
Material
Adverse Change.
|
45
|
|||||
6.6
|
Taxes.
|
46
|
|||||
6.7
|
Litigation;
etc.
|
46
|
|||||
6.8
|
ERISA.
|
46
|
|||||
6.9
|
Accuracy
of Information.
|
47
|
|||||
6.10
|
Regulation
U.
|
47
|
|||||
6.11
|
Material
Agreements.
|
47
|
|||||
6.12
|
Compliance
With Laws.
|
47
|
|||||
6.13
|
Ownership
of Properties.
|
47
|
|||||
6.14
|
Plan
Assets; Prohibited Transactions.
|
48
|
|||||
6.15
|
Environmental
Matters.
|
48
|
|||||
6.16
|
Investment
Company Act.
|
48
|
|||||
6.17
|
Pari
Passu Indebtedness.
|
48
|
|||||
6.18
|
Solvency.
|
48
|
|||||
6.19
|
No
Default.
|
49
|
|||||
ARTICLE
VII COVENANTS
|
49
|
||||||
7.1
|
Financial
Reporting.
|
49
|
|||||
7.2
|
Permits,
Etc.
|
51
|
|||||
7.3
|
Use
of Proceeds.
|
52
|
|||||
7.4
|
Notice
of Default.
|
52
|
|||||
7.5
|
Conduct
of Business.
|
52
|
|||||
7.6
|
Taxes.
|
52
|
|||||
7.7
|
Insurance.
|
52
|
|||||
7.8
|
Compliance
with Laws.
|
53
|
|||||
7.9
|
Maintenance
of Properties; Books of Record.
|
53
|
|||||
7.10
|
Inspection.
|
53
|
|||||
7.11
|
Consolidations,
Mergers and Sale of Assets.
|
54
|
|||||
7.12
|
Liens.
|
55
|
|||||
7.13
|
Affiliates.
|
58
|
|||||
7.14
|
ERISA.
|
59
|
|||||
7.15
|
Total
Indebtedness to Total Capitalization.
|
59
|
|||||
7.16
|
Restrictions
on Subsidiary Dividends.
|
59
|
|||||
7.17
|
Organization
Documents.
|
59
|
|||||
ARTICLE
VIII DEFAULTS
|
59
|
||||||
8.1
|
60
|
||||||
8.2
|
60
|
||||||
8.3
|
60
|
||||||
8.4
|
60
|
||||||
8.5
|
60
|
||||||
8.6
|
60
|
ii
8.7
|
61
|
|||||||
8.8
|
61
|
|||||||
8.9
|
61
|
|||||||
8.10
|
61
|
|||||||
8.11
|
61
|
|||||||
8.12
|
61
|
|||||||
ARTICLE
IX ACCELERATION, WAIVERS, AMENDMENTS AND
REMEDIES
|
62
|
|||||||
9.1
|
Acceleration;
Letter of Credit Account.
|
62
|
||||||
9.2
|
Amendments.
|
63
|
||||||
9.3
|
Preservation
of Rights.
|
64
|
||||||
ARTICLE
X GENERAL PROVISIONS
|
64
|
|||||||
10.1
|
Survival
of Representations.
|
64
|
||||||
10.2
|
Governmental
Regulation.
|
64
|
||||||
10.3
|
Headings.
|
64
|
||||||
10.4
|
Entire
Agreement.
|
64
|
||||||
10.5
|
Several
Obligations; Benefits of this Agreement.
|
65
|
||||||
10.6
|
Expenses;
Indemnification.
|
65
|
||||||
10.7
|
Numbers
of Documents.
|
66
|
||||||
10.8
|
Accounting.
|
66
|
||||||
10.9
|
Severability
of Provisions.
|
66
|
||||||
10.10
|
Nonliability
of Lenders.
|
67
|
||||||
10.11
|
Limited
Disclosure.
|
67
|
||||||
10.12
|
USA
PATRIOT ACT NOTIFICATION.
|
68
|
||||||
10.13
|
Nonreliance.
|
68
|
||||||
10.14
|
No
Advisory or Fiduciary Responsibility.
|
68
|
||||||
ARTICLE
XI THE ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
|
69
|
|||||||
11.1
|
Appointment
and Authority.
|
69
|
||||||
11.2
|
Rights
as a Lender.
|
70
|
||||||
11.3
|
Exculpatory
Provisions.
|
70
|
||||||
11.4
|
Reliance
by Administrative Agent.
|
71
|
||||||
11.5
|
Delegation
of Duties.
|
71
|
||||||
11.6
|
Resignation
of Administrative Agent.
|
72
|
||||||
11.7
|
Non-Reliance
on Administrative Agent and Other Lenders.
|
73
|
||||||
11.8
|
No
Other Duties, Etc.
|
73
|
||||||
11.9
|
Administrative
Agent May File Proofs of Claim.
|
73
|
||||||
ARTICLE
XII SETOFF; RATABLE PAYMENTS
|
74
|
|||||||
12.1
|
Setoff.
|
74
|
||||||
12.2
|
Ratable
Payments.
|
74
|
||||||
ARTICLE
XIII BENEFIT OF AGREEMENT; ASSIGNMENTS;
PARTICIPATIONS
|
75
|
|||||||
13.1
|
Successors
and Assigns.
|
75
|
||||||
13.2
|
Replacement
of Lenders.
|
78
|
||||||
ARTICLE
XIV NOTICES
|
79
|
|||||||
14.1
|
Notices.
|
79
|
||||||
14.2
|
Change
of Address.
|
79
|
||||||
14.3
|
The
Platform.
|
79
|
||||||
ARTICLE
XV COUNTERPARTS
|
80
|
iii
ARTICLE
XVI OTHER AGENTS
|
80
|
|||
ARTICLE
XVII CHOICE OF LAW; CONSENT TO JURISDICTION; WAIVER OF JURY
TRIAL
|
81
|
|||
17.1
|
CHOICE
OF LAW.
|
81
|
||
17.2
|
CONSENT
TO JURISDICTION.
|
81
|
||
17.3
|
WAIVER
OF JURY TRIAL.
|
81
|
||
17.4
|
SEVERAL
OBLIGATIONS OF THE LENDERS.
|
81
|
iv
SCHEDULES
I Commitments
II Pricing Schedule
III Certain Addresses
for Notices
EXHIBITS
A Form of Compliance
Certificate
B Form of Assignment
and Assumption
C Form of Wire Transfer
Instructions
D Form of Revolving
Note
E Form of Swing Ine
Note
v
This
Credit Agreement dated as of September 23, 2008 is among Aquila, Inc., a
Delaware corporation, Great Plains Energy Incorporated, a Missouri corporation,
the Lenders, Union Bank of California, N.A., as Syndication Agent, BNP Paribas,
JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. and The Royal Bank Of Scotland plc, as
Co-Documentation Agents and Bank of America, N.A., as Administrative Agent and
Swing Line Lender. The parties hereto agree as follows:
ARTICLE
I
DEFINITIONS
1.1 Definitions.
As used
in this Agreement, the following terms have the following meanings (such
meanings to be equally applicable to both the singular and plural forms of such
terms):
“Additional
Commitment Lender” is defined in Section
2.21(d).
“Administrative
Agent” means Bank of America in its capacity as administrative agent under any
of the Loan Documents, or any successor administrative agent.
“Administrative
Questionnaire” means an Administrative Questionnaire in a form supplied by the
Administrative Agent.
“Advance”
means a borrowing hereunder (or conversion or continuation thereof) consisting
of the aggregate amount of the several Loans made on the same Borrowing Date (or
date of conversion or continuation) by the Lenders to the Borrower of the same
Type and, in the case of Eurodollar Advances, for the same Interest
Period.
“Affiliate”
of any Person means any other Person directly or indirectly controlling,
controlled by or under common control with such Person. For purposes
of this definition, “control” (including, with correlative meanings, the terms
“controlled by” and “under common control with”) shall mean the possession,
directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the
management or policies of a Person, whether through the ownership of voting
securities or by contract or otherwise.
“Agents”
means, collectively, the Administrative Agent and the Syndication Agent, and
“Agent” means either of them.
“Aggregate
Commitment” means the aggregate of the Commitments of all Lenders, as changed
from time to time pursuant to the terms hereof. The amount of the
Aggregate Commitment in effect as of the Closing Date is FOUR HUNDRED MILLION
DOLLARS ($400,000,000).
“Aggregate
Outstanding Credit Exposure” means, at any time, the aggregate of the
Outstanding Credit Exposure of all Lenders.
“Agreement”
means this credit agreement, as it may be amended or modified and in effect from
time to time.
“Alternate
Base Rate” means for any day a fluctuating rate per annum equal to the higher of
(a) the Federal Funds Effective Rate plus 1/2 of 1% and (b) the rate of interest
in effect for such day as publicly announced from time to time by Bank of
America as its “prime rate.” The “prime rate” is a rate set by Bank
of America based upon various factors including Bank of America’s costs and
desired return, general economic conditions and other factors, and is used as a
reference point for pricing some loans, which may be priced at, above, or below
such announced rate. Any change in such rate announced by Bank of
America shall take effect at the opening of business on the day specified in the
public announcement of such change.
“Applicable
Margin” means, with respect to Advances of any Type at any time, the percentage
rate per annum which is applicable at such time with respect to Advances of such
Type as set forth in the Pricing Schedule.
“Approved
Fund” means any Fund that is administered or managed by (a) a Lender, (b) an
Affiliate of a Lender or (c) an entity or an Affiliate of an entity that
administers or manages a Lender.
“Approving
Lenders” is defined in Section
2.21(e).
“Arrangers”
means Banc of America Securities LLC and UBOC, and “Arranger” means either of
them.
“Article”
means an article of this Agreement unless another document is specifically
referenced.
“Assignment
Agreement” means an assignment and assumption entered into by a Lender and an
Eligible Assignee (with the consent of any party whose consent is required by
Section
13.1(b)), and accepted by the Administrative Agent, in substantially the
form of Exhibit
B or any other form approved by the Administrative Agent.
“Attributable
Indebtedness” means, on any date, (i) in respect of any Capitalized Lease
Obligation of any Person, the capitalized amount thereof that would appear on a
balance sheet of such Person prepared as of such date in accordance with GAAP,
and (ii) in respect of any Synthetic Lease Obligation, the capitalized amount of
the remaining lease payments under the relevant lease that would appear on a
balance sheet of such Person prepared as of such date in accordance with GAAP if
such lease were accounted for as a Capitalized Lease.
2
“Authorized
Officer” means any of the Chief Executive Officer, the President, any Vice
President, the Chief Financial Officer or the Treasurer of the Borrower or the
Guarantor, as applicable, in each case acting singly.
“Bank of
America” means Bank of America, N.A. in its individual capacity and its
successors.
“BAS”
means Banc of America Securities LLC.
“Borrower”
means Aquila, Inc., a Delaware corporation, doing business as KCP&L Greater
Missouri Operations Company, and its permitted successors and
assigns.
“Borrowing
Date” means a date on which an Advance is made hereunder.
“Borrowing
Notice” is defined in Section
2.8.
“Business
Day” means (i) with respect to any borrowing, payment or rate selection of
Eurodollar Advances, a day (other than a Saturday or Sunday) on which banks
generally are open in Chicago and New York City for the conduct of substantially
all of their commercial lending activities and on which dealings in United
States dollars are carried on in the London interbank market and (ii) for all
other purposes, a day (other than a Saturday or Sunday) on which banks generally
are open in Chicago and New York City for the conduct of substantially all of
their commercial lending activities.
“Capitalized
Lease” of a Person means any lease of Property by such Person as lessee which
would be capitalized on a balance sheet of such Person prepared in accordance
with GAAP.
“Capitalized
Lease Obligations” of a Person means the amount of the obligations of such
Person under Capitalized Leases which would be shown as a liability on a balance
sheet of such Person prepared in accordance with GAAP.
“Change
of Control” means the occurrence of any of the following events:
(i) any
“person” or “group” (as such terms are used in Sections 13(d) and 14(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, but excluding any employee benefit plan of the
Guarantor or its Subsidiaries, or any Person acting in its capacity as trustee,
agent or other fiduciary or administrator of any such plan) becomes the
“beneficial owner” (as defined in Rules 13d-3 and 13d-5 under the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934), directly or indirectly, of 33 1/3% or more of the equity
interests of the Guarantor; or
(ii) during
any period of 12 consecutive months (or such lesser period of time as shall have
elapsed since the formation of the Guarantor), a majority of the members of the
board of directors or other equivalent governing body of the Guarantor ceases to
be composed of individuals (x) who were members of that
3
board or
equivalent governing body on the first day of such period, (y) whose election or
nomination to that board or equivalent governing body was approved by
individuals referred to in clause (x) above
constituting at the time of such election or nomination at least a majority of
that board or equivalent governing body or (z) whose election or nomination to
that board or other equivalent governing body was approved by individuals
referred to in clauses
(x) and (y) above
constituting at the time of such election or nomination at least a majority of
that board or equivalent governing body; or
(iii) the
Guarantor shall cease to own 100% of the equity interests of the
Borrower.
“Closing
Date” means September 23, 2008.
“Code”
means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, reformed or otherwise
modified from time to time.
“Commitment”
means, for each Lender, the obligation of such Lender to make Loans, and to
participate in Letters of Credit and Swing Line Loans in an aggregate amount not
exceeding the amount set forth on Schedule I hereto or
as set forth in any Assignment Agreement relating to any assignment that has
become effective pursuant to Section 13.1(b), as
such amount may be modified from time to time pursuant to the terms
hereof.
“Consolidated
Net Income” means, for any period, for the Borrower and its Consolidated
Subsidiaries, the net income of the Borrower and its Consolidated Subsidiaries
from continuing operations, excluding extraordinary items for that
period.
“Consolidated
Guarantor Net Income” means, for any period, for the Guarantor and its
Consolidated Subsidiaries, the net income of the Guarantor and its Consolidated
Subsidiaries from continuing operations, excluding extraordinary items for that
period.
“Consolidated
Subsidiaries” means all Subsidiaries of the Borrower or the Guarantor, as
applicable, that are (or should be) included when preparing the consolidated
financial statements of the Borrower or the Guarantor, as
applicable.
“Consolidated
Tangible Net Worth” means, as of any date of determination, for the Borrower and
its Consolidated Subsidiaries, Shareholders’ Equity of the Borrower and its
Consolidated Subsidiaries on that date minus the Intangible
Assets of the Borrower and its Consolidated Subsidiaries on that
date.
“Contingent
Obligation” of a Person means any agreement, undertaking or arrangement by which
such Person assumes, guarantees, endorses, contingently agrees to purchase or
provide funds for the payment of, or otherwise becomes or is contingently liable
upon, the obligation or liability of any other Person, or agrees to maintain the
net
4
worth or
working capital or other financial condition of any other Person, or otherwise
assures any creditor of such other Person against loss.
“Controlled
Group” means all members of a controlled group of corporations or other business
entities and all trades or businesses (whether or not incorporated) under common
control which, together with the Guarantor or any of its Subsidiaries, are
treated as a single employer under Section 414 of the Code.
“Conversion/Continuation
Notice” is defined in Section
2.9.
“Credit
Extension” means the making of an Advance or the issuance of a Letter of
Credit.
“Default”
means an event described in Article
VIII.
“Eligible
Assignee” means (a) a Lender; (b) an Affiliate of a Lender; (c) an Approved
Fund; and (d) any other Person (other than a natural person) approved by (i) the
Administrative Agent, the Swing Line Lender and the Issuers, and (ii) unless a
Default has occurred and is continuing, the Borrower (each such approval not to
be unreasonably withheld or delayed); provided that
notwithstanding the foregoing, “Eligible Assignee” shall not include the
Borrower or the Guarantor or any of the Borrower’s or the Guarantor’s Affiliates
or Subsidiaries.
“Environmental
Laws” means any and all federal, state, local and foreign statutes, laws,
judicial decisions, regulations, ordinances, rules, judgments, orders, decrees,
plans, injunctions, permits, concessions, grants, franchises, licenses,
agreements and other governmental restrictions relating to (i) the protection of
the environment, (ii) the effect of the environment on human health,
(iii) emissions, discharges or releases of pollutants, contaminants, hazardous
substances or wastes into surface water, ground water or land, or (iv) the
manufacture, processing, distribution, use, treatment, storage, disposal,
transport or handling of pollutants, contaminants, hazardous substances or
wastes or the clean-up or other remediation thereof.
“Equity
Linked Securities” means (i) all securities issued by the Guarantor or any
Subsidiary that contain two distinct components: (a) medium term debt and (b) a
forward contract for the issuance of common stock of the Guarantor or such
Subsidiary prior to the maturity of, and in an amount not less than, such debt,
including the securities commonly referred to by the tradenames “FELINE PRIDES”,
“PEPS”, “HITS” and “DECS” and generally referred to as “equity units”; provided
that such securities shall not contain any provision permitting them to be put
to the Guarantor or any Subsidiary prior to the settlement of the related
purchase contract and (ii) all other securities issued by the Guarantor or any
Subsidiary that are similar to those described in clause (i).
“ERISA”
means the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended from time
to time, and any rule or regulation issued thereunder.
5
“Eurodollar
Advance” means an Advance which bears interest at the applicable Eurodollar
Rate.
“Eurodollar
Loan” means a Loan which bears interest at the applicable Eurodollar
Rate.
“Eurodollar
Rate” means for any Interest Period with respect to a Eurodollar Loan, a rate
per annum (rounded to the nearest multiple of 1/16 of 1%) determined by the
Administrative Agent pursuant to the following formula:
Eurodollar
Rate = Eurodollar
Base Rate____
1.00 –
Eurodollar Reserve Percentage
Where,
“Eurodollar
Base Rate” means, for such Interest Period, the rate per annum equal to the
British Bankers Association LIBOR Rate (“BBA LIBOR”), as published by Reuters
(or other commercially available source providing quotations of BBA LIBOR as
designated by the Administrative Agent from time to time) at approximately 11:00
a.m., London time, two Business Days prior to the commencement of such Interest
Period, for Dollar deposits (for delivery on the first day of such Interest
Period) with a term equivalent to such Interest Period. If such rate
is not available at such time for any reason, then the “Eurodollar Base Rate”
for such Interest Period shall be the rate per annum determined by the
Administrative Agent to be the rate at which deposits in Dollars for delivery on
the first day of such Interest Period in same day funds in the approximate
amount of the Eurodollar Loan being made, continued or converted by Bank of
America and with a term equivalent to such Interest Period would be offered by
Bank of America’s London Branch to major banks in the London interbank
eurodollar market at their request at approximately 11:00 a.m. (London time) two
Business Days prior to the commencement of such Interest Period.
“Eurodollar
Reserve Percentage” means, for any day during any Interest Period, the reserve
percentage (expressed as a decimal, carried out to five decimal places) in
effect on such day, whether or not applicable to any Lender, under regulations
issued from time to time by the FRB for determining the maximum reserve
requirement (including any emergency, supplemental or other marginal reserve
requirement) with respect to Eurocurrency funding (currently referred to as
“Eurocurrency liabilities”). The Eurodollar Rate for each outstanding
Eurodollar Loan shall be adjusted automatically as of the effective date of any
change in the Eurodollar Reserve Percentage.
“Excluded
Taxes” means, in the case of each Lender or applicable Lending Installation and
the Administrative Agent, taxes imposed on its overall net income, and franchise
taxes imposed on it, by (i) the jurisdiction under the laws of which such Lender
or the Administrative Agent is incorporated or organized or (ii) the
jurisdiction in which the Administrative Agent’s or such Lender’s principal
executive office or such Lender’s applicable Lending Installation is
located.
6
“Exhibit”
refers to an exhibit to this Agreement, unless another document is specifically
referenced.
“Existing
Credit Facilities” means (i) that certain credit agreement, dated as of August
31, 2005, among Aquila, Inc. as borrower, the banks from time to time party
thereto and UBOC as administrative agent, issuing bank and sole lead arranger,
as amended or otherwise modified from time to time, (ii) that certain credit
agreement dated as of January 13, 2006, as amended, among Aquila, Inc., as
borrower, the lenders party thereto, Citicorp USA, Inc. as issuing bank and
administrative agent for the lenders, and UBOC as paying agent,
and that certain agreement for letter of credit dated as of January
13, 2006, as amended, between Aquila, Inc. and Citibank, N.A. and (iii) that
certain credit agreement dated as of April 13, 2005, as amended, among Aquila,
Inc., the lenders party thereto, Citicorp USA, Inc., as administrative agent for
the Lenders, and Union Bank of California, N.A., as paying agent, and the
agreement for letter of credit dated as of April 13, 2005, as amended, between
Aquila, Inc. and Citibank, N.A.
“Facility
Fee Rate” means, at any time, the percentage rate per annum at which facility
fees are accruing at such time as set forth in the Pricing
Schedule.
“Facility
Termination Date” means (a) the later of (i) September 23, 2011 and (ii) with
respect to some or all of the Lenders if the facility termination date is
extended pursuant to Section 2.21, such extended facility termination date or
(b) any earlier date on which the Aggregate Commitment is reduced to zero or
otherwise terminated pursuant to the terms hereof.
“Federal
Funds Effective Rate” means, for any day, the rate per annum equal to the
weighted average of the rates on overnight Federal funds transactions with
members of the Federal Reserve System arranged by Federal funds brokers on such
day, as published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on the Business Day
next succeeding such day; provided that (a) if
such day is not a Business Day, the Federal Funds Effective Rate for such day
shall be such rate on such transactions on the next preceding Business Day as so
published on the next succeeding Business Day, and (b) if no such rate is so
published on such next succeeding Business Day, the Federal Funds Effective Rate
for such day shall be the average rate (rounded upward, if necessary, to a whole
multiple of 1/100 of 1%) charged to Bank of America on such day on such
transactions as determined by the Administrative Agent.
“Fee
Letter” means that certain fee letter dated August 6, 2008 among the Agents, the
Arrangers and the Borrower.
“FERC”
means the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
“Floating
Rate Advance” means an Advance which bears interest at the Alternate Base
Rate.
7
“Floating
Rate Loan” means a Loan which bears interest at the Alternate Base
Rate.
“FRB”
means the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
“Fund”
means any Person (other than a natural person) that is (or will be) engaged in
making, purchasing, holding or otherwise investing in commercial loans and
similar extensions of credit in the ordinary course of its
business.
“GAAP”
means generally accepted accounting principles set forth from time to time in
the opinions and pronouncements of the Accounting Principles Board and the
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and statements of the
Financial Accounting Standards Board.
“Governmental
Authority” means the government of the United States or any other nation, or of
any political subdivision thereof, whether state or local, and any agency,
authority, instrumentality, regulatory body, court, central bank or other entity
exercising executive, legislative, judicial, taxing, regulatory or
administrative powers or functions of or pertaining to government.
“Guarantor”
means Great Plains Energy Incorporated, a Missouri corporation.
“Guarantor
Shareholders’ Equity” means, as of any date of determination for the Guarantor
and its Consolidated Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis, shareholders’ equity
as of that date determined in accordance with GAAP.
“including”
means “including without limiting the generality of the following”.
“Indebtedness”
means, as to any Person at a particular time, all of the following, without
duplication, to the extent recourse may be had to the assets or properties of
such Person in respect thereof: (i) all obligations of such Person for borrowed
money and all obligations of such Person evidenced by bonds, debentures, notes,
loan agreements or other similar instruments; (ii) any direct or contingent
obligations of such Person in the aggregate in excess of $2,000,000 arising
under letters of credit (including standby and commercial), banker’s
acceptances, bank guaranties, surety bonds and similar instruments; (iii) net
obligations of such Person under Swap Contracts; (iv) all obligations of such
Person to pay the deferred purchase price of property or services (except trade
accounts payable arising, and accrued expenses incurred, in the ordinary course
of business), and indebtedness (excluding prepaid interest thereon) secured by a
Lien on property owned or being purchased by such Person (including indebtedness
arising under conditional sales or other title retention agreements), whether or
not such indebtedness shall have been assumed by such Person or is limited in
recourse; (v) Capitalized Lease Obligations and Synthetic Lease Obligations of
such Person; and (vi) all Contingent Obligations of such Person in respect of
any of the foregoing.
8
For all
purposes hereof, the Indebtedness of any Person shall include the Indebtedness
of any partnership or joint venture in which such Person is a general partner or
a joint venturer, unless such Indebtedness is non-recourse to such
Person. It is understood and agreed that Indebtedness (including
Contingent Obligations) shall not include any obligations of the Guarantor or
the Borrower with respect to (i) subordinated, deferrable interest debt
securities, and any related securities issued by a trust or other special
purpose entity in connection therewith, as long as the maturity date of such
debt is subsequent to the Facility Termination Date; provided that the
amount of mandatory principal amortization or defeasance of such debt prior to
the Facility Termination Date shall be included in this definition of
Indebtedness; or (ii) Equity-Linked Securities until the mandatory redemption
date therefor, provided that (x)
with respect to the Guarantor, the principal amount of all outstanding
Equity-Linked Securities in excess of 20% of Total Guarantor Capitalization
shall constitute Indebtedness and (y) with respect to the Borrower, the
principal amount of all outstanding Equity-Linked Securities in excess of 20% of
Total Capitalization shall constitute Indebtedness. The amount of any
Capitalized Lease Obligation or Synthetic Lease Obligation as of any date shall
be deemed to be the amount of Attributable Indebtedness in respect thereof as of
such date.
“Intangible Assets” means, assets that are considered to be intangible assets under GAAP, including,
but not limited to,
customer lists, goodwill, computer software, copyrights, trade names,
trademarks, patents, franchises and licenses.
“Interest
Period” means, with respect to a Eurodollar Advance, a period of one, two, three
or six months commencing on a Business Day selected by the Borrower pursuant to
this Agreement. Such Interest Period shall end on the day which
corresponds numerically to such date one, two, three or six months thereafter;
provided that
if there is no such numerically corresponding day in such next, second, third or
sixth succeeding month, such Interest Period shall end on the last Business Day
of such next, second, third or sixth succeeding month. If an Interest
Period would otherwise end on a day which is not a Business Day, such Interest
Period shall end on the next succeeding Business Day; provided that if said
next succeeding Business Day falls in a new calendar month, such Interest Period
shall end on the immediately preceding Business Day.
