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Exhibit 10.15
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$600,000,000
CREDIT AGREEMENT
dated as of
November 20, 1996
among
XXX XXXXXXXXXXX
------------------------
The Lenders Party Hereto
and
THE CHASE MANHATTAN BANK,
as Administrative Agent
BANK OF AMERICA NATIONAL TRUST & SAVINGS ASSOCIATION,
as Documentation Agent
------------------------
CHASE SECURITIES INC. and BA SECURITIES, INC.,
as Arrangers
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
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ARTICLE I
Definitions
SECTION 1.01. Defined Terms .............................................. 1
SECTION 1.02. Classification of Loans and Borrowings ..................... 15
SECTION 1.03. Terms Generally ............................................ 15
SECTION 1.04. Accounting Terms; GAAP ..................................... 15
ARTICLE II
The Credits
SECTION 2.01. Commitments ................................................ 16
SECTION 2.02. Loans and Borrowings ....................................... 16
SECTION 2.03. Requests for Revolving Borrowings .......................... 17
SECTION 2.04. Competitive Bid Procedure .................................. 17
SECTION 2.05. Swingline Loans ............................................ 19
SECTION 2.06. Letters of Credit .......................................... 20
SECTION 2.07. Funding of Borrowings ...................................... 24
SECTION 2.08. Interest Elections ......................................... 25
SECTION 2.09. Termination and Reduction of Commitments ................... 26
SECTION 2.10. Repayment of Loans; Evidence of Debt ....................... 26
SECTION 2.11. Prepayment of Loans ........................................ 27
SECTION 2.12. Fees ....................................................... 28
SECTION 2.13. Interest ................................................... 29
SECTION 2.14. Alternate Rate of Interest ................................. 30
SECTION 2.15. Increased Costs ............................................ 30
SECTION 2.16. Break Funding Payments ..................................... 32
SECTION 2.17. Taxes ...................................................... 32
SECTION 2.18. Payments Generally; Pro Rata Treatment; Sharing of Set-offs 33
SECTION 2.19. Mitigation Obligations; Replacement of Lenders ............. 34
SECTION 2.20. Currency Equivalents; Currency Fluctuations ................ 35
ARTICLE III
Representations and Warranties
SECTION 3.01. Organization; Powers ....................................... 36
SECTION 3.02. Authorization; Enforceability .............................. 36
SECTION 3.03. Governmental Approvals; No Conflicts ....................... 36
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SECTION 3.04. Financial Condition; No Material Adverse Change ............ 36
SECTION 3.05. Properties ................................................. 37
SECTION 3.06. Litigation and Environmental Matters ....................... 37
SECTION 3.07. Compliance with Laws and Agreements ........................ 37
SECTION 3.08. Investment and Holding Company Status ...................... 37
SECTION 3.09. Taxes ...................................................... 38
SECTION 3.10. ERISA ...................................................... 38
SECTION 3.11. Disclosure ................................................. 38
SECTION 3.12. Federal Reserve Regulations ................................ 38
SECTION 3.13. Use of Proceeds and Letters of Credit ...................... 38
SECTION 3.14. Subsidiaries ............................................... 38
ARTICLE IV
Conditions
SECTION 4.01. Effective Date ............................................. 39
SECTION 4.02. Distribution Date .......................................... 40
SECTION 4.03. Each Credit Event .......................................... 40
ARTICLE V
Affirmative Covenants
SECTION 5.01. Financial Statements and Other Information ................. 41
SECTION 5.02. Notices of Material Events ................................. 42
SECTION 5.03. Existence; Conduct of Business ............................. 42
SECTION 5.04 Payment of Obligations ..................................... 43
SECTION 5.05. Maintenance of Properties; Insurance ....................... 43
SECTION 5.06. Books and Records; Inspection Rights ....................... 43
SECTION 5.07. Compliance with Laws ....................................... 43
SECTION 5.08. Use of Proceeds and Letters of Credit ...................... 43
ARTICLE VI
Negative Covenants
SECTION 6.01. Subsidiary Indebtedness .................................... 44
SECTION 6.02. Liens ...................................................... 45
SECTION 6.03 Sale and Leaseback Transactions ............................ 46
SECTION 6.04. Fundamental Changes ........................................ 46
SECTION 6.05. Margin Stock; Unfriendly Acquisitions ...................... 47
SECTION 6.06. Fiscal Year ................................................ 47
SECTION 6.07. Restrictive Agreements ..................................... 47
SECTION 6.08. Cash Interest Coverage Ratio ............................... 48
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SECTION 6.09. Consolidated Tangible Net Worth ............................ 48
ARTICLE VII
Events of Default .......................................... 48
ARTICLE VIII
Agents ..................................................... 50
ARTICLE IX
Miscellaneous
SECTION 9.01. Notices .................................................... 52
SECTION 9.02. Waivers; Amendments ........................................ 53
SECTION 9.03. Expenses; Indemnity; Damage Waiver ......................... 53
SECTION 9.04. Successors and Assigns ..................................... 55
SECTION 9.05. Survival ................................................... 57
SECTION 9.06. Counterparts; Integration; Effectiveness ................... 57
SECTION 9.07. Severability ............................................... 57
SECTION 9.08. Right of Setoff ............................................ 57
SECTION 9.09. Governing Law; Jurisdiction; Consent
to Service of Process .................................... 58
SECTION 9.10. WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL ....................................... 58
SECTION 9.11. Headings ................................................... 58
SECTION 9.12. Confidentiality ............................................ 58
SECTION 9.13. Interest Rate Limitation ................................... 59
SECTION 9.14. Judgment Currency .......................................... 59
SECTION 9.15. PBGC Agreement ............................................. 60
SCHEDULES:
Schedule 1.01 -- Disclosed Matters
Schedule 2.01 -- Commitments
Schedule 3.14 -- Subsidiaries
Schedule 4.02 -- Capitalization
Schedule 6.01 -- Existing Indebtedness
Schedule 6.02 -- Existing Liens
Schedule 6.07 -- Existing Restrictions
EXHIBITS:
Exhibit A -- Form of Assignment and Acceptance
Exhibit B -- Form of Opinion of Borrower's Counsel
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CREDIT AGREEMENT dated as of November 20, 1996, among
XXX XXXXXXXXXXX, the LENDERS party hereto, and THE CHASE
MANHATTAN BANK, as Administrative Agent, and BANK OF AMERICA
NATIONAL TRUST & SAVINGS ASSOCIATION, as Documentation Agent.
The Borrower (such term and each other capitalized term used but
not otherwise defined herein having the meaning assigned to it in Article I) has
requested the Lenders to establish the credit facilities provided for herein to
be used for the general corporate purposes of the Borrower and the Subsidiaries.
The Lenders are willing to establish such credit facilities upon the terms and
subject to the conditions set forth herein. Accordingly, the parties hereto
agree as follows:
ARTICLE I
Definitions
SECTION 1.01. Defined Terms. As used in this Agreement, the
following terms have the meanings specified below:
"ABR", when used in reference to any Loan or Borrowing, refers to
whether such Loan, or the Loans comprising such Borrowing, are bearing interest
at a rate determined by reference to the Alternate Base Rate.
"Adjusted LIBO Rate" means, with respect to any Eurocurrency
Borrowing for any Interest Period, an interest rate per annum (rounded upwards,
if necessary, to the next 1/16 of 1%) equal to (a) the LIBO Rate for such
Interest Period multiplied by (b) the Statutory Reserve Rate.
"Administrative Agent" means The Chase Manhattan Bank, in its
capacity as administrative agent for the Lenders hereunder.
"Administrative Questionnaire" means an Administrative
Questionnaire in a form supplied by the Administrative Agent.
"Affiliate" means, with respect to a specified Person, another
Person that directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, Controls
or is Controlled by or is under common Control with the Person specified.
"Aggregate Revolving Credit Exposure" means the aggregate amount
of the Lenders' Revolving Credit Exposures.
"Alternate Base Rate" means, for any day, a rate per annum equal
to the greater of (a) the Prime Rate in effect on such day and (b) the Federal
Funds Effective Rate in effect on such day plus 1/2 of 1%. Any change in the
Alternate Base Rate due to a change in the Prime Rate or the Federal Funds
Effective Rate shall be effective from and including the effective date of such
change in the Prime Rate or the Federal Funds Effective Rate, respectively.
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"Applicable Percentage" means, with respect to any Lender, the
percentage of the Total Commitment represented by such Lender's Commitment. If
the Commitments have terminated or expired, the Applicable Percentages shall be
determined based upon the Commitments most recently in effect, giving effect to
any assignments.
"Applicable Rate" means, for any day, with respect to any
Eurocurrency Revolving Loan or with respect to the facility fees payable
hereunder, as the case may be, the lower of the applicable rates per annum set
forth in the chart below under the caption "Eurocurrency Spread" or "Facility
Fee", as the case may be, based upon the respective Performance Levels in effect
under either Test I or Test II.
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EUROCURRENCY
TEST I TEST II SPREAD FACILITY FEE
(BP) (BP)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Performance Xxxxx 0 Xxxxxxxxxxx Xxxxx 0 14.50 8.00
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Leverage Ratio rating of A- or A3 or better
(less than equal to
signs) 0.15 to
1.00 and Consolidated
EBITDA (greater than) $750MM
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Performance Xxxxx 0 Xxxxxxxxxxx Xxxxx 0 18.50 9.00
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Leverage Ratio rating of BBB+ or Baa1
(less than equal to
signs) 0.15 to
1.00 and Consolidated
EBITDA
(less than equal to
signs) 750MM
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Performance Xxxxx 0 Xxxxxxxxxxx Xxxxx 0 22.50 12.50
------------------- -------------------
Leverage Ratio rating of BBB or Baa2
(greater than) 0.15 to
1.00 but
(less than equal to
signs) 0.30 to 1.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Performance Xxxxx 0 Xxxxxxxxxxx Xxxxx 0 22.50 17.50
------------------- -------------------
Leverage Ratio ratings of BBB- and Baa3 or
(greater than) 0.30 to lower
1.00
=================================================================================================
The applicable Performance Level under Test I as of any day shall
be determined by reference to the Leverage Ratio as of the last day of the
fiscal quarter most recently ended on or prior to such day and Consolidated
EBITDA for the four fiscal quarter period ending as of such last day, and any
change in the Test I Performance Level shall become effective upon the delivery
to the Administrative Agent of the certificate of a Financial Officer of the
Borrower required to accompany the financial statements delivered pursuant to
Section 5.01 upon which such change is based, which certificate shall set forth
in reasonable detail the calculation of the Leverage Ratio and Consolidated
EBITDA. In the event the financial statements required to be delivered under
Section 5.01 (or the certificate of a Financial Officer required to accompany
such statements) are not delivered on or prior to the date due, the Leverage
Ratio shall be deemed to be greater than 0.30 to 1.00 during the period from the
applicable due date to the date when such financial statements and the
accompanying certificate of a Financial Officer are delivered.
The applicable Performance Level under Test II as of any day shall
be determined by reference to the ratings by S&P and Xxxxx'x, respectively,
applicable on such day to the Index Debt. For purposes of determining such
Performance Level, (a) if either Xxxxx'x or S&P shall not have in
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effect a rating for the Index Debt, then the Eurocurrency Spread and facility
fee shall be determined solely with reference to the available rating; (b) if
the ratings established or deemed to have been established by Xxxxx'x and S&P
for the Index Debt shall indicate different Performance Levels, the Applicable
Rate shall be based on the higher of the two ratings; and (c) if the rating
established or deemed to have been established by Xxxxx'x or S&P for the Index
Debt shall be changed (other than as a result of a change in the rating system
of Xxxxx'x or S&P), such change shall be effective as of the date on which it is
first announced by the applicable rating agency. If the rating system of Xxxxx'x
or S&P shall change, or if both such rating agencies shall cease to be in the
business of rating corporate debt obligations, the Borrower and the Lenders
shall negotiate in good faith to amend this definition to reflect such changed
rating system or the unavailability of ratings from such rating agencies and,
pending the effectiveness of any such amendment, the Applicable Rate shall be
determined at any time solely by reference to the Test I Performance Level in
effect at such time.
Each change in the Applicable Rate shall apply during the period
commencing on the effective date of such change and ending on the date
immediately preceding the effective date of the next such change.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, at any time prior to the time the first delivery
of financial statements under Section 5.01 after the Distribution Date, the
Applicable Rate in respect of Eurocurrency Revolving Loans and the facility fee
shall be 18.50 basis points and 9.00 basis points, respectively.
"Assignment and Acceptance" means an assignment and acceptance
entered into by a Lender and an assignee (with the consent of any party whose
consent is required by Section 9.04), and accepted by the Administrative Agent,
in the form of Exhibit A or any other form approved by the Administrative Agent.
"Availability Period" means the period from and including the
Effective Date to but excluding the earlier of the Maturity Date and the date of
termination of the Commitments.
"Board" means the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
of the United States of America.
"Borrower" means XXX Xxxxxxxxxxx, a Maryland corporation.
"Borrowing" means (a) Revolving Loans of the same Type, made,
converted or continued on the same date and, in the case of Eurocurrency Loans,
as to which a single Interest Period is in effect, (b) a Competitive Loan or
group of Competitive Loans of the same Type made on the same date and as to
which a single Interest Period is in effect or (c) a Swingline Loan.
"Borrowing Request" means a request by the Borrower for a
Revolving Borrowing in accordance with Section 2.03.
"Business Day" means any day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or
other day on which commercial banks in New York City are authorized or required
by law to remain closed; provided that, when used in connection with a
Eurocurrency Loan, the term "Business Day" shall also exclude any day on which
banks are not open for dealings in dollar deposits in the London interbank
market.
"Calculation Date" means the last Business Day of each calendar
week.
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"Capital Lease Obligations" of any Person means the obligations of
such Person to pay rent or other amounts under any lease of (or other
arrangement conveying the right to use) real or personal property, or a
combination thereof, which obligations are required to be classified and
accounted for as capital leases on a balance sheet of such Person under GAAP,
and the amount of such obligations shall be the capitalized amount thereof
determined in accordance with GAAP.
"Change in Control" means (a) the acquisition of ownership,
directly or indirectly, beneficially or of record, by any Person or group
(within the meaning of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the rules of the
Securities and Exchange Commission thereunder as in effect on the date hereof)
other than an employee benefit plan or related trust of the Borrower or of the
Borrower and any Subsidiaries, of shares representing more than 25% of the
aggregate ordinary voting power represented by the issued and outstanding
capital stock of the Borrower; or (b) occupation of a majority of the seats
(other than vacant seats) on the board of directors of the Borrower by Persons
who were neither (i) nominated by the board of directors of the Borrower nor
(ii) appointed by directors so nominated, in each case other than in connection
with the Spin Off.
"Change in Law" means (a) the adoption of any law, rule or
regulation after the date of this Agreement, (b) any change in any law, rule or
regulation or in the interpretation or application thereof by any Governmental
Authority after the date of this Agreement or (c) compliance by any Lender or
the Issuing Banks (or, for purposes of Section 2.15(b), by any lending office of
such Lender or by such Lender's or the Issuing Banks' holding company, if any)
with any request, guideline or directive (whether or not having the force of
law) of any Governmental Authority made or issued after the date of this
Agreement.
"Class", when used in reference to any Loan or Borrowing, refers
to whether such Loan, or the Loans comprising such Borrowing, are Revolving
Loans, Competitive Loans or Swingline Loans.
"Code" means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended from
time to time.
"Commitment" means, with respect to each Lender, the commitment of
such Lender to make Revolving Loans and to acquire participations in Letters of
Credit and Swingline Loans hereunder, expressed as an amount representing the
maximum aggregate amount of such Lender's Revolving Credit Exposure hereunder,
as such commitment may be (a) reduced from time to time pursuant to Section 2.09
and (b) reduced or increased from time to time pursuant to assignments by or to
such Lender pursuant to Section 9.04. The initial amount of each Lender's
Commitment is set forth on Schedule 2.01, or in the Assignment and Acceptance
pursuant to which such Lender shall have assumed its Commitment, as applicable.
The initial aggregate amount of the Lenders' Commitments is $600,000,000.
"Committed Currency" means each of British Pounds Sterling,
Deutsche Marks and Japanese Yen.
"Committed Currency Borrowing" means a Borrowing consisting of
Committed Currency Loans.
"Committed Currency Exposure" means, at any time, the aggregate
Dollar Equivalent of the principal amount of all outstanding Committed Currency
Loans at such time. The Committed
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Currency Exposure of any Lender at any time shall be its Applicable Percentage
of the total Committed Currency Exposure at such time.
"Committed Currency Loans" means the Revolving Loans that are
denominated in Committed Currencies. Each Committed Currency Loan shall be a
Eurocurrency Loan.
"Competitive Bid" means an offer by a Lender to make a Competitive
Loan in accordance with Section 2.04.
"Competitive Bid Rate" means, with respect to any Competitive Bid,
the Margin or the Fixed Rate, as applicable, offered by the Lender making such
Competitive Bid.
"Competitive Bid Request" means a request by the Borrower for
Competitive Bids in accordance with Section 2.04.
"Competitive Loan" means a Loan made pursuant to Section 2.04.
"Consolidated Cash Interest Expense" means, for any period, the
difference for such period between (a) the sum for the Borrower and the
Subsidiaries of (i) interest expense and (ii) the portion of any payments or
accruals with respect to Capital Lease Obligations allocable to interest expense
and (iii) capitalized interest expense and (b) to the extent included in
interest expense, the sum for the Borrower and the Subsidiaries of (i)
pay-in-kind interest expense and (ii) the amortization of debt discounts, all as
determined on a consolidated basis in accordance with GAAP.
"Consolidated EBITDA" means, for any period, the net income (loss)
of the Borrower and the Subsidiaries for such period plus, to the extent
deducted in computing such consolidated net income and without duplication, the
sum of (a) income tax expense, (b) Consolidated Cash Interest Expense, (c)
depreciation and amortization expense, and (d) extraordinary losses during such
period, minus, to the extent added in computing such consolidated net income and
without duplication, the sum of (i) income tax benefit and (ii) extraordinary
gains during such period, all as determined on a consolidated basis in
accordance with GAAP.