“ISP”
means, with respect to any Letter of Credit, the “International Standby
Practices 1998” published by the Institute of International Banking Law &
Practice, Inc. (or such later version thereof as may be in effect at the time of
issuance).
“Issuer”
means each of Bank of America and any other Lender approved by the Borrower and
the Administrative Agent, in each case in its capacity as an issuer of Letters
of Credit hereunder. For the avoidance of doubt, any Lender
approached to become an issuer of Letters of Credit may elect or decline, in its
sole discretion, to become an issuer.
“Issuer
Documents” means with respect to any Letter of Credit, the Letter Credit
Application and any other document, agreement and instrument entered into by
the
9
applicable
Issuer and the Borrower or in favor of the applicable Issuer and relating to
such Letter of Credit.
“KCPL”
means Kansas City Power & Light Company, a Missouri
corporation.
“LC
Collateral Account” is defined in Section
2.19(k).
“Lenders”
means the lending institutions listed on the signature pages of this Agreement
and their respective successors and assigns, and as the context requires,
includes the Swing Line Lender.
“Lending
Installation” means, with respect to a Lender or the Administrative Agent, the
office, branch, subsidiary or affiliate of such Lender or the Administrative
Agent listed on the signature pages hereof or on a Schedule or otherwise
selected by such Lender or the Administrative Agent pursuant to Section
2.17.
“Letter
of Credit” means any standby letter of credit or direct pay letter of credit
issued pursuant to Section
2.19.
“Letter
of Credit Application” is defined in Section
2.19(c).
“Letter
of Credit Fee” is defined in Section
2.19(d).
“Letter
of Credit Fee Rate” means, at any time, the percentage rate per annum applicable
to Letter of Credit Fees at such time as set forth in the Pricing
Schedule.
“Letter
of Credit Obligations” means, at any time, the sum, without duplication, of (i)
the aggregate undrawn stated amount of all Letters of Credit at such time plus
(ii) the aggregate unpaid amount of all Reimbursement Obligations at such
time. For purposes of computing the amount available to be drawn
under any Letter of Credit, the amount of such Letter of Credit shall be
determined in accordance with Section
1.3. For all purposes of this Agreement, if on any date of
determination a Letter of Credit has expired by its terms but any amount may
still be drawn thereunder by reason of the operation of Rule 3.14 of the ISP,
such Letter of Credit shall be deemed to be “outstanding” in the amount so
remaining available to be drawn.
“Letter
of Credit Sublimit” means an amount equal to the lesser of (a) $150,000,000 and
(b) the Aggregate Commitments. The Letter of Credit Sublimit is part
of, and not in addition to, the Aggregate Commitments.
“Lien”
means any lien (statutory or other), mortgage, pledge, hypothecation,
assignment, deposit arrangement, encumbrance or preference, priority or other
security agreement or preferential arrangement of any kind or nature whatsoever
(including the interest of a vendor or lessor under any conditional sale,
Capitalized Lease or other title retention agreement).
10
“Loan”
means, with respect to a Lender, such Lender’s loans made pursuant to Article II (or any
conversion or continuation thereof), including the Swing Line
Loans.
“Loan
Documents” means this Agreement, each Note, each Letter of Credit, each Letter
of Credit Application and the Fee Letter.
“Material
Adverse Effect” means a material adverse effect on (i) the business, Property,
condition (financial or otherwise), results of operations, or prospects of the
Borrower and its Subsidiaries taken as a whole, (ii) the business, Property,
condition (financial or otherwise), results of operations, or prospects of the
Guarantor and its Subsidiaries taken as a whole, (iii) the ability of the
Borrower or the Guarantor to perform its obligations under the Loan Documents or
(iv) the legality, validity or enforceability of any of the Loan Documents or
the rights or remedies of the Agents, the Lenders or the Issuers
thereunder.
“Material
Indebtedness” is defined in Section
8.5.
“Modification”
and “Modify” are defined in Section
2.19(a).
“Moody’s”
means Xxxxx’x Investors Service, Inc.
“Multiemployer
Plan” means a Plan maintained pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement or
any other arrangement to which the Guarantor or any member of the Controlled
Group is a party to which more than one employer is obligated to make
contributions.
“Non-Extending
Lender” is defined in Section
2.21(b).
“Non-U.S.
Lender” is defined in Section
3.5(d).
“Note” or
“Notes” means the Revolving Notes and/or the Swing Line Notes, as
applicable.
“Notice
Date” is defined in Section
2.21(b).
“Obligations”
means all unpaid principal of and accrued and unpaid interest on the Loans, all
Reimbursement Obligations and accrued and unpaid interest thereon, all accrued
and unpaid fees and all expenses, reimbursements, indemnities and other
obligations of the Borrower to any Lender, any Issuer, either Agent or any
indemnified party arising under any Loan Document including, interest and fees
after commencement of, by or against the Borrower or the Guarantor of any
proceeding under any the federal bankruptcy laws or any comparable provisions of
any applicable state law naming such Person as the debtor in such proceeding,
regardless of whether such interest and fees are allowed claims in such
proceeding. The foregoing shall also include all obligations under
any Swap Contract between the Borrower or Guarantor and any Lender or Affiliate
of a Lender that is permitted to be incurred hereunder.
11
“Organization
Documents” means, (a) with respect to any corporation, the certificate or
articles of incorporation and the bylaws (or equivalent or comparable
constitutive documents with respect to any non-U.S. jurisdiction); (b) with
respect to any limited liability company, the certificate or articles of
formation or organization and operating agreement; and (c) with respect to any
partnership, joint venture, trust or other form of business entity, the
partnership, joint venture or other applicable agreement of formation or
organization and any agreement, instrument, filing or notice with respect
thereto filed in connection with its formation or organization with the
applicable Governmental Authority in the jurisdiction of its formation or
organization and, if applicable, any certificate or articles of formation or
organization of such entity.
“Other
Taxes” is defined in Section
3.5(b).
“Outstanding
Credit Exposure” means, as to any Lender at any time, the sum of (i) the
aggregate principal amount of its Loans outstanding at such time, plus (ii) its
Pro Rata Share of the Letter of Credit Obligations at such time, plus (iii) its
Pro Rata Share of Swing Line Loans at such time.
“Participant”
is defined in Section
13.1(d).
“Payment
Date” means the last Business Day of each March, June, September and
December.
“PBGC”
means the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, or any successor
thereto.
“Person”
means any natural person, corporation, firm, joint venture, partnership, limited
liability company, association, enterprise, trust or other entity or
organization, or any government or political subdivision or any agency,
department or instrumentality thereof.
“Plan”
means an employee pension benefit plan which is covered by Title IV of ERISA or
subject to the minimum funding standards under Section 412 of the Code as to
which the Borrower or any member of the Controlled Group may have any
liability.
“Pricing
Schedule” means Schedule II attached
hereto identified as such.
“Prime
Rate” means a rate per annum equal to the prime rate of interest announced by
Bank of America from time to time (which is not necessarily the lowest rate
charged to any customer). The “prime rate” is a rate set by Bank of
America based upon various factors including Bank of America’s costs and desired
return, general economic conditions and other factors, and is used as a
reference point for pricing some loans, which may be priced at, above, or below
such announced rate. Any change in such rate announced by Bank of
America shall take effect at the opening of business on the day specified in the
public announcement of such change.
12
“Project
Finance Subsidiary” means any Subsidiary that meets the following
requirements: (i) it is primarily engaged, directly or indirectly, in
the ownership, operation and/or financing of independent power production and
related facilities and assets; and (ii) neither the Guarantor, the Borrower nor
any other Subsidiary (other than another Project Finance Subsidiary) has any
liability, contingent or otherwise, for the Indebtedness or other obligations of
such Subsidiary (other than non recourse liability resulting from the pledge of
stock of such Subsidiary).
“Property”
of a Person means any and all property, whether real, personal, tangible,
intangible, or mixed, of such Person, or other assets owned or leased by such
Person.
“Pro Rata
Share” means, with respect to any Lender on any date of determination, the
percentage which the amount of such Lender’s Commitment is of the Aggregate
Commitment (or, if the Commitments have terminated, which such Lender’s
Outstanding Credit Exposure is of the Aggregate Outstanding Credit Exposure) as
of such date. For purposes of determining liability for any indemnity
obligation under Section 2.19(j) or
10.6(iii), each
Lender’s Pro Rata Share shall be determined as of the date the applicable
Issuer, the Swing Line Lender or the Administrative Agent notifies the Lenders
of such indemnity obligation (or, if such notice is given after termination of
this Agreement, as of the date of such termination).
“Register”
is defined in Section
13.1(c).
“Regulation
D” means Regulation D of the FRB as from time to time in effect and any
successor thereto or other regulation or official interpretation of the FRB
relating to reserve requirements applicable to member banks of the Federal
Reserve System.
“Regulation
U” means Regulation U of the FRB as from time to time in effect and any
successor or other regulation or official interpretation of the FRB relating to
the extension of credit by banks for the purpose of purchasing or carrying
margin stocks applicable to member banks of the Federal Reserve
System.
“Reimbursement
Obligations” means, at any time, the aggregate of all obligations of the
Borrower then outstanding under Section 2.19 to
reimburse (i) the Issuers for amounts paid by the Issuers in respect of any one
or more drawings under Letters of Credit and/or (ii) the Lenders for amounts
paid by the Lenders to reimburse the Issuers pursuant to Section
2.19.
“Related
Parties” means, with respect to any Person, such Person’s Affiliates and the
partners, directors, officers, employees, agents and advisors of such Person and
of such Person’s Affiliates.
“Reportable
Event” means a reportable event as defined in Section 4043 of ERISA and the
regulations issued under such section, with respect to a Plan,
excluding,
13
however,
such events as to which the PBGC has by regulation waived the requirement of
Section 4043(a) of ERISA that it be notified within 30 days of the occurrence of
such event; provided that a
failure to meet the minimum funding standard of Section 412 of the Code and of
Section 302 of ERISA shall be a Reportable Event regardless of the issuance of
any such waiver of the notice requirement in accordance with either
Section 4043(a) of ERISA or Section 412(d) of the Code.
“Required
Lenders” means Lenders in the aggregate having more than 50% of the Aggregate
Commitment or, if the Aggregate Commitment has been terminated, Lenders in the
aggregate holding more than 50% of the Aggregate Outstanding Credit
Exposure.
“Revolving
Note” is defined in Section
2.13(d).
“S&P”
means Standard and Poor’s Ratings Services, a division of The McGraw Hill
Companies, Inc.
“Schedule”
refers to a specific schedule to this Agreement, unless another document is
specifically referenced.
“SEC”
means the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“Section”
means a numbered section of this Agreement, unless another document is
specifically referenced.
“Shareholders’
Equity” means, as of any date of determination for the Borrower and its
Consolidated Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis, shareholders’ equity as of
that date determined in accordance with GAAP.
“Significant
Subsidiary” means, at any time, the Borrower and each other Subsidiary which (i)
as of the date of determination, owns consolidated assets equal to or greater
than 15% of the consolidated assets of the Guarantor and its Subsidiaries or
(ii) which had consolidated net income from continuing operations (excluding
extraordinary items) during the four most recently ended fiscal quarters equal
to or greater than 15% of Consolidated Guarantor Net Income during such
period.
“Single
Employer Plan” means a Plan maintained by the Guarantor or any member of the
Controlled Group for employees of the Guarantor or any member of the Controlled
Group.
“Subsidiary”
of a Person means (i) any corporation more than 50% of the outstanding
securities having ordinary voting power of which shall at the time be owned or
controlled, directly or indirectly, by such Person or by one or more of its
Subsidiaries or by such Person and one or more of its Subsidiaries, (ii) any
partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture or similar
business organization more than 50% of the ownership interests having ordinary
voting power of which shall at the time be so owned or controlled; or (iii) any
other Person the operations and/or financial results
14
of which
are required to be consolidated with those of such first Person in accordance
with GAAP. Unless otherwise expressly stated, all references herein
to a “Subsidiary” shall mean a Subsidiary of the Guarantor.
“Substantial
Portion” means, with respect to the Property of the Guarantor and its
Subsidiaries, Property which (i) represents more than 10% of the consolidated
assets of the Guarantor and its Consolidated Subsidiaries as would be shown in
the consolidated financial statements of the Guarantor and its Consolidated
Subsidiaries as at the beginning of the twelve-month period ending with the
month in which such determination is made, or (ii) is responsible for more than
10% of the consolidated net sales or of the Consolidated Guarantor Net Income of
the Guarantor and its Consolidated Subsidiaries as reflected in the financial
statements referred to in clause (i)
above.
“Swap
Contract” means (i) any and all rate swap transactions, basis swaps, credit
derivative transactions, forward rate transactions, commodity swaps, commodity
options, forward commodity contracts, equity or equity index swaps or options,
bond or bond price or bond index swaps or options or forward bond or forward
bond price or forward bond index transactions, interest rate options, forward
foreign exchange transactions, cap transaction, floor transactions, collar
transactions, currency swap transactions, cross-currency rate swap transactions,
currency options, spot contracts, or any other similar transactions or any
combination of any of the foregoing (including any options to enter into any of
the foregoing), whether or not any such transaction is governed by or subject to
any master agreement, and (ii) any and all transactions of any kind, and the
related confirmations, which are subject to the terms and conditions of, or
governed by, any form of master agreement published by the International Swaps
and Derivatives Association, Inc., any International Foreign Exchange Master
Agreement, or any other master agreement (any such master agreement, together
with any related schedules, a “Master Agreement”), including any such
obligations or liabilities under any Master Agreement.
“Swing
Line Lender” means Bank of America in its capacity as provider of Swing Line
Loans, or any successor swing line lender hereunder.
“Swing
Line Loan” is defined in Section
2.20(a).
“Swing
Line Note” is defined in Section
2.13(d).
“Swing
Line Loan Notice” is defined in Section
2.20(b).
“Swing
Line Sublimit” means an amount equal to the lesser of (a) $25,000,000 and (b)
the Aggregate Commitments. The Swing Line Sublimit is part of, and
not in addition to, the Aggregate Commitments.
“Syndication
Agent” means UBOC, in its capacity as syndication agent hereunder, and not in
its individual capacity as a Lender, and any successor thereto.
15
“Synthetic
Lease Obligation” means the monetary obligation of a Person under (i) a
so-called synthetic or off-balance sheet or tax retention lease, or (ii) an
agreement for the use or possession of property creating obligations that do not
appear on the balance sheet of such Person but which, upon the insolvency or
bankruptcy of such Person, would be characterized as the indebtedness of such
Person (without regard to accounting treatment).
“Taxes”
means any and all present or future taxes, duties, levies, imposts, deductions,
charges or withholdings, and any and all liabilities with respect to the
foregoing, but excluding Excluded Taxes.
“’34 Act
Reports” means the periodic reports of the Borrower or the Guarantor filed with
the SEC on Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K (or any successor forms
thereto).
“Total
Capitalization” means Total Indebtedness of the Borrower and its Consolidated
Subsidiaries plus the sum of (i) Shareholders’ Equity (without giving effect to
the application of FASB Statement No. 133 or 149) and (ii) to the extent not
otherwise included in Indebtedness or Shareholders’ Equity, preferred and
preference stock and securities of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries included in
a consolidated balance sheet of the Borrower and its Consolidated Subsidiaries
in accordance with GAAP.
“Total
Guarantor Capitalization” means Total Guarantor Indebtedness of the Guarantor
and its Consolidated Subsidiaries plus the sum of (i) Guarantor Shareholders’
Equity (without giving effect to the application of FASB Statement No. 133 or
149) and (ii) to the extent not otherwise included in Indebtedness or Guarantor
Shareholders’ Equity, preferred and preference stock and securities of the
Guarantor and its Subsidiaries included in a consolidated balance sheet of the
Guarantor and its Consolidated Subsidiaries in accordance with
GAAP.
“Total
Guarantor Indebtedness” means all Indebtedness of the Guarantor and its
Consolidated Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis (and without duplication),
excluding (i) Indebtedness arising under Swap Contracts entered into in the
ordinary course of business to hedge bona fide transactions and business risks
and not for speculation, (ii) Indebtedness of Project Finance Subsidiaries and
(iii) Indebtedness of KLT Investments Inc. incurred in connection with the
acquisition and maintenance of its interests (whether direct or indirect) in low
income housing projects.
“Total
Indebtedness” means all Indebtedness of the Borrower and its Consolidated
Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis (and without duplication), excluding (i)
Indebtedness arising under Swap Contracts entered into in the ordinary course of
business to hedge bona fide transactions and business risks and not for
speculation, and (ii) Indebtedness of Project Finance Subsidiaries.
“Type”
means, with respect to any Advance, its nature as a Floating Rate Advance or a
Eurodollar Advance.
16
“UBOC”
means Union Bank of California, N.A.
“Unmatured
Default” means an event which but for the lapse of time or the giving of notice,
or both, would constitute a Default.
“Wholly-Owned
Subsidiary” of a Person means (i) any Subsidiary all of the outstanding voting
securities of which shall at the time be owned or controlled, directly or
indirectly, by such Person or one or more Wholly-Owned Subsidiaries of such
Person, or by such Person and one or more Wholly-Owned Subsidiaries of such
Person, or (ii) any partnership, limited liability company, association, joint
venture or similar business organization 100% of the ownership interests having
ordinary voting power of which shall at the time be so owned or
controlled.
1.2 Accounting
Principles.
Unless
the context otherwise clearly requires, all accounting terms not expressly
defined herein shall be construed, and all financial computations required under
this Agreement shall be made, in accordance with GAAP, consistently applied;
provided that
if the Borrower notifies the Administrative Agent that the Borrower wishes to
amend any covenant in Article VII to
eliminate the effect of any change in GAAP on the operation of such covenant (or
if the Administrative Agent notifies the Borrower that the Required Lenders wish
to amend any covenant in Section 6 for such
purpose), then the Borrower’s compliance with such covenant shall be determined
on the basis of GAAP in effect immediately before the relevant change in GAAP
became effective, until either such notice is withdrawn or such covenant is
amended in a manner satisfactory to the Borrower and the Required
Lenders.
1.3 Letter of Credit
Amounts.
Unless
otherwise specified herein, the amount of a Letter of Credit at any time shall
be deemed to be the stated amount of such Letter of Credit in effect at such
time; provided
that with respect to any Letter of Credit that, by its terms or the terms of any
Issuer Document related thereto, provides for one or more automatic increases in
the stated amount thereof, the amount of such Letter of Credit shall be deemed
to be the maximum stated amount of such Letter of Credit after giving effect to
all such increases, whether or not such maximum stated amount is in effect at
such time.
ARTICLE
II
THE
CREDITS
2.1 Commitment.
From and
including the date of this Agreement and prior to the Facility Termination Date,
subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement,
(a)
17
each
Lender severally agrees to make Loans to the Borrower from time to time in
amounts not to exceed in the aggregate at any one time outstanding the amount of
its Commitment, (b) each Issuer agrees to issue Letters of Credit for the
account of the Borrower from time to time (and each Lender severally agrees to
participate in each such Letter of Credit as more fully set forth in Section 2.19); and
(c) the Swing Line Lender agrees to make Swing Line Loans to the Borrower, and
each Lender severally agrees to participate in such Swing Line Loans as more
fully set forth in Section 2.20, provided that (i) the
Aggregate Outstanding Credit Exposure shall not at any time exceed the Aggregate
Commitment and (ii) the Outstanding Credit Exposure of any Lender shall not at
any time exceed the amount of such Lender’s Commitment. Subject to
the terms of this Agreement, the Borrower may borrow, repay and reborrow at any
time prior to the Facility Termination Date. The Commitments shall
expire on the Facility Termination Date.
2.2 Required Payments;
Termination.
The
Borrower shall (a) repay the principal amount of all Advances made to it on the
Facility Termination Date and (b) deposit into the LC Collateral Account on the
Facility Termination Date an amount in immediately available funds equal to the
aggregate stated amount of all Letters of Credit that will remain outstanding
after the Facility Termination Date.
2.3 Ratable
Loans.
Each
Advance hereunder shall consist of Loans made from the several Lenders ratably
in proportion to their respective Pro Rata Shares.
2.4 Types of Advances; Minimum
Amount.
The
Advances may be Floating Rate Advances or Eurodollar Advances, or a combination
thereof, selected by the Borrower in accordance with Sections 2.8 and
2.9. Each
Eurodollar Advance shall be in the amount of $5,000,000 or a higher integral
multiple of $1,000,000, and each Floating Rate Advance shall be in the amount of
$1,000,000 or an integral multiple thereof.
2.5 Facility
Fee.
The
Borrower agrees to pay to the Administrative Agent for the account of each
Lender a facility fee at a per annum rate equal to the Facility Fee Rate on such
Lender’s Commitment (regardless of usage) from the date hereof to but excluding
the Facility Termination Date, payable on each Payment Date and on the Facility
Termination Date and, if applicable, thereafter on demand.
18
2.6 Changes in Aggregate
Commitment.
(a) The
Borrower may permanently reduce the Aggregate Commitment in whole, or in part
ratably among the Lenders (according to their respective Pro Rata Shares) in
integral multiples of $5,000,000, upon at least three Business Days’ prior
written notice to the Administrative Agent, which notice shall specify the
amount of any such reduction; provided that the
amount of the Aggregate Commitment may not be reduced below the Aggregate
Outstanding Credit Exposure. All accrued facility fees shall be
payable on the effective date of any termination of the obligations of the
Lenders to make Loans hereunder.
(b) The
Borrower may at any time and from time to time, upon prior written notice by the
Borrower to the Administrative Agent, increase the Commitments (but not the
Letter of Credit Sublimit and the Swing Line Sublimit) by a maximum aggregate
amount of up to ONE HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS ($100,000,000) with additional
Commitments from any existing Lender with a Commitment or new Commitments from
any other Person selected by the Borrower and reasonably acceptable to the
Administrative Agent, the Swing Line Lender and the Issuers; provided
that:
(i) any
such increase shall be in a minimum principal amount of $20,000,000 and in
integral multiples of $1,000,000 in excess thereof;
(ii) no
Default or Unmatured Default shall exist and be continuing at the time of any
such increase;
(iii) no
existing Lender shall be under any obligation to increase its Commitment and any
such decision whether to increase its Commitment shall be in such Lender’s sole
and absolute discretion;
(iv) (A)
any new Lender shall join this Agreement by executing such joinder documents
required by the Administrative Agent and/or (B) any existing Lender electing to
increase its Commitment shall have executed a commitment agreement satisfactory
to the Administrative Agent; and
(v) as
a condition precedent to such increase, the Borrower shall deliver to the
Administrative Agent a certificate of each of the Borrower and the Guarantor
dated as of the date of such increase (in sufficient copies for each Lender)
signed by an Authorized Officer of the Borrower or the Guarantor, as applicable
(A) certifying and attaching the resolutions adopted by such Person approving or
consenting to such increase, and (B) certifying that, before and after giving
effect to such increase, (x) the representations and warranties contained in
Article VI and the other Loan Documents are true and correct in all material
respects on and as of the date of such increase, except to the extent that such
representations and warranties specifically refer to an earlier date,
in
19
which
case they are true and correct in all material respects as of such earlier date,
and (y) no Default or Unmatured Default exists.
The
Borrower shall prepay any Loans owing by it and outstanding on the date of any
such increase with the proceeds required to be advanced by any Lender increasing
its, or any Person providing a new, Commitment under this Section (and pay any
additional amounts required pursuant to Article III) to the extent necessary to
keep the outstanding Loans ratable with any revised Commitments arising from any
nonratable increase in the Commitments under this Section.
2.7 Optional
Prepayments.
(a) The
Borrower may from time to time prepay Floating Rate Advances upon one Business
Day’s prior notice to the Administrative Agent, without penalty or
premium. Each partial prepayment of Floating Rate Advances shall be
in an aggregate amount of $1,000,000 or an integral multiple
thereof. Each such notice shall specify the date and amount of such
prepayment, and the payment amount specified in such notice shall be due and
payable on the date specified therein.
(b) The
Borrower may from time to time prepay Eurodollar Advances (subject to the
payment of any funding indemnification amounts required by Section 3.4) upon
three Business Days’ prior notice to the Administrative Agent, without penalty
or premium. Each partial prepayment of Eurodollar Advances shall be
in an aggregate amount of $5,000,000 or a higher integral multiple of
$1,000,000. Each such notice shall specify the date and amount of
such prepayment, and the payment amount specified in such notice shall be due
and payable on the date specified therein. Any notice to prepay
Eurodollar Advances shall indicate the Interest Period for such Eurodollar
Advances.
(c) All
prepayments of Advances shall be applied ratably to the Loans of the Lenders in
accordance with their respective Pro Rata Shares.
(d) The
Borrower may from time to time prepay Swing Line Loans upon one Business Day’s
prior notice to the Swing Line Lender (with a copy to the Administrative Agent),
without penalty or premium; provided that (i) such notice must be received by
the Swing Line Lender and the Administrative Agent not later than 1:00 p.m. on
the date of the prepayment, and (ii) any such prepayment shall be in a minimum
principal amount of $500,000 or a whole multiple of $100,000 in excess thereof
(or, if less, the entire principal thereof then outstanding). Each
such notice shall specify the date and amount of such prepayment. If
such notice is given by the Borrower, the Borrower shall make such prepayment
and the payment amount specified in such notice shall be due and payable on the
date specified therein.
20
2.8 Method of Selecting Types
and Interest Periods for New Advances.
The
Borrower shall select the Type of Advance and, in the case of each Eurodollar
Advance, the Interest Period applicable thereto from time to
time. The Borrower shall give the Administrative Agent irrevocable
notice (a “Borrowing Notice”) not later than noon (Charlotte, North Carolina
time) on the Borrowing Date of each Floating Rate Advance and not later than
noon (Charlotte, North Carolina time) three Business Days before the Borrowing
Date for each Eurodollar Advance, specifying:
(i) the
Borrowing Date, which shall be a Business Day, of such Advance,
(ii) the
aggregate amount of such Advance,
(iii) the
Type of Advance selected, and
(iv) in
the case of each Eurodollar Advance, the Interest Period applicable
thereto.
Not later
than 1:00 p.m. (Charlotte, North Carolina time) on each Borrowing Date, each
Lender shall make available its Loan or Loans in funds immediately available to
the Administrative Agent at its address specified pursuant to Article
XIV. The Administrative Agent will make the funds so received
from the Lenders available to the Borrower at the Administrative Agent’s
aforesaid address.