"Consolidated Funded Debt" means, as of the last day of any fiscal
quarter, the sum for the Borrower and the Subsidiaries as of such day, of,
without duplication, (a) the aggregate outstanding principal amount of the
Loans, (b) the aggregate outstanding principal amount of Indebtedness for
borrowed money and (c) the aggregate outstanding capitalized amount of Capital
Lease Obligations, all as determined on a consolidated basis in accordance with
GAAP.
"Consolidated Tangible Assets" means, as of the last day of any
fiscal quarter, all tangible assets on the consolidated balance sheet of the
Borrower and the Subsidiaries, as determined on a consolidated basis in
accordance with GAAP.
"Consolidated Tangible Net Worth" means, as of the last day of any
fiscal quarter, (a) total shareholders' equity of the Borrower and the
Subsidiaries minus (b) the aggregate amount of all intangible assets on the
consolidated balance sheet of the Borrower and the Subsidiaries, all as
determined on a consolidated basis in accordance with GAAP.
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"Control" means 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 ability to exercise voting power, by contract or
otherwise. "Controlling" and "Controlled" have meanings correlative thereto.
"Default" means any event or condition which constitutes an Event
of Default or which upon notice, lapse of time or both would, unless cured or
waived, become an Event of Default.
"Defeased Obligations" means a portion of the medium term notes of
the Borrower issued under the Indenture dated November 1, 1988, between the
Borrower and State Street Bank and Trust Company, in an aggregate principal
amount not in excess of $70,000,000, in respect of which the Borrower shall have
deposited cash and cash equivalents in a trust in an amount sufficient to
defease in full all payment obligations in respect of such portion of such notes
through the maturity of such notes in accordance with the terms of the
defeasance requirements of such indenture.
"Disclosed Matters" means the actions, suits and proceedings and
the environmental matters disclosed in Schedule 1.01.
"Distribution Date" means the date on which occurs the
distribution of all the common stock of the Borrower to the shareowners of AT&T
Corp. in the Spin Off.
"Documentation Agent" means Bank of America National Trust &
Savings Association, in its capacity as documentation agent for the Lenders
hereunder.
"Dollar Equivalent" means, on any date of determination, with
respect to any amount in any Committed Currency, the equivalent in dollars of
such amount, determined by the Administrative Agent using the Exchange Rate with
respect to such Committed Currency then in effect as determined pursuant to
Section 2.20(a).
"dollars" or "$" refers to lawful money of the United States of
America.
"Effective Date" means the later of December 15, 1996, and the
date on which the conditions specified in Section 4.01 are satisfied (or waived
in accordance with Section 9.02).
"Environmental Laws" means all (a) laws, rules, regulations, codes
and ordinances and (b) all orders, decrees, judgments, injunctions or binding
agreements issued, promulgated or entered into by any Governmental Authority and
by or affecting the Borrower, in each case relating in any way to the
environment, preservation or reclamation of natural resources, the management,
release or threatened release of any Hazardous Material or to health and safety
matters.
"Environmental Liability" means any liability, contingent or
otherwise (including any liability for damages, costs of environmental
remediation, fines, penalties or indemnities), of the Borrower or any Subsidiary
directly or indirectly resulting from or based upon (a) violation of any
Environmental Law, (b) the generation, use, handling, transportation, storage,
treatment or disposal of any Hazardous Materials, (c) exposure to any Hazardous
Materials, (d) the release or threatened release of any Hazardous Materials into
the environment or (e) any contract, agreement or other consensual arrangement
pursuant to which liability is assumed or imposed with respect to any of the
foregoing.
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"ERISA" means the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974,
as amended from time to time.
"ERISA Affiliate" means any trade or business (whether or not
incorporated) that, together with the Borrower, is treated as a single employer
under Section 414(b) or (c) of the Code or, solely for purposes of Section 302
of ERISA and Section 412 of the Code, is treated as a single employer under
Section 414 of the Code.
"ERISA Event" means (a) any "reportable event", as defined in
Section 4043 of ERISA or the regulations issued thereunder with respect to a
Plan (other than an event for which the 30-day notice period is waived); (b) the
existence with respect to any Plan of an "accumulated funding deficiency" (as
defined in Section 412 of the Code or Section 302 of ERISA), whether or not
waived; (c) the filing pursuant to Section 412(d) of the Code or Section 303(d)
of ERISA of an application for a waiver of the minimum funding standard with
respect to any Plan; (d) the incurrence by the Borrower or any of its ERISA
Affiliates of any liability under Title IV of ERISA with respect to the
termination of any Plan; (e) the receipt by the Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate
from the PBGC or a plan administrator of any notice relating to an intention to
terminate any Plan or Plans or to appoint a trustee to administer any Plan; (f)
the incurrence by the Borrower or any of its ERISA Affiliates of any liability
with respect to the withdrawal or partial withdrawal from any Plan or
Multiemployer Plan; or (g) the receipt by the Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate of
any notice, or the receipt by any Multiemployer Plan from the Borrower or any
ERISA Affiliate of any notice, concerning the imposition of Withdrawal Liability
or a determination that a Multiemployer Plan is, or is expected to be, insolvent
or in reorganization, within the meaning of Title IV of ERISA.
"Eurocurrency", when used in reference to any Loan or Borrowing,
refers to whether such Loan, or the Loans comprising such Borrowing, are bearing
interest at a rate determined by reference to the Adjusted LIBO Rate (or, in the
case of a Competitive Loan, the LIBO Rate).
"Event of Default" has the meaning assigned to such term in
Article VII.
"Exchange Rate" means, with respect to any Committed Currency on
any date, the rate at which such Committed Currency may be exchanged into
dollars, as set forth on such date on the applicable Reuters currency page. In
the event that such rate does not appear on the applicable Reuters currency
page, the Exchange Rate with respect to such Committed Currency shall be
determined by reference to such other publicly available service for displaying
exchange rates as may be agreed upon by the Administrative Agent and the
Borrower or, in the absence of such agreement, such Exchange Rate shall instead
be the Administrative Agent's spot rate of exchange in the London interbank
market or other market where the Administrative Agent's foreign currency
exchange operations in respect of such Committed Currency are then being
conducted, at or about 10:00 a.m., local time, on such date for the purchase of
dollars with such Committed Currency for delivery two Business Days later;
provided, however, that if at the time of any such determination, for any
reason, no such spot rate is being quoted, the Administrative Agent may use any
reasonable method it deems appropriate to determine such rate, and such
determination shall be conclusive absent manifest error.
"Excluded Taxes" means, with respect to the Administrative Agent,
any Lender, the Issuing Banks or any other recipient of any payment to be made
by or on account of any obligation of the Borrower hereunder, (a) income or
franchise taxes imposed on (or measured by) its net income by the United States
of America, or by the jurisdiction under the laws of which such recipient is
organized
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or in which its principal office is located or, in the case of any Lender, in
which its applicable lending office is located, (b) any branch profits taxes
imposed by the United States of America or any similar tax imposed by any other
jurisdiction in which the Borrower is located and (c) in the case of a Foreign
Lender (other than an assignee pursuant to a request by the Borrower under
Section 2.19(b)), any withholding tax that is imposed on amounts payable to such
Foreign Lender at the time such Foreign Lender becomes a party to this Agreement
(or designates a new lending office) or is attributable to such Foreign Lender's
failure to comply with Section 2.17(e), except to the extent that such Foreign
Lender (or its assignor, if any) was entitled, at the time of designation of a
new lending office (or assignment), to receive additional amounts from the
Borrower with respect to such withholding tax pursuant to Section 2.17(a).
"Federal Funds Effective Rate" means, for any day, the weighted
average (rounded upwards, if necessary, to the next 1/100 of 1%) of the rates on
overnight Federal funds transactions with members of the Federal Reserve System
arranged by Federal funds brokers, as published on the next succeeding Business
Day by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, or, if such rate is not so
published for any day that is a Business Day, the average (rounded upwards, if
necessary, to the next 1/100 of 1%) of the quotations for such day for such
transactions received by the Administrative Agent from three Federal funds
brokers of recognized standing selected by it.
"Financial Officer" means the chief financial officer, principal
accounting officer, treasurer or controller of the Borrower.
"Fixed Rate" means, with respect to any Competitive Loan (other
than a Eurocurrency Competitive Loan), the fixed rate of interest per annum
specified by the Lender making such Competitive Loan in its related Competitive
Bid.
"Fixed Rate Loan" means a Competitive Loan bearing interest at a
Fixed Rate.
"Foreign Lender" means any Lender that is organized under the laws
of a jurisdiction other than that in which the Borrower is located. For purposes
of this definition, the United States of America, each State thereof and the
District of Columbia shall be deemed to constitute a single jurisdiction.
"Form 10" means the Form 10 filed by the Borrower with the
Securities & Exchange Commission on September 26, 1996, as amended on October
31, 1996.
"GAAP" means generally accepted accounting principles in the
United States of America.
"Governmental Authority" means the government of the United States
of America, any other nation or 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.
"Guarantee" of or by any Person (the "guarantor") means any
obligation, contingent or otherwise, of the guarantor guaranteeing or having the
economic effect of guaranteeing any Indebtedness or other obligation of any
other Person (the "primary obligor") in any manner, whether directly or
indirectly, and including any obligation of the guarantor, direct or indirect,
(a) to purchase
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or pay (or advance or supply funds for the purchase or payment of) such
Indebtedness or other obligation or to purchase (or to advance or supply funds
for the purchase of) any security for the payment thereof, (b) to purchase or
lease property, securities or services for the purpose of assuring the owner of
such Indebtedness or other obligation of the payment thereof, (c) to maintain
working capital, equity capital or any other financial statement condition or
liquidity of the primary obligor so as to enable the primary obligor to pay such
Indebtedness or other obligation or (d) as an account party in respect of any
letter of credit or letter of guaranty issued to support such Indebtedness or
obligation; provided, that the term Guarantee shall not include endorsements for
collection or deposit in the ordinary course of business.
"Hazardous Materials" means all explosive or radioactive
substances or wastes and all hazardous or toxic substances, wastes or other
pollutants, including petroleum or petroleum distillates, asbestos or asbestos
containing materials, polychlorinated biphenyls, radon gas, infectious or
medical wastes regulated pursuant to any Environmental Law.
"Hedging Agreement" means any interest rate protection agreement,
foreign currency exchange agreement, commodity price protection agreement or
other interest or currency exchange rate or commodity price hedging arrangement.
"Indebtedness" of any Person means, without duplication, (a) all
obligations of such Person for borrowed money or with respect to deposits or
advances of any kind, (b) all obligations of such Person evidenced by bonds,
debentures, notes or similar instruments, (c) all obligations of such Person
upon which interest charges are customarily paid (excluding deferred
compensation obligations owed to current and former directors, officers and
employees), (d) all obligations of such Person under conditional sale or other
title retention agreements relating to property acquired by such Person, (e) all
obligations of such Person in respect of the deferred purchase price of property
or services (excluding current accounts payable incurred in the ordinary course
of business), (f) all Indebtedness of others secured by (or for which the holder
of such Indebtedness has an existing right, contingent or otherwise, to be
secured by) any Lien on property owned or acquired by such Person, whether or
not the Indebtedness secured thereby has been assumed, (g) all Guarantees by
such Person of Indebtedness of others, (h) all Capital Lease Obligations of such
Person, (i) all obligations, contingent or otherwise, of such Person as an
account party in respect of letters of credit and letters of guaranty (x)
supporting Indebtedness or (y) obtained for any purpose not in the ordinary
course of business and (j) all obligations, contingent or otherwise, of such
Person in respect of bankers' acceptances. The Indebtedness of any Person shall
include the Indebtedness of any other entity (including any partnership in which
such Person is a general partner) to the extent such Person is liable therefor
as a result of such Person's ownership interest in or other relationship with
such entity, except to the extent the terms of such Indebtedness provide that
such Person is not liable therefor. For purposes of this Agreement, neither the
Defeased Obligations nor the obligations of the Borrower under the PBGC
Documents shall be deemed to be Indebtedness.
"Indemnified Taxes" means Taxes other than Excluded Taxes.
"Index Debt" means senior, unsecured, long-term indebtedness for
borrowed money of the Borrower that is not guaranteed by any other Person or
subject to any other credit enhancement.
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"Information Memorandum" means the Confidential Information
Memorandum dated October 1996 relating to the Borrower distributed to
prospective Lenders in connection with the syndication of the Commitments.
"Interest Election Request" means a request by the Borrower to
convert or continue a Revolving Borrowing in accordance with Section 2.08.
"Interest Payment Date" means (a) with respect to any ABR Loan
(other than a Swingline Loan), the last day of each March, June, September and
December, (b) with respect to any Eurocurrency Loan, the last day of the
Interest Period applicable to the Borrowing of which such Loan is a part and, in
the case of a Eurocurrency Borrowing with an Interest Period of more than three
months' duration, each day prior to the last day of such Interest Period that
occurs at intervals of three months' duration, after the first day of such
Interest Period, (c) with respect to any Fixed Rate Loan, the last day of the
Interest Period applicable to the Borrowing of which such Loan is a part and, in
the case of a Fixed Rate Borrowing with an Interest Period of more than 90 days'
duration (unless otherwise specified in the applicable Competitive Bid Request),
each day prior to the last day of such Interest Period that occurs at intervals
of 90 days' duration after the first day of such Interest Period, and any other
dates that are specified in the applicable Competitive Bid Request as Interest
Payment Dates with respect to such Borrowing and (d) with respect to any
Swingline Loan, the day that such Loan is required to be repaid.
"Interest Period" means (a) with respect to any Eurocurrency
Borrowing, the period commencing on the date of such Borrowing and ending on the
numerically corresponding day in the calendar month that is one, two, three or
six months thereafter, as the Borrower may elect and (b) with respect to any
Fixed Rate Borrowing, the period (which shall not be less than 7 days or more
than 360 days) commencing on the date of such Borrowing and ending on the date
specified in the applicable Competitive Bid Request; provided, that (i) if any
Interest Period would end on a day other than a Business Day, such Interest
Period shall be extended to the next succeeding Business Day unless, in the case
of a Eurocurrency Borrowing only, such next succeeding Business Day would fall
in the next calendar month, in which case such Interest Period shall end on the
next preceding Business Day and (ii) any Interest Period pertaining to a
Eurocurrency Borrowing that commences on the last Business Day of a calendar
month (or on a day for which there is no numerically corresponding day in the
last calendar month of such Interest Period) shall end on the last Business Day
of the last calendar month of such Interest Period. For purposes hereof, the
date of a Borrowing initially shall be the date on which such Borrowing is made
and, in the case of a Revolving Borrowing, thereafter shall be the effective
date of the most recent conversion or continuation of such Borrowing.
"Issuing Banks" means each of The Chase Manhattan Bank and Bank of
America National Trust & Savings Association, in its capacity as issuer of
Letters of Credit hereunder, and their successors in such capacity as provided
in Section 2.06(i). Each Issuing Bank may, in its discretion, arrange for one or
more Letters of Credit to be issued by Affiliates of such Issuing Bank, in which
case the term "Issuing Banks " shall include any such Affiliate with respect to
Letters of Credit issued by such Affiliate.
"LC Disbursement" means a payment made by the Issuing Banks
pursuant to a Letter of Credit.
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"LC Exposure" means, at any time, the sum of (a) the aggregate
undrawn amount of all outstanding Letters of Credit at such time plus (b) the
aggregate amount of all LC Disbursements that have not yet been reimbursed by or
on behalf of the Borrower at such time. The LC Exposure of any Lender at any
time shall be its Applicable Percentage of the total LC Exposure at such time.
"Lenders" means the Persons listed on Schedule 2.01 and any other
Person that shall have become a party hereto pursuant to an Assignment and
Acceptance, other than any such Person that ceases to be a party hereto pursuant
to an Assignment and Acceptance. Unless the context otherwise requires, the term
"Lenders" includes the Swingline Lender.
"Letter of Credit" means any letter of credit issued pursuant to
this Agreement.
"Leverage Ratio" means, as of the last day of any fiscal quarter,
the ratio as of such day of (a) Consolidated Funded Debt to (b) the sum of (i)
Consolidated Funded Debt and (ii) Consolidated Tangible Net Worth.
"LIBO Rate" means, with respect to any Eurocurrency Borrowing for
any Interest Period, an interest rate per annum (rounded upwards, if necessary,
to the next 1/100 of 1%) equal to the arithmetic average of the rates that
appear on the Reuters Screen LIBO Page at approximately 11:00 a.m., London time,
two Business Days prior to the commencement of such Interest Period, as the rate
for deposits in dollars or in the applicable Committed Currency with a maturity
comparable to such Interest Period. In the event that such rate is not available
at such time for any reason, then the "LIBO Rate" with respect to such
Eurocurrency Borrowing for such Interest Period shall be the rate at which
deposits in dollars or in the applicable Committed Currency approximately equal
in principal amount to such Eurocurrency Borrowing and for a maturity comparable
to such Interest Period are offered by the principal London office of the
Administrative Agent in immediately available funds in the London interbank
market at approximately 11:00 a.m., London time, two Business Days prior to the
commencement of such Interest Period.
"Lien" means, with respect to any asset, (a) any mortgage, deed of
trust, lien, pledge, hypothecation, encumbrance, charge or security interest in,
on or of such asset, (b) the interest of a vendor or a lessor under any
conditional sale agreement, capital lease or title retention agreement (or any
financing lease having substantially the same economic effect as any of the
foregoing) relating to such asset and (c) in the case of securities, any
purchase option, call or similar right of a third party with respect to such
securities.
"Loans" means the loans made by the Lenders to the Borrower
pursuant to this Agreement.
"Margin" means, with respect to any Competitive Loan bearing
interest at a rate based on the LIBO Rate, the marginal rate of interest, if
any, to be added to or subtracted from the LIBO Rate to determine the rate of
interest applicable to such Loan, as specified by the Lender making such Loan in
its related Competitive Bid.
"Material Adverse Effect" means a material adverse effect on (a)
the business, assets, operations, prospects or condition, financial or
otherwise, of the Borrower and the Subsidiaries taken as a whole, (b) the
ability of the Borrower to perform any of its obligations under this Agreement
or (c) the rights of or benefits available to the Lenders pursuant to this
Agreement.