2.9 Conversion and Continuation
of Outstanding Advances.
Floating
Rate Advances shall continue as Floating Rate Advances unless and until such
Floating Rate Advances are converted into Eurodollar Advances pursuant to this
Section 2.9 or
are repaid in accordance with Section
2.7. Each Eurodollar Advance shall continue as a Eurodollar
Advance until the end of the then applicable Interest Period therefor, at which
time such Eurodollar Advance shall be automatically converted into a Floating
Rate Advance unless (x) such Eurodollar Advance is or was repaid in accordance
with Section
2.7 or (y) the Borrower shall have given the Administrative Agent a
Conversion/Continuation Notice (as defined below) requesting that, at the end of
such Interest Period, such Eurodollar Advance continue as a Eurodollar Advance
for the same or another Interest Period. Subject to the terms of
Section 2.4,
the Borrower may elect from time to time to convert all or any part of a
Floating Rate Advance into a Eurodollar Advance. The Borrower shall
give the Administrative Agent irrevocable notice (a “Conversion/Continuation
Notice”) of each conversion of a Floating Rate Advance into a Eurodollar Advance
or continuation of a Eurodollar Advance not later than 11:00 a.m. (Charlotte,
North Carolina time) at least three Business Days prior to the date of the
requested conversion or continuation, specifying:
(i) the
requested date, which shall be a Business Day, of such conversion or
continuation,
21
(ii) the
aggregate amount and Type of the Advance which is to be converted or continued,
and
(iii) the
amount of such Advance which is to be converted into or continued as a
Eurodollar Advance and the duration of the Interest Period applicable
thereto.
2.10 Changes in Interest Rate,
etc.
Each
Floating Rate Advance shall bear interest on the outstanding principal amount
thereof, for each day from and including the date such Advance is made or is
automatically converted from a Eurodollar Advance into a Floating Rate Advance
pursuant to Section
2.9, to but excluding the date it is paid or is converted into a
Eurodollar Advance pursuant to Section 2.9 hereof,
at a rate per annum equal to the Alternate Base Rate plus the Applicable Margin
for such day. Changes in the rate of interest on that portion of any
Advance maintained as a Floating Rate Advance will take effect simultaneously
with each change in the Alternate Base Rate. Each Eurodollar Advance
shall bear interest on the outstanding principal amount thereof from and
including the first day of the Interest Period applicable thereto to (but not
including) the last day of such Interest Period at the Eurodollar Rate plus the
Applicable Margin based upon the Borrower’s selections under Sections 2.8 and
2.9 and
otherwise in accordance with the terms hereof. No Interest Period may
end after the Facility Termination Date. Each Swing Line Loan shall
bear interest on the outstanding principal amount thereof from the applicable
borrowing date at a rate per annum equal to the Alternate Base Rate plus the
Applicable Margin for each day from and including the date such Swing Line Loan
is made to but excluding the date it is paid. Changes in the rate of interest on
that portion of any Swing Line Loan will take effect simultaneously with each
change in the Alternate Base Rate.
2.11 Rates Applicable After
Default.
Notwithstanding
anything to the contrary contained in Section 2.8 or 2.9, during the
continuance of a Default or Unmatured Default the Required Lenders may, at their
option, by notice to the Borrower (which notice may be revoked at the option of
the Required Lenders notwithstanding any provision of Section 9.2 requiring
unanimous consent of the Lenders to changes in interest rates), declare that no
Advance may be made as, converted into or continued as a Eurodollar
Advance. During the continuance of a Default the Required Lenders
may, at their option, by notice to the Borrower (which notice may be revoked at
the option of the Required Lenders notwithstanding any provision of Section 9.2 requiring
unanimous consent of the Lenders to changes in interest rates), declare that (i)
each Eurodollar Advance shall bear interest for the remainder of the applicable
Interest Period at the rate otherwise applicable to such Interest Period plus 2%
per annum, (ii) each Floating Rate Advance shall bear interest at a rate per
annum equal to the Alternate Base Rate in effect from time to time plus the
Applicable Margin plus 2% per annum, (iii) the Letter of Credit Fee Rate shall
be
22
increased
by 2% per annum and (iv) each Swing Line Loan shall bear interest at a rate per
annum equal to the Alternate Base Rate in effect from time to time plus the
Applicable Margin plus 2% per annum; provided that, during
the continuance of a Default under Section 8.6 or 8.7, the interest
rates set forth in clauses (i), (ii) and (iv) above and the
increase in the Letter of Credit Fee Rate set forth in clause (iii) above
shall be applicable to all applicable Credit Extensions without any election or
action on the part of the Administrative Agent or any Lender.
2.12 Method of
Payment.
All
payments of the Obligations hereunder shall be made, without setoff, deduction,
or counterclaim, in immediately available funds to the Administrative Agent at
the Administrative Agent’s address specified pursuant to Article XIV, or at
any other Lending Installation of the Administrative Agent specified in writing
by the Administrative Agent to the Borrower, by 1:00 p.m. (Charlotte, North
Carolina time) on the date when due and shall be applied ratably by the
Administrative Agent among the Lenders in accordance with their respective Pro
Rata Shares. Each payment delivered to the Administrative Agent for
the account of any Lender shall be delivered promptly by the Administrative
Agent to such Lender in the same type of funds that the Administrative Agent
received at its address specified pursuant to Article XIV or at any
Lending Installation specified in a notice received by the Administrative Agent
from such Lender.
2.13 Noteless Agreement; Evidence
of Indebtedness.
(a) Each
Lender shall maintain in accordance with its usual practice an account or
accounts evidencing the indebtedness of the Borrower to such Lender resulting
from each Loan made by such Lender from time to time, including the amounts of
principal and interest payable and paid to such Lender from time to time
hereunder.
(b) The
Administrative Agent shall also maintain accounts in which it will record (i)
the amount of each Loan (including any Swing Line Loan) made hereunder, the Type
thereof and the Interest Period with respect thereto, (ii) the amount of any
principal or interest due and payable or to become due and payable from the
Borrower to each Lender hereunder, (iii) the original stated amount of each
Letter of Credit and the amount of Letter of Credit Obligations outstanding at
any time and (iv) the amount of any sum received by the Administrative Agent
hereunder from the Borrower and each Lender’s share thereof.
(c) The
entries maintained in the accounts maintained pursuant to clauses (a) and (b) above shall be
prima facie evidence of
the existence and amounts of the Obligations therein recorded; provided that the failure of the
Administrative Agent or any Lender to maintain such accounts or any error
therein shall not in any manner affect the obligation of the Borrower to repay
the Obligations in accordance with their terms.
23
(d) Any
Lender may request that its Loans be evidenced by a promissory note
substantially in the form of Exhibit D (a
“Revolving Note). In such event, the Borrower shall prepare, execute
and deliver to such Lender a Note payable to the order of such
Lender. Thereafter, the Loans evidenced by such Note and interest
thereon shall at all times (including after any assignment pursuant to Section 13.1(b)) be
represented by one or more Notes payable to the order of the payee named therein
or any assignee pursuant to Section 13.1(b),
except to the extent that any such Lender or assignee subsequently returns any
such Note for cancellation and requests that such Loans once again be evidenced
as described in clauses (a) and (b)
above. The Swing Line Loans shall be evidenced by a promissory note
substantially in the form of Exhibit E (the “Swing
Line Note”).
2.14 Telephonic
Notices.
The
Borrower hereby authorizes the Lenders and the Administrative Agent to extend,
convert or continue Advances, effect selections of Types of Advances and to
transfer funds based on telephonic notices made by any person or persons the
Administrative Agent or any Lender in good faith believes to be acting on behalf
of the Borrower. The Borrower agrees to deliver promptly to the
Administrative Agent a written confirmation, if such confirmation is requested
by the Administrative Agent or any Lender, of each telephonic notice signed by
an Authorized Officer. If the written confirmation differs in any
material respect from the action taken by the Administrative Agent and the
Lenders, the records of the Administrative Agent and the Lenders shall govern
absent manifest error.
2.15 Interest Payment Dates;
Interest and Fee Basis.
Interest
accrued on each Floating Rate Advance and each Swing Line Loan shall be payable
on each Payment Date, commencing with the first such date to occur after the
date hereof, and at maturity. Interest accrued on each Eurodollar
Advance shall be payable on the last day of its applicable Interest Period, on
any date on which such Eurodollar Advance is prepaid, whether by acceleration or
otherwise, and at maturity. Interest accrued on each Eurodollar
Advance having an Interest Period longer than three months shall also be payable
on the last day of each three-month interval during such Interest
Period. All computations of interest for Floating Rate Loans and
Swing Line Loans when the Alternate Base Rate is determined by the Prime Rate
shall be made on the basis of a year of 365 or 366 days, as the case may be, and
actual days elapsed. All other computations of interest and fees
shall be calculated for actual days elapsed on the basis of a 360-day
year. Interest shall be payable for the day an Advance is made but
not for the day of any payment on the amount paid if payment is received prior
to 1:00 p.m. (Charlotte, North Carolina time) at the place of payment (it being
understood that the Administrative Agent shall be deemed to have received a
payment prior to 1:00 p.m. (Charlotte, North Carolina time) if (x) the Borrower
has provided the Administrative Agent with evidence satisfactory to the
Administrative Agent that the Borrower has
24
initiated
a wire transfer of such payment prior to such time and (y) the Administrative
Agent actually receives such payment on the same Business Day on which such wire
transfer was initiated). If any payment of principal of or interest
on an Advance shall become due on a day which is not a Business Day, such
payment shall be made on the next succeeding Business Day and, in the case of a
principal payment, such extension of time shall be included in computing
interest in connection with such payment.
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2.16
|
Notification of
Advances, Interest Rates, Prepayments and Commitment
Reductions.
|
Promptly
after receipt thereof, the Administrative Agent will notify each Lender of the
contents of each Aggregate Commitment reduction notice, Borrowing Notice,
Conversion/Continuation Notice, and repayment notice received by it
hereunder. The Administrative Agent will notify each Lender of the
interest rate applicable to each Eurodollar Advance promptly upon determination
of such interest rate and will give each Lender prompt notice of each change in
the Alternate Base Rate. The Administrative Agent will also promptly
notify each Lender of any increase or reduction of the Aggregate Commitments
pursuant to the terms hereof.
2.17 Lending
Installations.
Each
Lender may book its Loans at any Lending Installation selected by such Lender
and may change its Lending Installation from time to time. All terms
of this Agreement shall apply to any such Lending Installation and the Loans and
any Notes issued hereunder shall be deemed held by each Lender for the benefit
of such Lending Installation. Each Lender may, by written notice to
the Administrative Agent and the Borrower in accordance with Article XIII,
designate replacement or additional Lending Installations through which Loans
will be made by it and for whose account Loan payments are to be
made.
2.18 Non-Receipt of Funds by the
Administrative Agent.
Unless
the Borrower or a Lender, as the case may be, notifies the Administrative Agent
prior to the date on which it is scheduled to make payment to the Administrative
Agent of (i) in the case of a Lender, the proceeds of a Loan or (ii) in the case
of the Borrower, a payment of principal, interest or fees to the Administrative
Agent for the account of the Lenders, that it does not intend to make such
payment, the Administrative Agent may assume that such payment has been
made. The Administrative Agent may, but shall not be obligated to,
make the amount of such payment available to the intended recipient in reliance
upon such assumption. If such Lender or the Borrower, as the case may
be, has not in fact made such payment to the Administrative Agent, the recipient
of such payment shall, on demand by the Administrative Agent, repay to the
Administrative Agent the amount so made available together with interest thereon
in respect of each day during the period commencing on the date such amount was
so made available by the Administrative Agent until the date the Administrative
Agent recovers such amount at a
25
rate per
annum equal to (x) in the case of payment by a Lender, the Federal Funds
Effective Rate for such day or (y) in the case of payment by the Borrower, the
interest rate applicable to the relevant Loan.
2.19 Letters of
Credit.
(a) Issuance. Each
Issuer hereby agrees, on the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement,
to issue Letters of Credit and to extend, increase, decrease or otherwise modify
Letters of Credit (“Modify,” and each such action a “Modification”) from time to
time on any Business Day from and including the date of this Agreement and prior
to the Facility Termination Date upon the request of the Borrower; provided that
immediately after each such Letter of Credit is issued or Modified, (x) the
Aggregate Outstanding Credit Exposure shall not exceed the Aggregate Commitment
and (y) the aggregate Letters of Credit outstanding shall not exceed the Letter
of Credit Sublimit. No Letter of Credit shall have an expiry date
later than the date that is five days prior to the scheduled Facility
Termination Date.
(b) Participations. Upon
the issuance or Modification by any Issuer of a Letter of Credit in accordance
with this Section
2.19, such Issuer shall be deemed, without further action by any Person,
to have unconditionally and irrevocably sold to each Lender, and each Lender
shall be deemed, without further action by any Person, to have unconditionally
and irrevocably purchased from such Issuer, a participation in such Letter of
Credit (and each Modification thereof) and the related Letter of Credit
Obligations in proportion to its Pro Rata Share.
(c) Notice. Subject
to Section
2.19(a), the Borrower shall give the applicable Issuer and the
Administrative Agent notice prior to 11:00 a.m. (Charlotte, North Carolina time)
at least three Business Days (or such lesser period of time as such Issuer may
agree in its sole discretion) prior to the proposed date of issuance or
Modification of each Letter of Credit, specifying the beneficiary, the proposed
date of issuance (or Modification) and the expiry date of such Letter of Credit,
and describing the proposed terms of such Letter of Credit and the nature of the
transactions proposed to be supported thereby. Upon receipt of such
notice, the applicable Issuer shall promptly notify the Administrative Agent,
and the Administrative Agent shall promptly notify each Lender, of the contents
thereof and of the amount of such Lender’s participation in such proposed Letter
of Credit. The issuance or Modification by an Issuer of any Letter of
Credit shall, in addition to the conditions precedent set forth in Article V (the
satisfaction of which such Issuer shall have no duty to ascertain, it being
understood, however, that such Issuer shall not issue any Letter of Credit if it
has received written notice from the Borrower, the Administrative Agent or any
Lender one day prior to the proposed date of issuance, that any such condition
precedent has not been satisfied), be subject to the conditions precedent that
such Letter of Credit shall be satisfactory to such Issuer and that the Borrower
shall have executed and delivered such application agreement and/or such other
instruments and agreements relating to such Letter of Credit as such Issuer
shall have reasonably requested (each a “Letter of Credit
Application”). In the event of any conflict
26
between
the terms of this Agreement and the terms of any Letter of Credit Application,
the terms of this Agreement shall control.
(d) Letter of Credit
Fees. The Borrower shall pay to the Administrative Agent, for
the account of the Lenders ratably in accordance with their respective Pro Rata
Shares, with respect to each Letter of Credit, a letter of credit fee (the
“Letter of Credit Fee”) at a per annum rate equal to the Letter of Credit Fee
Rate in effect from time to time on the daily maximum amount available under
such Letter of Credit, such fee to be payable in arrears on each Payment Date,
on the Facility Termination Date and, if applicable, thereafter on
demand. The Borrower shall also pay to each Issuer for its own
account (x) a fronting fee in the amount agreed to by such Issuer and the
Borrower from time to time, with such fee to be payable in arrears on each
Payment Date, and (y) documentary and processing charges in connection with the
issuance or Modification of and draws under Letters of Credit in accordance with
such Issuer’s standard schedule for such charges as in effect from time to
time.
(e) Administration;
Reimbursement by Lenders. Upon receipt from the beneficiary of
any Letter of Credit of any demand for payment under such Letter of Credit, the
applicable Issuer shall notify the Administrative Agent and the Administrative
Agent shall promptly notify the Borrower and each Lender of the amount to be
paid by such Issuer as a result of such demand and the proposed payment date
(the “Letter of Credit Payment Date”). The responsibility of any
Issuer to the Borrower and each Lender shall be only to determine that the
documents delivered under each Letter of Credit issued by such Issuer in
connection with a demand for payment are in conformity in all material respects
with such Letter of Credit. Each Issuer shall endeavor to exercise
the same care in its issuance and administration of Letters of Credit as it does
with respect to letters of credit in which no participations are granted, it
being understood that in the absence of any gross negligence or willful
misconduct by such Issuer, each Lender shall be unconditionally and irrevocably
obligated, without regard to the occurrence of any Default or any condition
precedent whatsoever, to reimburse such Issuer on demand for (i) such Lender’s
Pro Rata Share of the amount of each payment made by such Issuer under each
Letter of Credit to the extent such amount is not reimbursed by the Borrower
pursuant to Section
2.19(f) below, plus (ii) interest on the foregoing amount, for each day
from the date of the applicable payment by such Issuer to the date on which such
Issuer is reimbursed by such Lender for its Pro Rata Share thereof, at a rate
per annum equal to the Federal Funds Effective Rate or, beginning on third
Business Day after demand for such amount by such Issuer, the rate applicable to
Floating Rate Advances.
(f) Reimbursement by
Borrower. The Borrower shall be irrevocably and
unconditionally obligated to reimburse each Issuer through the Administrative
Agent on or before the applicable Letter of Credit Payment Date for any amount
to be paid by such Issuer upon any drawing under any Letter of Credit, without
presentment, demand, protest or other formalities of any kind; provided that the
Borrower shall not be precluded from asserting any claim for direct (but not
consequential) damages suffered by the Borrower which the Borrower proves were
caused by (i) the willful misconduct or gross negligence of such Issuer in
determining whether a request presented under any Letter of
27
Credit
complied with the terms of such Letter of Credit or (ii) such Issuer’s failure
to pay under any Letter of Credit after the presentation to it of a request
strictly complying with the terms and conditions of such Letter of
Credit. All such amounts paid by an Issuer and remaining unpaid by
the Borrower shall bear interest, payable on demand, for each day until paid at
a rate per annum equal to the sum of 2% plus the rate applicable to Floating
Rate Advances. The Administrative Agent will pay to each Lender
ratably in accordance with its Pro Rata Share all amounts received by it from
the Borrower for application in payment, in whole or in part, of the
Reimbursement Obligation in respect of any Letter of Credit, but only to the
extent such Lender made payment to the applicable Issuer in respect of such
Letter of Credit pursuant to Section
2.19(e).
(g) Obligations
Absolute. The Borrower’s obligations under this Section 2.19 shall be
absolute and unconditional under any and all circumstances and irrespective of
any setoff, counterclaim or defense to payment which the Borrower may have or
have had against any Issuer, any Lender or any beneficiary of a Letter of
Credit. The Borrower further agrees with the Issuers and the Lenders
that neither any Issuer nor any Lender shall be responsible for, and the
Borrower’s Reimbursement Obligation in respect of any Letter of Credit shall not
be affected by, among other things, the validity or genuineness of documents or
of any endorsements thereon, even if such documents should in fact prove to be
in any or all respects invalid, fraudulent or forged, or any dispute between or
among the Borrower, any of its Affiliates, the beneficiary of any Letter of
Credit or any financing institution or other party to whom any Letter of Credit
may be transferred or any claims or defenses whatsoever of the Borrower or of
any of its Affiliates against the beneficiary of any Letter of Credit or any
such transferee. No Issuer shall be liable for any error, omission,
interruption or delay in transmission, dispatch or delivery of any message or
advice, however transmitted, in connection with any Letter of
Credit. The Borrower agrees that any action taken or omitted by any
Issuer or any Lender under or in connection with any Letter of Credit and the
related drafts and documents, if done without gross negligence or willful
misconduct, shall be binding upon the Borrower and shall not put any Issuer or
any Lender under any liability to the Borrower. Nothing in this Section 2.19(g) is
intended to limit the right of the Borrower to make a claim against any Issuer
for damages as contemplated by the proviso to the first sentence of Section
2.19(f).
(h) Actions of the
Issuers. Each Issuer shall be entitled to rely, and shall be
fully protected in relying, upon any Letter of Credit, draft, writing,
resolution, notice, consent, certificate, affidavit, letter, cablegram,
telegram, facsimile, telex or teletype message, statement, order or other
document believed by it to be genuine and correct and to have been signed, sent
or made by the proper Person or Persons, and upon advice and statements of legal
counsel, independent accountants and other experts selected by such
Issuer. Each Issuer shall be fully justified in failing or refusing
to take any action under this Agreement unless it shall first have received such
advice or concurrence of the Required Lenders as it reasonably deems appropriate
or it shall first be indemnified to its reasonable satisfaction by the Lenders
against any and all liability and expense which may be incurred by it by reason
of taking or continuing to take any such action.
28
Notwithstanding
any other provision of this Section 2.19, each
Issuer shall in all cases be fully protected in acting, or in refraining from
acting, under this Agreement in accordance with a request of the Required
Lenders, and such request and any action taken or failure to act pursuant
thereto shall be binding upon the Lenders and any future holder of a
participation in any Letter of Credit issued by such Issuer.
(i) Indemnification. The
Borrower agrees to indemnify and hold harmless each Lender, each Issuer and the
Administrative Agent, and their respective directors, officers, agents and
employees, from and against any and all claims and damages, losses, liabilities,
costs or expenses which such Person may incur (or which may be claimed against
such Person by any other Person whatsoever) by reason of or in connection with
the issuance, execution and delivery or transfer of or payment or failure to pay
under any Letter of Credit or any actual or proposed use of any Letter of
Credit, including any claims, damages, losses, liabilities, costs or expenses
which any Issuer may incur by reason of or in connection with (i) the failure of
any other Lender to fulfill or comply with its obligations to such Issuer
hereunder (but nothing herein contained shall affect any right the Borrower may
have against any defaulting Lender) or (ii) by reason of or on account of such
Issuer issuing any Letter of Credit which specifies that the term “Beneficiary”
therein includes any successor by operation of law of the named Beneficiary, but
which Letter of Credit does not require that any drawing by any such successor
Beneficiary be accompanied by a copy of a legal document, satisfactory to such
Issuer, evidencing the appointment of such successor Beneficiary; provided that the
Borrower shall not be required to indemnify any Person for any claims, damages,
losses, liabilities, costs or expenses to the extent, but only to the extent,
caused by (x) the willful misconduct or gross negligence of any Issuer in
determining whether a request presented under any Letter of Credit issued by
such Issuer complied with the terms of such Letter of Credit or (y) any Issuer’s
failure to pay under any Letter of Credit issued by it after the presentation to
it of a request strictly complying with the terms and conditions of such Letter
of Credit. Nothing in this Section 2.19(i) is
intended to limit the obligations of the Borrower under any other provision of
this Agreement.
(j) Lenders’
Indemnification. Each Lender shall, ratably in accordance with
its Pro Rata Share, indemnify each Issuer and its Affiliates and their
respective directors, officers, agents and employees (to the extent not
reimbursed by the Borrower) against any cost, expense (including reasonable
counsel fees and charges), claim, demand, action, loss or liability (except such
as result from such indemnitees’ gross negligence or willful misconduct or such
Issuer’s failure to pay under any Letter of Credit issued by it after the
presentation to it of a request strictly complying with the terms and conditions
of such Letter of Credit) that such indemnitees may suffer or incur in
connection with this Section 2.19 or any
action taken or omitted by such indemnitees hereunder.
(k) LC Collateral
Account. The Borrower agrees that it will establish on the
Facility Termination Date (or on such earlier date as may be required pursuant
to Section 9.1),
and thereafter maintain so long as any Letter of Credit Obligation remains
outstanding or any other amount is payable to any Issuer or the Lenders in
respect of any Letter of Credit, a special collateral account pursuant to
arrangements satisfactory to the
29
Administrative
Agent (the “LC Collateral Account”) at the Administrative Agent’s office at the
address specified pursuant to Article XIV, in the
name of the Borrower but under the sole dominion and control of the
Administrative Agent, for the benefit of the Lenders, and in which the Borrower
shall have no interest other than as set forth in Section
9.1. The Borrower hereby pledges, assigns and grants to the
Administrative Agent, on behalf of and for the ratable benefit of the Lenders
and the Issuers, a security interest in all of the Borrower’s right, title and
interest in and to all funds which may from time to time be on deposit in the LC
Collateral Account, to secure the prompt and complete payment and performance of
the Obligations. The Administrative Agent will invest any funds on
deposit from time to time in the LC Collateral Account in certificates of
deposit of Bank of America having a maturity not exceeding 30
days. If funds are deposited in the LC Collateral Account pursuant to
Section 2.2(b)
and the provisions of Section 9.1 are not
applicable, then the Administrative Agent shall release from the LC Collateral
Account to the Borrower, upon the request of the Borrower, an amount equal to
the excess (if any) of all funds in the LC Collateral Account over the Letter of
Credit Obligations.
(l) The Issuers’ Obligation to
Issue Letters of Credit. No Issuer shall be under any
obligation to issue any Letter of Credit if:
(i) any
order, judgment or decree of any Governmental Authority or arbitrator shall by
its terms purport to enjoin or restrain such Issuer from issuing such Letter of
Credit, or any law applicable to such Issuer or any request or directive
(whether or not having the force of law) from any Governmental Authority with
jurisdiction over such Issuer shall prohibit, or request that such Issuer
refrain from, the issuance of letters of credit generally or such Letter of
Credit in particular or shall impose upon such Issuer with respect to such
Letter of Credit any restriction, reserve or capital requirement (for which such
Issuer is not otherwise compensated hereunder) not in effect on the Closing
Date, or shall impose upon such Issuer any unreimbursed loss, cost or expense
which was not applicable on the Closing Date and which such Issuer in good xxxxx
xxxxx material to it;
(ii) the
issuance of such Letter of Credit would violate one or more policies of such
Issuer applicable to letters of credit generally; or
(iii) except
as otherwise agreed by the Administrative Agent and the applicable Issuer, such
Letter of Credit is in an initial stated amount less than $250,000.
(m) Rights as a
Lender. In its capacity as a Lender, each Issuer shall have
the same rights and obligations as any other Lender.
(n) Applicability of
ISP. Unless otherwise expressly agreed by each Issuer and the
Borrower when a Letter of Credit is issued, the rules of the ISP shall apply to
each Letter of Credit.
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2.20 Swing Line
Loans.