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"Material Indebtedness" means Indebtedness (other than the Loans
and Letters of Credit), or obligations in respect of one or more Hedging
Agreements, of any one or more of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries in an
aggregate principal amount exceeding $25,000,000. For purposes of determining
Material Indebtedness, the "principal amount" of the obligations of the Borrower
or any Subsidiary in respect of any Hedging Agreement at any time shall be the
maximum aggregate amount (giving effect to any netting agreements) that the
Borrower or such Subsidiary would be required to pay if such Hedging Agreement
were terminated at such time.
"Maturity Date" means the fifth anniversary of the date of this
agreement.
"Moody's" means Xxxxx'x Investors Service, Inc.
"Multiemployer Plan" means a multiemployer plan as defined in
Section 4001(a)(3) of ERISA.
"Other Taxes" means any and all present or future stamp or
documentary taxes or any other excise or property taxes, charges or similar
levies arising from any payment made hereunder or from the execution, delivery
or enforcement of, or otherwise with respect to, this Agreement.
"PBGC" means the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation referred to
and defined in ERISA and any successor entity performing similar functions.
"PBGC Agreement" means the agreement dated as of November [ ],
1996, between the Borrower and the PBGC, in substantially the form delivered to
the Lenders under cover of a letter dated November 18, 1996, with no changes
therefrom materially adverse to the Borrower or adverse to the Lenders.
"PBGC Documents" means the PBGC Agreement and each document
constituting a "Security Document" thereunder which is limited in scope as
contemplated by the PBGC Agreement and which does not grant the PBGC any
material right or benefit not contemplated by the PBGC Agreement that is adverse
to the Borrower or the Lenders.
"Permitted Encumbrances" means:
(a) Liens imposed by law for taxes that are not yet due or are
being contested in compliance with Section 5.04;
(b) carriers', warehousemen's, mechanics', materialmen's,
repairmen's and other like Liens imposed by law, arising in the ordinary
course of business and securing obligations that are not overdue by more
than 30 days or are being contested in compliance with Section 5.04;
(c) pledges and deposits made in the ordinary course of business
in compliance with workers' compensation, unemployment insurance and
other social security laws or regulations;
(d) deposits to secure the performance of bids, trade contracts,
leases, statutory obligations, surety and appeal bonds, performance
bonds and other obligations of a like nature, in each case in the
ordinary course of business; and
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(e) easements, zoning restrictions, rights-of-way and similar
encumbrances on real property imposed by law or arising in the ordinary
course of business that do not secure any monetary obligations and do
not materially detract from the value of the affected property or
interfere with the ordinary conduct of business of the Borrower or any
Subsidiary;
provided that the term "Permitted Encumbrances" shall not include any Lien
securing Indebtedness.
"Person" means any natural person, corporation, limited liability
company, trust, joint venture, association, company, partnership, Governmental
Authority or other entity.
"Plan" means any employee pension benefit plan (other than a
Multiemployer Plan) subject to the provisions of Title IV of ERISA or Section
412 of the Code or Section 302 of ERISA, and in respect of which the Borrower or
any ERISA Affiliate is (or, if such plan were terminated, would under Section
4069 of ERISA be deemed to be) an "employer" as defined in Section 3(5) of
ERISA.
"Prime Rate" means the rate of interest per annum publicly
announced from time to time by The Chase Manhattan Bank as its prime rate in
effect at its principal office in New York City; each change in the Prime Rate
shall be effective from and including the date such change is publicly announced
as being effective.
"Register" has the meaning set forth in Section 9.04.
"Related Parties" means, with respect to any specified Person,
such Person's Affiliates and the respective directors, officers, employees,
agents and advisors of such Person and such Person's Affiliates.
"Required Lenders" means, at any time, Lenders having Revolving
Credit Exposures and unused Commitments representing at least 51% of the sum of
the Aggregate Revolving Credit Exposure and unused Commitments at such time;
provided that, for purposes of declaring the Loans to be due and payable
pursuant to Article VII, and for all purposes after the Loans become due and
payable pursuant to Article VII or the Commitments expire or terminate, the
outstanding Competitive Loans of the Lenders shall be included in their
respective Revolving Credit Exposures in determining the Required Lenders.
"Reset Date" shall have the meaning assigned to such term in
Section 2.20(a).
"Revolving Credit Exposure" means, with respect to any Lender at
any time, the sum of the outstanding principal amount of such Lender's Revolving
Loans denominated in dollars, its Committed Currency Exposure and its LC
Exposure and Swingline Exposure at such time.
"Revolving Loan" means a Loan made pursuant to Section 2.03.
"S&P" means Standard & Poor's (a Division of The XxXxxx-Xxxx
Companies).
"Spin Off" means the distribution of all the outstanding common
stock of the Borrower to shareowners of AT&T Corp. in the transactions described
in the Form 10.
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"Statutory Reserve Rate" means a fraction (expressed as a
decimal), the numerator of which is the number one and the denominator of which
is the number one minus the aggregate of the maximum reserve percentages
(including any marginal, special, emergency or supplemental reserves) expressed
as a decimal established by the Board to which the Administrative Agent is
subject for eurocurrency funding (currently referred to as "Eurocurrency
Liabilities" in Regulation D of the Board). Such reserve percentages shall
include those imposed pursuant to such Regulation D. Eurocurrency Loans shall be
deemed to constitute eurocurrency funding and to be subject to such reserve
requirements without benefit of or credit for proration, exemptions or offsets
that may be available from time to time to any Lender under such Regulation D or
any comparable regulation. The Statutory Reserve Rate shall be adjusted
automatically on and as of the effective date of any change in any reserve
percentage.
"subsidiary" means, with respect to any Person (the "parent") at
any date, any corporation, limited liability company, partnership, association
or other entity the accounts of which would be consolidated with those of the
parent in the parent's consolidated financial statements if such financial
statements were prepared in accordance with GAAP as of such date, as well as any
other corporation, limited liability company, partnership, association or other
entity (a) of which securities or other ownership interests representing more
than 50% of the equity or more than 50% of the ordinary voting power or, in the
case of a partnership, more than 50% of the general partnership interests are,
as of such date, owned, controlled or held, or (b) that is, as of such date,
otherwise Controlled, by the parent or one or more subsidiaries of the parent or
by the parent and one or more subsidiaries of the parent.
"Subsidiary" means any subsidiary of the Borrower.
"Swingline Exposure" means, at any time, the aggregate principal
amount of all Swingline Loans outstanding at such time. The Swingline Exposure
of any Lender at any time shall be its Applicable Percentage of the total
Swingline Exposure at such time.
"Swingline Lender" means The Chase Manhattan Bank, in its capacity
as lender of Swingline Loans hereunder.
"Swingline Loan" means a Loan made pursuant to Section 2.05.
"Taxes" means any and all present or future taxes, levies,
imposts, duties, deductions, charges or withholdings imposed by any Governmental
Authority.
"Total Commitment" means, at any time, the aggregate amount of
Commitments in effect at such time.
"Transactions" means the execution, delivery and performance by
the Borrower of this Agreement, the borrowing of Loans, the use of the proceeds
thereof and the issuance of Letters of Credit hereunder.
"Type", when used in reference to any Loan or Borrowing, refers to
whether the rate of interest on such Loan, or on the Loans comprising such
Borrowing, is determined by reference to the Adjusted LIBO Rate, the Alternate
Base Rate or, in the case of a Competitive Loan or Borrowing, the LIBO Rate or a
Fixed Rate.
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"Unfriendly Acquisition" means any Acquisition that has not, at
the time of the first public announcement of an offer relating thereto, been
approved by the board of directors of the Person to be acquired. For purposes of
this definition, "Acquisition" shall mean any transaction or series of related
transactions for the purpose of or resulting, directly or indirectly, in (a) the
acquisition of all or substantially all of the assets of a Person, or of any
business or division of a Person, (b) the acquisition of in excess of 50% of the
capital stock, partnership interests, membership interests or equity of any
Person, or otherwise causing any Person to become a subsidiary, or (c) a merger
or consolidation or any other combination with another Person (other than a
Person that is a Subsidiary) in which the Borrower or a Subsidiary is the
surviving entity.
"Withdrawal Liability" means liability to a Multiemployer Plan as
a result of a complete or partial withdrawal from such Multiemployer Plan, as
such terms are defined in Part I of Subtitle E of Title IV of ERISA.
SECTION 1.02. Classification of Loans and Borrowings. For purposes
of this Agreement, Loans may be classified and referred to by Class (e.g., a
"Revolving Loan") or by Type (e.g., a "Eurocurrency Loan") or by Class and Type
(e.g., a "Eurocurrency Revolving Loan"). Borrowings also may be classified and
referred to by Class (e.g., a "Revolving Borrowing") or by Type (e.g., a
"Eurocurrency Borrowing") or by Class and Type (e.g., a "Eurocurrency Revolving
Borrowing").
SECTION 1.03. Terms Generally. The definitions of terms herein
shall apply equally to the singular and plural forms of the terms defined.
Whenever the context may require, any pronoun shall include the corresponding
masculine, feminine and neuter forms. The words "include", "includes" and
"including" shall be deemed to be followed by the phrase "without limitation".
The word "will" shall be construed to have the same meaning and effect as the
word "shall". Unless the context requires otherwise (a) any definition of or
reference to any agreement, instrument or other document herein shall be
construed as referring to such agreement, instrument or other document as from
time to time amended, supplemented or otherwise modified (subject to any
restrictions on such amendments, supplements or modifications set forth herein),
(b) any reference herein to any Person shall be construed to include such
Person's successors and assigns, (c) the words "herein", "hereof" and
"hereunder", and words of similar import, shall be construed to refer to this
Agreement in its entirety and not to any particular provision hereof, (d) all
references herein to Articles, Sections, Exhibits and Schedules shall be
construed to refer to Articles and Sections of, and Exhibits and Schedules to,
this Agreement and (e) the words "asset" and "property" shall be construed to
have the same meaning and effect and to refer to any and all tangible and
intangible assets and properties, including cash, securities, accounts and
contract rights.
SECTION 1.04. Accounting Terms; GAAP. Except as otherwise
expressly provided herein, all terms of an accounting or financial nature shall
be construed in accordance with GAAP, as in effect from time to time; provided
that, if the Borrower notifies the Administrative Agent that the Borrower
requests an amendment to any provision hereof to eliminate the effect of any
change occurring after the date hereof in GAAP or in the application thereof on
the operation of such provision (or if the Administrative Agent notifies the
Borrower that the Required Lenders request an amendment to any provision hereof
for such purpose), regardless of whether any such notice is given before or
after such change in GAAP or in the application thereof, then such provision
shall be interpreted on the basis of GAAP as in effect and applied immediately
before such change shall have become effective until such notice shall have been
withdrawn or such provision amended in accordance herewith.
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ARTICLE II
The Credits
SECTION 2.01. Commitments. Subject to the terms and conditions set
forth herein, each Lender agrees to make Revolving Loans to the Borrower from
time to time during the Availability Period denominated in dollars or in any
Committed Currency in an aggregate principal amount that (a) prior to the
Distribution Date, will not result in the Aggregate Revolving Credit Exposure
exceeding $200,000,000 and (b) at any time, will not result in (i) such Lender's
Revolving Credit Exposure exceeding such Lender's Commitment, (ii) the sum of
Aggregate Revolving Credit Exposure plus the aggregate principal amount of
outstanding Competitive Loans exceeding the Total Commitment or (iii) the
Committed Currency Exposure exceeding $300,000,000. Within the foregoing limits
and subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, the Borrower may
borrow, prepay and reborrow Revolving Loans.
SECTION 2.02. Loans and Borrowings. (a) Each Revolving Loan shall
be made as part of a Borrowing consisting of Revolving Loans made by the Lenders
ratably in accordance with their respective Commitments. Each Competitive Loan
shall be made in accordance with the procedures set forth in Section 2.04. The
failure of any Lender to make any Loan required to be made by it shall not
relieve any other Lender of its obligations hereunder; provided that the
Commitments and Competitive Bids of the Lenders are several and no Lender shall
be responsible for any other Lender's failure to make Loans as required.
(b) Subject to Section 2.14, (i) each Revolving Borrowing shall be
comprised entirely of ABR Loans or Eurocurrency Loans as the Borrower may
request in accordance herewith, and (ii) each Competitive Borrowing shall be
comprised entirely of Eurocurrency Loans or Fixed Rate Loans as the Borrower may
request in accordance herewith. Each Swingline Loan shall be an ABR Loan. Each
Lender at its option may make any Eurocurrency Loan by causing any domestic or
foreign branch or Affiliate of such Lender to make such Loan; provided that any
exercise of such option shall not affect the obligation of the Borrower to repay
such Loan in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.
(c) At the commencement of each Interest Period for any
Eurocurrency Revolving Borrowing, such Borrowing shall be in an aggregate
principal amount that (i) if such Borrowing is denominated in dollars, is an
integral multiple of $1,000,000 and not less than $5,000,000 or (ii) in the case
of any Committed Currency Borrowing, in an aggregate principal amount the Dollar
Equivalent of which is not less than $5,000,000. At the time that each ABR
Revolving Borrowing is made, such Borrowing shall be in an aggregate amount that
is an integral multiple of $1,000,000 and not less than $5,000,000; provided
that an ABR Revolving Borrowing may be in an aggregate amount that is equal to
the entire unused balance of the total Commitments or that is required to
finance the reimbursement of an LC Disbursement as contemplated by Section
2.06(e). Each Competitive Borrowing shall be in an aggregate amount that is an
integral multiple of $1,000,000 and not less than $5,000,000. Each Swingline
Loan shall be in an amount that is an integral multiple of $500,000 and not less
than $1,000,000. Borrowings of more than one Type and Class may be outstanding
at the same time.
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(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the
Borrower shall not be entitled to request, or to elect to convert or continue,
any Borrowing if the Interest Period requested with respect thereto would end
after the Maturity Date.
SECTION 2.03. Requests for Revolving Borrowings. To request a
Revolving Borrowing, the Borrower shall notify the Administrative Agent of such
request by telephone (a) in the case of a Eurocurrency Borrowing, not later than
11:00 a.m., New York City time, three Business Days before the date of the
proposed Borrowing or (b) in the case of an ABR Borrowing, not later than 11:00
a.m., New York City time, one Business Day before the date of the proposed
Borrowing; provided that any such notice of an ABR Revolving Borrowing to
finance the reimbursement of an LC Disbursement as contemplated by Section
2.06(e) may be given not later than 10:00 a.m., New York City time, on the date
of the proposed Borrowing. Each such telephonic Borrowing Request shall be
irrevocable and shall be confirmed promptly by hand delivery or telecopy to the
Administrative Agent of a written Borrowing Request in a form approved by the
Administrative Agent and signed by the Borrower. Each such telephonic and
written Borrowing Request shall specify the following information in compliance
with Section 2.02:
(i) the aggregate amount of the requested Borrowing;
(ii) the date of such Borrowing, which shall be a Business Day;
(iii) whether such Borrowing is to be an ABR Borrowing or a
Eurocurrency Borrowing;
(iv) in the case of a Eurocurrency Borrowing, the currency in
which such Borrowing is to be denominated;
(v) in the case of a Eurocurrency Borrowing, the initial
Interest Period to be applicable thereto, which shall be a period
contemplated by the definition of the term "Interest Period"; and
(vi) the location and number of the Borrower's account to which
funds are to be disbursed, which shall comply with the requirements of
Section 2.07.
If no election as to the Type of Revolving Borrowing is specified, then the
requested Revolving Borrowing shall be an ABR Borrowing. If no Interest Period
is specified with respect to any requested Eurocurrency Revolving Borrowing,
then the Borrower shall be deemed to have selected an Interest Period of one
month's duration. If no election as to currency is specified with respect to any
Eurocurrency Revolving Borrowing, then the Borrower shall be deemed to have
selected dollars. Promptly following receipt of a Borrowing Request in
accordance with this Section, the Administrative Agent shall advise each Lender
of the details thereof and of the amount of such Lender's Loan to be made as
part of the requested Borrowing.
SECTION 2.04. Competitive Bid Procedure. (a) Subject to the terms
and conditions set forth herein, at any time and from time to time after the
Distribution Date and prior to the end of the Availability Period the Borrower
may request Competitive Bids for Competitive Loans denominated in dollars and
may (but shall not have any obligation to) accept Competitive Bids and borrow
Competitive Loans; provided that the sum of the Aggregate Revolving Credit
Exposure plus the aggregate principal amount of outstanding Competitive Loans at
any time shall not exceed the Total
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Commitment. To request Competitive Bids, the Borrower shall notify the
Administrative Agent of such request by telephone, in the case of a Eurocurrency
Borrowing, not later than 11:00 a.m., New York City time, four Business Days
before the date of the proposed Borrowing and, in the case of a Fixed Rate
Borrowing, not later than 10:00 a.m., New York City time, one Business Day
before the date of the proposed Borrowing; provided that the Borrower may submit
up to (but not more than) two Competitive Bid Requests on the same day, but a
Competitive Bid Request shall not be made within five Business Days after the
date of any previous Competitive Bid Request, unless any and all such previous
Competitive Bid Requests shall have been withdrawn or all Competitive Bids
received in response thereto rejected. Each such telephonic Competitive Bid
Request shall be confirmed promptly by hand delivery or telecopy to the
Administrative Agent of a written Competitive Bid Request in a form approved by
the Administrative Agent and signed by the Borrower. Each such telephonic and
written Competitive Bid Request shall specify the following information in
compliance with Section 2.02:
(i) the aggregate amount of the requested Borrowing;
(ii) the date of such Borrowing, which shall be a Business Day;
(iii) whether such Borrowing is to be a Eurocurrency Borrowing or
a Fixed Rate Borrowing;
(iv) the Interest Period to be applicable to such Borrowing,
which shall be a period contemplated by the definition of the term
"Interest Period"; and
(v) the location and number of the Borrower's account to which
funds are to be disbursed, which shall comply with the requirements of
Section 2.07.
The Borrower may at its election specify certain alternatives in respect of
which the Lenders may submit alternative bids in the applicable Competitive Bid.
Promptly following receipt of a Competitive Bid Request in accordance with this
Section, the Administrative Agent shall notify the Lenders of the details
thereof by telecopy, inviting the Lenders to submit Competitive Bids.