(a) Swing Line
Facility. From and including the date of this Agreement and
prior to the Facility Termination Date, subject to the terms and conditions set
forth in this Agreement, the Swing Line Lender agrees, in reliance upon the
agreements of the other Lenders set forth in this Section 2.20, to make
loans (each such loan, a “Swing Line Loan”) to the Borrower in Dollars from time
to time in an aggregate amount not to exceed at any time outstanding the amount
of the Swing Line Sublimit; provided, however, that after giving effect to any
Swing Line Loan, (i) the Aggregate Outstanding Credit Exposure shall not exceed
the Aggregate Commitments, and (ii) the Outstanding Credit Exposure of any
Lender (other than the Swing Line Lender) shall not exceed such Lender’s
Commitment, and provided, further, that the Borrower shall not use the proceeds
of any Swing Line Loan to refinance any outstanding Swing Line
Loan. Within the foregoing limits, and subject to the other terms and
conditions hereof, the Borrower may borrow under this Section 2.20, prepay
under Section
2.7, and reborrow under this Section
2.20. Each Swing Line Loan shall bear interest at the
Alternate Base Rate plus the Applicable Margin. Immediately upon the making of a
Swing Line Loan, each Lender shall be deemed to, and hereby irrevocably and
unconditionally agrees to, purchase from the Swing Line Lender a risk
participation in such Swing Line Loan in an amount in proportion to such
Lender’s Pro Rata Share.
(b) Borrowing
Procedures. Each Swing Line Loan shall be made upon the
Borrower’s irrevocable notice to the Swing Line Lender and the Administrative
Agent, which may be given by telephone. Each such notice must be
received by the Swing Line Lender and the Administrative Agent not later than
1:00 p.m. (Charlotte, NC time) on the requested borrowing date, and shall
specify (i) the amount to be borrowed, which shall be a minimum principal amount
of $500,000 and integral multiples of $100,000 in excess thereof, and (ii) the
requested borrowing date, which shall be a Business Day. Each such
telephonic notice must be confirmed promptly by delivery to the Swing Line
Lender and the Administrative Agent of a written notice (the “Swing Line Loan
Notice”). Promptly after receipt by the Swing Line Lender of any
telephonic Swing Line Loan Notice, the Swing Line Lender will confirm with the
Administrative Agent (by telephone or in writing) that the Administrative Agent
has also received such Swing Line Loan Notice and, if not, the Swing Line Lender
will notify the Administrative Agent (by telephone or in writing) of the
contents thereof. Unless the Swing Line Lender has received notice
(by telephone or in writing) from the Administrative Agent (including at the
request of any Lender) prior to 2:00 p.m. on the date of the proposed Advance of
Swing Line Loans (A) directing the Swing Line Lender not to make such Swing Line
Loan as a result of the limitations set forth in the first proviso to the first
sentence of Section
2.20(a), or (B) that one or more of the applicable conditions specified
in Article V is
not then satisfied, then, subject to the terms and conditions hereof, the Swing
Line Lender will, not later than 3:00 p.m. on the borrowing date specified in
such Swing Line Loan Notice, make the amount of its Swing Line Loan available to
the Borrower.
(c) Refinancing of Swing Line
Loans.
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(i) The
Swing Line Lender at any time in its sole and absolute discretion may request,
on behalf of the Borrower (which hereby irrevocably requests and authorizes the
Swing Line Lender to so request on its behalf), that each Lender make a Floating
Rate Loan in an amount equal to such Lender’s Pro Rata Share of the amount of
Swing Line Loans then outstanding. Such request shall be made in
writing (which written request shall be deemed to be a Borrowing Notice for
purposes hereof) and in accordance with Section 2.8 without regard to the
minimum and multiples specified in Section 2.4 and provided that, after giving
effect to such Advance, the Aggregate Outstanding Credit Exposure shall not
exceed the Aggregate Commitments. The Swing Line Lender shall furnish
the Borrower with a copy of the applicable Loan notice promptly after delivering
such notice to the Administrative Agent. Each Lender shall make an
amount equal to its Pro Rata Share of the amount specified in such Loan notice
available to the Administrative Agent in immediately available funds for the
account of the Swing Line Lender at the Administrative Agent’s at its address
specified pursuant to Article XIV not later
than 1:00 p.m. (Charlotte, North Carolina time) on the day specified in such
Loan notice, whereupon, subject to Section 2.20(c)(ii),
each Lender that so makes funds available shall be deemed to have made a
Floating Rate Loan to the Borrower in such amount. The Administrative
Agent shall remit the funds so received to the Swing Line Lender.
(ii) If
for any reason any Swing Line Loan cannot be refinanced by such a Advance of
Loans in accordance with Section 2.20(c)(i),
the request for Floating Rate Loans submitted by the Swing Line Lender as set
forth herein shall be deemed to be a request by the Swing Line Lender that each
of the Lenders fund its risk participation in the relevant Swing Line Loan and
each Lender’s payment to the Administrative Agent for the account of the Swing
Line Lender pursuant to Section 2.20(c)(i)
shall be deemed payment in respect of such participation.
(iii) If
any Lender fails to make available to the Administrative Agent for the account
of the Swing Line Lender any amount required to be paid by such Lender pursuant
to the foregoing provisions of this Section 2.20(c) by
the time specified in Section 2.20(c)(i),
the Swing Line Lender shall be entitled to recover from such Lender (acting
through the Administrative Agent), on demand, such amount with interest thereon
for the period from the date such payment is required to the date on which such
payment is immediately available to the Swing Line Lender at a rate per annum
equal to the greater of the Federal Funds Effective Rate and a rate determined
by the Swing Line Lender in accordance with banking industry rules on interbank
compensation. A certificate of the Swing Line Lender submitted to any
Lender (through the Administrative Agent) with respect to any amounts owing
under this clause
(iii) shall be conclusive absent manifest error.
32
(iv) Each
Lender’s obligation to make Loans or to purchase and fund risk participations in
Swing Line Loans pursuant to this Section 2.20(c) shall
be absolute and unconditional and shall not be affected by any circumstance,
including (A) any setoff, counterclaim, recoupment, defense or other right that
such Lender may have against the Swing Line Lender, the Borrower or any other
Person for any reason whatsoever, (B) the occurrence or continuance of a Default
or Unmatured Default, or (C) any other occurrence, event or condition, whether
or not similar to any of the foregoing; provided, however, that each Lender’s
obligation to make Loans pursuant to this Section 2.20(c) is
subject to the conditions set forth in Section 5.2. No
such purchase or funding of risk participations shall relieve or otherwise
impair the obligation of the Borrower to repay Swing Line Loans, together with
interest as provided herein.
(d) Repayment of
Participations.
(i) At
any time after any Lender has purchased and funded a risk participation in a
Swing Line Loan, if the Swing Line Lender receives any payment on account of
such Swing Line Loan, the Swing Line Lender will distribute to such Lender its
Pro Rata Share of such payment (appropriately adjusted, in the case of interest
payments, to reflect the period of time during which such Lender’s risk
participation was funded) in the same funds as those received by the Swing Line
Lender.
(ii) If
any payment received by the Swing Line Lender in respect of principal or
interest on any Swing Line Loan is required to be returned by the Swing Line
Lender under any of the circumstances described in Article XII
(including pursuant to any settlement entered into by the Swing Line Lender in
its discretion), each Lender shall pay to the Swing Line Lender its Applicable
Percentage thereof on demand of the Administrative Agent, plus interest thereon
from the date of such demand to the date such amount is returned, at a rate per
annum equal to the Federal Funds Effective Rate. The Administrative
Agent will make such demand upon the request of the Swing Line
Lender. The obligations of the Lenders under this clause shall
survive the payment in full of the Obligations and the termination of this
Agreement.
(e) Interest for Account of
Swing Line Lender. The Swing Line Lender shall be responsible
for invoicing the Borrower for interest on the Swing Line
Loans. Until each Lender funds its Floating Rate Loans or risk
participation pursuant to this Section 2.20 to
refinance such Lender’s Pro Rata Share of any Swing Line Loan, interest in
respect of such Applicable Percentage shall be solely for the account of the
Swing Line Lender.
(f) Payments Directly to Swing
Line Lender. The Borrower shall make all payments of principal
and interest in respect of the Swing Line Loans directly to the Swing Line
Lender.
33
2.21 Extension of Facility
Termination Date.
(a) Request for
Extension. The Borrower may by notice to the Administrative
Agent (who shall promptly notify the Lenders) given not more than 60 days and
not less than 45 days prior to any anniversary of the Closing Date, request that
each Lender extend the Facility Termination Date for an additional one year from
the then existing Facility Termination Date; provided, that the
Borrower shall only be permitted to exercise this extension option two times
during the term of the Agreement.
(b) Lenders Election to
Extend. Each Lender, acting in its sole and individual
discretion, shall, by notice to the Administrative Agent given not later than 15
days following the receipt of notice of such request from the Administrative
Agent (the “Notice Date”), advise the Administrative Agent in writing whether or
not such Lender agrees to such extension (and each Lender that determines not to
so extend its Facility Termination Date (a “Non-Extending Lender”) shall notify
the Administrative Agent of such fact promptly after such determination (but in
any event no later than the Notice Date) and any Lender that does not so advise
the Administrative Agent on or before the Notice Date shall be deemed to be a
Non-Extending Lender. The election of any Lender to agree to such
extension shall not obligate any other Lender to so agree.
(c) Notification by
Administrative Agent. The Administrative Agent shall notify
the Borrower of each Lender’s determination under this Section no later than the
date 15 days after the Notice Date (or, if such date is not a Business Day, on
the next preceding Business Day).
(d) Additional Commitment
Lenders. The Borrower shall have the right on or before the
applicable anniversary of the Closing Date to replace each Non-Extending Lender
with, and add as “Lenders” under this Agreement in place thereof, one or more
Eligible Assignees (each, an “Additional Commitment Lender”) as provided in
Section 13.2,
each of which Additional Commitment Lenders shall have entered into an
Assignment Agreement pursuant to which such Additional Commitment Lender shall,
undertake, a Commitment (and, if any such Additional Commitment Lender is
already a Lender, its Commitment shall be in addition to such Lender’s
Commitment hereunder on such date) and shall be a “Lender” for all purposes of
this Agreement.
(e) Minimum Extension
Requirement. If all of the Lenders agree to any such request
for extension of the Facility Termination Date then the Facility Termination for
all Lenders shall be extended for the additional one year, as
applicable. If there exists any Non-Extending Lenders then the
Borrower shall (i) withdraw its extension request and the Facility Termination
Date will remain unchanged or (ii) provided that the Required Lenders (but for
the avoidance of doubt, not including any Additional Commitment Lenders) have
agreed to the extension request (such Lenders agreeing to such extension, the
“Approving Lenders”), then the Borrower may extend the Facility Termination Date
solely as to the Approving Lenders and the Additional Commitment Lenders with a
reduced amount of Aggregate Commitments during such extension period equal to
the aggregate Commitments of the Approving Lenders and the Additional Commitment
Lenders; it being understood that
34
(A) the
Facility Termination Date relating to any Non-Extending Lenders not replaced by
an Additional Commitment Lender shall not be extended and the repayment of all
obligations owed to them and the termination of their Commitments shall occur on
the already existing Facility Termination Date and (B) the Facility Termination
Date relating to the Approving Lenders and the Additional Commitment Lenders
shall be extended for an additional year, as applicable.
(f) Conditions to Effectiveness
of Extensions. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any extension of
the Facility Termination Date pursuant to this Section shall not be effective
with respect to any Lender unless:
(i) no
Default or Unmatured Default shall have occurred and be continuing on the date
of such extension and after giving effect thereto;
(ii) the
representations and warranties contained in Article VI are true
and correct on and as of the date of such extension except to the extent any
such representation or warranty is stated to relate solely to an earlier date,
in which case such representation or warranty shall have been true and correct
on and as of such earlier date; and
(iii) on
any Facility Termination Date, the Borrower shall prepay any Loans outstanding
on such date (and pay any additional amounts required pursuant to Section 3.4) to the
extent necessary to keep outstanding Loans ratable with any revised Pro Rata
Shares of the respective Lenders effective as of such date.
ARTICLE
III
YIELD PROTECTION;
TAXES
3.1 Yield
Protection.
If, on or
after the date of this Agreement, the adoption of any law or any governmental or
quasi-governmental rule, regulation, policy, guideline or directive (whether or
not having the force of law), or any change in the interpretation or
administration thereof by any governmental or quasi-governmental authority,
central bank or comparable agency charged with the interpretation or
administration thereof, or compliance by any Lender, any applicable Lending
Installation or any Issuer with any request or directive (whether or not having
the force of law) of any such authority, central bank or comparable
agency:
(a) subjects
any Lender, any applicable Lending Installation or any Issuer to any Taxes, or
changes the basis of taxation of payments (other than with respect to Excluded
Taxes) to any Lender in respect of its Eurodollar Loans or Letters of Credit or
participations therein, or
35
(b) imposes
or increases or deems applicable any reserve, assessment, insurance charge,
special deposit or similar requirement against assets of, deposits with or for
the account of, or credit extended by, any Lender, any applicable Lending
Installation or any Issuer (other than reserves and assessments taken into
account in determining the interest rate applicable to Eurodollar Advances),
or
(c) imposes
any other condition the result of which is to increase the cost to any Lender,
any applicable Lending Installation or any Issuer of making, funding or
maintaining its Eurodollar Loans or of issuing or participating in Letters of
Credit or reduces any amount receivable by any Lender, any applicable Lending
Installation or any Issuer in connection with its Eurodollar Loans or Letters of
Credit, or requires any Lender, any applicable Lending Installation or any
Issuer to make any payment calculated by reference to the amount of Eurodollar
Loans or Letters of Credit held or interest received by it, by an amount deemed
material by such Lender or such Issuer, as the case may be,
and the
result of any of the foregoing is to increase the cost to such Lender, the
applicable Lending Installation or such Issuer of making or maintaining its
Eurodollar Loans, Letters of Credit or Commitment or to reduce the return
received by such Lender, the applicable Lending Installation or such Issuer in
connection with such Eurodollar Loans, Letters of Credit or Commitment, then,
within 15 days of demand by such Lender or such Issuer, the Borrower
shall pay such Lender or such Issuer such additional amount or amounts as will
compensate such Lender or such Issuer for such increased cost or reduction in
amount received.
3.2 Changes in Capital Adequacy
Regulations.
If a
Lender or an Issuer determines the amount of capital required or expected to be
maintained by such Lender, any Lending Installation of such Lender, such Issuer
or any corporation controlling such Lender or such Issuer is increased as a
result of a Change, then, within 15 days of demand by such Lender or such
Issuer, the Borrower shall pay such Lender or such Issuer the amount necessary
to compensate for any shortfall in the rate of return on the portion of such
increased capital which such Lender or such Issuer determines is attributable to
this Agreement, its Outstanding Credit Exposure or its Commitment to make Loans
or to issue or participate in Letters of Credit hereunder (after taking into
account such Lender’s policies as to capital adequacy). “Change”
means (i) any change after the date of this Agreement in (or in the
interpretation of) the Risk-Based Capital Guidelines or (ii) any adoption of or
change in (or any change in the interpretation of) any other law, governmental
or quasi-governmental rule, regulation, policy, guideline, interpretation, or
directive (whether or not having the force of law) after the date of this
Agreement which affects the amount of capital required or expected to be
maintained by any Lender, any Lending Installation, any Issuer or any
corporation controlling any Lender or any Issuer. “Risk-Based Capital
Guidelines” means (x) the risk-based capital guidelines in effect in the United
States on the date of this Agreement, including transition rules, and (y) the
corresponding capital regulations promulgated by regulatory authorities outside
the United States implementing
36
the July
1988 report of the Basle Committee on Banking Regulation and Supervisory
Practices Entitled “International Convergence of Capital Measurements and
Capital Standards,” including transition rules, and any amendments to such
regulations adopted prior to the date of this Agreement.
3.3 Availability of Types of
Advances.
If (i)
any Lender determines that maintenance of its Eurodollar Loans at a suitable
Lending Installation would violate any applicable law, rule, regulation, or
directive, whether or not having the force of law, (ii) the Required Lenders
determine that (a) deposits of a type and maturity appropriate to match fund
Eurodollar Advances are not available or (b) the interest rate applicable to a
Type of Advance does not accurately reflect the cost of making or maintaining
such Advance or (iii) the Administrative Agent determines that adequate and
reasonable means do not exist for determining the Eurodollar Base Rate, then the
Administrative Agent shall suspend the availability of the affected Type of
Advance and, in the case of clause (i), require
any affected Eurodollar Advances to be repaid or converted to Floating Rate
Advances, subject to the payment of any funding indemnification amounts required
by Section
3.4.
3.4 Funding
Indemnification.
If any
conversion, prepayment or payment of a Eurodollar Advance occurs on a date which
is not the last day of the applicable Interest Period, whether because of
acceleration, prepayment or otherwise, or a Eurodollar Advance is not made,
paid, continued or converted on the date or in the amount specified by the
Borrower for any reason other than default by the Lenders, the Borrower will
indemnify each Lender for any loss or cost incurred by it resulting therefrom,
including any loss or cost in liquidating or employing deposits acquired to fund
or maintain such Eurodollar Advance.
3.5 Taxes.
(a) All
payments by the Borrower to or for the account of any Lender, the Swing Line
Lender, any Issuer or the Administrative Agent hereunder or under any Note shall
be made free and clear of and without deduction for any and all
Taxes. If the Borrower shall be required by law to deduct any Taxes
from or in respect of any sum payable hereunder to any Lender, the Swing Line
Lender, any Issuer or the Administrative Agent, (i) the sum payable shall be
increased as necessary so that after making all required deductions (including
deductions applicable to additional sums payable under this Section 3.5) such
Lender, the Swing Line Lender, such Issuer or the Administrative
Agent (as the case may be) receives an amount equal to the sum it would have
received had no such deductions been made, (ii) the Borrower shall make such
deductions, (iii) the Borrower shall pay the full amount deducted to the
relevant authority in accordance with applicable law and (iv) the Borrower shall
furnish to the Administrative Agent the original copy of a receipt evidencing
payment thereof within 30 days after such payment is made.
37
(b) In
addition, the Borrower hereby agrees to pay any present or future stamp or
documentary taxes and any other excise or property taxes, charges or similar
levies which arise from any payment made hereunder or under any Note or Letter
of Credit Application or from the execution or delivery of, or otherwise with
respect to, this Agreement, any Note or any Letter of Credit Application (“Other
Taxes”).
(c) The
Borrower hereby agrees to indemnify the Administrative Agent, the Swing Line
Lender, each Lender and each Issuer for the full amount of Taxes or Other Taxes
(including any Taxes or Other Taxes imposed on amounts payable under this Section 3.5) paid by
the Administrative Agent, the Swing Line Lender, such Lender or such Issuer and
any liability (including penalties, interest and expenses) arising therefrom or
with respect thereto. Payments due under this indemnification shall
be made within 30 days of the date the Administrative Agent, the Swing Line
Lender, such Lender or such Issuer makes demand therefor pursuant to Section
3.6.
(d) Each
Lender that is not incorporated under the laws of the United States of America
or a state thereof (each a “Non-U.S. Lender”) agrees that it will, not less than
ten Business Days after the date of this Agreement (or, if later, the date it
becomes a party hereto), (i) deliver to each of the Borrower and the
Administrative Agent two duly completed copies of United States Internal Revenue
Service Form W-8BEN or W-8ECI, certifying in either case that such Lender is
entitled to receive payments under this Agreement without deduction or
withholding of any United States federal income taxes, and (ii) deliver to each
of the Borrower and the Administrative Agent a United States Internal Revenue
Form W-8BEN or W-9, as the case may be, and certify that it is entitled to an
exemption from United States backup withholding tax. Each Non-U.S.
Lender further undertakes to deliver to each of the Borrower and the
Administrative Agent (x) renewals or additional copies of such form (or any
successor form) on or before the date that such form expires or becomes
obsolete, and (y) after the occurrence of any event requiring a change in the
most recent forms so delivered by it, such additional forms or amendments
thereto as may be reasonably requested by the Borrower or the Administrative
Agent. All forms or amendments described in the preceding sentence
shall certify that such Lender is entitled to receive payments under this
Agreement without deduction or withholding of any United States federal income
taxes, unless an event (including any change in treaty, law or
regulation) has occurred prior to the date on which any such delivery would
otherwise be required which renders all such forms inapplicable or which would
prevent such Lender from duly completing and delivering any such form or
amendment with respect to it and such Lender advises the Borrower and the
Administrative Agent that it is not capable of receiving payments without any
deduction or withholding of United States federal income tax.
38
(e) For
any period during which a Non-U.S. Lender has failed to provide the Borrower
with an appropriate form pursuant to clause (iv) above
(unless such failure is due to a change in treaty, law or regulation, or any
change in the interpretation or administration thereof by any governmental
authority, occurring subsequent to the date on which a form originally was
required to be provided), such Non-U.S. Lender shall not be entitled to
indemnification under this Section 3.5 with
respect to Taxes imposed by the United States; provided that, should
a Non-U.S. Lender which is otherwise exempt from or subject to a reduced rate of
withholding tax become subject to Taxes because of its failure to deliver a form
required under clause
(iv) above, the Borrower shall take such steps as such Non-U.S. Lender
shall reasonably request to assist such Non-U.S. Lender to recover such
Taxes.
(f) Any Lender
that is entitled to an exemption from or reduction of withholding tax with
respect to payments under this Agreement or any Note pursuant to the law of any
relevant jurisdiction or any treaty shall deliver to the Borrower (with a copy
to the Administrative Agent), at the time or times prescribed by applicable law,
such properly completed and executed documentation prescribed by applicable law
as will permit such payments to be made without withholding or at a reduced
rate.
3.6 Lender Statements; Survival
of Indemnity.
To the
extent reasonably possible and upon the request of the Borrower, each Lender
shall designate an alternate Lending Installation with respect to its Eurodollar
Loans to reduce any liability of the Borrower to such Lender under Sections 3.1, 3.2 and 3.5 or to avoid the
unavailability of Eurodollar Advances under Section 3.3, so long
as such designation is not, in the judgment of such Lender, disadvantageous to
such Lender. Each Lender or each Issuer, as applicable, shall deliver
a written statement of such Lender or such Issuer to the Borrower (with a copy
to the Administrative Agent) as to any amount due under Section 3.1, 3.2, 3.4 or 3.5. Such
written statement shall set forth in reasonable detail the calculations upon
which such Lender or such Issuer determined such amount and shall be final,
conclusive and binding on the Borrower in the absence of manifest
error. Determination of amounts payable under such Sections in
connection with a Eurodollar Loan shall be calculated as though each Lender
funded its Eurodollar Loan through the purchase of a deposit of the type and
maturity corresponding to the deposit used as a reference in determining the
Eurodollar Rate applicable to such Loan, whether in fact that is the case or
not. Unless otherwise provided herein, the amount specified in the
written statement of any Lender or any Issuer shall be payable on demand after
receipt by the Borrower of such written statement. The obligations of
the Borrower under Sections 3.1, 3.2, 3.4 and 3.5 shall survive
payment of the Obligations and termination of this Agreement.
39
ARTICLE
IV
GUARANTY
4.1 The
Guaranty.
The
Guarantor hereby guarantees to each Lender, each Issuer, each Affiliate of a
Lender that enters into a Swap Contract with the Borrower, and the
Administrative Agent as hereinafter provided, as primary obligor and not as
surety, the prompt payment of the Obligations in full when due (whether at
stated maturity, as a mandatory prepayment, by acceleration, as a mandatory cash
collateralization or otherwise) strictly in accordance with the terms
thereof. The Guarantor hereby further agrees that if any of the
Obligations are not paid in full when due (whether at stated maturity, as a
mandatory prepayment, by acceleration, as a mandatory cash collateralization or
otherwise), the Guarantor will promptly pay the same, without any demand or
notice whatsoever, and that in the case of any extension of time of payment or
renewal of any of the Obligations, the same will be promptly paid in full when
due (whether at extended maturity, as a mandatory prepayment, by acceleration,
as a mandatory cash collateralization or otherwise) in accordance with the terms
of such extension or renewal.
Notwithstanding
any provision to the contrary contained herein or in any other of the Loan
Documents or Swap Contracts, the obligations of the Guarantor under this
Agreement and the other Loan Documents and the Swap Contracts shall be limited
to an aggregate amount equal to the largest amount that would not render such
obligations subject to avoidance under the federal bankruptcy laws or any
comparable provisions of any applicable state law.
4.2 Obligations
Unconditional.
The
obligations of the Guarantor under Section 4.1 are
absolute and unconditional, irrespective of the value, genuineness, validity,
regularity or enforceability of any of the Loan Documents, Swap Contracts, or
any other agreement or instrument referred to therein, or any substitution,
release, impairment or exchange of any other guarantee of or security for any of
the Obligations, and, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law,
irrespective of any law or regulation or other circumstance whatsoever which
might otherwise constitute a legal or equitable discharge or defense of a surety
or guarantor, it being the intent of this Section 4.2 that the
obligations of the Guarantor hereunder shall be absolute and unconditional under
any and all circumstances. The Guarantor agrees that it shall have no
right of subrogation, indemnity, reimbursement or contribution against the
Borrower for amounts paid under this Article IV until such
time as the Obligations (other than contingent indemnification obligations that
survive the termination of this Agreement) have been paid in full and the
Commitments have expired or terminated. Without limiting the
generality of the foregoing, it is agreed that, to the fullest extent permitted
by law, the occurrence of any one or more of the following shall not alter or
impair the liability of the Guarantor hereunder, which shall remain absolute and
unconditional as described above:
40
(a) at
any time or from time to time, without notice to the Guarantor, the time for any
performance of or compliance with any of the Obligations shall be extended, or
such performance or compliance shall be waived;
(b) any
of the acts mentioned in any of the provisions of any of the Loan Documents, any
Swap Contract between the Borrower and any Lender, or any Affiliate of a Lender,
or any other agreement or instrument referred to in the Loan Documents or such
Swap Contracts shall be done or omitted;
(c) the
maturity of any of the Obligations shall be accelerated, or any of the
Obligations shall be modified, supplemented or amended in any respect, or any
right under any of the Loan Documents, any Swap Contract between any Loan Party
and any Lender, or any Affiliate of a Lender, or any other agreement or
instrument referred to in the Loan Documents or such Swap Contracts shall be
waived or any other guarantee of any of the Obligations or any security therefor
shall be released, impaired or exchanged in whole or in part or otherwise dealt
with; or
(d) any
of the Obligations shall be determined to be void or voidable (including,
without limitation, for the benefit of any creditor of the Guarantor) or shall
be subordinated to the claims of any Person (including, without limitation, any
creditor of the Guarantor).
With
respect to its obligations hereunder, the Guarantor hereby expressly waives
diligence, presentment, demand of payment, protest and all notices whatsoever,
and any requirement that the Administrative Agent or any Lender exhaust any
right, power or remedy or proceed against any Person under any of the Loan
Documents, any Swap Contract between any Loan Party and any Lender, or any
Affiliate of a Lender, or any other agreement or instrument referred to in the
Loan Documents or such Swap Contracts or against any other Person under any
other guarantee of, or security for, any of the Obligations.
4.3 Reinstatement.
The
obligations of the Guarantor under this Article IV shall be
automatically reinstated if and to the extent that for any reason any payment by
or on behalf of any Person in respect of the Obligations is rescinded or must be
otherwise restored by any holder of any of the Obligations, whether as a result
of any proceedings in bankruptcy or reorganization or otherwise, and the
Guarantor agrees that it will indemnify the Administrative Agent, the Swing Line
Lender, the Issuers and each Lender on demand for all reasonable costs and
expenses (including, without limitation, the fees, charges and disbursements of
counsel) incurred by the Administrative Agent, the Swing Line Lender, the
Issuers or such Lender in connection with such rescission or restoration,
including any such costs and expenses incurred in defending against any claim
alleging that such payment constituted a preference, fraudulent transfer or
similar payment under any bankruptcy, insolvency or similar law.
4.4 Certain Additional
Waivers.
41
The
Guarantor agrees that it shall have no right of recourse to security for the
Obligations, except through the exercise of rights of subrogation pursuant to
Section
4.2.
4.5 Remedies.
The
Guarantor agrees that, to the fullest extent permitted by law, as between the
Guarantor, on the one hand, and the Administrative Agent and the Lenders, on the
other hand, the Obligations may be declared to be forthwith due and payable as
provided in Section
9.1 (and shall be deemed to have become automatically due and payable in
the circumstances provided in said Section 9.1) for
purposes of Section
4.1 notwithstanding any stay, injunction or other prohibition preventing
such declaration (or preventing the Obligations from becoming automatically due
and payable) as against any other Person and that, in the event of such
declaration (or the Obligations being deemed to have become automatically due
and payable), the Obligations (whether or not due and payable by any other
Person) shall forthwith become due and payable by the Guarantors for purposes of
Section
4.1.
4.6 Guarantee of Payment;
Continuing Guarantee.
The
guarantee in this Article IV is a
guaranty of payment and not of collection, is a continuing guarantee, and shall
apply to all Obligations whenever arising.
ARTICLE
V
CONDITIONS
PRECEDENT
5.1 Initial Credit
Extension.
The
Lenders and the Issuers shall not be required to make the initial Credit
Extension hereunder until the Borrower has furnished the Administrative Agent
with (a) all fees required to be paid to the Lenders on the date hereof, (b)
evidence that, prior to or concurrently with the initial Credit Extension
hereunder, all obligations under the Existing Credit Facilities have been paid
in full (other than four letters of credit which amount, in the aggregate, to
$56,673,697 which will be governed by different documentation with the
respective issuers going forward) and all commitments to lend thereunder have
been terminated and (c) all of the following, in form and substance satisfactory
to each Agent and each Lender, and in sufficient copies for each
Lender:
(i) Copies
of the certificate of incorporation of the Borrower and the Guarantor, and
together with all amendments, certified by the Secretary or an Assistant
Secretary of the Borrower and the Guarantor, and a certificate of good standing,
certified by the appropriate governmental officer in the jurisdiction of
incorporation of the Borrower and the Guarantor, as well as any other
information that any Lender may request that is required by Section 326 of the
USA PATRIOT ACT or necessary for the Administrative Agent or any Lender
to
42
verify
the identity of the Borrower or the Guarantor as required by Section 326 of the
USA PATRIOT ACT.
(ii) Copies,
certified by the Secretary or an Assistant Secretary of each of the Borrower and
the Guarantor attaching the by-laws of the Borrower or Guarantor, as applicable
and the Board of Directors’ resolutions and of resolutions or actions of any
other body authorizing the execution of the Loan Documents to which the Borrower
or Guarantor is a party.
(iii) An
incumbency certificate, executed by the Secretary or an Assistant Secretary of
each of the Borrower and the Guarantor, which shall identify by name and title
and bear the signatures of the Authorized Officers and any other officers of the
Borrower and the Guarantor authorized to sign the Loan Documents to which the
Borrower or the Guarantor is a party, upon which certificate the Administrative
Agent and the Lenders shall be entitled to rely until informed of any change in
writing by the Borrower or the Guarantor.
(iv) A
certificate, signed by the Treasurer or the Chief Financial Officer of the
Borrower, stating that on the initial Borrowing Date no Default or Unmatured
Default has occurred and is continuing and setting forth the Guarantor’s Xxxxx’x
Rating and the S&P Rating as of the Closing Date.
(v) A
written opinion of counsel to the Borrower and the Guarantor, addressed to the
Administrative Agent and the Lenders in a form reasonably satisfactory to the
Administrative Agent and its counsel.
(vi) Executed
counterparts of this Agreement executed by the Borrower, the Guarantor, the
Administrative Agent and each Lender.
(vii) Any
Notes requested by a Lender pursuant to Section 2.13 payable
to the order of each such requesting Lender and the Swing Line
Note.
(viii) If
the initial Credit Extension will be the issuance of a Letter of Credit, a
properly completed Letter of Credit Application.
(ix) Written
money transfer instructions, in substantially the form of Exhibit C, addressed
to the Administrative Agent and signed by an Authorized Officer of the Borrower
who has executed and delivered an incumbency certificate in accordance with the
terms hereof, together with such other related money transfer authorizations as
the Administrative Agent may have reasonably requested.
(x) Such
other documents as any Lender or its counsel may have reasonably
requested.
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5.2 Each Credit
Extension.
The
Lenders shall not be required to make any Credit Extension (other than a Credit
Extension that, after giving effect thereto and to the application of the
proceeds thereof, does not increase the aggregate amount of outstanding Credit
Extensions), unless on the date of such Credit Extension:
(i) No
Default or Unmatured Default exists or would result from such Credit
Extension.
(ii) The
representations and warranties contained in Article VI are true
and correct as of the date of such Credit Extension except to the extent any
such representation or warranty is stated to relate solely to an earlier date,
in which case such representation or warranty shall have been true and correct
on and as of such earlier date; provided that this
clause (ii)
shall not apply to the representations and warranties set forth in Section 6.5 (as it
relates to clause
(i) through (iii) of the
definition of “Material Adverse Effect”), clause (a) of the
first sentence of Section 6.7 and the
second sentence of Section 6.7 with
respect to any borrowing hereunder which is not part of the Initial Credit
Extension.
Each
delivery of a Borrowing Notice and each request for the issuance of a Letter of
Credit shall constitute a representation and warranty by the Borrower that the
conditions contained in Sections 5.2(i) and
(ii) have been
satisfied. Any Lender may require delivery of a duly completed
compliance certificate in substantially the form of Exhibit A as a
condition to making a Credit Extension.
ARTICLE
VI
REPRESENTATIONS AND
WARRANTIES
The
Borrower and the Guarantor, as applicable, represent and warrant to the Lenders
that:
6.1 Existence and
Standing.
Each of
the Borrower, the Guarantor and their respective Significant Subsidiaries is a
corporation, partnership (in the case of Subsidiaries only) or limited liability
company duly and properly incorporated or organized, as the case may be, validly
existing and (to the extent such concept applies to such entity) in good
standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation or organization and
has all requisite authority to conduct its business in each jurisdiction in
which its business is conducted.
44
6.2 Authorization and
Validity.
Each of
the Borrower and the Guarantor has the power and authority and legal right to
execute and deliver the Loan Documents and to perform their respective
obligations thereunder. The execution and delivery by the Borrower
and the Guarantor of the Loan Documents and the performance of their respective
obligations thereunder have been duly authorized by proper corporate
proceedings, and the Loan Documents constitute legal, valid and binding
obligations of each of the Borrower and the Guarantor, as applicable,
enforceable against each of the Borrower and the Guarantor in accordance with
their terms, except as enforceability may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency
or similar laws affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights
generally.
6.3 No Conflict; Government
Consent.
Neither
the execution and delivery by the Borrower or the Guarantor of the Loan
Documents, nor the consummation of the transactions therein contemplated, nor
compliance with the provisions thereof will violate (i) any law, rule,
regulation, order, writ, judgment, injunction, decree or award binding on the
Borrower or the Guarantor or (ii) the Borrower’s or the Guarantor’s articles or
certificate of incorporation or by-laws or (iii) the provisions of any
indenture, instrument or agreement to which the Borrower or the Guarantor is a
party or is subject, or by which it, or its Property, is bound, or conflict with
or constitute a default thereunder, or result in, or require, the creation or
imposition of any Lien in, of or on the Property of the Borrower or the
Guarantor pursuant to the terms of any such indenture, instrument or
agreement. No order, consent, adjudication, approval, license,
authorization, or validation of, or filing, recording or registration with, or
exemption by, or other action in respect of any governmental or public body or
authority, or any subdivision thereof, which has not been obtained by the
Borrower or the Guarantor, is required to be obtained by the Borrower or the
Guarantor in connection with the execution and delivery of the Loan Documents,
the borrowings under this Agreement, the payment and performance by the Borrower
and the Guarantor of the Obligations or the legality, validity, binding effect
or enforceability of any of the Loan Documents.
6.4 Financial
Statements.
The March
31, 2008 and June 30, 2008 consolidated financial statements of the Guarantor
and its Subsidiaries heretofore delivered to the Lenders were prepared in
accordance with GAAP and fairly present the consolidated financial condition and
operations of the Guarantor and its Subsidiaries at such dates and the
consolidated results of their operations for the periods then ended subject, to
normal year-end adjustments.
6.5 Material Adverse
Change.
Since
December 31, 2007, there has been no change in the business, Property,
prospects, condition (financial or otherwise) or results of operations of (i)
the Guarantor
45
and its
Subsidiaries or (ii) the Borrower and its Subsidiaries, which, in either case,
could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
6.6 Taxes.
The
Borrower, the Guarantor and its Significant Subsidiaries have filed all United
States federal tax returns and all other material tax returns which are required
to be filed and have paid all taxes due and payable pursuant to said returns or
pursuant to any assessment received by the Borrower, the Guarantor or any of its
Significant Subsidiaries, except such taxes, if any, as are being contested in
good faith and as to which adequate reserves have been provided in accordance
with GAAP and as to which no Lien exists. No tax liens have been
filed and no material claims are being asserted against the Borrower, the
Guarantor or any Significant Subsidiary with respect to any such
taxes. The charges, accruals and reserves on the books of the
Borrower, the Guarantor and its Significant Subsidiaries in respect of any taxes
or other governmental charges are adequate.
6.7 Litigation;
etc.
Except as
set forth in the Borrower’s and the Guarantor’s ‘34 Act Reports, there is no
litigation, arbitration, governmental investigation, proceeding or inquiry
pending or, to the knowledge of any of their officers, threatened against or
affecting the Borrower, the Guarantor or any of its Subsidiaries which (a) could
reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect or (b) seeks to
prevent, enjoin or delay the making of any Credit Extension. Other
than any liability incident to any litigation, arbitration or proceeding which
could not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, each of the
Borrower and the Guarantor has no material contingent obligations not provided
for or disclosed in the financial statements referred to in Section
6.4.
6.8 ERISA.
Each of
the Borrower and the Guarantor and each other member of the Controlled Group has
fulfilled its obligations under the minimum funding standards of ERISA and the
Code with respect to each Plan and is in compliance with the presently
applicable provisions of ERISA and the Code with respect to each Plan, except to
the extent that noncompliance, individually or in the aggregate, has not
resulted in and could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse
Effect. Neither the Borrower, nor the Guarantor nor any
other member of the Controlled Group has (i) sought a waiver of the minimum
funding standard under Section 412 of the Code in respect of any Plan, (ii)
failed to make any required contribution or payment to any Plan or Multiemployer
Plan, or made any amendment to any Plan which has resulted or could result in
the imposition of a Lien or the posting of a bond or other security under ERISA
or the Code or (iii) incurred any liability under Title IV of ERISA other than a
liability to the PBGC for premiums under Section 4007 of ERISA.
46
6.9 Accuracy of
Information.
No
information, exhibit or report furnished by the Borrower, the Guarantor or any
of its Subsidiaries to the Administrative Agent or to any Lender in connection
with the negotiation of, or compliance with, the Loan Documents contained any
material misstatement of fact or omitted to state a material fact or any fact
necessary to make the statements contained therein not misleading.
6.10 Regulation
U.
Neither
the Borrower nor the Guarantor is not engaged and will not engage, principally
or as one of its important activities, in the business of purchasing or carrying
margin stock (as defined in Regulation U), or extending credit for the purpose
of purchasing or carrying margin stock. Margin stock constitutes less
than 25% of the value of those assets of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries which
are subject to any limitation on sale, pledge or other restriction hereunder,
and constitutes less than 25% of the value of those assets of the Guarantor and
its Subsidiaries which are subject to any limitation on sale, pledge or other
restriction hereunder.
6.11 Material
Agreements.
Neither
the Borrower, nor the Guarantor nor any Subsidiary is a party to any agreement
or instrument or subject to any charter or other corporate restriction which is
reasonably likely to have a Material Adverse Effect. Neither the
Borrower, nor the Guarantor nor any Subsidiary is in default in the performance,
observance or fulfillment of any of the obligations, covenants or conditions
contained in any agreement to which it is a party, which default could
reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
6.12 Compliance With
Laws.
The
Borrower, the Guarantor and its Subsidiaries have complied with all applicable
statutes, rules, regulations, orders and restrictions of any domestic or foreign
government or any instrumentality or agency thereof having jurisdiction over the
conduct of their respective businesses or the ownership of their respective
Property except for any failure to comply with any of the foregoing which could
not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
6.13 Ownership of
Properties.
On the
date of this Agreement, the Borrower, the Guarantor and its Significant
Subsidiaries will have good title, free of all Liens other than those permitted
by Section 6.12, to
all of the Property and assets reflected in the Guarantor’s most recent
consolidated financial statements provided to the Administrative Agent as owned
by the Guarantor and its Subsidiaries.
47
6.14 Plan Assets; Prohibited
Transactions.
To each
of the Borrower’s and the Guarantor’s knowledge, neither the Borrower nor the
Guarantor is an entity deemed to hold “plan assets” within the meaning of 29
C.F.R. § 2510.3-101 of another entity’s employee benefit plan (as defined in
Section 3(3) of ERISA) which is subject to Title I of ERISA or any plan (within
the meaning of Section 4975 of the Code), and neither the execution of this
Agreement nor the making of Loans hereunder gives rise to a prohibited
transaction within the meaning of Section 406 of ERISA or Section 4975 of the
Code.
6.15 Environmental
Matters.
Except as
set forth in the Borrower’s and the Guarantor’s ‘34 Act Reports, there are no
known risks and liabilities accruing to the Borrower, the Guarantor or any of
its Subsidiaries due to Environmental Laws that could reasonably be expected to
have a Material Adverse Effect.
6.16 Investment Company
Act.
Neither
the Borrower, nor the Guarantor nor any Subsidiary is or is required to be
registered as an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment
Company Act of 1940, as amended.
6.17 Pari Passu
Indebtedness.
The
Indebtedness under the Loan Documents ranks at least pari passu with (a) all
other unsecured Indebtedness of the Borrower and (b) all other unsecured
Indebtedness of the Guarantor.
6.18 Solvency.
As of the
date hereof and after giving effect to the consummation of the transactions
contemplated by the Loan Documents, the Borrower, the Guarantor and each
Significant Subsidiary is solvent. For purposes of the preceding
sentence, solvent means (a) the fair saleable value (on a going concern basis)
of the Borrower’s assets, the Guarantor’s assets or a Significant
Subsidiary’s assets, as applicable, exceed its liabilities, contingent or
otherwise, fairly valued, (b) such Person will be able to pay its debts as they
become due and (c) such Person will not be left with unreasonably small capital
as is necessary to satisfy all of its current and reasonably anticipated
obligations giving due consideration to the prevailing practice in the industry
in which such Person is engaged. In computing the amount of
contingent liabilities at any time, it is intended that such liabilities will be
computed at the amount which, in light of all the facts and circumstances
existing at such time, represents the amount that can reasonably be expected to
become an actual or matured liability. Neither the Borrower nor the
Guarantor is entering into the Loan Documents with the actual intent to hinder,
delay or defraud its current or future creditors, nor does the Borrower or the
Guarantor intend to or
48
believe
that it will incur, as a result of entering into this Agreement and the other
Loan Documents, debts beyond its ability to repay.
6.19 No
Default.
(a) Neither
the Borrower, nor the Guarantor nor any Subsidiary is in default under or with
respect to any contractual obligation that could reasonably be expected to have
a Material Adverse Effect.
(b) No
Default has occurred and is continuing.
ARTICLE
VII
COVENANTS
During
the term of this Agreement, unless the Required Lenders shall otherwise consent
in writing:
7.1 Financial
Reporting.
The
Borrower and the Guarantor will maintain, for itself and each Subsidiary, a
system of accounting established and administered in accordance with generally
accepted accounting principles, and furnish to the Lenders, as applicable, the
following:
(a) Within
90 days after the close of each of the Guarantor’s fiscal years, an unqualified
audit report certified by an independent registered public accounting firm which
is a member of the “Big Four,” prepared in accordance with GAAP on a
consolidated basis for the Guarantor and its Consolidated Subsidiaries,
including balance sheets as of the end of such period and related statements of
income, common shareholders’ equity and cash flows, accompanied by any
management letter prepared by said accountants.
(b) Within
45 days after the close of the first three quarterly periods of each of the
Guarantor’s fiscal years, for the Guarantor and its Consolidated Subsidiaries,
either (a) consolidated and consolidating unaudited balance sheets as at the
close of each such period and consolidated and consolidating profit and loss and
reconciliation of surplus statements and a statement of cash flows for the
period from the beginning of such fiscal year to the end of such quarter, all
certified by the Chief Accounting Officer or Chief Financial Officer of the
Guarantor or (b) if the Guarantor is then a “registrant” within the
meaning of Rule 1-01 of Regulation S-X of the SEC and required to file a report
on Form 10-Q with the SEC, a copy of the Guarantor’s report on Form 10-Q for
such quarterly period.
49
(c) Within
120 days after the close of each of the Borrower’s fiscal years, a FERC Form No.
1 for the Borrower, which FERC Form No. 1 will include unaudited balance sheets
as of the end of such period and related statements of income, retained
earnings, accumulated income and statements of cash flows for such
period.
(d) Within
75 days after the close of the first three quarterly periods of each of the
Borrower’s fiscal years, a FERC Form No. 3-Q for the Borrower, which will
include unaudited balance sheets as at the close of each such period and related
statements of income, retained earnings and accumulated comprehensive income and
a statement of cash flows for the period from the beginning of such fiscal year
to the end of such quarter, all certified by the Treasurer or Chief Financial
Officer of the Borrower.
(e) Together
with the financial statements required under Sections 7.1(c)
and (d), a
compliance certificate in substantially the form of Exhibit A signed by
the Treasurer or Chief Financial Officer of the Borrower setting forth
calculations of the financial covenant contained in Section 7.15 and
stating that no Default or Unmatured Default exists, or if any Default or
Unmatured Default exists, stating the nature and status thereof.
(f) As
soon as possible and in any event within 10 days after the Borrower, the
Guarantor or any member of the Controlled Group knows that any Reportable Event
has occurred with respect to any Plan, a statement, signed by the Treasurer or
Chief Financial Officer of the Borrower or the Guarantor, as applicable,
describing said Reportable Event and the action which the Borrower, the
Guarantor or member of the Controlled Group, as applicable, proposes to take
with respect thereto.
(g) As
soon as possible and in any event within two days after receipt of notice by the
Borrower, the Guarantor or any member of the Controlled Group of the PBGC’s
intention to terminate any Plan or to have a trustee appointed to administer any
Plan, a copy of such notice.
(h) Promptly
upon the furnishing thereof to the shareholders of the Borrower or the
Guarantor, copies of all financial statements, reports and proxy statements so
furnished.
(i) Promptly
upon the filing thereof, copies of all registration statements and annual,
quarterly, monthly or other regular reports which the Borrower or the Guarantor
files with the SEC.
(j) As
soon as possible, and in any event within three days after an Authorized Officer
of the Borrower or the Guarantor shall have knowledge thereof, notice of any
change by Xxxxx’x or S&P in the senior unsecured debt rating of the Borrower
or the Guarantor.
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(k) Such
other information (including non-financial information) as the Administrative
Agent or any Lender may from time to time reasonably request.
The
statements and reports required to be furnished by the Borrower or the Guarantor
pursuant to clauses
(b), (h)
and (i) above
shall be deemed furnished for such purpose upon becoming publicly available on
the SEC’s XXXXX web page.
The
Borrower and the Guarantor hereby acknowledge that (i) the Administrative Agent
and/or BAS will make available to the Lenders and Issuers materials and/or
information provided by or on behalf of the Borrower or the Guarantor hereunder
(collectively, “Borrower Materials”)
by posting the Borrower Materials on IntraLinks or another similar electronic
system (the “Platform”) and (ii)
certain of the Lenders may be “public-side” Lenders (i.e., Lenders that do not
wish to receive material non-public information with respect to the Borrower or
its securities) (each, a “Public
Lender”). Each of the Borrower and the Guarantor hereby agrees
that (w) all Borrower Materials that are to be made available to Public Lenders
shall be clearly and conspicuously marked “PUBLIC” which, at a minimum, shall
mean that the word “PUBLIC” shall appear prominently on the first page thereof;
(x) by marking Borrower Materials “PUBLIC,” the Borrower and the Guarantor shall
be deemed to have authorized the Agents, the Arrangers, the Issuers and the
Lenders to treat such Borrower Materials as not containing any material
non-public information with respect to the Borrower or the Guarantor or its
securities for purposes of United States Federal and state securities laws
(provided,
however, that
to the extent such Borrower Materials constitute Specified Information, they
shall be treated as set forth in Section 10.11(a));
(y) all Borrower Materials marked “PUBLIC” are permitted to be made available
through a portion of the Platform designated “Public Investor;” and (z) the
Administrative Agent and BAS shall be entitled to treat any Borrower Materials
that are not marked “PUBLIC” as being suitable only for posting on a portion of
the Platform not designated “Public Investor.” Notwithstanding the
foregoing, neither the Borrower nor the Guarantor shall be under any obligation
to xxxx any Borrower Materials “PUBLIC.”
7.2 Permits,
Etc.
The
Borrower and the Guarantor will, and will cause their respective Significant
Subsidiaries to, take all reasonable action to maintain all rights, privileges,
permits, licenses and franchises necessary or desirable in the normal conduct of
its business, except to the extent failure to do so could not reasonably be
expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and preserve or renew all of its
registered patents, trademarks, trade names and service marks, the
non-preservation of which could reasonably be expected to have a Material
Adverse Effect.
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7.3 Use of
Proceeds.
The
Borrower will use the proceeds of the Credit Extensions (i) to repay the
Existing Credit Facilities and (ii) for the general corporate and working
capital purposes of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries, including support for the
Borrower’s commercial paper. The Borrower will not use any of the
proceeds of the Credit Extensions to purchase or carry any margin stock (as
defined in Regulation U) or to extend credit for the purpose of purchasing or
carrying margin stock. The Guarantor will not permit margin stock to
constitute 25% or more of the value of those assets of the Guarantor and its
Subsidiaries which are subject to any limitation on sale, pledge or other
restriction hereunder. The Borrower will not permit margin stock to
constitute 25% or more of the value of those assets of the Borrower and its
Subsidiaries which are subject to any limitation on sale, pledge or other
restriction hereunder.
7.4 Notice of
Default.
The
Borrower and the Guarantor will, and will cause their respective Subsidiaries
to, give prompt notice in writing to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders of
the occurrence of any Default or Unmatured Default and of any other development,
financial or otherwise, which could reasonably be expected to have a Material
Adverse Effect.
7.5 Conduct of
Business.
The
Borrower and the Guarantor will, and will cause their respective Significant
Subsidiaries to, carry on and conduct its business in substantially the same
manner and in substantially the same fields of enterprise as it is presently
conducted and do all things necessary to remain duly incorporated or organized,
validly existing and (to the extent such concept applies to such entity) in good
standing as a domestic corporation, partnership or limited liability company in
its jurisdiction of incorporation or organization, as the case may be, and
maintain all requisite authority to conduct its business in each jurisdiction in
which its business is conducted.
7.6 Taxes.
The
Borrower and the Guarantor will, and will cause their respecitve Significant
Subsidiaries to, timely file United States federal and applicable foreign, state
and local tax returns required by law and pay when due all taxes, assessments
and governmental charges and levies upon it or its income, profits or Property,
except those which are being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings
and with respect to which adequate reserves have been set aside in accordance
with GAAP.
7.7 Insurance.
The
Borrower and the Guarantor will, and will cause their respective Significant
Subsidiaries to, maintain with financially sound and reputable insurance
companies that
52
are not
Affiliates of the Guarantor or its Subsidiaries (other than any captive
insurance company) insurance on all their Properties and business against loss
or damage of the kinds customarily insured against by Persons engaged in the
same or similar business, of such types and in such amounts as are customarily
carried under similar circumstances by such other Persons, and the Borrower and
the Guarantor will furnish to any Lender upon request full information as to the
insurance carried. Such insurance may be subject to co-insurance,
deductibility or similar clauses which, in effect, result in self-insurance of
certain losses; provided that such
self-insurance is in accord with the customary industry practices for Persons in
the same or similar businesses and adequate insurance reserves are maintained in
connection with such self-insurance to the extent required by GAAP.
7.8 Compliance with
Laws.
The
Borrower and the Guarantor will, and will cause their respective Significant
Subsidiaries to, comply with all laws, rules, regulations, orders, writs,
judgments, injunctions, decrees or awards to which it may be subject including
all Environmental Laws, the failure to comply with which could reasonably be
expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
7.9 Maintenance of Properties;
Books of Record.