(b) Each Lender may (but shall not have any obligation to) make
one or more Competitive Bids to the Borrower in response to a Competitive Bid
Request. Each Competitive Bid by a Lender must be in a form approved by the
Administrative Agent and must be received by the Administrative Agent by
telecopy, in the case of a Eurocurrency Competitive Borrowing, not later than
9:30 a.m., New York City time, three Business Days before the proposed date of
such Competitive Borrowing, and in the case of a Fixed Rate Borrowing, not later
than 9:30 a.m., New York City time, on the proposed date of such Competitive
Borrowing. Competitive Bids that do not conform substantially to the form
approved by the Administrative Agent may be rejected by the Administrative
Agent, and the Administrative Agent shall notify the applicable Lender as
promptly as practicable. Each Competitive Bid shall specify (i) the principal
amount (which shall be a minimum of $5,000,000 and an integral multiple of
$1,000,000 and which may equal the entire principal amount of the Competitive
Borrowing requested by the Borrower) of the Competitive Loan or Loans that the
Lender is willing to make, (ii) the Competitive Bid Rate or Rates at which the
Lender is prepared to make such Loan or Loans (expressed as a percentage rate
per annum in the form of a decimal to no more than four decimal places) and
(iii) the Interest Period applicable to each such Loan and the last day thereof.
In the event the Borrower has requested that alternative bids be included in a
Competitive Bid, such
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Competitive Bid shall include the information set forth in clauses (i), (ii),
(iii) and (iv) in respect of each alternative in respect of which the applicable
Lender wishes to bid.
(c) The Administrative Agent shall promptly notify the Borrower by
telecopy of the Competitive Bid Rate and the principal amount specified in each
Competitive Bid and the identity of the Lender that shall have made such
Competitive Bid or, in the event the Borrower has requested alternative bids,
the respective Competitive Bid Rate in respect of each offered alternative and
the identity of the Lender that shall have made such Competitive Bid.
(d) Subject only to the provisions of this paragraph, the Borrower
may accept or reject any Competitive Bid. The Borrower shall notify the
Administrative Agent by telephone, confirmed by telecopy in a form approved by
the Administrative Agent, whether and to what extent it has decided to accept or
reject each Competitive Bid, in the case of a Eurocurrency Competitive
Borrowing, not later than 10:30 a.m., New York City time, three Business Days
before the date of the proposed Competitive Borrowing, and in the case of a
Fixed Rate Borrowing, not later than 10:30 a.m., New York City time, on the
proposed date of the Competitive Borrowing; provided that (i) the failure of the
Borrower to give such notice shall be deemed to be a rejection of each
Competitive Bid, (ii) the Borrower shall not accept a Competitive Bid in respect
of any alternative made at a particular Competitive Bid Rate if the Borrower
rejects a Competitive Bid made in respect of such alternative at a lower
Competitive Bid Rate, (iii) the aggregate amount of the Competitive Bids
accepted by the Borrower shall not exceed the aggregate amount of the requested
Competitive Borrowing specified in the related Competitive Bid Request, (iv) to
the extent necessary to comply with clause (iii) above, the Borrower may accept
Competitive Bids at the same Competitive Bid Rate in part, which acceptance, in
the case of multiple Competitive Bids at such Competitive Bid Rate, shall be
made pro rata in accordance with the amount of each such Competitive Bid, and
(v) except pursuant to clause (iv) above, no Competitive Bid shall be accepted
for a Competitive Loan unless such Competitive Loan is in a minimum principal
amount of $5,000,000 and an integral multiple of $1,000,000; provided further
that if a Competitive Loan must be in an amount less than $5,000,000 because of
the provisions of clause (iv) above, such Competitive Loan may be for a minimum
of $1,000,000 or any integral multiple thereof, and in calculating the pro rata
allocation of acceptances of portions of multiple Competitive Bids at a
particular Competitive Bid Rate pursuant to clause (iv) the amounts shall be
rounded to integral multiples of $1,000,000 in a manner determined by the
Borrower. A notice given by the Borrower pursuant to this paragraph shall be
irrevocable.
(e) The Administrative Agent shall promptly notify each bidding
Lender by telecopy whether or not its Competitive Bid has been accepted (and, if
so, the amount and Competitive Bid Rate so accepted), and each successful bidder
will thereupon become bound, subject to the terms and conditions hereof, to make
the Competitive Loan in respect of which its Competitive Bid has been accepted.
(f) If the Administrative Agent shall elect to submit a
Competitive Bid in its capacity as a Lender, it shall submit such Competitive
Bid directly to the Borrower at least one quarter of an hour earlier than the
time by which the other Lenders are required to submit their Competitive Bids to
the Administrative Agent pursuant to paragraph (b) of this Section.
SECTION 2.05. Swingline Loans. (a) Subject to the terms and
conditions set forth herein, the Swingline Lender agrees to make Swingline Loans
denominated in dollars to the Borrower from time to time during the Availability
Period, in an aggregate principal amount at any time
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outstanding that will not result in (i) the aggregate principal amount of
outstanding Swingline Loans exceeding $50,000,000 or (ii) the sum of the
Aggregate Revolving Credit Exposure plus the aggregate principal amount of
outstanding Competitive Loans exceeding the Total Commitment; provided that the
Swingline Lender shall not be required to (but may at its option) make a
Swingline Loan to refinance an outstanding Swingline Loan. Within the foregoing
limits and subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, the Borrower
may borrow, prepay and reborrow Swingline Loans.
(b) To request a Swingline Loan, the Borrower shall notify the
Administrative Agent of such request by telephone (confirmed by telecopy), not
later than 12:00 noon, New York City time, on the day of a proposed Swingline
Loan. Each such notice shall be irrevocable and shall specify the requested date
(which shall be a Business Day) and amount of the requested Swingline Loan. The
Administrative Agent will promptly advise the Swingline Lender of any such
notice received from the Borrower. The Swingline Lender shall make each
Swingline Loan available to the Borrower by means of a credit to the general
deposit account of the Borrower with the Swingline Lender (or, in the case of a
Swingline Loan made to finance the reimbursement of an LC Disbursement as
provided in Section 2.06(e), by remittance to the applicable Issuing Bank) by
3:00 p.m., New York City time, on the requested date of such Swingline Loan.
(c) The Swingline Lender may by written notice given to the
Administrative Agent not later than 10:00 a.m., New York City time, on any
Business Day require the Lenders to acquire participations on such Business Day
in all or a portion of the Swingline Loans outstanding. Such notice shall
specify the aggregate amount of Swingline Loans in which Lenders will
participate. Promptly upon receipt of such notice, the Administrative Agent will
give notice thereof to each Lender, specifying in such notice such Lender's
Applicable Percentage of such Swingline Loan or Loans. Each Lender hereby
absolutely and unconditionally agrees, upon receipt of notice as provided above,
to pay to the Administrative Agent, for the account of the Swingline Lender,
such Lender's Applicable Percentage of such Swingline Loan or Loans. Each Lender
acknowledges and agrees that its obligation to acquire participations in
Swingline Loans pursuant to this paragraph is absolute and unconditional and
shall not be affected by any circumstance whatsoever, including the occurrence
and continuance of a Default or reduction or termination of the Commitments, and
that each such payment shall be made without any offset, abatement, withholding
or reduction whatsoever. Each Lender shall comply with its obligation under this
paragraph by wire transfer of immediately available funds, in the same manner as
provided in Section 2.07 with respect to Loans made by such Lender (and Section
2.07 shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to the payment obligations of the Lenders),
and the Administrative Agent shall promptly pay to the Swingline Lender the
amounts so received by it from the Lenders. The Administrative Agent shall
notify the Borrower of any participations in any Swingline Loan acquired
pursuant to this paragraph, and thereafter payments in respect of such Swingline
Loan shall be made to the Administrative Agent and not to the Swingline Lender.
Any amounts received by the Swingline Lender from the Borrower (or other party
on behalf of the Borrower) in respect of a Swingline Loan after receipt by the
Swingline Lender of the proceeds of a sale of participations therein shall be
promptly remitted to the Administrative Agent; any such amounts received by the
Administrative Agent shall be promptly remitted by the Administrative Agent to
the Lenders that shall have made their payments pursuant to this paragraph and
to the Swingline Lender, as their interests may appear. The purchase of
participations in a Swingline Loan pursuant to this paragraph shall not relieve
the Borrower of any default in the payment thereof.
SECTION 2.06. Letters of Credit. (a) General. Subject to the terms
and conditions set forth herein, the Borrower may request the issuance of
Letters of Credit denominated in dollars, for
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its own account, in a form reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent and
the Issuing Banks, at any time and from time to time during the Availability
Period. In the event of any inconsistency between the terms and conditions of
this Agreement and the terms and conditions of any form of letter of credit
application or other agreement submitted by the Borrower to, or entered into by
the Borrower with, the Issuing Banks relating to any Letter of Credit, the terms
and conditions of this Agreement shall control.
(b) Notice of Issuance, Amendment, Renewal, Extension; Certain
Conditions. To request the issuance by an Issuing Bank of a Letter of Credit (or
the amendment, renewal or extension of an outstanding Letter of Credit), the
Borrower shall hand deliver or telecopy (or transmit by electronic
communication, if arrangements for doing so have been approved by such Issuing
Bank) to such Issuing Bank and the Administrative Agent (reasonably in advance
of the requested date of issuance, amendment, renewal or extension) a notice
requesting the issuance of a Letter of Credit, or identifying the Letter of
Credit to be amended, renewed or extended, the date of issuance, amendment,
renewal or extension, the date on which such Letter of Credit is to expire
(which shall comply with paragraph (c) of this Section), the amount of such
Letter of Credit, the name and address of the beneficiary thereof and such other
information as shall be necessary to prepare, amend, renew or extend such Letter
of Credit. If requested by any Issuing Bank, the Borrower also shall submit a
letter of credit application on such Issuing Bank's standard form in connection
with any request for a Letter of Credit. A Letter of Credit shall be issued,
amended, renewed or extended only if (and upon issuance, amendment, renewal or
extension of each Letter of Credit the Borrower shall be deemed to represent and
warrant that), after giving effect to such issuance, amendment, renewal or
extension (i) prior to the Distribution Date, the Aggregate Revolving Credit
Exposure shall not exceed $200,000,000 and (ii) at any time, (a) the LC Exposure
shall not exceed $300,000,000 and (b) the sum of the Aggregate Revolving Credit
Exposure plus the aggregate principal amount of outstanding Competitive Loans
shall not exceed the Total Commitment.
(c) Expiration Date. Each Letter of Credit shall expire at or
prior to the close of business on the earlier of (i) the date one year after the
date of the issuance of such Letter of Credit (or, in the case of any renewal or
extension thereof, one year after such renewal or extension) and (ii) the date
that is five Business Days prior to the Maturity Date.
(d) Participations. By the issuance of a Letter of Credit (or an
amendment to a Letter of Credit increasing the amount thereof) and without any
further action on the part of the applicable Issuing Bank or the Lenders, such
Issuing Bank hereby grants to each Lender, and each Lender hereby acquires from
such Issuing Bank, a participation in such Letter of Credit equal to such
Lender's Applicable Percentage of the aggregate amount available to be drawn
under such Letter of Credit. In consideration and in furtherance of the
foregoing, each Lender hereby absolutely and unconditionally agrees to pay to
the Administrative Agent, for the account of such Issuing Bank, such Lender's
Applicable Percentage of each LC Disbursement made by such Issuing Bank and not
reimbursed by the Borrower on the date due as provided in paragraph (e) of this
Section, or of any reimbursement payment required to be refunded to the Borrower
for any reason. Each Lender acknowledges and agrees that its obligation to
acquire participations pursuant to this paragraph in respect of Letters of
Credit is absolute and unconditional and shall not be affected by any
circumstance whatsoever, including any amendment, renewal or extension of any
Letter of Credit or the occurrence and continuance of a Default or reduction or
termination of the Commitments, and that each such payment shall be made without
any offset, abatement, withholding or reduction whatsoever.
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(e) Reimbursement. If any Issuing Bank shall make any LC
Disbursement in respect of a Letter of Credit, the Borrower shall reimburse such
LC Disbursement by paying to the Administrative Agent an amount equal to such LC
Disbursement not later than 12:00 noon, New York City time, on the date that
such LC Disbursement is made, if the Borrower shall have received notice of such
LC Disbursement prior to 10:00 a.m., New York City time, on such date, or, if
such notice has not been received by the Borrower prior to such time on such
date, then not later than 12:00 noon, New York City time, on (i) the Business
Day the Borrower receives such notice if such notice is received prior to 10:00
a.m., New York City time, on the day of receipt, or (ii) the Business Day
immediately following the day that the Borrower receives such notice, if such
notice is not received prior to such time on the day of receipt; provided that,
if such LC Disbursement is not less than $5,000,000 or $1,000,000, respectively,
the Borrower may, subject to the conditions to borrowing set forth herein,
request in accordance with Section 2.03 or 2.05 that such payment be financed
with an ABR Revolving Borrowing or Swingline Loan in an equivalent amount and,
to the extent so financed, the Borrower's obligation to make such payment shall
be discharged and replaced by the resulting ABR Revolving Borrowing or Swingline
Loan. If the Borrower fails to make such payment when due, the Administrative
Agent shall notify each Lender of the applicable LC Disbursement, the payment
then due from the Borrower in respect thereof and such Lender's Applicable
Percentage thereof. Promptly following receipt of such notice, each Lender shall
pay to the Administrative Agent its Applicable Percentage of the payment then
due from the Borrower, in the same manner as provided in Section 2.07 with
respect to Loans made by such Lender (and Section 2.07 shall apply, mutatis
mutandis, to the payment obligations of the Lenders), and the Administrative
Agent shall promptly pay to the applicable Issuing Bank the amounts so received
by it from the Lenders. Promptly following receipt by the Administrative Agent
of any payment from the Borrower pursuant to this paragraph, the Administrative
Agent shall distribute such payment to the applicable Issuing Bank or, to the
extent that Lenders have made payments pursuant to this paragraph to reimburse
such Issuing Bank, then to such Lenders and such Issuing Bank as their interests
may appear. Any payment made by a Lender pursuant to this paragraph to reimburse
any Issuing Bank for any LC Disbursement (other than the funding of ABR
Revolving Loans or a Swingline Loan as contemplated above) shall not constitute
a Loan and shall not relieve the Borrower of its obligation to reimburse such LC
Disbursement.
(f) Obligations Absolute. The Borrower's obligation to reimburse
LC Disbursements as provided in paragraph (e) of this Section shall be absolute,
unconditional and irrevocable, and shall be performed strictly in accordance
with the terms of this Agreement under any and all circumstances whatsoever and
irrespective of (i) any lack of validity or enforceability of any Letter of
Credit or this Agreement, or any term or provision therein, (ii) any draft or
other document presented under a Letter of Credit proving to be forged,
fraudulent or invalid in any respect or any statement therein being untrue or
inaccurate in any respect, (iii) payment by any Issuing Bank under a Letter of
Credit against presentation of a draft or other document that does not comply
with the terms of such Letter of Credit, or (iv) any other event or circumstance
whatsoever, whether or not similar to any of the foregoing, that might, but for
the provisions of this Section, constitute a legal or equitable discharge of, or
provide a right of setoff against, the Borrower's obligations hereunder. Neither
the Administrative Agent, the Lenders nor any Issuing Bank, nor any of their
Related Parties, shall have any liability or responsibility by reason of or in
connection with the issuance or transfer of any Letter of Credit or any payment
or failure to make any payment thereunder (irrespective of any of the
circumstances referred to in the preceding sentence), or any error, omission,
interruption, loss or delay in transmission or delivery of any draft, notice or
other communication under or relating to any Letter of Credit (including any
document required to make a drawing thereunder), any error in interpretation of
technical terms or any consequence arising from causes beyond the control of
such Issuing Bank; provided that the foregoing
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shall not be construed to excuse such Issuing Bank from liability to the
Borrower to the extent of any direct damages (as opposed to consequential
damages, claims in respect of which are hereby waived by the Borrower to the
extent permitted by applicable law) suffered by the Borrower that are caused by
such Issuing Bank's failure to exercise care when determining whether drafts and
other documents presented under a Letter of Credit comply with the terms
thereof. The parties hereto expressly agree that, in the absence of gross
negligence or wilful misconduct on the part of an Issuing Bank, such Issuing
Bank shall be deemed to have exercised care in each such determination. In
furtherance of the foregoing and without limiting the generality thereof, the
parties agree that, with respect to documents presented which appear on their
face to be in substantial compliance with the terms of a Letter of Credit, an
Issuing Bank may, in its sole discretion, either accept and make payment upon
such documents without responsibility for further investigation, regardless of
any notice or information to the contrary, or refuse to accept and make payment
upon such documents if such documents are not in strict compliance with the
terms of such Letter of Credit.
(g) Disbursement Procedures. Each Issuing Bank shall, promptly
following its receipt thereof, examine all documents purporting to represent a
demand for payment under a Letter of Credit and shall promptly notify the
Administrative Agent and the Borrower by telephone (confirmed by telecopy) of
such demand for payment and whether such Issuing Bank has made or will make an
LC Disbursement thereunder; provided that any failure to give or delay in giving
such notice shall not relieve the Borrower of its obligation to reimburse such
Issuing Bank and the Lenders with respect to any such LC Disbursement.
(h) Interim Interest. If any Issuing Bank shall make any LC
Disbursement, then, unless the Borrower shall reimburse such LC Disbursement in
full on the date such LC Disbursement is made, the unpaid amount thereof shall
bear interest, for each day from and including the date such LC Disbursement is
made to but excluding the date that the Borrower reimburses such LC
Disbursement, at the rate per annum then applicable to ABR Revolving Loans;
provided that, if the Borrower fails to reimburse such LC Disbursement when due
pursuant to paragraph (e) of this Section, then Section 2.13(d) shall apply.
Interest accrued pursuant to this paragraph shall be for the account of the
applicable Issuing Bank, except that interest accrued on and after the date of
payment by any Lender pursuant to paragraph (e) of this Section to reimburse
such Issuing Bank shall be for the account of such Lender to the extent of such
payment.
(i) Replacement of an Issuing Bank. Any Issuing Bank may be
replaced at any time by written agreement among the Borrower, the Administrative
Agent, the replaced Issuing Bank and the successor Issuing Bank. The
Administrative Agent shall notify the Lenders of any such replacement of an
Issuing Bank. At the time any such replacement shall become effective, the
Borrower shall pay all unpaid fees accrued for the account of the replaced
Issuing Bank pursuant to Section 2.12(b). From and after the effective date of
any such replacement, (i) the successor Issuing Bank shall have all the rights
and obligations of the replaced Issuing Bank under this Agreement with respect
to Letters of Credit to be issued by such successor Issuing Bank thereafter and
(ii) references herein to the term "Issuing Banks" shall be deemed to refer to
such successor or to any previous Issuing Bank, or to such successor and all
previous Issuing Banks, as the context shall require. After the replacement of
an Issuing Bank hereunder, the replaced Issuing Bank shall remain a party hereto
and shall continue to have all the rights and obligations of an Issuing Bank
under this Agreement with respect to Letters of Credit issued by it prior to
such replacement, but shall not be required to issue additional Letters of
Credit.
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(j) Cash Collateralization. If any Event of Default shall occur
and be continuing, on the Business Day that the Borrower receives notice from
the Administrative Agent or the Required Lenders demanding the deposit of cash
collateral pursuant to this paragraph, the Borrower shall deposit in an account
with the Administrative Agent, in the name of the Administrative Agent and for
the benefit of the Lenders, an amount in cash equal to the LC Exposure as of
such date plus any accrued and unpaid interest thereon; provided that the
obligation to deposit such cash collateral shall become effective immediately,
and such deposit shall become immediately due and payable, without demand or
other notice of any kind, upon the occurrence of any Event of Default with
respect to the Borrower described in clause (h) or (i) of Article VII. Such
deposit shall be held by the Administrative Agent as collateral for the payment
and performance of the obligations of the Borrower under this Agreement. The
Administrative Agent shall have exclusive dominion and control, including the
exclusive right of withdrawal, over such account. Other than any interest earned
on the investment of such deposits, which investments shall be made at the
option and sole discretion of the Administrative Agent and at the Borrower's
risk and expense, such deposits shall not bear interest. Interest or profits, if
any, on such investments shall accumulate in such account. Moneys in such
account shall be applied by the Administrative Agent to reimburse the Issuing
Banks on a pro rata basis for LC Disbursements for which they have not been
reimbursed and, to the extent not so applied, shall be held for the satisfaction
of the reimbursement obligations of the Borrower for the LC Exposure at such
time or, if the maturity of the Loans has been accelerated, be applied to
satisfy other obligations of the Borrower under this Agreement. If the Borrower
is required to provide an amount of cash collateral hereunder as a result of the
occurrence of an Event of Default, such amount (to the extent not applied as
aforesaid) shall be returned to the Borrower within three Business Days after
all Events of Default have been cured or waived.
SECTION 2.07. Funding of Borrowings. (a) Each Lender shall make
each Loan to be made by it hereunder on the proposed date thereof by wire
transfer of immediately available funds by 12:00 noon, New York City time, to
the account of the Administrative Agent most recently designated by it for such
purpose by notice to the Lenders; provided that Swingline Loans shall be made as
provided in Section 2.05. The Administrative Agent will make such Loans
available to the Borrower by promptly crediting the amounts so received, in like
funds, to an account of the Borrower maintained with the Administrative Agent in
New York City and designated by the Borrower in the applicable Borrowing Request
or Competitive Bid Request; provided that ABR Revolving Loans made to finance
the reimbursement of an LC Disbursement as provided in Section 2.06(e) shall be
remitted by the Administrative Agent to the Issuing Banks. From time to time the
Administrative Agent may as it deems necessary or appropriate specify
alternative procedures for funding Committed Currency Borrowings.
(b) Unless the Administrative Agent shall have received notice
from a Lender prior to the proposed date of any Borrowing that such Lender will
not make available to the Administrative Agent such Lender's share of such
Borrowing, the Administrative Agent may assume that such Lender has made such
share available on such date in accordance with paragraph (a) of this Section
and may, in reliance upon such assumption, make available to the Borrower a
corresponding amount. In such event, if a Lender has not in fact made its share
of the applicable Borrowing available to the Administrative Agent, then the
applicable Lender and the Borrower severally agree to pay to the Administrative
Agent forthwith on demand such corresponding amount with interest thereon, for
each day from and including the date such amount is made available to the
Borrower to but excluding the date of payment to the Administrative Agent, at
(i) in the case of such Lender, the Federal Funds Effective Rate or (ii) in the
case of the Borrower, the interest rate applicable to ABR Loans. If such
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Lender pays such amount to the Administrative Agent, then such amount shall
constitute such Lender's Loan included in such Borrowing.
SECTION 2.08. Interest Elections. (a) Each Revolving Borrowing
initially shall be of the Type specified in the applicable Borrowing Request
and, in the case of a Eurocurrency Revolving Borrowing, shall have an initial
Interest Period as specified in such Borrowing Request. Thereafter, the Borrower
may elect to convert such Borrowing to a different Type or to continue such
Borrowing and, in the case of a Eurocurrency Revolving Borrowing, may elect
Interest Periods therefor, all as provided in this Section. The Borrower may
elect different options with respect to different portions of the affected
Borrowing, in which case each such portion shall be allocated ratably among the
Lenders holding the Loans comprising such Borrowing, and the Loans comprising
each such portion shall be considered a separate Borrowing. This Section shall
not apply to Competitive Borrowings or Swingline Borrowings, which may not be
converted or continued.
(b) To make an election pursuant to this Section, the Borrower
shall notify the Administrative Agent of such election by telephone by the time
that a Borrowing Request would be required under Section 2.03 if the Borrower
were requesting a Revolving Borrowing of the Type resulting from such election
to be made on the effective date of such election. Each such telephonic Interest
Election Request shall be irrevocable and shall be confirmed promptly by hand
delivery or telecopy to the Administrative Agent of a written Interest Election
Request in a form approved by the Administrative Agent and signed by the
Borrower.
(c) Each telephonic and written Interest Election Request shall
specify the following information in compliance with Section 2.02:
(i) the Borrowing to which such Interest Election Request
applies and, if different options are being elected with respect to
different portions thereof, the portions thereof to be allocated to each
resulting Borrowing (in which case the information to be specified
pursuant to clauses (iii) and (iv) below shall be specified for each
resulting Borrowing);
(ii) the effective date of the election made pursuant to such
Interest Election Request, which shall be a Business Day;
(iii) whether the resulting Borrowing is to be an ABR Borrowing
or a Eurocurrency Borrowing; and
(iv) if the resulting Borrowing is a Eurocurrency Borrowing, the
Interest Period to be applicable thereto after giving effect to such
election, which shall be a period contemplated by the definition of the
term "Interest Period".
If any such Interest Election Request requests a Eurocurrency Borrowing but does
not specify an Interest Period, then the Borrower shall be deemed to have
selected an Interest Period of one month's duration in the case of a
Eurocurrency Borrowing.
(d) Promptly following receipt of an Interest Election Request,
the Administrative Agent shall advise each Lender of the details thereof and of
such Lender's portion of each resulting Borrowing.
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(e) If the Borrower fails to deliver a timely Interest Election
Request with respect to a Eurocurrency Revolving Borrowing denominated in
dollars prior to the end of the Interest Period applicable thereto, then, unless
such Borrowing is repaid as provided herein, at the end of such Interest Period
such Borrowing shall be converted to an ABR Borrowing. If the Borrower fails to
deliver a timely Interest Election Request with respect to a Committed Currency
Borrowing, then such Committed Currency Borrowing shall, at the end of the
Interest Period applicable thereto, become due and payable. Notwithstanding any
contrary provision hereof, if an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing
and the Administrative Agent, at the request of the Required Lenders, so
notifies the Borrower, then, so long as an Event of Default is continuing (i) no
outstanding Revolving Borrowing may be converted to or continued as a
Eurocurrency Borrowing and (ii) unless repaid, each Eurocurrency Revolving
Borrowing shall be converted to an ABR Borrowing at the end of the Interest
Period applicable thereto.
SECTION 2.09. Termination and Reduction of Commitments. (a) Unless
previously terminated, the Commitments shall terminate on the Maturity Date.
(b) The Borrower may on three Business Days' notice at any time
terminate, or from time to time reduce, the Commitments; provided that (i) each
reduction of the Commitments shall be in an amount that is an integral multiple
of $1,000,000 and not less than $5,000,000, (ii) the Borrower shall not
terminate or reduce the Commitments if, after giving effect to any concurrent
prepayment of the Loans in accordance with Section 2.11, the sum of the
Aggregate Revolving Credit Exposure plus the aggregate principal amount of
outstanding Competitive Loans would exceed the Total Commitment and (iii) the
Borrower shall not terminate or reduce the Commitments if, after giving effect
to any concurrent payout of Loans in accordance with Section 2.11, the aggregate
principal amount of outstanding Competitive Loans would exceed the Total
Commitment.
(c) The Borrower shall notify the Administrative Agent of any
election to terminate or reduce the Commitments under paragraph (b) of this
Section at least three Business Days prior to the effective date of such
termination or reduction, specifying such election and the effective date
thereof. Promptly following receipt of any notice, the Administrative Agent
shall advise the Lenders of the contents thereof. Each notice delivered by the
Borrower pursuant to this Section shall be irrevocable; provided that a notice
of termination of the Commitments delivered by the Borrower may state that such
notice is conditioned upon the effectiveness of other credit facilities, in
which case such notice may be revoked by the Borrower (by notice to the
Administrative Agent on or prior to the specified effective date) if such
condition is not satisfied. Any termination or reduction of the Commitments
shall be permanent. Each reduction of the Commitments shall be made ratably
among the Lenders in accordance with their respective Commitments.
(d) The Commitments shall automatically and permanently terminate
on the earliest to occur of (i) the date the Borrower or AT&T Corp. publicly
announces the abandonment of the Spin Off, (ii) March 31, 1997, if the
Distribution Date shall not have occurred on or prior thereto, and (iii) on the
Distribution Date, if the conditions set forth in Section 4.02 are not satisfied
(or waived in accordance with Section 9.02) on the Distribution Date.
SECTION 2.10. Repayment of Loans; Evidence of Debt. (a) The
Borrower hereby unconditionally promises to pay (i) to the Administrative Agent
for the account of each Lender the then unpaid principal amount of each
Revolving Loan on the Maturity Date, (ii) to the Administrative Agent for the
account of each Lender the then unpaid principal amount of each Competitive Loan
on the last
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day of the Interest Period applicable to such Loan and (iii) to the Swingline
Lender the then unpaid principal amount of each Swingline Loan on the earlier of
the Maturity Date and the first date after such Swingline Loan is made that is
the 15th or last day of a calendar month and is at least four Business Days
after such Swingline Loan is made; provided that on each date that a Revolving
Borrowing or Competitive Borrowing is made, the Borrower shall repay all
Swingline Loans then outstanding.
(b) 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, including the amounts
of principal and interest payable and paid to such Lender from time to time
hereunder.
(c) The Administrative Agent shall maintain accounts in which it
shall record (i) the amount of each Loan made hereunder, the Class and Type
thereof and the Interest Period applicable 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 and (iii) the amount of any sum received by
the Administrative Agent hereunder for the account of the Lenders and each
Lender's share thereof.
(d) The entries made in the accounts maintained pursuant to
paragraph (b) or (c) of this Section shall be prima facie evidence of the
existence and amounts of the obligations recorded therein; provided that the
failure of any Lender or the Administrative Agent to maintain such accounts or
any error therein shall not in any manner affect the obligation of the Borrower
to repay the Loans in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.
(e) Any Lender may request that Loans made by it be evidenced by a
promissory note. In such event, the Borrower shall prepare, execute and deliver
to such Lender a promissory note payable to the order of such Lender (or, if
requested by such Lender, to such Lender and its registered assigns) and in a
form approved by the Administrative Agent. Thereafter, the Loans evidenced by
such promissory note and interest thereon shall at all times (including after
assignment pursuant to Section 9.04) be represented by one or more promissory
notes in such form payable to the order of the payee named therein (or, if such
promissory note is a registered note, to such payee and its registered assigns).
SECTION 2.11. Prepayment of Loans. (a) The Borrower shall have the
right at any time and from time to time to prepay any Borrowing in whole or in
part, subject to prior notice in accordance with paragraph (b) of this Section;
provided that the Borrower shall not have the right to prepay any Competitive
Loan without the prior consent of the Lender thereof.
(b) The Borrower shall notify the Administrative Agent (and, in
the case of prepayment of a Swingline Loan, the Swingline Lender) by telephone
(confirmed by telecopy) of any prepayment under paragraph (a) above or to comply
with paragraph (c) below or with Section 2.20(b) (i) in the case of prepayment
of a Eurocurrency Revolving Borrowing, not later than 11:00 a.m., New York City
time, three Business Days before the date of prepayment, (ii) in the case of
prepayment of an ABR Revolving Borrowing, not later than 11:00 a.m., New York
City time, one Business Day before the date of prepayment or (iii) in the case
of prepayment of a Swingline Loan, not later than 12:00 noon, New York City
time, on the date of prepayment. Each such notice shall be irrevocable and shall
specify the prepayment date and the principal amount of each Borrowing or
portion thereof to be prepaid; provided that, if a notice of prepayment is given
in connection with a conditional notice of
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termination of the Commitments as contemplated by Section 2.09(c), then such
notice of prepayment may be revoked if such notice of termination is revoked in
accordance with Section 2.09(c). Promptly following receipt of any such notice
relating to a Revolving Borrowing, the Administrative Agent shall advise the
Lenders of the contents thereof. Each partial prepayment of any Revolving
Borrowing shall be in an amount that would be permitted in the case of an
advance of a Revolving Borrowing of the same Type as provided in Section 2.02.
Each prepayment of a Revolving Borrowing shall be applied ratably to the Loans
included in the prepaid Borrowing. Prepayments shall be accompanied by accrued
interest to the extent required by Section 2.13.
(c) In the event of any termination of the Commitments, the
Borrower shall on the date of such termination reduce the Aggregate Revolving
Credit Exposure to zero and prepay all outstanding Competitive Loans.
SECTION 2.12. Fees. (a) The Borrower agrees to pay to the
Administrative Agent for the account of each Lender a facility fee, which shall
accrue at the Applicable Rate on the daily amount of the Commitment of such
Lender (whether used or unused) during the period from and including the date of
this Agreement to but excluding the date on which such Commitment terminates;
provided that, if such Lender continues to have any Revolving Credit Exposure
after its Commitment terminates, then such facility fee shall continue to accrue
on the daily amount of such Lender's Revolving Credit Exposure from and
including the date on which its Commitment terminates to but excluding the date
on which such Lender ceases to have any Revolving Credit Exposure. Accrued
facility fees shall be payable in arrears on the last day of March, June,
September and December of each year and on the date on which the Commitments
terminate, commencing on the first such date to occur after the date hereof;
provided that any facility fees accruing after the date on which the Commitments
terminate shall be payable on demand. All facility fees shall be computed on the
basis of a year of 365 days (or 366 days in a leap year) and shall be payable
for the actual number of days elapsed (including the first day but excluding the
last day).
(b) The Borrower agrees to pay (i) to the Administrative Agent for
the account of each Lender a participation fee with respect to its
participations in Letters of Credit, which shall accrue at the same Applicable
Rate as interest on Eurocurrency Revolving Loans on the average daily amount of
such Lender's LC Exposure (excluding any portion thereof attributable to
unreimbursed LC Disbursements) during the period from and including the
Effective Date to but excluding the later of the date on which such Lender's
Commitment terminates and the date on which such Lender ceases to have any LC
Exposure, and (ii) to each Issuing Bank a fronting fee, which shall accrue on
the average daily amount of the LC Exposure in respect of Letters of Credit
issued by such Issuing Bank (excluding any portion thereof attributable to
unreimbursed LC Disbursements) at the rate separately agreed upon by the
Borrower and the Issuing Banks during the period from and including the
Effective Date to but excluding the later of the date of termination of the
Commitments and the date on which there ceases to be any LC Exposure, as well as
each Issuing Bank's standard fees with respect to the issuance, amendment,
renewal or extension of any Letter of Credit or processing of drawings
thereunder. Participation fees and fronting fees accrued through and including
the last day of March, June, September and December of each year shall be
payable on the third Business Day following such last day, commencing on the
first such date to occur after the Effective Date; provided that all such fees
shall be payable on the date on which the Commitments terminate and any such
fees accruing after the date on which the Commitments terminate shall be payable
on demand. Any other fees payable to the Issuing Banks pursuant to this
paragraph shall be payable within 10 days after demand. All
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participation fees and fronting fees shall be computed on the basis of a year of
360 days and shall be payable for the actual number of days elapsed (including
the first day but excluding the last day).
(c) The Borrower agrees to pay to the Administrative Agent, for
its own account, fees payable in the amounts and at the times separately agreed
upon between the Borrower and the Administrative Agent.
(d) All fees payable hereunder shall be paid on the dates due, in
immediately available funds, to the Administrative Agent (or to each Issuing
Bank, in the case of fees payable to it) for distribution, in the case of
facility fees and participation fees, to the Lenders. Fees paid shall not be
refundable under any circumstances.
SECTION 2.13. Interest. (a) The Loans comprising each ABR
Borrowing (including each Swingline Loan) shall bear interest at the Alternate
Base Rate.
(b) The Loans comprising each Eurocurrency Borrowing shall bear
interest (i) in the case of a Eurocurrency Revolving Loan, at the Adjusted LIBO
Rate for the Interest Period in effect for such Borrowing plus the Applicable
Rate, or (ii) in the case of a Eurocurrency Competitive Loan, at the LIBO Rate
for the Interest Period in effect for such Borrowing plus (or minus, as
applicable) the Margin applicable to such Loan.
(c) Each Fixed Rate Loan shall bear interest at the Fixed Rate
applicable to such Loan.