The
Borrower and the Guarantor will, and will cause their respective Significant
Subsidiaries to, (i) do all things necessary to maintain, preserve, protect and
keep its Property in good repair, working order and condition, and make all
necessary and proper repairs, renewals and replacements so that its business
carried on in connection therewith may be properly conducted at all times and
(ii) keep proper books of record and account, in which full and correct entries
shall be made of all material financial transactions and the assets and business
of the Guarantor and each Significant Subsidiary in accordance with GAAP; provided that nothing
in this Section shall prevent the Borrower, the Guarantor or any Significant
Subsidiary from discontinuing the operation or maintenance of any of its
Property or equipment if such discontinuance is, in the judgment of such Person,
desirable in the conduct of its business.
7.10 Inspection.
The
Borrower and the Guarantor will, and if a Default or Unmatured Default exists,
will cause each of their respective Subsidiaries to, permit the Administrative
Agent and the Lenders, by their respective representatives and agents, to
inspect any of the Property, books and financial records of such Person, to
examine and make copies of the books of accounts and other financial records of
such Person, and to discuss the affairs, finances and accounts of such Person
with, and to be advised as to the same by, such Person’s officers at such
reasonable times and intervals as the Administrative Agent or any Lender may
designate. After the occurrence and during the continuance of a
Default, any such inspection shall be at the Borrower’s expense; at all other
times, the Borrower shall not be liable to pay the expenses of the
Administrative Agent or any Lender in connection with such
inspections.
53
7.11 Consolidations, Mergers and
Sale of Assets.
The
Borrower and the Guarantor will not, nor will they permit any of their
respective Significant Subsidiaries (other than any Project Finance Subsidiary)
to, sell, lease, transfer, or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of
its assets (whether by a single transaction or a number of related transactions
and whether at one time or over a period of time) or consolidate with or merge
into any Person or permit any Person to merge into it, except
(a) A
Wholly-Owned Subsidiary may be merged into the Borrower, and a Wholly-Owned
Subsidiary (other than the Borrower) may be merged into the
Guarantor.
(b) Any
Significant Subsidiary may sell all or substantially all of its assets to, or
consolidate or merge into, another Significant Subsidiary; provided that,
immediately before and after such merger, consolidation or sale, no Default or
Unmatured Default shall exist.
(c) The
Borrower and KCPL may sell or transfer accounts receivable pursuant to one or
more securitization transactions.
(d) The
Borrower may sell all or substantially all of its assets to, or consolidate with
or merge into, any other corporation, or permit another corporation to merge
into it; provided that (i) the
surviving corporation, if such surviving corporation is not the Borrower, or the
transferee corporation in the case of a sale of all or substantially all of the
Borrower’s assets (A) shall be a corporation organized and existing under the
laws of the United States of America or a state thereof or the District of
Columbia, (B) shall expressly assume in a writing satisfactory to the
Administrative Agent the due and punctual payment of the Obligations and the due
and punctual performance of and compliance with all of the terms of this
Agreement and the other Loan Documents to be performed or complied with by the
Borrower and (C) shall deliver all documents required to be delivered pursuant
to Sections
5.1(i), (ii), (iii) and (v), (ii) immediately
before and after such merger, consolidation or sale, there shall not exist any
Default or Unmatured Default and (iii) the surviving corporation of such merger
or consolidation, or the transferee corporation of the assets of the Borrower,
as applicable, has, both immediately before and after such merger, consolidation
or sale, a Xxxxx’x Rating of Baa3 or better or an S&P Rating of BBB- or
better.
(e) The
Guarantor may sell all or substantially all of its assets to, or consolidate
with or merge into, any other corporation, or permit another corporation to
merge into it; provided that (i) the
surviving corporation, if such surviving corporation is not the Guarantor, or
the transferee corporation in the case of a sale of all or substantially all of
the Guarantor’s assets (A) shall be a corporation organized and existing under
the laws of the United States of America
54
or a
state thereof or the District of Columbia, (B) shall expressly assume in a
writing satisfactory to the Administrative Agent the due and punctual payment of
the Obligations and the due and punctual performance of and compliance with all
of the terms of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents to be performed or
complied with by the Guarantor and (C) shall deliver all documents required to
be delivered pursuant to Sections 5.1(i),
(ii), (iii) and (v), (ii) immediately
before and after such merger, consolidation or sale, there shall not exist any
Default or Unmatured Default and (iii) the surviving corporation of such merger
or consolidation, or the transferee corporation of the assets of the Guarantor,
as applicable, has, both immediately before and after such merger, consolidation
or sale, a Xxxxx’x Rating of Baa3 or better or an S&P Rating of BBB- or
better
Notwithstanding
the foregoing, the Borrower, the Guarantor and its Consolidated Subsidiaries
(excluding Project Finance Subsidiaries) will not convey, transfer, lease or
otherwise dispose of (whether in one transaction or a series of transactions,
but excluding (i) sales of inventory in the ordinary course of business, (ii)
transactions permitted by clauses (a) through
(e) above and
(iii) transfers by KCPL of assets related to, or ownership interests in, Iatan 2
to co-owners of Iatan 2 pursuant to the co-ownership, co-operating or other
similar agreements of the co-owners of Iatan 2) more than 20% of the aggregate
book value of the assets of the Guarantor and its Consolidated Subsidiaries
(excluding Project Finance Subsidiaries) as calculated as of the end of the most
recent fiscal quarter.
7.12 Liens.
The
Borrower and the Guarantor will not, nor will they permit any of their
respective Significant Subsidiaries (other than any Project Finance Subsidiary)
to, create, incur, or suffer to exist any Lien in, of or on the Property of the
Borrower, the Guarantor or any of its Significant Subsidiaries (other than any
Project Finance Subsidiary), except:
(a) Liens
for taxes, assessments or governmental charges or levies on its Property if the
same shall not at the time be delinquent or thereafter can be paid without
penalty, or are being contested in good faith and by appropriate proceedings and
for which adequate reserves in accordance with GAAP shall have been set aside on
its books.
(b) Liens
imposed by law, such as carriers’, warehousemen’s, mechanics’ and landlords’
liens and other similar liens arising in the ordinary course of business which
secure payment of obligations not more than 60 days past due or which are being
contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings and for which adequate
reserves shall have been set aside on its books.
(c) Liens
arising out of pledges or deposits in the ordinary course of business under
worker’s compensation laws, unemployment insurance, old age pensions, or other
social security or retirement benefits, or similar legislation, other than any
Lien imposed under ERISA.
55
(d) Liens
incidental to the normal conduct of the Borrower, the Guarantor or any of their
respective Significant Subsidiaries or the ownership or leasing of its Property
or the conduct of the ordinary course of its business, including (i) zoning
restrictions, easements, building restrictions, rights of way, reservations,
restrictions on the use of real property and such other encumbrances or charges
against real property as are of a nature generally existing with respect to
properties of a similar character and which are not substantial in amount and do
not in any material way affect the marketability of the same, (ii) rights of
lessees and lessors under leases, (iii) rights of collecting banks having rights
of setoff, revocation, refund or chargeback with respect to money or instruments
of the Borrower, the Guarantor or any of their respective Significant
Subsidiaries on deposit with or in the possession of such banks, (iv) Liens or
deposits to secure the performance of statutory obligations, tenders, bids,
contracts, leases, progress payments, performance or return-of-money bonds,
surety and appeal bonds, performance or other similar bonds, letters of credit,
or other obligations of a similar nature incurred in the ordinary course of
business, and (v) Liens required by any contract or statute in order to permit
the Borrower, the Guarantor or any of their respective Significant Subsidiaries
to perform any contract or subcontract made by it with or pursuant to the
requirements of a governmental entity, in each case which are not incurred in
connection with the borrowing of money, the obtaining of advances of credit or
the payment of the deferred purchase price of Property and which do not in the
aggregate impair the use of Property in the operation of the business of the
Borrower, the Guarantor and their respective Significant Subsidiaries taken as a
whole.
(e) Liens
arising under the General Mortgage Indenture and Deed of Trust dated December 1,
1986 from KCPL to UMB, N.A., or Liens arising under the Indenture of Mortgage
and Deed of Trust dated April 1, 1946, from St. Xxxxxx Light & Power Company
to Xxxxxx Trust and Savings Bank and Xxxxxxxx Xxxxx, as trustees.
(f) Liens
on the Property of the Borrower, the Guarantor or KCPL existing on the date
hereof and any renewal or extension thereof; provided, that the Property covered
thereby is not increased and any renewal or extension of the obligations secured
or benefitted thereby is permitted by this Agreement.
(g) Judgment
Liens which secure payment of legal obligations that would not constitute a
Default under Section
8.9.
(h) Liens
on Property acquired by the Borrower, the Guarantor or a Significant Subsidiary
of either of the Borrower or the Guarantor after the date hereof, existing on
such Property at the time of acquisition thereof (and not created in
anticipation thereof); provided that in any
such case no such Lien shall extend to or cover any other Property of the
Borrower, the Guarantor or such Significant Subsidiary, as the case may
be.
56
(i) Liens
on the Property, revenues and/or assets of any Person that exist at the time
such Person becomes a Significant Subsidiary and the continuation of such Liens
in connection with any refinancing or restructuring of the obligations secured
by such Liens.
(j) Liens
on Property securing Indebtedness incurred or assumed at the time of, or within
12 months after, the acquisition of such Property for the purpose of financing
all or any part of the cost of acquiring such Property; provided that (i)
such Lien attaches to such Property concurrently with or within 12 months after
the acquisition thereof, (ii) such Lien attaches solely to the Property so
acquired in such transaction and (iii) the principal amount of the Indebtedness
secured thereby does not exceed the cost or fair market value determined at the
date of incurrence, whichever is lower, of the Property being acquired on the
date of acquisition.
(k) Liens
on any improvements to Property securing Indebtedness incurred to provide funds
for all or part of the cost of such improvements in a principal amount not
exceeding the cost of construction of such improvements and incurred within 12
months after completion of such improvements or construction, provided that such
Liens do not extend to or cover any property of the Borrower, the Guarantor or
any Significant Subsidiary other than such improvements.
(l) Liens
to government entities granted to secure pollution control or industrial revenue
bond financings, which Liens in each financing transaction cover only Property
the acquisition or construction of which was financed by such financings and
Property related thereto.
(m) Liens
on or over gas, oil, coal, fissionable material, or other fuel or fuel products
as security for any obligations incurred by such Person (or any special purpose
entity formed by such Person) for the sole purpose of financing the acquisition
or storage of such fuel or fuel products or, with respect to nuclear fuel, the
processing, reprocessing, sorting, storage and disposal thereof.
(n) (i)
Liens on (including Liens arising out of the sale of) accounts receivable and/or
contracts which will give rise to accounts receivable of the Borrower or KCPL
and (ii) Liens on (including Liens arising out of the sale of) accounts
receivable and/or contracts (other than those described in the foregoing clause
(i)) which will give rise to accounts receivable of the Borrower or any other
Subsidiary of the Guarantor in an aggregate amount not at any time exceeding
$10,000,000.
(o) Liens on Property or assets
of a Significant Subsidiary securing obligations owing to the Borrower, the
Guarantor or any Significant Subsidiary (other than a Project Finance
Subsidiary).
57
(p) Liens
on the stock or other equity interests of any Project Finance Subsidiary to
secure obligations of such Project Finance Subsidiary (provided that the
agreement under which any such Lien is created shall expressly state that it is
non-recourse to the pledgor).
(q) Liens
on Property of KCPL or the Borrower arising in connection with utility
co-ownership, co-operating and similar agreements that are consistent with the
utilities business and ancillary operations.
(r) Liens
on assets held by entities which are required to be included in the Guarantor’s
or the Borrower’s consolidated financial statements solely as a result of the
application of Financial Accounting Standards Board Interpretation No. 46R, as
it may be amended or supplemented.
(s) Liens
securing Swap Contracts permitted to be incurred under this
Agreement.
(t) Liens
securing any extension, renewal, replacement or refinancing of Indebtedness
secured by any Lien referred to in the foregoing clauses (h), (i), (j), (k),
(l), (m) and (q); provided that (A) such new Lien shall be limited to all
or part of the same Property that secured the original Lien (plus improvements
on such Property) and (B) the amount secured by such Lien at such time is not
increased to any amount greater than the amount outstanding at the time of such
renewal, replacement or refinancing.
(u) Liens
which would otherwise not be permitted by clauses (a)
through (t)
securing additional Indebtedness of the Borrower, the Guarantor or a Significant
Subsidiary (other than a Project Finance Subsidiary); provided that after
giving effect thereto the aggregate unpaid principal amount of Indebtedness
(including Capitalized Lease Obligations) of the Guarantor and its Significant
Subsidiaries (other than a Project Finance Subsidiary) (including prepayment
premiums and penalties) secured by Liens permitted by this clause (u) shall not
exceed the greater of (i) $50,000,000 and (ii) 10% of Consolidated Tangible Net
Worth.
7.13 Affiliates.
Except to
the extent required by applicable law with respect to transactions among the
Guarantor and its Subsidiaries (excluding any Project Finance Subsidiary), the
Borrower and the Guarantor will not, and will not permit any
Subsidiary (other than any Project Finance Subsidiary) to, enter into
any transaction (including the purchase or sale of any Property or service)
with, or make any payment or transfer to, any Affiliate except in the ordinary
course of business and pursuant to the reasonable requirements of the
Guarantor’s or such Subsidiary’s business and upon fair and reasonable terms no
less
58
favorable
to the Guarantor or such Subsidiary than the Guarantor or such Subsidiary would
obtain in a comparable arms-length transaction.
7.14 ERISA.
The
Borrower and the Guarantor will not, nor will they permit any Significant
Subsidiary to, (i) voluntarily terminate any Plan, so as to result in any
material liability of the Borrower, the Guarantor or any Significant Subsidiary
to the PBGC or (ii) enter into any Prohibited Transaction (as defined in Section
4975 of the Code and in Section 406 of ERISA) involving any Plan which results
in any liability of the Borrower, the Guarantor or any Significant Subsidiary
that could reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to cause a
Material Adverse Effect or (iii) cause any occurrence of any Reportable Event
which results in any liability of the Borrower, the Guarantor or any Significant
Subsidiary to the PBGC that could reasonably be expected, individually or in the
aggregate, to cause a Material Adverse Effect or (iv) allow or suffer to exist
any other event or condition known to the Borrower which results in any material
liability of the Borrower, the Guarantor or any Significant Subsidiary to the
PBGC.
7.15 Total Indebtedness to Total
Capitalization.
The
Borrower shall at all times cause the ratio of (i) Total Indebtedness to (ii)
Total Capitalization to be less than or equal to 0.65 to 1.0.
7.16 Restrictions on Subsidiary
Dividends.
The
Borrower and the Guarantor will not, nor will they permit any Significant
Subsidiary (other than any Project Finance Subsidiary) to, be a party to any
agreement prohibiting or restricting the ability of such Significant Subsidiary
to declare or pay dividends to the Borrower or the Guarantor; provided, that the
foregoing provisions of this Section 7.16 shall
not prohibit the Guarantor or any Significant Subsidiary from entering into any
debt instrument containing a total debt to capitalization covenant.
7.17 Organization
Documents.
The
Borrower, the Guarantor and its Subsidiaries shall not amend, modify or change
its Organization Documents in a manner materially adverse to the
Lenders.
ARTICLE
VIII
DEFAULTS
The
occurrence of any one or more of the following events shall constitute a
Default:
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8.1 Any
representation or warranty made or deemed made by or on behalf of the Borrower
or the Guarantor to the Lenders or the Administrative Agent under or in
connection with this Agreement, any Loan, or any certificate or information
delivered in connection with this Agreement or any other Loan Document shall be
materially false on the date as of which made.
8.2 Nonpayment
of principal of any Loan when due, nonpayment of any Reimbursement Obligations
within one Business Day after the same becomes due, or nonpayment of interest
upon any Loan or of any fee or other obligation under any of the Loan Documents
within three Business Days after the same becomes due.
8.3 The
breach by the Borrower or the Guarantor of any of the terms or provisions of
Section 7.3,
7.4, 7.10 (with respect to
the Borrower, the Guarantor and their respective Significant Subsidiaries only),
7.11, 7.12, 7.13, 7.14, 7.15 or 7.16.
8.4 The
breach by the Borrower or the Guarantor (other than a breach which constitutes a
Default under another Section of this Article VIII) of any
of the terms or provisions of this Agreement which is not remedied within 30
days after the earlier of (a) the Borrower or the Guarantor becoming aware of
such breach and (b) receipt by the Borrower or the Guarantor of written notice
from the Administrative Agent or any Lender; provided that if such
breach is capable of cure but (i) cannot be cured by payment of money and (ii)
cannot be cured by diligent efforts within such 30-day period, but such diligent
efforts shall be properly commenced within such 30-day period and the Borrower
or the Guarantor is diligently pursuing, and shall continue to pursue
diligently, remedy of such failure, the cure period shall be extended for an
additional 90 days, but in no event beyond the Facility Termination
Date.
8.5 Failure
of the Borrower, the Guarantor or any of its Significant Subsidiaries to pay
when due any Indebtedness aggregating in excess of $25,000,000 (“Material
Indebtedness”); or the default by the Borrower, the Guarantor or any of its
Significant Subsidiaries in the performance of any term, provision or condition
contained in any agreement under which any such Material Indebtedness was
created or is governed, or any other event shall occur or condition exist, the
effect of which default or event is to cause, or to permit the holder or holders
of such Material Indebtedness to cause, such Material Indebtedness to become due
prior to its stated maturity; or any Material Indebtedness of the Borrower, the
Guarantor or any of its Significant Subsidiaries shall be declared to be due and
payable or required to be prepaid or repurchased (other than by a regularly
scheduled payment) prior to the stated maturity thereof; or the Borrower, the
Guarantor or any of its Significant Subsidiaries shall not pay, or admit in
writing its inability to pay, its debts generally as they become
due.
8.6 The
Borrower, the Guarantor or any of its Significant Subsidiaries shall (i) have an
order for relief entered with respect to it under the Federal bankruptcy laws as
now or hereafter in effect, (ii) make an assignment for the benefit of
creditors, (iii) apply for, seek, consent to, or acquiesce in, the appointment
of a receiver, custodian, trustee,
60
examiner,
liquidator or similar official for it or any Substantial Portion of its
Property, (iv) institute any proceeding seeking an order for relief under the
Federal bankruptcy laws as now or hereafter in effect or seeking to adjudicate
it a bankrupt or insolvent, or seeking dissolution, winding up, liquidation,
reorganization, arrangement, adjustment or composition of it or its debts under
any law relating to bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization or relief of
debtors or fail to file an answer or other pleading denying the material
allegations of any such proceeding filed against it, (v) take any corporate,
partnership or limited liability company action to authorize or effect any of
the foregoing actions set forth in this Section 8.6 or (vi)
fail to contest in good faith any appointment or proceeding described in Section
8.7.
8.7 Without
the application, approval or consent of the Borrower, the Guarantor or any of
its Subsidiaries, a receiver, trustee, examiner, liquidator or similar official
shall be appointed for the Borrower, the Guarantor or any of its Subsidiaries or
any Substantial Portion of its Property, or a proceeding described in Section 8.6(iv) shall
be instituted against the Borrower, the Guarantor or any of its Subsidiaries and
such appointment continues undischarged or such proceeding continues undismissed
or unstayed for a period of 30 consecutive days.
8.8 Any
court, government or governmental agency shall condemn, seize or otherwise
appropriate, or take custody or control of, all or any portion of the Property
of the Borrower, the Guarantor and its Subsidiaries which, when taken together
with all other Property of the Borrower, the Guarantor and its Subsidiaries so
condemned, seized, appropriated, or taken custody or control of, during the
twelve-month period ending with the month in which any such action occurs,
constitutes a Substantial Portion.
8.9 The
Borrower, the Guarantor or any of its Significant Subsidiaries shall fail within
30 days to pay, bond or otherwise discharge (i) any judgment or order for the
payment of money in excess of $25,000,000 (either singly or in the aggregate
with other such judgments) or (ii) any non-monetary final judgment that has, or
could reasonably be expected to have, a Material Adverse Effect, in either case
which is not stayed on appeal or otherwise being appropriately contested in good
faith.
8.10 A
Change of Control shall occur.
8.11 A
Reportable Event shall have occurred with respect to a Plan which could
reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect and, 30 days after
notice thereof shall have been given to the Borrower or the Guarantor by the
Administrative Agent or any Lender, such Reportable Event shall still
exist.
8.12 Any
authorization or approval or other action by any governmental authority or
regulatory body required for the execution, delivery or performance of this
Agreement or any other Loan Document by the Borrower or the Guarantor shall fail
to have been obtained or be terminated, revoked or rescinded or shall otherwise
no longer be in full force and effect, and such occurrence shall (i) adversely
affect the
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enforceability
of the Loan Documents against the Borrower or the Guarantor and (ii) to the
extent that such occurrence can be cured, shall continue for five
days.
ARTICLE
IX
ACCELERATION, WAIVERS,
AMENDMENTS AND REMEDIES
9.1 Acceleration; Letter of
Credit Account.
(a) If
any Default described in Section 8.6 or 8.7 occurs with
respect to the Borrower or the Guarantor, the obligations of the Lenders to make
Loans hereunder, the obligation and power of the Issuers to issue Letters of
Credit and Swing Line Lender to make Swing Line Loans and shall automatically
terminate and the Obligations shall immediately become due and payable without
any election or action on the part of the Administrative Agent, any Lender or
any Issuer and the Borrower and the Guarantor will be and become thereby
unconditionally obligated, without any further notice, act or demand, to pay to
the Administrative Agent an amount in immediately available funds, which funds
shall be held in the LC Collateral Account, equal to the excess of (i) the
amount of Letter of Credit Obligations at such time over (ii) the amount on
deposit in the LC Collateral Account at such time which is free and clear of all
rights and claims of third parties and has not been applied against the
Obligations (such difference, the “Collateral Shortfall Amount”). If
any other Default occurs, the Administrative Agent may with the consent, or
shall at the request, of the Required Lenders, (x) terminate or suspend the
obligations of the Lenders to make Loans hereunder and the obligation and power
of the Issuers to issue Letters of Credit, or declare the Obligations to be due
and payable, or both, whereupon the Obligations shall become immediately due and
payable, without presentment, demand, protest or notice of any kind, all of
which each of the Borrower and the Guarantor hereby expressly waives, and (y)
upon notice to the Borrower or the Guarantor and in addition to the continuing
right to demand payment of all amounts payable under this Agreement, make demand
on the Borrower to pay, and the Borrower will, forthwith upon such demand and
without any further notice or act, pay to the Administrative Agent in
immediately available funds the Collateral Shortfall Amount, which funds shall
be deposited in the LC Collateral Account.
If (a)
within 30 days after acceleration of the maturity of the Obligations or
termination of the obligations of the Lenders to make Loans hereunder as a
result of any Default (other than any Default as described in Section 8.6 or 8.7 with respect to
the Borrower or the Guarantor) and (b) before any judgment or decree for the
payment of the Obligations due shall have been obtained or entered, the Required
Lenders (in their sole discretion) shall so direct, the Administrative Agent
shall, by notice to the Borrower, rescind and annul such acceleration and/or
termination.
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9.2 Amendments.
Subject
to the provisions of this Article IX, the
Required Lenders (or the Administrative Agent with the consent in writing of the
Required Lenders) and the Borrower and the Guarantor may enter into agreements
supplemental hereto for the purpose of adding or modifying any provisions to the
Loan Documents or changing in any manner the rights of the Lenders or the
Borrower or the Guarantor hereunder or waiving any Default hereunder; provided that no such
supplemental agreement shall:
(i) Extend
the final maturity of any Loan or the expiry date of any Letter of Credit to a
date after the Facility Termination Date or forgive all or any portion of the
principal amount thereof, or reduce the rate or extend the time of payment of
interest or fees thereon, without the consent of each Lender directly affected
thereby.
(ii) Reduce
the percentage specified in the definition of Required Lenders, without the
consent of each Lender directly affected thereby.
(iii) Increase
the amount of the Commitment of any Lender without the consent of such Lender
(except as provided for in Section 2.6), or
extend the Facility Termination Date (except as provided for in Section 2.21) or
reduce the amount or extend the payment date for, the mandatory payments
required under Section
2.2, without the consent of each Lender directly affected
thereby.
(iv) Permit
the Borrower to assign its rights under this Agreement, without the consent of
each Lender, the Administrative Agent and the Swing Line Lender
(v) Amend
this Section
9.2 or Section
12.2 or amend any provision hereof specifying the number or percentage of
Lenders required to waive, amend or modify any rights hereunder or make any
determination or grant any consent hereunder or otherwise amend the ratable
treatment of the Lenders hereunder, without the consent of each Lender directly
affected thereby.
(vi) Release
any funds from the LC Collateral Account, except to the extent such release is
expressly permitted hereunder without the consent of each Lender directly
affected thereby.
(vii) Release
the Guarantor from its obligations under this Agreement without the consent of
each Lender.
No
amendment of any provision of this Agreement relating to the Administrative
Agent shall be effective without the written consent of the Administrative
Agent, no amendment of any provision of this Agreement relating to any Issuer
shall be effective without the written consent of such Issuer and no amendment
of any provision of this Agreement relating to the Swing Line Lender shall be
effective without the written
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consent
of the Swing Line Lender. The Administrative Agent may waive payment
of the fee required under Section 13.1(b)
without obtaining the consent of any other party to this Agreement.
9.3 Preservation of
Rights.
No delay
or omission of the Lenders, the Swing Line Lender, the Issuers or the
Administrative Agent to exercise any right under the Loan Documents shall impair
such right or be construed to be a waiver of any Default or an acquiescence
therein, and the making of a Credit Extension notwithstanding the existence of a
Default or the inability of the Borrower to satisfy the conditions precedent to
such Credit Extension shall not constitute any waiver or
acquiescence. Any single or partial exercise of any such right shall
not preclude other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any other
right, and no waiver, amendment or other variation of the terms, conditions or
provisions of the Loan Documents whatsoever shall be valid unless in writing
signed by the Lenders required pursuant to Section 9.2, and then
only to the extent in such writing specifically set forth. All
remedies contained in the Loan Documents or by law afforded shall be cumulative
and all shall be available to the Administrative Agent, the Swing Line Lender,
the Lenders and the Issuers until the Obligations have been paid in
full.