(d) Notwithstanding the foregoing, if any principal of or interest
on any Loan or any fee or other amount payable by the Borrower hereunder is not
paid when due, whether at stated maturity, upon acceleration or otherwise, such
overdue amount shall bear interest, after as well as before judgment, at a rate
per annum equal to (i) in the case of overdue principal of any Loan, 2% plus the
rate otherwise applicable to such Loan as provided in the preceding paragraphs
of this Section or (ii) in the case of any other amount, 2% plus the rate
applicable to ABR Loans as provided in paragraph (a) of this Section or, if
higher, in the case of any amount denominated in a Committed Currency, the cost
to the Lenders, as reasonably determined by the Administrative Agent, of
maintaining such outstanding amount in the applicable currency.
(e) Accrued interest on each Loan shall be payable in arrears on
each Interest Payment Date for such Loan; provided that (i) interest accrued
pursuant to paragraph (d) of this Section shall be payable on demand, (ii) in
the event of any repayment or prepayment of any Loan (other than a prepayment of
an ABR Revolving Loan prior to the end of the Availability Period), accrued
interest on the principal amount repaid or prepaid shall be payable on the date
of such repayment or prepayment, (iii) in the event of any conversion of any
Eurocurrency Revolving Loan prior to the end of the current Interest Period
therefor, accrued interest on such Loan shall be payable on the effective date
of such conversion and (iv) all accrued interest shall be payable upon
termination of the Commitments.
(f) All interest hereunder shall be computed on the basis of a
year of 360 days, except that interest computed by reference to the Alternate
Base Rate at times when the Alternate Base Rate is based on the Prime Rate shall
be computed on the basis of a year of 365 days (or 366 days in a leap year), and
in each case shall be payable for the actual number of days elapsed (including
the first
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day but excluding the last day). The applicable Alternate Base Rate, Adjusted
LIBO Rate or LIBO Rate shall be determined by the Administrative Agent, and such
determination shall be conclusive absent manifest error.
SECTION 2.14. Alternate Rate of Interest. If prior to the
commencement of any Interest Period for a Eurocurrency Borrowing:
(a) the Administrative Agent determines (which determination shall
be conclusive absent manifest error) that adequate and reasonable means
do not exist for ascertaining the Adjusted LIBO Rate or the LIBO Rate,
as applicable, for Loans denominated in the currency of such Borrowing
for such Interest Period;
(b) the Administrative Agent is advised by the Required Lenders
(or, in the case of a Eurocurrency Competitive Loan, the Lender that is
required to make such Loan) that the Adjusted LIBO Rate or the LIBO
Rate, as applicable, for Loans denominated in the currency of such
Borrowing for such Interest Period will not adequately and fairly
reflect the cost to such Lenders (or Lender) of making or maintaining
their Loans (or its Loan) included in such Borrowing for such Interest
Period; or
(c) the Administrative Agent determines (which determination shall
be conclusive absent manifest error) that deposits in the applicable
currency in the principal amounts of the Loans comprising such Borrowing
are not generally available in the London interbank market or any other
market in which the Lenders shall be funding such Loans;
then the Administrative Agent shall give notice thereof to the Borrower and the
Lenders by telephone or telecopy as promptly as practicable thereafter and,
until the Administrative Agent notifies the Borrower and the Lenders that the
circumstances giving rise to such notice no longer exist, (i) any Interest
Election Request that requests the conversion of any Revolving Borrowing to, or
continuation of any Revolving Borrowing as, a Eurocurrency Borrowing in the
affected currency shall be ineffective, (ii) if the affected currency is dollars
and any Borrowing Request requests a Eurocurrency Revolving Borrowing, such
Borrowing shall be made as an ABR Borrowing, (iii) if any Borrowing Request
requests a Committed Currency Borrowing denominated in the affected currency,
such request shall be ineffective and (iv) if the affected currency is dollars,
any request by the Borrower for a Eurocurrency Competitive Borrowing shall be
ineffective; provided that (A) if the circumstances giving rise to such notice
do not affect all the Lenders, then requests by the Borrower for Eurocurrency
Competitive Borrowings may be made to Lenders that are not affected thereby and
(B) if the circumstances giving rise to such notice affect only one Type of
Borrowings, then the other Type of Borrowings shall be permitted.
SECTION 2.15. Increased Costs. (a) If any Change in Law shall:
(i) impose, modify or deem applicable any reserve, special deposit
or similar requirement against assets of, deposits with or for the
account of, or credit extended by, any Lender (except any such reserve
requirement reflected in the Adjusted LIBO Rate) or any Issuing Bank; or
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(ii) impose on any Lender or any Issuing Bank or the London
interbank market any other condition affecting this Agreement or
Eurocurrency Loans or Fixed Rate Loans made by such Lender or any Letter
of Credit or participation therein;
and the result of any of the foregoing shall be to increase the cost to such
Lender of making or maintaining any Eurocurrency Loan or Fixed Rate Loan (or of
maintaining its obligation to make any such Loan) or to increase the cost to
such Lender or such Issuing Bank of participating in, issuing or maintaining any
Letter of Credit or to reduce the amount of any sum received or receivable by
such Lender or such Issuing Bank hereunder (whether of principal, interest or
otherwise), then the Borrower will pay to such Lender or such Issuing Bank, as
the case may be, such additional amount or amounts as will compensate such
Lender or such Issuing Bank, as the case may be, for such additional costs
incurred or reduction suffered.
(b) If any Lender or any Issuing Bank determines that any Change
in Law regarding capital requirements has or would have the effect of reducing
the rate of return on such Lender's or such Issuing Bank's capital or on the
capital of such Lender's or such Issuing Bank's holding company, if any, as a
consequence of this Agreement or the Loans made by, or participations in Letters
of Credit held by, such Lender, or the Letters of Credit issued by such Issuing
Bank to a level below that which such Lender or such Issuing Bank or such
Lender's or such Issuing Bank's holding company could have achieved but for such
Change in Law (taking into consideration such Lender's or such Issuing Bank's
policies and the policies of such Lender's or such Issuing Bank's holding
company with respect to capital adequacy), then from time to time the Borrower
will pay to such Lender or such Issuing Bank, as the case may be, such
additional amount or amounts as will compensate such Lender or such Issuing Bank
or such Lender's or such Issuing Bank's holding company for any such reduction
suffered.
(c) A certificate of a Lender or an Issuing Bank setting forth the
amount or amounts necessary to compensate such Lender or such Issuing Bank or
its holding company, as the case may be, as specified in paragraph (a) or (b) of
this Section shall be delivered to the Borrower and shall be conclusive absent
manifest error. The Borrower shall pay such Lender or such Issuing Bank, as the
case may be, the amount shown as due on any such certificate within 10 days
after receipt thereof.
(d) Failure or delay on the part of any Lender or any Issuing Bank
to demand compensation pursuant to this Section shall not constitute a waiver of
such Lender's or such Issuing Bank' right to demand such compensation; provided
that the Borrower shall not be required to compensate a Lender or any Issuing
Bank pursuant to this Section for any increased costs or reductions incurred
more than 270 days prior to the date that such Lender or such Issuing Bank, as
the case may be, notifies the Borrower of the Change in Law giving rise to such
increased costs or reductions and of such Lender's or such Issuing Bank's
intention to claim compensation therefor; provided further that, if the Change
in Law giving rise to such increased costs or reductions is retroactive, then
the 270-day period referred to above shall be extended to include the period of
retroactive effect thereof.
(e) Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section, a
Lender shall not be entitled to compensation pursuant to this Section in respect
of any Competitive Loan if the Change in Law that would otherwise entitle it to
such compensation shall have been publicly announced prior to submission of the
Competitive Bid pursuant to which such Loan was made.
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SECTION 2.16. Break Funding Payments. In the event of (a) the
payment of any principal of any Eurocurrency Loan or Fixed Rate Loan other than
on the last day of an Interest Period applicable thereto (including as a result
of an Event of Default), (b) the conversion of any Eurocurrency Loan other than
on the last day of the Interest Period applicable thereto, (c) the failure to
borrow, convert, continue or prepay any Revolving Loan on the date specified in
any notice delivered pursuant hereto (regardless of whether such notice may be
revoked under Section 2.11(b) and is revoked in accordance therewith), (d) the
failure to borrow any Competitive Loan after accepting the Competitive Bid to
make such Loan, or (e) the assignment of any Eurocurrency Loan or Fixed Rate
Loan other than on the last day of the Interest Period applicable thereto as a
result of a request by the Borrower pursuant to Section 2.19, then, in any such
event, the Borrower shall compensate each Lender for the loss, cost and expense
attributable to such event. In the case of a Eurocurrency Loan, such loss, cost
or expense to any Lender shall be deemed to include an amount determined by such
Lender to be the excess, if any, of (i) the amount of interest which would have
accrued on the principal amount of such Loan had such event not occurred, at the
Adjusted LIBO Rate (in the case of a Eurocurrency Loan) that would have been
applicable to such Loan, for the period from the date of such event to the last
day of the then current Interest Period therefor (or, in the case of a failure
to borrow, convert or continue, for the period that would have been the Interest
Period for such Loan), over (ii) the amount of interest which would accrue on
such principal amount for such period at the interest rate which such Lender
would bid were it to bid, at the commencement of such period, for deposits in
the applicable currency of a comparable amount and period from other banks in
the eurocurrency market. A certificate of any Lender setting forth any amount or
amounts that such Lender is entitled to receive pursuant to this Section shall
be delivered to the Borrower and shall be conclusive absent manifest error. The
Borrower shall pay such Lender the amount shown as due on any such certificate
within 10 days after receipt thereof.
SECTION 2.17. Taxes. (a) Any and all payments by or on account of
any obligation of the Borrower hereunder shall be made free and clear of and
without deduction for any Indemnified Taxes or Other Taxes; provided that if the
Borrower shall be required to deduct any Indemnified Taxes or Other Taxes from
such payments, then (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) the Administrative Agent, Lender or
Issuing Bank (as the case may be) receive an amount equal to the sum they would
have received had no such deductions been made, (ii) the Borrower shall make
such deductions and (iii) the Borrower shall pay the full amount deducted to the
relevant Governmental Authority in accordance with applicable law.
(b) In addition, the Borrower shall pay any Other Taxes to the
relevant Governmental Authority in accordance with applicable law.
(c) The Borrower shall indemnify the Administrative Agent, each
Lender and each Issuing Bank within 10 days after written demand therefor, for
the full amount of any Indemnified Taxes or Other Taxes paid by the
Administrative Agent, such Lender or such Issuing Bank, as the case may be, on
or with respect to any payment by or on account of any obligation of the
Borrower hereunder (including Indemnified Taxes or Other Taxes imposed or
asserted on or attributable to amounts payable under this Section) and any
penalties, interest and reasonable expenses arising therefrom or with respect
thereto, whether or not such Indemnified Taxes or Other Taxes were correctly or
legally imposed or asserted by the relevant Governmental Authority. A
certificate as to the amount of such payment or liability delivered to the
Borrower by a Lender or an Issuing Bank, or by
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the Administrative Agent on its own behalf or on behalf of a Lender or an
Issuing Bank, shall be conclusive absent manifest error.
(d) As soon as practicable after any payment of Indemnified Taxes
or Other Taxes by the Borrower to a Governmental Authority, the Borrower shall
deliver to the Administrative Agent the original or a certified copy of a
receipt issued by such Governmental Authority evidencing such payment, a copy of
the return reporting such payment or other evidence of such payment reasonably
satisfactory to the Administrative Agent.
(e) Any Foreign Lender that is entitled to an exemption from or
reduction of withholding tax under the law of the jurisdiction in which the
Borrower is located, or any treaty to which such jurisdiction is a party, with
respect to payments under this Agreement 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 or reasonably requested by the Borrower as will permit such payments to be
made without withholding or at a reduced rate.
SECTION 2.18. Payments Generally; Pro Rata Treatment; Sharing of
Set-offs. (a) Except as may be reasonably specified on reasonable notice by the
Administrative Agent as it from time to time deems necessary or appropriate with
respect to any Committed Currency, the Borrower shall make each payment required
to be made by it hereunder (whether of principal, interest, fees or
reimbursement of LC Disbursements, or of amounts payable under Section 2.15,
2.16 or 2.17, or otherwise) from a location in the United States prior to 12:00
noon, New York City time, on the date when due, in immediately available funds,
without set-off or counterclaim. Any amounts received after such time on any
date may, in the discretion of the Administrative Agent, be deemed to have been
received on the next succeeding Business Day for purposes of calculating
interest thereon. All such payments shall be made to the Administrative Agent at
its offices at 000 Xxxx Xxxxxx, Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx, except payments to be made
directly to the Issuing Banks or Swingline Lender as expressly provided herein
and except that payments pursuant to Sections 2.15, 2.16, 2.17 and 9.03 shall be
made directly to the Persons entitled thereto. The Administrative Agent shall
distribute any such payments received by it for the account of any other Person
to the appropriate recipient promptly following receipt thereof. If any payment
hereunder shall be due on a day that is not a Business Day, the date for payment
shall be extended to the next succeeding Business Day, and, in the case of any
payment accruing interest, interest thereon shall be payable for the period of
such extension. All payments hereunder shall be made in dollars or the
applicable Committed Currency, as the case may be.
(b) If at any time insufficient funds are received by and
available to the Administrative Agent to pay fully all amounts of principal,
unreimbursed LC Disbursements, interest and fees then due hereunder, such funds
shall be applied (i) first, towards payment of interest and fees then due
hereunder, ratably among the parties entitled thereto in accordance with the
amounts of interest and fees then due to such parties, and (ii) second, towards
payment of principal and unreimbursed LC Disbursements then due hereunder,
ratably among the parties entitled thereto in accordance with the amounts of
principal and unreimbursed LC Disbursements then due to such parties.
(c) If any Lender shall, by exercising any right of set-off or
counterclaim or otherwise, obtain payment in respect of any principal of or
interest on any of its Revolving Loans or participations in LC Disbursements or
Swingline Loans resulting in such Lender receiving payment of a greater
proportion of the aggregate amount of its Revolving Loans and participations in
LC
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Disbursements and Swingline Loans and accrued interest thereon than the
proportion received by any other Lender, then the Lender receiving such greater
proportion shall purchase (for cash at face value) participations in the
Revolving Loans and participations in LC Disbursements and Swingline Loans of
other Lenders to the extent necessary so that the benefit of all such payments
shall be shared by the Lenders ratably in accordance with the aggregate amount
of principal of and accrued interest on their respective Revolving Loans and
participations in LC Disbursements and Swingline Loans; provided that (i) if any
such participations are purchased and all or any portion of the payment giving
rise thereto is recovered, such participations shall be rescinded and the
purchase price restored to the extent of such recovery, without interest, and
(ii) the provisions of this paragraph shall not be construed to apply to any
payment made by the Borrower pursuant to and in accordance with the express
terms of this Agreement or any payment obtained by a Lender as consideration for
the assignment of or sale of a participation in any of its Loans or
participations in LC Disbursements to any assignee or participant, other than to
the Borrower or any Subsidiary or Affiliate thereof (as to which the provisions
of this paragraph shall apply). The Borrower consents to the foregoing and
agrees, to the extent it may effectively do so under applicable law, that any
Lender acquiring a participation pursuant to the foregoing arrangements may
exercise against the Borrower rights of set-off and counterclaim with respect to
such participation as fully as if such Lender were a direct creditor of the
Borrower in the amount of such participation.
(d) Unless the Administrative Agent shall have received notice
from the Borrower prior to the date on which any payment is due to the
Administrative Agent for the account of the Lenders or the Issuing Banks
hereunder that the Borrower will not make such payment, the Administrative Agent
may assume that the Borrower has made such payment on such date in accordance
herewith and may, in reliance upon such assumption, distribute to the Lenders or
the Issuing Banks as the case may be, the amount due. In such event, if the
Borrower has not in fact made such payment, then each of the Lenders or the
Issuing Banks, as the case may be, severally agrees to repay to the
Administrative Agent forthwith on demand the amount so distributed to such
Lender or Issuing Bank with interest thereon, for each day from and including
the date such amount is distributed to it to but excluding the date of payment
to the Administrative Agent, at the Federal Funds Effective Rate.
(e) If any Lender shall fail to make any payment required to be
made by it pursuant to Section 2.05(c), 2.06(d) or (e), 2.07(b) or 2.18(d), then
the Administrative Agent may, in its discretion (notwithstanding any contrary
provision hereof), apply any amounts thereafter received by the Administrative
Agent for the account of such Lender to satisfy such Lender's obligations under
such Sections until all such unsatisfied obligations are fully paid.
SECTION 2.19. Mitigation Obligations; Replacement of Lenders. (a)
If any Lender requests compensation under Section 2.15, or if 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 2.17, then such
Lender shall use reasonable efforts to designate a different lending office for
funding or booking its Loans hereunder or to assign its rights and obligations
hereunder to another of its offices, branches or affiliates, if, in the judgment
of such Lender, such designation or assignment (i) would eliminate or reduce
amounts payable pursuant to Section 2.15 or 2.17, as the case may be, in the
future and (ii) would not subject such Lender to any unreimbursed cost or
expense and would not otherwise be disadvantageous to such Lender. The Borrower
hereby agrees to pay all reasonable costs and expenses incurred by any Lender in
connection with any such designation or assignment.
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(b) If any Lender requests compensation under Section 2.15, or if
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 2.17,
or if any Lender defaults in its obligation to fund Loans hereunder, 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
Section 9.04), all its interests, rights and obligations under this Agreement
(other than any outstanding Competitive Loans held by it) to an assignee that
shall assume such obligations (which assignee may be another Lender, if a Lender
accepts such assignment); provided that (i) the Borrower shall have received the
prior written consent of the Administrative Agent (and, if a Commitment is being
assigned, the Issuing Banks and Swingline Lender), which consent shall not
unreasonably be withheld, (ii) such Lender shall have received payment of an
amount equal to the outstanding principal of its Loans (other than Competitive
Loans) and participations in LC Disbursements and Swingline Loans, accrued
interest thereon, accrued fees and all other amounts payable to it hereunder,
from the assignee (to the extent of such outstanding principal and accrued
interest and fees) or the Borrower (in the case of all other amounts) and (iii)
in the case of any such assignment resulting from a claim for compensation under
Section 2.15 or payments required to be made pursuant to Section 2.17, such
assignment will result in a reduction in such compensation or payments. A Lender
shall not be required to make any such assignment and 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.