ARTICLE
X
GENERAL
PROVISIONS
10.1 Survival of
Representations.
All
representations and warranties of the Borrower and the Guarantor contained in
this Agreement shall survive the making of the Credit Extensions herein
contemplated.
10.2 Governmental
Regulation.
Anything
contained in this Agreement to the contrary notwithstanding, no Lender shall be
obligated to extend credit to the Borrower in violation of any limitation or
prohibition provided by any applicable statute or regulation.
10.3 Headings.
Section
headings in the Loan Documents are for convenience of reference only, and shall
not govern the interpretation of any of the provisions of the Loan
Documents.
10.4 Entire
Agreement.
The Loan
Documents embody the entire agreement and understanding among the Borrower, the
Guarantor, the Administrative Agent, the Swing Line Lender, the Lenders and the
Issuers and supersede all prior agreements and understandings among
the
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Borrower,
the Guarantor, the Administrative Agent, the Swing Line Lender, the Lenders and
the Issuers relating to the subject matter thereof.
10.5 Several Obligations;
Benefits of this Agreement.
The
respective obligations of the Lenders hereunder are several and not joint and no
Lender shall be the partner or agent of any other (except to the extent to which
the Administrative Agent is authorized to act as such). The failure
of any Lender to perform any of its obligations hereunder shall not relieve any
other Lender from any of its obligations hereunder. This Agreement
shall not be construed so as to confer any right or benefit upon any Person
other than the parties to this Agreement and their respective successors and
assigns; provided that the
parties hereto expressly agree that each Arranger shall enjoy the benefits of
the provisions of Sections 10.6, 10.10 and 11.7 to the extent
specifically set forth therein and shall have the right to enforce such
provisions on its own behalf and in its own name to the same extent as if it
were a party to this Agreement.
10.6 Expenses;
Indemnification.
(i) Each
of the Borrower and the Guarantor shall reimburse the Agents and the Arrangers
for any reasonable costs and expenses (including fees and charges of outside
counsel for the Agents) paid or incurred by the Agents or the Arrangers in
connection with the preparation, negotiation, execution, delivery, syndication,
distribution (including via the internet), review, amendment, modification, and
administration of the Loan Documents. Each of the Borrower and the
Guarantor also agrees to reimburse each Agent, each Arranger, the Swing Line
Lender, each Lender and each Issuer for any reasonable costs, internal charges
and expenses (including fees and charges of attorneys for such Agent, such
Arranger, the Swing Line Lender, such Lender and such Issuer, which attorneys
may be employees of such Agent, such Arranger, the Swing Line Lender, such
Lender or such Issuer) paid or incurred by either Agent, either Arranger, the
Swing Line Lender, any Lender or any Issuer in connection with the collection
and enforcement, attempted enforcement, and preservation of rights and remedies
under, any of the Loan Documents (including all such costs and expenses incurred
during any “workout” or restructuring in respect of the Obligations and during
any legal proceeding).
(ii) Each
of the Borrower and the Guarantor hereby further agrees to indemnify each Agent,
each Arranger, each Lender, the Swing Line Lender, any Issuer, their
respective affiliates and the directors, officers and employees of the foregoing
against all losses, claims, damages, penalties, judgments, liabilities and
expenses (including all expenses of litigation or preparation therefor whether
or not either Agent, either Arranger, the Swing Line Lender, any Lender or such
Issuer or any affiliate is a party thereto) which any of them may pay or incur
arising out of or relating to this Agreement, the other Loan Documents, the
transactions contemplated hereby or the direct or indirect application or
proposed
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application
of the proceeds of any Credit Extension hereunder except to the extent that they
are determined in a final non-appealable judgment by a court of competent
jurisdiction to have resulted from the gross negligence or willful misconduct of
the party seeking indemnification. In the case of any investigation,
litigation or proceeding to which the indemnity in this Section applies, such
indemnity shall be effective whether or not such investigation, litigation or
proceeding is brought by a third party, by the Borrower or the Guarantor, or by
any affiliate of the Borrower or the Guarantor. The obligations of
the Borrower and the Guarantor under this Section 10.6 shall
survive the payment of the Obligations and termination of this
Agreement.
(iii) To
the extent that the Borrower and the Guarantor for any reason fail to
indefeasibly pay any amount required under subsection (i) or
(ii) of this
Section to be paid by them to the Administrative Agent (or any sub-agent
thereof), the Swing Line Lender, any Issuer or any Related Party of any of the
foregoing, each Lender severally agrees to pay to the Administrative Agent (or
any such sub-agent), the Swing Line Lender, such Issuer or such Related Party,
as the case may be, such Lender’s Pro Rata Share (determined as of the time that
the applicable unreimbursed expense or indemnity payment is sought) of such
unpaid amount, provided that the
unreimbursed expense or indemnified loss, claim, damage, liability or related
expense, as the case may be, was incurred by or asserted against the
Administrative Agent (or any such sub-agent), the Swing Line Lender, or the
Issuers in its capacity as such, or against any Related Party of any of the
foregoing acting for the Administrative Agent (or any such sub-agent), the Swing
Line Lender, or any Issuer in connection with such capacity.
10.7 Numbers of
Documents.
All
statements, notices, closing documents, and requests hereunder shall be
furnished to the Administrative Agent with sufficient counterparts so that the
Administrative Agent may furnish one to each of the Lenders.
10.8 Accounting.
Except as
provided to the contrary herein, all accounting terms used herein shall be
interpreted and all accounting determinations hereunder shall be made in
accordance with GAAP.
10.9 Severability of
Provisions.
Any
provision in any Loan Document that is held to be inoperative, unenforceable, or
invalid in any jurisdiction shall, as to that jurisdiction, be inoperative,
unenforceable, or invalid without affecting the remaining provisions in that
jurisdiction or the operation, enforceability, or validity of that provision in
any other jurisdiction, and to this end the provisions of all Loan Documents are
declared to be severable.
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10.10 Nonliability of
Lenders.
The
relationship between the Borrower and the Guarantor on the one hand and the
Lenders, the Swing Line Lender, the Issuers and the Agents on the other hand
shall be solely that of borrower/guarantor and lender. None of either
Agent, either Arranger, the Swing Line Lender, any Lender or any Issuer shall
have any fiduciary responsibilities to the Borrower or the
Guarantor. None of either Agent, either Arranger, the Swing Line
Lender, any Lender or any Issuer undertakes any responsibility to the Borrower
or the Guarantor to review or inform the Borrower or the Guarantor of any matter
in connection with any phase of the Borrower’s business or
operations. Each of the Borrower and the Guarantor agrees that none
of either Agent, either Arranger, the Swing Line Lender, any Lender or any
Issuer shall have liability to the Borrower or the Guarantor (whether sounding
in tort, contract or otherwise) for losses suffered by the Borrower or the
Guarantor in connection with, arising out of, or in any way related to, the
transactions contemplated and the relationship established by the Loan
Documents, or any act, omission or event occurring in connection therewith,
unless it is determined in a final non-appealable judgment by a court of
competent jurisdiction that such losses resulted from the gross negligence or
willful misconduct of the party from which recovery is sought. None
of either Agent, either Arranger, the Swing Line Lender, any Lender, any Issuer
or any Related Party of any of the foregoing Persons shall have any liability
with respect to, and each of the Borrower and the Guarantor hereby waives,
releases and agrees not to xxx for, any special, indirect, consequential or
punitive damages suffered by the Borrower or the Guarantor in connection with,
arising out of, or in any way related to the Loan Documents or the transactions
contemplated thereby. None of either Agent, either Arranger, the
Swing Line Lender, any Lender, any Issuer or any Related Party of any of the
foregoing Persons shall be liable for any damages arising from the use by
unintended recipients of any information or other materials distributed by it
through telecommunications, electronic or other information transmission systems
in connection with this Agreement or the other Loan Documents or the
transactions contemplated hereby or thereby except to the extent such recipient
receives such information due to the gross negligence of the party from which
recovery is sought.
10.11 Limited
Disclosure.
(a) Neither
the Administrative Agent nor any Lender may disclose to any Person any Specified
Information (as defined below) except (i) to its, and its Affiliates’, officers,
employees, agents, accountants, legal counsel, advisors and other
representatives and to any direct or indirect, actual or prospective
counterparty (or such counterparty’s professional advisor) under any Swap
Contract related to Loans outstanding under this Agreement who have a need to
know such Specified Information (it being understood that the Persons to whom
such disclosure is made will be informed of the confidential nature of such
Specified Information and instructed to keep such Specified Information
confidential) or (ii) with the Borrower’s prior consent. “Specified
Information” means information that the Borrower furnishes to the Administrative
Agent or any Lender that is designated in writing as confidential, but does not
include any such information that is or
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becomes
generally available to the public or that is or becomes available to the
Administrative Agent or such Lender from a source other than the
Borrower.
(b) The
provisions of clause
(a) above shall not apply to Specified Information (i) that is a matter
of general public knowledge or has heretofore been or is hereafter published in
any source generally available to the public, (ii) that is required to be
disclosed by law, regulation or judicial order, (iii) that is requested by any
regulatory body with jurisdiction over the Administrative Agent or any Lender,
or (iv) that is disclosed (A) to legal counsel, accountants and other
professional advisors to such Lender, (B) in connection with the exercise of any
right or remedy hereunder or under any Note or any suit or other litigation or
proceeding relating to this Agreement or any Note, (C) to a rating agency if
required by such agency in connection with a rating relating to Credit
Extensions hereunder or (D) to assignees or participants or potential assignees
or participants who agree to be bound by the provisions of this Section
10.11.
10.12 USA PATRIOT ACT
NOTIFICATION.
The
following notification is provided to the Borrower and the Guarantor pursuant to
Section 326 of the USA Patriot Act of 2001, 31 U.S.C. Section
5318: IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT PROCEDURES FOR OPENING A NEW
ACCOUNT. To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and
money laundering activities, Federal law requires all financial institutions to
obtain, verify and record information that identifies each person or entity that
opens an account, including any deposit account, treasury management account,
loan, other extension of credit or other financial services
product. What this means for the Borrower and the Guarantor: When the
Borrower or the Guarantor opens an account, the Lenders will ask for the
Borrower’s or the Guarantor’s, as applicable, name, tax identification number,
business address and other information that will allow the Administrative Agent
and the Lenders to identify the Borrower or the Guarantor, as
applicable. The Administrative Agent and the Lenders may also ask to
see the Borrower’s or the Guarantor’s legal organizational documents or other
identifying documents.
10.13 Nonreliance.
Each
Lender hereby represents that it is not relying on or looking to any margin
stock (as defined in Regulation U of the FRB) for the repayment of the Loans
provided for herein.
10.14 No Advisory or Fiduciary
Responsibility.
In
connection with all aspects of each transaction contemplated hereby, each of the
Borrower and the Guarantor acknowledges and agrees, and acknowledges its
Affiliates’ understanding, that: (i) the credit facility provided for hereunder
and any related arranging or other services in connection therewith (including
in connection with any amendment, waiver or other modification hereof or of any
other Loan Document) are an arm’s-length commercial transaction between the
Borrower and the Guarantor and its
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Affiliates,
on the one hand, and the Agents and the Arrangers, on the other hand, and the
Borrower and the Guarantor are capable of evaluating and understanding and
understand and accept the terms, risks and conditions of the transactions
contemplated hereby and by the other Loan Documents (including any amendment,
waiver or other modification hereof or thereof); (ii) in connection with the
process leading to such transaction, each Agent and Arranger is and has been
acting solely as a principal and is not the financial advisor, agent or
fiduciary, for the Borrower or the Guarantor or any of its Affiliates,
stockholders, creditors or employees or any other Person; (iii) no Agent or
Arranger has assumed or will assume an advisory, agency or fiduciary
responsibility in favor of the Borrower or the Guarantor with respect to any of
the transactions contemplated hereby or the process leading thereto, including
with respect to any amendment, waiver or other modification hereof or of any
other Loan Document (irrespective of whether any Agent or Arranger has advised
or is currently advising the Borrower or the Guarantor or any of its Affiliates
on other matters) and no Agent or Arranger has any obligation to the Borrower or
the Guarantor or any of its Affiliates with respect to the transactions
contemplated hereby except those obligations expressly set forth herein and in
the other Loan Documents; (iv) the Agents and the Arrangers and their respective
Affiliates may be engaged in a broad range of transactions that involve
interests that differ from those of the Borrower and the Guarantor and its
Affiliates, and no Agent or Arranger has any obligation to disclose any of such
interests by virtue of any advisory, agency or fiduciary relationship; and (v)
the Agents and the Arrangers have not provided and will not provide any legal,
accounting, regulatory or tax advice with respect to any of the transactions
contemplated hereby (including any amendment, waiver or other modification
hereof or of any other Loan Document) and the Borrower has consulted its own
legal, accounting, regulatory and tax advisors to the extent it has deemed
appropriate. Each of the Borrower and the Guarantor hereby waives and
releases, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any claims that it may have
against any Agent and any Arranger with respect to any breach or alleged breach
of agency or fiduciary duty.
ARTICLE
XI
THE ADMINISTRATIVE
AGENT
11.1 Appointment and
Authority.
Each of
the Lenders and the Issuers hereby irrevocably appoints Bank of America to act
on its behalf as the Administrative Agent hereunder and under the other Loan
Documents and authorizes the Administrative Agent to take such actions on its
behalf and to exercise such powers as are delegated to the Administrative Agent
by the terms hereof or thereof, together with such actions and powers as are
reasonably incidental thereto. The provisions of this Article are
solely for the benefit of the Administrative Agent, the Lenders and the Issuers,
and the Borrower and the Guarantor shall have no rights as a third party
beneficiary of any of such provisions.
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11.2 Rights as a
Lender.
The
Person serving as the Administrative Agent hereunder shall have the same rights
and powers in its capacity as a Lender as any other Lender and may exercise the
same as though it were not the Administrative Agent and the term “Lender” or
“Lenders” shall, unless otherwise expressly indicated or unless the context
otherwise requires, include the Person serving as the Administrative Agent
hereunder in its individual capacity. Such Person and its Affiliates
may accept deposits from, lend money to, act as the financial advisor or in any
other advisory capacity for and generally engage in any kind of business with
the Borrower or the Guarantor or any Subsidiary or other Affiliate thereof as if
such Person were not the Administrative Agent hereunder and without any duty to
account therefor to the Lenders.
11.3 Exculpatory
Provisions.
The
Administrative Agent shall not have any duties or obligations except those
expressly set forth herein and in the other Loan Documents. Without
limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Administrative Agent:
(a) shall
not be subject to any fiduciary or other implied duties, regardless of whether a
Default or Unmatured Default has occurred and is continuing;
(b) shall
not have any duty to take any discretionary action or exercise any discretionary
powers, except discretionary rights and powers expressly contemplated hereby or
by the other Loan Documents that the Administrative Agent is required to
exercise as directed in writing by the Required Lenders (or such other number or
percentage of the Lenders as shall be expressly provided for herein or in the
other Loan Documents), provided that the
Administrative Agent shall not be required to take any action that, in its
opinion or the opinion of its counsel, may expose the Administrative Agent to
liability or that is contrary to any Loan Document or applicable law;
and
(c) shall
not, except as expressly set forth herein and in the other Loan Documents, have
any duty to disclose, and shall not be liable for the failure to disclose, any
information relating to the Borrower or the Guarantor or any of its Affiliates
that is communicated to or obtained by the Person serving as the Administrative
Agent or any of its Affiliates in any capacity.
The
Administrative Agent shall not be liable for any action taken or not taken by it
(i) with the consent or at the request of the Required Lenders (or such other
number or percentage of the Lenders as shall be necessary, or as the
Administrative Agent shall believe in good faith shall be necessary, under the
circumstances as provided in Sections 9.1 and
9.2) or (ii) in
the absence of its own gross negligence or willful misconduct. The
Administrative Agent shall be deemed not to have knowledge of any Default or
Unmatured Default unless and until notice describing such Default or Unmatured
Default is given to the Administrative Agent by the Borrower or the Guarantor, a
Lender or an Issuer.
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The
Administrative Agent shall not be responsible for or have any duty to ascertain
or inquire into (i) any statement, warranty or representation made in or in
connection with this Agreement or any other Loan Document, (ii) the contents of
any certificate, report or other document delivered hereunder or thereunder or
in connection herewith or therewith, (iii) the performance or observance of any
of the covenants, agreements or other terms or conditions set forth herein or
therein or the occurrence of any Default or Unmatured Default, (iv) the
validity, enforceability, effectiveness or genuineness of this Agreement, any
other Loan Document or any other agreement, instrument or document or (v) the
satisfaction of any condition set forth in Article IV or
elsewhere herein, other than to confirm receipt of items expressly required to
be delivered to the Administrative Agent.
11.4 Reliance by Administrative
Agent.
The
Administrative Agent shall be entitled to rely upon, and shall not incur any
liability for relying upon, any notice, request, certificate, consent,
statement, instrument, document or other writing (including any electronic
message, Internet or intranet website posting or other distribution) believed by
it to be genuine and to have been signed, sent or otherwise authenticated by the
proper Person. The Administrative Agent also may rely upon any
statement made to it orally or by telephone and believed by it to have been made
by the proper Person, and shall not incur any liability for relying
thereon. In determining compliance with any condition hereunder to
the making of a Loan, or the issuance of a Letter of Credit, that by its terms
must be fulfilled to the satisfaction of a Lender or an Issuer, the
Administrative Agent may presume that such condition is satisfactory to such
Lender or such Issuer unless the Administrative Agent shall have received notice
to the contrary from such Lender or such Issuer prior to the making of such Loan
or the issuance of such Letter of Credit. The Administrative Agent
may consult with legal counsel (who may be counsel for the Borrower or the
Guarantor), independent accountants and other experts selected by it, and shall
not be liable for any action taken or not taken by it in accordance with the
advice of any such counsel, accountants or experts.
11.5 Delegation of
Duties.
The
Administrative Agent may perform any and all of its duties and exercise its
rights and powers hereunder or under any other Loan Document by or through any
one or more sub-agents appointed by the Administrative Agent. The
Administrative Agent and any such sub-agent may perform any and all of its
duties and exercise its rights and powers by or through their respective Related
Parties. The exculpatory provisions of this Article shall apply to
any such sub-agent and to the Related Parties of the Administrative Agent and
any such sub-agent, and shall apply to their respective activities in connection
with the syndication of the credit facilities provided for herein as well as
activities as Administrative Agent.
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11.6 Resignation of
Administrative Agent.
The
Administrative Agent may at any time give notice of its resignation to the
Lenders, the Issuers and the Borrower. Upon receipt of any such
notice of resignation, the Required Lenders shall have the right, in
consultation with the Borrower, to appoint a successor, which shall be a bank
with an office in the United States, or an Affiliate of any such bank with an
office in the United States. If no such successor shall have been so
appointed by the Required Lenders and shall have accepted such appointment
within 30 days after the retiring Administrative Agent gives notice of its
resignation, then the retiring Administrative Agent may on behalf of the Lenders
and the Issuers, appoint a successor Administrative Agent meeting the
qualifications set forth above; provided that if the
Administrative Agent shall notify the Borrower and the Lenders that no
qualifying Person has accepted such appointment, then such resignation shall
nonetheless become effective in accordance with such notice and (1) the retiring
Administrative Agent shall be discharged from its duties and obligations
hereunder and under the other Loan Documents and (2) all payments,
communications and determinations provided to be made by, to or through the
Administrative Agent shall instead be made by or to each Lender and each Issuer
directly, until such time as the Required Lenders appoint a successor
Administrative Agent as provided for above in this Section. Upon the
acceptance of a successor’s appointment as Administrative Agent hereunder, such
successor shall succeed to and become vested with all of the rights, powers,
privileges and duties of the retiring (or retired) Administrative Agent, and the
retiring Administrative Agent shall be discharged from all of its duties and
obligations hereunder or under the other Loan Documents (if not already
discharged therefrom as provided above in this Section). The fees
payable by the Borrower to a successor Administrative Agent shall be the same as
those payable to its predecessor unless otherwise agreed between the Borrower
and such successor. After the retiring Administrative Agent’s
resignation hereunder and under the other Loan Documents, the provisions of this
Article and Section
10.6 shall continue in effect for the benefit of such retiring
Administrative Agent, its sub-agents and their respective Related Parties in
respect of any actions taken or omitted to be taken by any of them while the
retiring Administrative Agent was acting as Administrative Agent.
Any
resignation by Bank of America as Administrative Agent pursuant to this Section
shall also constitute its resignation as an Issuer and as the Swing Line
Lender. Upon the acceptance of a successor’s appointment as
Administrative Agent hereunder, (a) such successor shall succeed to and become
vested with all of the rights, powers, privileges and duties of the retiring
Issuer and the Swing Line Lender, (b) the retiring Issuer and the Swing Line
Lender shall be discharged from all of its duties and obligations hereunder or
under the other Loan Documents, and (c) the successor Issuer shall issue letters
of credit in substitution for the Letters of Credit, if any, outstanding at the
time of such succession or make other arrangements satisfactory to the retiring
Issuer to effectively assume the obligations of the retiring Issuer with respect
to such Letters of Credit.
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11.7 Non-Reliance on
Administrative Agent and Other Lenders.
Each
Lender, the Swing Line Lender and each Issuer acknowledges that it has,
independently and without reliance upon the Administrative Agent or any other
Lender or any of their Related Parties and based on such documents and
information as it has deemed appropriate, made its own credit analysis and
decision to enter into this Agreement. Each Lender and, the Swing
Line Lender and each Issuer also acknowledges that it will, independently and
without reliance upon the Administrative Agent or any other Lender or any of
their Related Parties and based on such documents and information as it shall
from time to time deem appropriate, continue to make its own decisions in taking
or not taking action under or based upon this Agreement, any other Loan Document
or any related agreement or any document furnished hereunder or
thereunder.
11.8 No Other Duties,
Etc.
Anything
herein to the contrary notwithstanding, none of the Bookrunners or Arrangers
listed on the cover page hereof shall have any powers, duties or
responsibilities under this Agreement or any of the other Loan Documents, except
in its capacity, as applicable, as the Administrative Agent, the Swing Line
Lender, a Lender or an Issuer hereunder.
11.9 Administrative Agent May
File Proofs of Claim.
In case
of the pendency of any receivership, insolvency, liquidation, bankruptcy,
reorganization, arrangement, adjustment, composition or other judicial
proceeding relative to the Borrower or the Guarantor, the
Administrative Agent (irrespective of whether the principal of any Loan or L/C
Obligation shall then be due and payable as herein expressed or by declaration
or otherwise and irrespective of whether the Administrative Agent shall have
made any demand on the Borrower) shall be entitled and empowered, by
intervention in such proceeding or otherwise
(a) to
file and prove a claim for the whole amount of the principal and interest owing
and unpaid in respect of the Loans, Letter of Credit Obligations and all other
Obligations that are owing and unpaid and to file such other documents as may be
necessary or advisable in order to have the claims of the Lenders, the Swing
Line Lender, the Issuers and the Administrative Agent (including any claim for
the reasonable compensation, expenses, disbursements and advances of the
Lenders, the Swing Line Lender, the Issuers and the Administrative Agent and
their respective agents and counsel and all other amounts due the Lenders, the
Issuers and the Administrative Agent under Sections 2.5, 2.19(d), and 10.6) allowed in such
judicial proceeding; and
(b) to
collect and receive any monies or other property payable or deliverable on any
such claims and to distribute the same;
and any
custodian, receiver, assignee, trustee, liquidator, sequestrator or other
similar official in any such judicial proceeding is hereby authorized by each
Lender, the Swing
73
Line
Lender and each Issuer to make such payments to the Administrative Agent and, in
the event that the Administrative Agent shall consent to the making of such
payments directly to the Swing Line Lender, the Lenders and the Issuers, to pay
to the Administrative Agent any amount due for the reasonable compensation,
expenses, disbursements and advances of the Administrative Agent and its agents
and counsel, and any other amounts due the Administrative Agent under Sections 2.5 and
10.6.
Nothing
contained herein shall be deemed to authorize the Administrative Agent to
authorize or consent to or accept or adopt on behalf of any Lender, the Swing
Line Lender, or any Issuer any plan of reorganization, arrangement, adjustment
or composition affecting the Obligations or the rights of any Lender or to
authorize the Administrative Agent to vote in respect of the claim of any Lender
in any such proceeding.
ARTICLE
XII
SETOFF; RATABLE
PAYMENTS
12.1 Setoff.
In
addition to, and without limitation of, any rights of the Lenders under
applicable law, if the Borrower or the Guarantor becomes insolvent, however
evidenced, or any Default occurs, any and all deposits (including all account
balances, whether provisional or final and whether or not collected or
available) and any other Indebtedness at any time held or owing by any Lender,
any Issuer, the Swing Line Lender or any such Affiliate to or for the credit or
account of the Borrower or the Guarantor may be offset and applied toward the
payment of the Obligations owing to such Lender, the Issuer or the Swing Line
Lender whether or not the Obligations, or any part hereof, shall then be
due.
12.2 Ratable
Payments.
If any
Lender, whether by setoff or otherwise, has payment made to it upon its
Outstanding Credit Exposure (other than payments received pursuant to Section 3.1, 3.2, 3.4 or 3.5 and payments made
to any Issuer in respect of Reimbursement Obligations so long as the Lenders
have not funded their participations therein) in a greater proportion than that
received by any other Lender, such Lender agrees, promptly upon demand, to
purchase a portion of the Aggregate Outstanding Credit Exposure held by the
other Lenders so that after such purchase each Lender will hold its Pro Rata
Share of the Aggregate Outstanding Credit Exposure. If any Lender,
whether in connection with setoff or amounts which might be subject to setoff or
otherwise, receives collateral or other protection for its Obligations or such
amounts which may be subject to setoff, such Lender agrees, promptly upon
demand, to take such action necessary such that all Lenders share in the
benefits of such collateral ratably in accordance with their respective Pro Rata
Shares. In case any such payment is disturbed by legal process, or
otherwise, appropriate further adjustments shall be made.
74
ARTICLE
XIII
BENEFIT OF AGREEMENT;
ASSIGNMENTS; PARTICIPATIONS
13.1 Successors and
Assigns.
(a) The
provisions of this Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of
the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns permitted hereby,
except that the Borrower may not assign or otherwise transfer any of its rights
or obligations hereunder without the prior written consent of the Administrative
Agent, the Swing Line Lender and each Lender and no Lender may assign or
otherwise transfer any of its rights or obligations hereunder except (i) to an
Eligible Assignee in accordance with the provisions of subsection (b) of
this Section, (ii) by way of participation in accordance with the provisions of
subsection (d)
of this Section, or (iii) by way of pledge or assignment of a security interest
subject to the restrictions of subsection (d) of
this Section (and any other attempted assignment or transfer by any party hereto
shall be null and void). Nothing in this Agreement, expressed or
implied, shall be construed to confer upon any Person (other than the parties
hereto, their respective successors and assigns permitted hereby, Participants
to the extent provided in subsection (d) of
this Section and, to the extent expressly contemplated hereby, the Related
Parties of each of the Administrative Agent, the Issuers and the Lenders) any
legal or equitable right, remedy or claim under or by reason of this
Agreement.
(b) Any
Lender may at any time assign to one or more Eligible Assignees all or a portion
of its rights and obligations under this Agreement (including all or a portion
of its Commitment and the Loans (including for purposes of this subsection (b)
participations in Letter of Credit Obligations) at the time owing to it);
provided
that
(i) except
in the case of an assignment of the entire remaining amount of the assigning
Lender’s Commitment and the Loans at the time owing to it or in the case of an
assignment to a Lender or an Affiliate of a Lender or an Approved Fund with
respect to a Lender, the aggregate amount of the Commitment (which for this
purpose includes Loans outstanding thereunder) or, if the Commitment is not then
in effect, the principal outstanding balance of the Loans of the assigning
Lender subject to each such assignment, determined as of the date the Assignment
Agreement with respect to such assignment is delivered to the Administrative
Agent or, if “Trade Date” is specified in the Assignment Agreement, as of the
Trade Date, shall not be less than $5,000,000 unless each of the
Administrative Agent and, so long as no Default has occurred and is continuing,
the Borrower otherwise consents (each such consent not to be unreasonably
withheld or delayed); provided, however, that
concurrent assignments to members of an Assignee Group and concurrent
assignments from members of an Assignee Group to a single Eligible Assignee (or
to an Eligible Assignee and members of its
75
Assignee
Group) will be treated as a single assignment for purposes of determining
whether such minimum amount has been met;
(ii) each
partial assignment shall be made as an assignment of a proportionate part of all
the assigning Lender’s rights and obligations under this Agreement with respect
to the Loans or the Commitment assigned;
(iii) any
assignment of a Commitment must be approved by the Administrative Agent, the
Swing Line Lender and the Issuers (each such approval not to be unreasonably
withheld or delayed) unless the Person that is the proposed assignee is itself a
Lender, an Affiliate of such Lender or an Approved Fund with respect to such
Lender;
(iv) the
parties to each assignment shall execute and deliver to the Administrative Agent
an Assignment Agreement, together with a processing and recordation fee of
$3,500; provided, however, that the Administrative Agent may, in its sole
discretion, elect to waive such processing and recordation fee in the case of
any assignment. The Eligible Assignee, if it shall not be a Lender,
shall deliver to the Administrative Agent an Administrative
Questionnaire.
Subject
to acceptance and recording thereof by the Administrative Agent pursuant to
subsection (c)
of this Section, from and after the effective date specified in each Assignment
Agreement, the Eligible Assignee thereunder shall be a party to this Agreement
and, to the extent of the interest assigned by such Assignment Agreement, have
the rights and obligations of a Lender under this Agreement, and the assigning
Lender thereunder shall, to the extent of the interest assigned by such
Assignment Agreement, be released from its obligations under this Agreement
(and, in the case of an Assignment Agreement covering all of the assigning
Lender’s rights and obligations under this Agreement, such Lender shall cease to
be a party hereto) but shall continue to be entitled to the benefits of Sections 3.1, 3.4, 3.5, and 10.6 with respect to
facts and circumstances occurring prior to the effective date of such
assignment. Upon request, the Borrower (at its expense) shall execute
and deliver a Note to the assignee Lender. Any assignment or transfer
by a Lender of rights or obligations under this Agreement that does not comply
with this subsection shall be treated for purposes of this Agreement as a sale
by such Lender of a participation in such rights and obligations in accordance
with subsection
(d) of this Section.
(c) The
Administrative Agent, acting solely for this purpose as an agent of the
Borrower, shall maintain at the Administrative Agent’s office a copy of each
Assignment Agreement delivered to it and a register for the recordation of the
names and addresses of the Lenders, and the Commitments of, and principal
amounts of the Loans and Letter of Credit Obligations owing to, each Lender
pursuant to the terms hereof from time to time (the “Register”). The
entries in the Register shall be conclusive, and the Borrower, the
Administrative Agent and the Lenders may treat each Person whose name is
recorded in the Register pursuant to the terms hereof as a Lender hereunder for
all purposes of this Agreement, notwithstanding notice to the
contrary. The Register shall be available for
76
inspection
by each of the Borrower and the Issuers at any reasonable time and from time to
time upon reasonable prior notice. In addition, at any time that a
request for a consent for a material or substantive change to the Loan Documents
is pending, any Lender may request and receive from the Administrative Agent a
copy of the Register.
(d) Any
Lender may at any time, without the consent of, or notice to, the Borrower or
the Administrative Agent, sell participations to any Person (other than a
natural person or the Borrower or the Guarantor or any of the Borrower’s or the
Guarantor’s Affiliates or Subsidiaries) (each, a “Participant”) in all or a
portion of such Lender’s rights and/or obligations under this Agreement
(including all or a portion of its Commitment and/or the Loans (including such
Lender’s participations in Letter of Credit Obligations) owing to it); provided that (i)
such Lender’s obligations under this Agreement shall remain unchanged, (ii) such
Lender shall remain solely responsible to the other parties hereto for the
performance of such obligations and (iii) the Borrower, the Administrative
Agent, the Lenders and the Issuers shall continue to deal solely and directly
with such Lender in connection with such Lender’s rights and obligations under
this Agreement.
Any
agreement or instrument pursuant to which a Lender sells such a participation
shall provide that such Lender shall retain the sole right to enforce this
Agreement and to approve any amendment, modification or waiver of
any provision of this Agreement; provided that such
agreement or instrument may provide that such Lender will not, without the
consent of the Participant, agree to any amendment, waiver or other modification
described in the proviso to Section 9.2 that
affects such Participant. Subject to subsection (e) of
this Section, the Borrower agrees that each Participant shall be entitled to the
benefits of Sections
3.1, 3.4
and 3.5 to the
same extent as if it were a Lender and had acquired its interest by assignment
pursuant to subsection
(b) of this Section. To the extent permitted by law, each
Participant also shall be entitled to the benefits of Section 12.1 as
though it were a Lender, provided such
Participant agrees to be subject to Section 12.2 as
though it were a Lender.
(e) A
Participant shall not be entitled to receive any greater payment under Section 3.1 or 3.5 than the
applicable Lender would have been entitled to receive with respect to the
participation sold to such Participant, unless the sale of the participation to
such Participant is made with the Borrower’s prior written consent. A
Participant that would be a Foreign Lender if it were a Lender shall not be
entitled to the benefits of Section 3.5 unless
the Borrower is notified of the participation sold to such Participant and such
Participant agrees, for the benefit of the Borrower, to comply with Section 3.5(d)
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 under its Note, 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 pledgee or assignee for such Lender as a party
hereto.
77
(g) The
words “execution,” “signed,” “signature,” and words of like import in any
Assignment Agreement shall be deemed to include electronic signatures or the
keeping of records in electronic form, each of which shall be of the same legal
effect, validity or enforceability as a manually executed signature or the use
of a paper-based recordkeeping system, as the case may be, to the extent and as
provided for in any applicable law, including the Federal Electronic Signatures
in Global and National Commerce Act, the New York State Electronic Signatures
and Records Act, or any other similar state laws based on the Uniform Electronic
Transactions Act.
(h) Notwithstanding
anything to the contrary contained herein, if at any time Bank of America
assigns all of its Commitment and Loans pursuant to subsection (b) above,
Bank of America may, upon 30 days’ notice to the Borrower and the Lenders,
resign as an Issuer. In the event of any such resignation as an
Issuer, the Borrower shall be entitled to appoint from among the Lenders another
Issuer hereunder who agrees to accept such appointment; provided, however, that no
failure by the Borrower to appoint any such Issuer, or the failure of any Lender
to accept such appointment, shall affect the resignation of Bank of America as
an Issuer. If Bank of America resigns as the Issuer, it shall retain
all the rights, powers, privileges and duties of the Issuers hereunder with
respect to all Letters of Credit outstanding as of the effective date of its
resignation as Issuer and all Letter of Credit Obligations with respect thereto
(including the right to require the Lenders to fund risk participations pursuant
to Section
2.19(e)).
13.2 Replacement of
Lenders.
If (i)
any Lender requests compensation under Section 3.1, (ii) the
Borrower is required to pay any additional amount to any Lender or any
governmental authority for the account of any Lender pursuant to Section 3.4 or (iii)
any Lender is a Non-Extending Lender pursuant to Section 2.21(b), then
the Borrower may, at its sole expense and effort, upon notice to such Lender and
the Administrative Agent, require such Lender to assign and delegate, without
recourse (in accordance with and subject to the restrictions contained in, and
consents required by, Section 13.1(b)), all
of its interests, rights and obligations under this Agreement and the related
Loan Documents to an Eligible Assignee that shall assume such obligations (which
Eligible Assignee may be another Lender, if a Lender accepts such assignment),
provided
that:
(a) the
Borrower shall have paid to the Administrative Agent the assignment fee
specified in Section
13.1(b);
(b) such
Lender shall have received payment of an amount equal to the outstanding
principal of its Loans and participations, accrued interest thereon, accrued
fees and all other amounts payable to it hereunder and under the other Loan
Documents from such Eligible Assignee (to the extent of such outstanding
principal and accrued interest and fees) or the Borrower (in the case of all
other amounts);
78
(c) in
the case of any such assignment resulting from a claim for compensation under
Section 3.1 or
payments required to be made pursuant to Section 3.4, such
assignment will result in a reduction in such compensation or payments
thereafter; and
(d) such
assignment does not conflict with applicable Laws.
A Lender
shall not be required to make any such assignment or delegation if, prior
thereto, as a result of a waiver by such Lender or otherwise, the circumstances
entitling the Borrower to require such assignment and delegation cease to
apply.
ARTICLE
XIV
NOTICES
14.1 Notices.
Except as
otherwise permitted by Section 2.14 with
respect to borrowing notices, all notices, requests and other communications to
any party hereunder shall be in writing (including electronic transmission,
facsimile transmission or similar writing) and shall be given to such party: (i)
in the case of the Borrower, the Guarantor or the Administrative Agent, at its
address or facsimile number set forth on Schedule III, (ii) in
the case of any Lender, at its address or facsimile number specified in its
Administrative Questionnaire or (iii) in the case of any party, at such other
address or facsimile number as such party may hereafter specify for the purpose
by notice to the Administrative Agent and the Borrower in accordance with the
provisions of this Section
14.1. Each such notice, request or other communication shall
be effective (a) if given by facsimile transmission, when transmitted to the
facsimile number specified in this Section and confirmation of receipt is
received, (b) if given by mail, 72 hours after such communication is deposited
in the mails with first class postage prepaid, addressed as aforesaid, or (c) if
given by any other means, when delivered (or, in the case of electronic
transmission, received) at the address specified in this Section; provided that notices
to the Administrative Agent under Article II shall
not be effective until received.
14.2 Change of
Address.
The
Borrower, the Administrative Agent and any Lender may each change the address
for service of notice upon it by a notice in writing to the other parties
hereto.
14.3 The
Platform.
THE
PLATFORM IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE.” THE AGENT PARTIES
(AS DEFINED BELOW) DO NOT WARRANT THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE BORROWER
MATERIALS OR THE ADEQUACY OF THE PLATFORM, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM LIABILITY FOR
ERRORS IN
79
OR
OMISSIONS FROM THE BORROWER MATERIALS. NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND,
EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY,
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON INFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTY RIGHTS OR
FREEDOM FROM VIRUSES OR OTHER CODE DEFECTS, IS MADE BY ANY AGENT PARTY IN
CONNECTION WITH THE BORROWER MATERIALS OR THE PLATFORM. In no event
shall the Administrative Agent or any of its Related Parties (collectively, the
“Agent Parties”) have any liability to Borrower, any Lender, any Issuer or any
other Person for losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses of any kind
(whether in tort, contract or otherwise) arising out of Borrower’s or the
Administrative Agent’s transmission of Borrower Materials through the Internet,
except to the extent that such losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses
are determined by a court of competent jurisdiction by a final and nonappealable
judgment to have resulted from the gross negligence or willful misconduct of
such Agent Party; provided, however, that in no event shall any Agent Party have
any liability to Borrower, any Lender, any Issuer or any other Person for
indirect, special, incidental, consequential or punitive damages (as opposed to
direct or actual damages).
ARTICLE
XV
COUNTERPARTS
This
Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, all of which taken
together shall constitute one agreement, and any of the parties hereto may
execute this Agreement by signing any such counterpart. This
Agreement shall be effective when it has been executed by the Borrower, the
Guarantor, the Administrative Agent and the Lenders and each party has notified
the Administrative Agent by facsimile transmission or telephone that it has
taken such action.
ARTICLE
XVI
OTHER
AGENTS
No Lender
identified on the cover page, the signature pages or otherwise in this
Agreement, or in any document related hereto, as being the “Syndication Agent”
or a “Co-Documentation Agent” shall have any right, power, obligation,
liability, responsibility or duty under this Agreement in such capacity other
than those applicable to all Lenders. Each Lender acknowledges that
it has not relied, and will not rely, on the Syndication Agent or any
Co-Documentation Agent in deciding to enter into this Agreement or in taking or
refraining from taking any action hereunder or pursuant hereto.
80
ARTICLE
XVII
CHOICE OF LAW; CONSENT TO
JURISDICTION; WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL
17.1 CHOICE OF
LAW.
THIS
AGREEMENT SHALL BE CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE INTERNAL LAWS (AND NOT THE
LAW OF CONFLICTS) OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, BUT GIVING EFFECT TO FEDERAL LAWS
APPLICABLE TO NATIONAL BANKS.
17.2 CONSENT TO
JURISDICTION.
EACH OF
THE BORROWER AND THE GUARANTOR HEREBY IRREVOCABLY SUBMITS TO THE NON-EXCLUSIVE
JURISDICTION OF ANY UNITED STATES FEDERAL OR NEW YORK STATE COURT SITTING IN NEW
YORK CITY, NEW YORK IN ANY ACTION OR PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO
THIS AGREEMENT AND THE BORROWER AND THE GUARANTOR HEREBY IRREVOCABLY AGREES THAT
ALL CLAIMS IN RESPECT OF SUCH ACTION OR PROCEEDING MAY BE HEARD AND DETERMINED
IN ANY SUCH COURT AND IRREVOCABLY WAIVES ANY OBJECTION IT MAY NOW OR HEREAFTER
HAVE AS TO THE VENUE OF ANY SUCH SUIT, ACTION OR PROCEEDING BROUGHT IN SUCH A
COURT OR THAT SUCH COURT IS AN INCONVENIENT FORUM. NOTHING HEREIN
SHALL LIMIT THE RIGHT OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT, ANY LENDER OR ANY ISSUER TO
BRING PROCEEDINGS AGAINST THE BORROWER IN THE COURTS OF ANY OTHER
JURISDICTION. ANY JUDICIAL PROCEEDING BY THE BORROWER OR THE
GUARANTOR AGAINST THE ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT OR ANY LENDER OR ANY AFFILIATE OF THE
ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT OR ANY LENDER INVOLVING, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, ANY MATTER
IN ANY WAY ARISING OUT OF, RELATED TO, OR CONNECTED WITH THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE
BROUGHT ONLY IN A COURT IN NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK.
17.3 WAIVER OF JURY
TRIAL.
THE
BORROWER, THE GUARANTOR, THE ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT, THE SWING LINE LENDER, EACH
LENDER AND EACH ISSUER HEREBY WAIVES TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY JUDICIAL PROCEEDING
INVOLVING, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, ANY MATTER (WHETHER SOUNDING IN TORT,
CONTRACT OR OTHERWISE) IN ANY WAY ARISING OUT OF, RELATED TO, OR CONNECTED WITH
ANY LOAN DOCUMENT OR THE RELATIONSHIP ESTABLISHED THEREUNDER.
17.4 SEVERAL OBLIGATIONS OF THE
LENDERS.
81
The
respective obligations of the Lenders under this Agreement are several and not
joint and no Lender shall be responsible for the failure of any other Lender to
satisfy its obligations hereunder.
82
IN
WITNESS WHEREOF, the Borrower, the Guarantor, the Lenders, the Swing Line
Lender, the Issuers and the Agents have executed this Agreement as of the date
first above written.
AQUILA, INC., as the
Borrower
/s/ Xxxxxxx X.
Xxxxx
By: Xxxxxxx X.
Xxxxx
Title: Treasurer
GREAT PLAINS ENERGY
INCORPORATED, as the Guarantor
/s/ Xxxxxxx X.
Xxxxx
By: Xxxxxxx
X.
Xxxxx
Title: Vice
President-Investor Relations and
Treasurer
BANK
OF AMERICA, N.A.,
as
Administrative Agent
/s/ Xxxxxxx X.
Xxxxxx
By: Xxxxxxx
X.
Xxxxxx
Title: Vice
President
BANK
OF AMERICA, N.A.,
as an
Issuer, as Swing Line Lender and as a Lender
/s/Xxxxxxx X.
Xxxxxx
By: Xxxxxxx
X.
Xxxxxx
Title: Vice
President
UNION BANK OF CALIFORNIA,
N.A.,
as
Syndication Agent, as an Issuer and as a Lender
/s/ Alex
Wemberg
By: Xxxx Xxxxxxx, CFA
By: Xxxx Xxxxxxx, CFA
Title: Senior
Vice
President
CREDIT
AGREEMENT
BNP PARIBAS, as a
Co-Documentation Agent and as a Lender
/s/ Xxxxx
X'Xxxxx
By: Xxxxx
X'Xxxxx
Title: Managing
Director
/s/ Xxxxxxx
Xxxx
By: Xxxxxxx
Xxxx
Title: Director
CREDIT
AGREEMENT
JPMORGAN CHASE BANK,
N.A.,
as a
Co-Documentation Agent and as a Lender
/s/ Xxxxx Xxxxxx
By: Xxxxx
Xxxxxx
Title: Vice
President
CREDIT
AGREEMENT
THE ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND
PLC, as a Co-Documentation Agent and as a Lender
/s/ Xxxxxx
Xxxxxx
By: Xxxxxx
Xxxxxx
Title: Vice
President
CREDIT
AGREEMENT
SUNTRUST BANK, as a
Lender
/s/ Xxxxxx
Xxxxxxx
By: Xxxxxx
Xxxxxxx
Title: Director
CREDIT
AGREEMENT
THE BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA, as a
Lender
/s/ Xxxxx
Xxxxxx
By: Xxxxx
Xxxxxx
Title: Managing
Director
CREDIT
AGREEMENT
THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON,
as a Lender
/s/ Xxxxxx
Xxxxxxxxx
By: Xxxxxx
Xxxxxxxxx
Title: Vice
President
CREDIT
AGREEMENT
WACHOVIA BANK, N.A. as a
Lender
/s/ Xxxxxx X.
Xxxxxxxx
By: Xxxxxx
X.
Xxxxxxxx
Title: Director
CREDIT
AGREEMENT
THE NORTHERN TRUST
COMPANY,
as a
Lender
/s/ Xxxx X. Xxxxx
By: Xxxx
X.
Xxxxx
Title: Second
Vice
President
CREDIT
AGREEMENT
UMB BANK, N.A., as a
Lender
/s/ Xxxxxx X.
Xxxxxx
By: Xxxxxx
X.
Xxxxxx
Title: Senior
Vice
President
CREDIT
AGREEMENT
SCHEDULE
I
COMMITMENTS
Lender
|
Commitment
|
Bank
of America, N.A.
|
$53,500,000
|
Union
Bank of California, N.A.
|
$53,500,000
|
BNP
Paribas
|
$44,500,000
|
JPMorgan
Chase Bank, N.A
|
$44,500,000
|
The
Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
|
$44,500,000
|
SunTrust
Bank
|
$44,500,000
|
The
Bank of Nova Scotia
|
$35,000,000
|
Wachovia
Bank, N.A.
|
$25,000,000
|
The
Bank Of New York Mellon
|
$25,000,000
|
The
Northern Trust Company
|
$15,000,000
|
UMB
Bank, N.A.
|
$15,000,000
|
Total
|
$400,000,000
|
CREDIT
AGREEMENT
SCHEDULE
II
PRICING
SCHEDULE
>A-/A3
|
>BBB+/Baa1
|
>BBB/Baa2
|
>BBB-/Baa3
|
<BBB-/Baa3
|
|
Pricing
|
Level
I Status
|
Level
II Status
|
Level
III Status
|
Level
IV Status
|
Level
V
Status
|
Applicable
Margin for Eurodollar Rate Loans/Letter of Credit Fee Rate
|
0.500%
|
0.575%
|
0.700%
|
1.250%
|
1.450%
|
Facility
Fee Rate
|
0.100%
|
0.125%
|
0.150%
|
0.250%
|
0.300%
|
Applicable
Margin for Floating Rate Loans and Swing Line Loans
|
0.000%
|
0.000%
|
0.000%
|
0.250%
|
0.450%
|
“Level I Status” exists at any date if,
on such date, the Guarantor’s Xxxxx’x Rating is A3 or better or the Guarantor’s S&P
Rating is A- or better.
“Level II Status” exists at any date
if, on such date, (i) the Guarantor has not qualified for Level I Status and
(ii) the Guarantor’s Xxxxx’x Rating is Baa1 or better or the Guarantor’s S&P
Rating is BBB+ or better.
“Level III Status” exists at any date
if, on such date, (i) the Guarantor has not qualified for Level I Status or
Level II Status and (ii) the Guarantor’s Xxxxx’x Rating is Baa2 or better or the Guarantor’s S&P
Rating is BBB or better.
“Level IV Status” exists at any date
if, on such date, (i) the Guarantor has not qualified for Level I Status, Level
II Status or Level III Status and (ii) the Guarantor’s Xxxxx’x Rating is Baa3 or
better or the
Guarantor’s S&P Rating is BBB- or better.
“Level V Status” exists at any date if,
on such date, the Guarantor has not qualified for Level I Status, Level II
Status, Level III Status or Level IV Status.
“Xxxxx’x Rating” means, at any time,
the rating issued by Xxxxx’x and then in effect with respect to the Guarantor’s
senior unsecured long-term debt securities without third-party credit
enhancement (or, if there is no such debt outstanding, the Xxxxx’x rating then
in effect for the Guarantor’s senior unsecured bank loans without third-party
credit enhancement).
“S&P Rating” means, at any time,
the rating issued by S&P and then in effect with respect to the Guarantor’s
senior unsecured long-term debt securities without third-party credit
enhancement (or, if there is no such debt outstanding, the indicative rating
issued by S&P for debt of such type).
“Status” means Level I Status, Level II
Status, Level III Status, Level IV Status or Level V
Status.
The Applicable Margin for Eurodollar
Rate Loans/Letter of Credit Fee Rate, the Floating Rate Loans, the Swing Line
Loans and the Facility Fee Rate shall be determined in
CREDIT
AGREEMENT
accordance
with the foregoing pricing grid based on the Guarantor’s Status as determined
from its then-current Xxxxx’x and S&P Ratings. The credit rating
in effect on any date for purposes of this Schedule is that in effect at the
close of business on such date. If at any time the Guarantor ceases
to have a Xxxxx’x Rating or an S&P Rating, Level V Status shall
exist.
Notwithstanding
the foregoing, (a) if the Guarantor is split-rated and the ratings
differential is one level, the higher rating will apply; and (b) if the
Guarantor is split-rated and the ratings differential is two levels or
more, the intermediate rating at the midpoint will apply. If there is
no midpoint, the higher of the two intermediate ratings will apply.
CREDIT
AGREEMENT
SCHEDULE
III
CERTAIN
ADDRESSES FOR NOTICES
BORROWER
AND GUARANTOR:
0000
Xxxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxxxxx
Xxxx, XX 00000-0000
Attention: Xxxxxxx
X. Xxxxx, Treasurer
Telephone: (000)
000-0000
Facsimile: (000)
000-0000
Electronic
Mail: xxxxxxx.xxxxx@xxxx.xxx
ADMINISTRATIVE
AGENT:
Administrative Agent’s
Office
(for
payments and Requests for Credit Extensions):
Bank of
America, N.A.
Bank of
America Plaza
000 Xxxx
Xxxxxx
XX0-000-00-00
Xxxxxx,
XX 00000
Attention: Xxxxx
X. XxXxxxx
Telephone: (000)
000-0000
Facsimile: (000)
000-0000
Electronic
Mail: xxxxx.x.xxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
Bank of
America, N.A.
Account
No.: 1292000883
Account
Name: Attn: Corporate Credit Services
Ref: Aquila
ABA#: 026009593
Other Notices as
Administrative Agent
Bank of
America, N.A.
Agency
Management – East
000 Xxxxx
Xxxxx Xxxxxx, 00xx Xxxxx
XX0-000-00-00
Xxxxxxxxx,
XX 00000
Attention: Xxxxxxxx
X. Xxxxxxxx
Telephone: (000)
000-0000
CREDIT
AGREEMENT
Facsimile: (000)
000-0000
Electronic
Mail: xxx.xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
CREDIT
AGREEMENT
ISSUERS:
Bank of
America, N.A.
Trade
Operations
0000 Xxxx
Xxxxxx Xxxxxx, 0xx
Floor
Mail
Code: CA9-705-07-05
Xxx
Xxxxxxx, XX 00000-0000
Attention: Xxxxxxx
X. Xxxxxxxxxx
Telephone: (000)
000-0000
Telecopier: (000)
000-0000
Electronic
Mail: xxxxxxx.xxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
Union
Bank of California, N.A.
[address]