SECTION 2.20. Currency Equivalents; Currency Fluctuations. (a) Not
later than 1:00 p.m., New York City time, on each Calculation Date, the
Administrative Agent shall (i) determine the Exchange Rate as of such
Calculation Date with respect to each Committed Currency and (ii) give notice
thereof to the Borrower and the Lenders. The Exchange Rates so determined shall
become effective on the first Business Day immediately following the relevant
Calculation Date (each a "Reset Date"), shall remain effective until the next
succeeding Reset Date and shall during the period of their effectiveness be
employed in making any computation of currency equivalents required to be made
under this Agreement (other than any computation required under Section 9.14).
Not later than 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on each Reset Date, on the date of
each Borrowing and on the date of each issuance of any Letter of Credit, the
Administrative Agent shall (i) determine the Dollar Equivalents of each
Committed Currency Loan then outstanding (after giving effect to any Committed
Currency Loan made or repaid on such date) and (ii) notify the Borrower and the
Lenders of the results of such determination.
(b) If on any Reset Date or on the date of any Borrowing (after
giving effect to any Loans to be made or repaid on such date and to any increase
or decrease in the LC Exposure to occur on such date) (i) the Committed Currency
Exposure exceeds $300,000,000 or (ii) the sum of the Aggregate Revolving Credit
Exposure plus the aggregate principal amount of outstanding Competitive Loans
exceeds the Total Commitment, then the Administrative Agent shall promptly
notify the Borrower of such excess. Not later than four Business Days after
receiving such notice the Borrower shall reduce the Committed Currency Exposure
or the Aggregate Revolving Credit Exposure, as applicable, by an amount
sufficient to eliminate such excess; prior to the elimination of (A) any such
excess described in clause (i), no further Loans may be made denominated in any
currency other than dollars and (B) any such excess described in clause (ii), no
further Loans may be made and no new Letter of Credit may be issued.
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ARTICLE III
Representations and Warranties
The Borrower represents and warrants to the Lenders that:
SECTION 3.01. Organization; Powers. Each of the Borrower and its
Subsidiaries is duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the
laws of the jurisdiction of its organization, has all requisite power and
authority to carry on its business as now conducted and, except where the
failure to do so, individually or in the aggregate, could not reasonably be
expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, is qualified to do business in,
and is in good standing in, every jurisdiction where such qualification is
required.
SECTION 3.02. Authorization; Enforceability. The Transactions are
within the Borrower's corporate powers and have been duly authorized by all
necessary corporate and, if required, stockholder action. This Agreement has
been duly executed and delivered by the Borrower and constitutes a legal, valid
and binding obligation of the Borrower, enforceable in accordance with its
terms, subject to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium
or other laws affecting creditors' rights generally and subject to general
principles of equity, regardless of whether considered in a proceeding in equity
or at law.
SECTION 3.03. Governmental Approvals; No Conflicts. The
Transactions (a) do not require any consent or approval of, registration or
filing with, or any other action by, any Governmental Authority, except such as
have been obtained or made and are in full force and effect, (b) will not
violate in any material respect any applicable law or regulation or the charter,
by-laws or other organizational documents of the Borrower or any of the
Subsidiaries or any order of any Governmental Authority, other than any such
violation by a Subsidiary that individually or taken together with all such
violations by Subsidiaries could not reasonably be expected to result in a
Material Adverse Effect, (c) will not violate in any material respect or result
in a default under any indenture, agreement or other instrument binding upon the
Borrower or any of the Subsidiaries or its assets, or give rise to a right
thereunder to require any payment to be made by the Borrower or any of the
Subsidiaries, other than any such violation or default by a Subsidiary that
individually or taken together with all such violations and defaults by
Subsidiaries could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse
Effect, and (d) will not result in the creation or imposition of any Lien on any
asset of the Borrower or any of the Subsidiaries.
SECTION 3.04. Financial Condition; No Material Adverse Change. (a)
The Borrower has heretofore furnished to the Lenders its consolidated balance
sheet and related statements of operations, changes in shareholders' equity and
cash flows (i) as of and for the fiscal year ended December 31, 1995, reported
on by Coopers & Xxxxxxx, L.L.P., independent public accountants, and (ii) as of
and for the fiscal quarter and the portion of the fiscal year ended September
30, 1996, certified by its treasurer or chief financial officer. Such financial
statements present fairly, in all material respects , the financial position and
results of operations and cash flows of the Borrower and the consolidated
Subsidiaries as of such dates and for such periods in accordance with GAAP,
subject to year-end audit adjustments and the absence of footnotes in the case
of the statements referred to in clause (ii) above.
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(b) There has been no material adverse change with respect to the
business, operations, performance, properties or condition (financial or
otherwise) of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, since
September 30, 1996.
SECTION 3.05. Properties. (a) Each of the Borrower and the
Subsidiaries has good title to, or valid leasehold interests in, all its real
and personal property material to its business, except for minor defects in
title that do not interfere with its ability to conduct its business as
currently conducted or to utilize such properties for their intended purposes.
(b) Except for Disclosed Matters, each of the Borrower and the
Subsidiaries owns, or is licensed to use, all trademarks, tradenames, copyrights
and other intellectual property (other than patents) material to its business
without written notice of conflict with the rights of any other Person, except
for any such conflicts that, individually or in the aggregate, could not
reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. Except for
Disclosed Matters, neither the Borrower nor any Subsidiary is aware of any claim
that its products or services infringe any third party patent, except for any
such infringements that, individually or in the aggregate, could not reasonably
be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
SECTION 3.06. Litigation and Environmental Matters. (a) There are
no actions, suits or proceedings by or before any arbitrator or Governmental
Authority pending against, nor has the Borrower received written notice
threatening any action, suit or proceeding against or affecting the Borrower or
any of its Subsidiaries (i) which could be reasonably expected to have a
Material Adverse Effect (other than the Disclosed Matters) or (ii) that involve
this Agreement or the Transactions.
(b) Except for the Disclosed Matters and except with respect to
any other matters that, individually or in the aggregate, could not reasonably
be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, neither the Borrower nor any
of its Subsidiaries (i) has failed to comply with any Environmental Law or to
obtain, maintain or comply with any permit, license or other approval required
under any Environmental Law, (ii) has become subject to any Environmental
Liability, (iii) has received notice of any claim with respect to any
Environmental Liability or (iv) knows of any basis for any Environmental
Liability.
(c) Since the date of this Agreement, there has been no change in
the status of the Disclosed Matters that, individually or in the aggregate, has
resulted in, or materially increased the likelihood of, a Material Adverse
Effect.
SECTION 3.07. Compliance with Laws and Agreements. Each of the
Borrower and the Subsidiaries is in compliance with all laws, regulations and
orders of any Governmental Authority applicable to it or its property and all
indentures, agreements and other instruments binding upon it or its property,
except where the failure to do so, individually or in the aggregate, could not
reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. No Default has
occurred and is continuing.
SECTION 3.08. Investment and Holding Company Status. Neither the
Borrower nor any of the Subsidiaries is (a) an "investment company" as defined
in, or subject to regulation under, the Investment Company Act of 1940 or (b) a
"holding company" as defined in, or subject to regulation under, the Public
Utility Holding Company Act of 1935.
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SECTION 3.09. Taxes. Each of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries has
timely filed or caused to be filed all Tax returns and reports required to have
been filed and has paid or caused to be paid all Taxes required to have been
paid by it, except Taxes that are being contested in good faith by appropriate
proceedings and for which the Borrower or such Subsidiary, as applicable, has
set aside on its books adequate reserves.
SECTION 3.10. ERISA. No ERISA Event has occurred or is reasonably
expected to occur that, when taken together with all other such ERISA Events for
which liability is reasonably expected to occur, could reasonably be expected to
result in a Material Adverse Effect. The present value of all accumulated
benefit obligations under each Plan (based on the assumptions used for purposes
of Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 87) did not, as of the date
of the most recent financial statements reflecting such amounts, exceed the fair
market value of the assets of such Plan by more than 15%.
SECTION 3.11. Disclosure. The Borrower has disclosed to the
Lenders all agreements, instruments and corporate or other restrictions to which
it or any of its Subsidiaries is subject, and all other matters known to it,
that, individually or in the aggregate, could reasonably be expected to result
in a Material Adverse Effect. None of the reports, financial statements,
certificates or other information, including the Information Memorandum,
furnished by or on behalf of the Borrower to the Administrative Agent, the
Documentation Agent or any Lender in connection with the negotiation of this
Agreement or delivered hereunder (as modified or supplemented by other
information so furnished), as of the date furnished or delivered by or on behalf
of the Borrower, contains any material misstatement of fact or omits to state
any material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the
circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided that, with
respect to projected financial information, the Borrower represents only that
such information was prepared in good faith based upon assumptions believed to
be reasonable at the time.
SECTION 3.12. Federal Reserve Regulations. (a) Neither the
Borrower nor any Subsidiary is engaged principally, or as one of its important
activities, in the business of extending credit for the purpose of purchasing or
carrying Margin Stock.
(b) No Letter of Credit and no part of the proceeds of the Loans
will be used, whether directly or indirectly, and whether immediately,
incidentally or ultimately, (i) to purchase or carry Margin Stock or to extend
credit to others for the purpose of purchasing or carrying Margin Stock or to
refund Indebtedness originally incurred for such purpose, or (ii) for any
purpose which entails a violation of, or which is inconsistent with, the
provisions of the Regulations of the Board, including, without limitation,
Regulations G, T, U or X thereof.
SECTION 3.13 Use of Proceeds and Letters of Credit. The Letters of
Credit and the proceeds of the Loans will be used only for the general corporate
purposes of the Borrower and the Subsidiaries, including acquisitions, subject
to the limitations set forth in Section 6.05.
SECTION 3.14 Subsidiaries. As of the date hereof, the persons
listed on Schedule 3.14 are the only Subsidiaries.
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ARTICLE IV
Conditions
SECTION 4.01. Effective Date. The obligations of the Lenders to
make Loans and of the Issuing Banks to issue Letters of Credit hereunder shall
not become effective until the date on which each of the following conditions is
satisfied (or waived in accordance with Section 9.02):
(a) The Administrative Agent (or its counsel) shall have received
from each party hereto either (i) a counterpart of this Agreement signed
on behalf of such party or (ii) written evidence satisfactory to the
Administrative Agent (which may include telecopy transmission of a
signed signature page of this Agreement) that such party has signed a
counterpart of this Agreement.
(b) The Administrative Agent shall have received favorable written
opinions (addressed to the Administrative Agent, the Documentation
Agent, the Issuing Banks and the Lenders and dated the Effective Date)
of Xxxxx X. Xxxxxxx, Law Vice President and Corporate Secretary of the
Borrower, and Wachtell, Lipton, Xxxxx & Xxxx, special counsel to the
Borrower, in each case substantially in the form set forth in Exhibit B,
and covering such other matters relating to the Borrower, this Agreement
or the Transactions as the Required Lenders shall reasonably request.
The Borrower hereby requests such counsel to deliver such opinion.
(c) The Administrative Agent shall have received such documents
and certificates as the Administrative Agent or its counsel may
reasonably request relating to the organization, existence and good
standing of the Borrower, the authorization of the Transactions and any
other legal matters relating to the Borrower, this Agreement or the
Transactions, all in form and substance satisfactory to the
Administrative Agent and its counsel.
(d) The Administrative Agent shall have received a certificate,
dated the Effective Date and signed by the President, a Vice President
or a Financial Officer of the Borrower, confirming compliance with the
conditions set forth in paragraphs (a) and (b) of Section 4.03.
(e) The Board of Directors of AT&T Corp. shall have declared the
Spin Off.
(f) The Lenders shall be satisfied that (i) no material adverse
change has occurred with respect to the business, operations,
performance, properties or condition (financial or otherwise) of the
Borrower and the Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, since September 30,
1996, and (ii) the Borrower and the Subsidiaries are not party to or
subject to any litigation which would be likely to have a Material
Adverse Effect.
(g) The Administrative Agent shall have received all fees and
other amounts due and payable on or prior to the Effective Date,
including, to the extent invoiced, reimbursement or payment of all
out-of-pocket expenses required to be reimbursed or paid by the Borrower
hereunder.
It is understood and agreed that each of the conditions referred to in clauses
(a) through (d) and clause (g) shall be satisfied simultaneously with the
delivery of this Agreement with respect to each of the
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documents referred to in such clauses delivered on or prior to the delivery of
this Agreement, and the only conditions under this Section 4.01 to the
occurrence of the Effective Date shall be those set forth in paragraphs (e) and
(f). The Administrative Agent shall notify the Borrower and the Lenders of the
Effective Date, and such notice shall be conclusive and binding. Notwithstanding
the foregoing, the obligations of the Lenders to make Loans and of the Issuing
Banks to issue Letters of Credit hereunder shall not become effective unless
each of the conditions set forth in paragraphs (e) and (f) above is satisfied
(or waived pursuant to Section 9.02) at or prior to 3:00 p.m., New York City
time, on March 31, 1997 (and, in the event such conditions are not so satisfied
or waived, the Commitments shall terminate at such time).
SECTION 4.02. Distribution Date. The obligations of the Lenders to
make Loans and of the Issuing Banks to issue Letters of Credit hereunder shall
automatically and permanently cease to be effective on the Distribution Date
unless each of the following conditions is satisfied (or waived in accordance
with Section 9.02) on the Distribution Date.
(a) The Spin Off shall have been completed in all material
respects on or prior to March 31, 1997.
(b) The Lenders shall have received a certificate, dated the
Distribution Date and signed by a Financial Officer of the Borrower,
confirming (i) that the capitalization of the Borrower on the
Distribution Date is substantially the same as reflected in the "As
Adjusted" column of the capitalization table taken from the Form 10 and
set forth in Schedule 4.02 and that each of the transactions
contemplated by the Notes to such capitalization table and by the
paragraph captioned "Additional Transactions" taken from the Form 10 and
contained in Schedule 4.02 shall have been effected on or prior to the
Distribution Date and (ii) that total shareholders' equity of the
Borrower and the Subsidiaries on the Distribution Date, determined on a
consolidated basis in accordance with GAAP after giving effect to the
Spin Off, is not less than $1,200,000,000.
SECTION 4.03. Each Credit Event. The obligation of each Lender to
make a Loan on the occasion of any Borrowing (other than a Borrowing in which
Revolving Loans are refinanced with Revolving Loans without any increase in the
aggregate principal amount of Revolving Loans outstanding), and of each Issuing
Bank to issue, amend, renew or extend any Letter of Credit, is subject to the
satisfaction of the following conditions:
(a) The representations and warranties of the Borrower set forth
in this Agreement (other than, in the case of any Borrowing or issuance,
amendment, renewal or extension of any Letter of Credit after the
Distribution Date, those set forth in Sections 3.04(b) and 3.06) shall
be true and correct on and as of the date of such Borrowing or the date
of issuance, amendment, renewal or extension of such Letter of Credit,
as applicable.
(b) At the time of and immediately after giving effect to such
Borrowing or the issuance, amendment, renewal or extension of such
Letter of Credit, as applicable, no Default shall have occurred and be
continuing.
Each Borrowing and each issuance, amendment, renewal or extension of a Letter of
Credit shall be deemed to constitute a representation and warranty by the
Borrower on the date thereof as to the matters specified in paragraphs (a) and
(b) of this Section.
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ARTICLE V
Affirmative Covenants
Until the Commitments have expired or been terminated and the
principal of and interest on each Loan and all fees payable hereunder shall have
been paid in full and all Letters of Credit shall have expired or terminated and
all LC Disbursements shall have been reimbursed, the Borrower covenants and
agrees with the Lenders that:
SECTION 5.01. Financial Statements and Other Information. The
Borrower will furnish to the Administrative Agent and each Lender:
(a) within 90 days after the end of each fiscal year of the
Borrower, its audited consolidated balance sheet and related statements
of operations, changes in shareholders' equity and cash flows as of the
end of and for such year, setting forth in each case in comparative form
the figures for the previous fiscal year, all reported on by Coopers &
Xxxxxxx, L.L.P., or other independent public accountants of recognized
national standing (without a "going concern" or like qualification or
exception and without any qualification or exception as to the scope of
such audit) to the effect that such consolidated financial statements
present fairly in all material respects the financial condition and
results of operations of the Borrower and the consolidated Subsidiaries
on a consolidated basis in accordance with GAAP consistently applied;
(b) within 45 days after the end of each of the first three fiscal
quarters of each fiscal year of the Borrower, its consolidated balance
sheet and related statements of operations, changes in shareholders'
equity and cash flows as of the end of and for such fiscal quarter and
the then elapsed portion of the fiscal year, setting forth in each case
in comparative form the figures for the corresponding period or periods
of (or, in the case of the balance sheet, as of the end of) the previous
fiscal year, all certified by one of its Financial Officers as
presenting fairly in all material respects the financial condition and
results of operations of the Borrower and the consolidated Subsidiaries
on a consolidated basis in accordance with GAAP consistently applied,
subject to normal year-end audit adjustments and the absence of
footnotes;
(c) concurrently with any delivery of financial statements under
clause (a) or (b) above, a certificate of a Financial Officer of the
Borrower (i) certifying as to whether a Default has occurred and, if a
Default has occurred, specifying the details thereof and any action
taken or proposed to be taken with respect thereto, (ii) setting forth
reasonably detailed calculations (A) of the Leverage Ratio as of the
last day of the fiscal period in respect of which such financial
statements are being delivered, (B) of Consolidated EBITDA for the four
fiscal quarter period ending as of such last day and (C) demonstrating
compliance with Sections 6.08 and 6.09 and each provision of Article VI
imposing a numerical limit, and (iii) stating whether any change in GAAP
or in the application thereof has occurred since the date of the audited
financial statements referred to in Section 3.04 and, if any such change
has occurred, specifying the effect of such change on the financial
statements accompanying such certificate;
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(d) concurrently with any delivery of consolidated financial
statements under clause (a) above, a certificate of the accounting firm
that reported on such financial statements stating whether they obtained
knowledge during the course of their audit of such consolidated
financial statements of any Default insofar as it relates to accounting
matters (which certificate may be limited to the extent required by
accounting rules or guidelines);
(e) promptly after the same become publicly available, copies of
all periodic and other reports, proxy statements and other materials
filed by the Borrower or any Subsidiary with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, or any Governmental Authority succeeding to any or all of
the functions of said Commission, or with any national securities
exchange, or distributed by the Borrower to its shareholders generally,
as the case may be;
(f) promptly following any request therefor, such other
information regarding the operations, business affairs and financial
condition of the Borrower or any Subsidiary, or compliance with the
terms of this Agreement, as the Administrative Agent or any Lender may
reasonably request; and
(g) promptly upon becoming aware thereof, notice of the
effectiveness of any rating of any Index Debt by S&P or Xxxxx'x and
notice of the effectiveness of any change in any rating of any Index
Debt by S&P or Xxxxx'x.
SECTION 5.02. Notices of Material Events. The Borrower will
furnish to the Administrative Agent and each Lender prompt written notice of the
following:
(a) the occurrence of any Default;
(b) the filing or commencement of any action, suit or proceeding
by or before any arbitrator or Governmental Authority against or
affecting the Borrower or any Subsidiary thereof that could reasonably
be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect;
(c) the occurrence of any ERISA Event that, alone or together with
any other ERISA Events that have occurred, could reasonably be expected
to result in liability of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries in an
aggregate amount exceeding $25,000,000, or the occurrence of any default
under, or any breach by the Borrower of any material provision of, the
PBGC Agreement; and
(d) any other development that results in, or could reasonably be
expected to result in, a Material Adverse Effect.
Each notice delivered under this Section shall be accompanied by a statement of
a Financial Officer or other executive officer of the Borrower setting forth the
details of the event or development requiring such notice and any action taken
or proposed to be taken with respect thereto.
SECTION 5.03. Existence; Conduct of Business. The Borrower will,
and will cause each of the Subsidiaries to, do or cause to be done all things
necessary to preserve, renew and keep in full force and effect its legal
existence and the rights, licenses, permits, privileges and franchises material
to the conduct of its business; provided that the foregoing shall not prohibit
any merger, consolidation, liquidation or dissolution permitted under Section
6.04.
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SECTION 5.04. Payment of Obligations. The Borrower will, and will
cause each of the Subsidiaries to, pay its obligations, including Tax
liabilities, that, if not paid, could result in a Material Adverse Effect before
the same shall become delinquent or in default, except where (a) the validity or
amount thereof is being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings, (b)
the Borrower or such Subsidiary has set aside on its books adequate reserves
with respect thereto in accordance with GAAP and (c) the failure to make payment
pending such contest could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material
Adverse Effect.
SECTION 5.05. Maintenance of Properties; Insurance. The Borrower
will, and will cause each of the Subsidiaries to, (a) keep and maintain all
property material to the conduct of its business in good working order and
condition, ordinary wear and tear excepted, except to the extent the failure to
do so could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect,
and (b) maintain, with financially sound and reputable insurance companies,
insurance in such amounts and against such risks as are customarily maintained
by companies engaged in the same or similar businesses operating in the same or
similar locations (after giving effect to customary self insurance).
SECTION 5.06. Books and Records; Inspection Rights. The Borrower
will, and will cause each of the Subsidiaries to, keep proper books of record
and account in which full, true and correct entries are made of all dealings and
transactions in relation to its business and activities (including with respect
to ERISA if applicable). The Borrower will, and will cause each of the
Subsidiaries to, permit any representatives designated by the Administrative
Agent or any Lender, upon reasonable prior notice, to visit and inspect its
properties, to examine and make extracts from its books and records, and to
discuss its affairs, finances and condition with its officers and independent
accountants, all at such reasonable times and as often as reasonably requested.
SECTION 5.07. Compliance with Laws. The Borrower will, and will
cause each of the Subsidiaries to, comply in all material respects with all
laws, rules, regulations and orders (including ERISA if applicable) of any
Governmental Authority applicable to it or its property, except such as may be
contested by the Borrower or the applicable Subsidiary in good faith or as to
which a bona fide dispute may exist and except for noncompliance by any
Subsidiary that individually or taken together with all noncompliance by
Subsidiaries could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse
Effect.
SECTION 5.08. Use of Proceeds and Letters of Credit. The Letters
of Credit and the proceeds of the Loans will be used only for general corporate
purposes of the Borrower and the Subsidiaries, subject to the limitations set
forth in Section 6.05.
ARTICLE VI
Negative Covenants
Until the Commitments have expired or terminated and the principal
of and interest on each Loan and all fees payable hereunder have been paid in
full and all Letters of Credit have expired
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or terminated and all LC Disbursements shall have been reimbursed, the Borrower
covenants and agrees with the Lenders that:
SECTION 6.01. Subsidiary Indebtedness. The Borrower will not
permit any Subsidiary to, create, incur, assume or permit to exist any
Indebtedness, except:
(a) Indebtedness existing on the date hereof and set forth in
Schedule 6.01 and extensions, renewals and replacements of any such
Indebtedness that do not increase the outstanding principal amount
thereof;
(b) Indebtedness of any Subsidiary to the Borrower or any other
Subsidiary;
(c) Guarantees by any Subsidiary of Indebtedness of the Borrower
under this Agreement or Indebtedness of any other Subsidiary to the
extent such Indebtedness is permitted under this Agreement;
(d) Indebtedness of any Subsidiary incurred to finance the
acquisition, construction or improvement of any fixed or capital assets,
including Capital Lease Obligations and any Indebtedness assumed in
connection with the acquisition of any such assets or secured by a Lien
on any such assets prior to the acquisition thereof, and extensions,
renewals and replacements of any such Indebtedness that do not increase
the outstanding principal amount thereof; provided that (i) such
Indebtedness is incurred prior to or within 180 days after such
acquisition or the completion of such construction or improvement and
(ii) the aggregate principal amount of Indebtedness permitted by this
clause (d) when aggregated (without duplication) with all Indebtedness
incurred under clauses (e) and (g) below, with the aggregate amount of
all claims and obligations secured by Liens permitted pursuant to
clauses (d) and (g) of Section 6.02 and with the aggregate book value or
sale price of the assets sold in sale and leaseback transactions
permitted pursuant to Section 6.03 does not exceed 10% of Consolidated
Tangible Assets as of the last day of the most recent fiscal period in
respect of which financial statements shall have been delivered pursuant
to Section 5.01;
(e) Indebtedness of any Person that becomes a Subsidiary after the
date hereof; provided that (i) such Indebtedness exists at the time such
Person becomes a Subsidiary and is not created in contemplation of or in
connection with such Person becoming a Subsidiary and (ii) the aggregate
principal amount of Indebtedness permitted by this clause (e) when
aggregated (without duplication) with all Indebtedness incurred under
clauses (d) above and (g) below, with the aggregate amount of all claims
and obligations secured by Liens permitted pursuant to clauses (d) and
(g) of Section 6.02 and with the aggregate book value or sale price of
the assets sold in sale and leaseback transactions permitted pursuant to
Section 6.03 does not exceed 10% of Consolidated Tangible Assets as of
the last day of the most recent fiscal period in respect of which
financial statements shall have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.01;
(f) Indebtedness of any Subsidiary as an account party in respect
of trade letters of credit; and
(g) other unsecured Indebtedness of the Subsidiaries in an
aggregate principal amount outstanding at any time that, when aggregated
(without duplication) with all Indebtedness incurred under clauses (d)
and (e) above, with the aggregate amount of all claims and
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obligations secured by Liens permitted pursuant to clauses (d) and (g)
of Section 6.02 and with the aggregate book value or sale price of the
assets sold in sale and leaseback transactions permitted pursuant to
Section 6.03 does not exceed 10% of Consolidated Tangible Assets as of
the last day of the most recent fiscal period in respect of which
financial statements shall have been delivered pursuant to Section
5.01.
SECTION 6.02. Liens. The Borrower will not, and will not permit
any Subsidiary to, create, incur, assume or permit to exist any Lien on any
property or asset now owned or hereafter acquired by it, or assign or sell any
income or revenues (including accounts receivable) or rights in respect of any
thereof, except:
(a) Permitted Encumbrances and Capital Leases permitted under
Section 6.01(d);
(b) any Lien on any property or asset of the Borrower or any
Subsidiary existing on the date hereof and set forth in Schedule 6.02;
provided that (i) such Lien shall not apply to any other property or
asset of the Borrower or any Subsidiary and (ii) such Lien shall secure
only those obligations which it secures on the date hereof and
extensions, renewals and replacements thereof that do not increase the
outstanding principal amount thereof;
(c) any Lien existing on any property or asset prior to the
acquisition thereof by the Borrower or any Subsidiary or existing on any
property or asset of any Person that becomes a Subsidiary after the date
hereof prior to the time such Person becomes a Subsidiary; provided that
(i) such Lien is not created in contemplation of or in connection with
such acquisition or such Person becoming a Subsidiary, as the case may
be, (ii) such Lien shall not apply to any other property or assets of
the Borrower or any Subsidiary and (iii) such Lien shall secure only
those obligations which it secures on the date of such acquisition or
the date such Person becomes a Subsidiary, as the case may be and
extensions, renewals and replacements thereof that do not increase the
outstanding principal amount thereof;
(d) Liens on fixed or capital assets acquired, constructed or
improved by the Borrower or any Subsidiary; provided that (i) such
security interests secure Indebtedness permitted by clause (d) of
Section 6.01, (ii) such security interests and the Indebtedness secured
thereby are incurred prior to or within 180 days after such acquisition
or the completion of such construction or improvement, (iii) the
Indebtedness secured thereby does not exceed 100% of the cost of
acquiring, constructing or improving such fixed or capital assets, (iv)
such security interests shall not apply to any other property or assets
of the Borrower or any Subsidiary and (v) the aggregate amount of such
Indebtedness when aggregated (without duplication) with all Indebtedness
incurred under clauses (d), (e) and (g) of Section 6.01, with the
aggregate amount of all claims secured by Liens permitted pursuant to
clause (g) below and with the aggregate book value or sale price of the
assets sold in sale and leaseback transactions permitted pursuant to
Section 6.03 does not exceed 10% of Consolidated Tangible Assets as of
the last day of the most recent fiscal period in respect of which
financial statements shall have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.01;
(e) Liens in favor of the PBGC created pursuant to and in
accordance with the PBGC Documents on assets having an Aggregate
Collateral Value (as defined in the PBGC Agreement) not in excess of
$84,000,000 at the time of the granting thereof and Liens in favor of
the PBGC created as contemplated by Section 9.15;
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(f) Liens in favor of the holders of the Defeased Obligations; and
(g) other Liens securing claims in an aggregate amount at any time
outstanding that when aggregated (without duplication) with all
Indebtedness incurred under clauses (d), (e) and (g) of Section 6.01,
with the aggregate amount of all obligations secured by Liens permitted
pursuant to clause (d) above and with the aggregate book value or sale
price of the assets sold in sale and leaseback transactions permitted
pursuant to Section 6.03 does not exceed 10% of Consolidated Tangible
Assets as of the last day of the most recent fiscal period in respect of
which financial statements shall have been delivered pursuant to Section
5.01, provided that the aggregate amount of accounts receivable of the
Borrower and the Subsidiaries subject at any time to Liens pursuant to
this clause (g) shall not at such time constitute more than 15% of the
aggregate amount of all accounts receivable of the Borrower and the
Subsidiaries at such time.
SECTION 6.03. Sale and Leaseback Transactions. The Borrower will
not, and will not permit any Subsidiary to, enter into any arrangement (other
than as contemplated by the definition of "Mortgages" in the PBGC Agreement),
directly or indirectly, with any Person whereby it shall sell or transfer any
property, real or personal, used or useful in its business, whether now owned or
hereafter acquired, and thereafter rent or lease such property which it intends
to use for substantially the same purpose or purposes as the property being sold
or transferred; provided, however, that, notwithstanding the above, the Borrower
or any Subsidiary may engage in any sale and leaseback transaction if,
immediately after the consummation of such transaction, the aggregate book value
or sale price of the assets sold in sale and leaseback transactions referred to
in this Section 6.03, when aggregated (without duplication) with all
Indebtedness incurred under clauses (d), (e) and (g) of Section 6.01 and with
the aggregate amount of all claims and obligations secured by Liens permitted
pursuant to clauses (d) and (g) of Section 6.02, does not exceed 10% of
Consolidated Tangible Assets as of the last day of the most recent fiscal period
in respect of which financial statements shall have been delivered pursuant to
Section 5.01. In addition, and notwithstanding the above, the Borrower and any
Subsidiary may lease back all or a portion of real property (and any related
personal property or fixtures) sold by it, provided that such lease is for a
term not in excess of six months and such sale is not entered into for financing
purposes.
SECTION 6.04. Fundamental Changes. (a) The Borrower will not, and
will not permit any Subsidiary to, merge into or consolidate with any other
Person, or permit any other Person to merge into or consolidate with it, or
sell, transfer, lease or otherwise dispose of (in one transaction or in a series
of transactions) all or any substantial portion of its assets, or all or
substantially all of the stock of any of the Subsidiaries (in each case, whether
now owned or hereafter acquired), or liquidate or dissolve, except that, if at
the time thereof and immediately after giving effect thereto no Default shall
have occurred and be continuing (i) any Person may merge into the Borrower in a
transaction in which the Borrower is the surviving corporation, (ii) any Person
may merge into any Subsidiary in a transaction in which the surviving entity is
a Subsidiary, (iii) any Subsidiary may sell, transfer, lease or otherwise
dispose of its assets to the Borrower or to another Subsidiary, (iv) any
Subsidiary may liquidate or dissolve if the Borrower determines in good faith
that such liquidation or dissolution is in the best interests of the Borrower
and is not materially disadvantageous to the Lenders and any distribution or
other transfer of assets in connection with such liquidation or dissolution is
made to the Borrower or another Subsidiary in an amount consistent with such
person's ownership percentage of the Subsidiary being dissolved or liquidated,
(v) the Borrower and the Subsidiaries may sell, lease or otherwise dispose of
property in any individual transaction not related to any other such transaction
if the aggregate fair market value of the assets sold, leased or otherwise
disposed of in such transaction is
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less than $2,000,000, and (vi) the Borrower and the Subsidiaries may sell, lease
or otherwise dispose of property in any other transaction, provided that the
aggregate fair market value of all assets sold, leased or otherwise disposed of
in transactions under this clause (vi) shall not when taken together at the time
of each such sale, lease or other disposition exceed 15% of Consolidated
Tangible Assets as of the last day of the most recent fiscal period in respect
of which financial statements shall have been delivered pursuant to Section 5.01
at such time.
(b) The Borrower will not, and will not permit any of the
Subsidiaries to, engage to any material extent in any line of business material
to the Borrower and the Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, other than businesses
currently conducted by the Borrower and the Subsidiaries and businesses in the
information technologies or computer industries and businesses reasonably
related thereto.
SECTION 6.05. Margin Stock; Unfriendly Acquisitions. No Letter of
Credit and no part of the proceeds of any Loan will be used, (a) whether
directly or indirectly, and whether immediately, incidentally or ultimately, (i)
to purchase or carry Margin Stock or to extend credit to others for the purpose
of purchasing or carrying Margin Stock or to refund Indebtedness originally
incurred for such purpose or (ii) for any purpose which entails a violation of,
or which is inconsistent with, the provisions of the Regulations of the Board,
including, without limitation, Regulations G, T, U or X thereof, or (b) directly
or through any Subsidiary, to finance any Unfriendly Acquisition.
SECTION 6.06. Fiscal Year. The Borrower will not change its fiscal
year end from December 31.
SECTION 6.07. Restrictive Agreements. The Borrower will not, and
will not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, directly or indirectly, enter into,
incur or permit to exist any agreement or other arrangement that prohibits,
restricts or imposes any condition upon (a) the ability of the Borrower or any
Subsidiary to create, incur or permit to exist any Lien upon any of its property
or assets, or (b) the ability of any Subsidiary to pay dividends or other
distributions with respect to any shares of its capital stock or to make or
repay loans or advances to the Borrower or any other Subsidiary or to Guarantee
Indebtedness of the Borrower or any other Subsidiary; provided that (i) the
foregoing shall not apply to restrictions and conditions imposed by law or by
this Agreement, (ii) the foregoing shall not apply to restrictions and
conditions existing on the date hereof identified on Schedule 6.07 (but shall
apply to any amendment or modification expanding the scope of, any such
restriction or condition), (iii) the foregoing shall not apply to customary
restrictions and conditions contained in agreements relating to the sale of a
Subsidiary pending such sale, provided such restrictions and conditions apply
only to the Subsidiary that is to be sold and such sale is permitted hereunder,
(iv) clause (a) of the foregoing shall not apply to restrictions or conditions
imposed by any agreement relating to secured Indebtedness permitted by this
Agreement if such restrictions or conditions apply only to the property or
assets securing such Indebtedness, (v) clause (a) of the foregoing shall not
apply to customary provisions in leases and other contracts restricting the
assignment thereof, (vi) clause (a) of the foregoing shall not apply to Section
7 of the PBGC Agreement, (vii) the foregoing shall not apply to such
restrictions and conditions applicable to any Subsidiary acquired after the date
hereof if such restrictions and conditions existed at the time such Subsidiary
was acquired and were not created in anticipation of such acquisition and (viii)
the foregoing shall not apply to one or more Subsidiaries having any such
restriction or condition so long as any such Subsidiary individually shall not
account for more than 5% of the gross revenues for the most recently ended
fiscal year of the Borrower and the Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, and each
such Subsidiary together with all other such Subsidiaries in the aggregate shall
not
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account for more than 10% of the gross revenues for the most recently ended
fiscal year of the Borrower and the Subsidiaries, taken as a whole.
SECTION 6.08. Cash Interest Coverage Ratio. The Borrower will not
permit the ratio of Consolidated EBITDA to Consolidated Cash Interest Expense as
of the last day of any full fiscal quarter following the Distribution Date to be
less than 5.00 to 1.00 for the four fiscal quarter period ending as of such day,
provided that, for purposes of determining such ratio as of the last day of each
of the first, the second and third full fiscal quarters following the
Distribution Date, Consolidated Cash Interest Expense shall be determined solely
with respect to full fiscal quarters following the Distribution Date and
Consolidated Cash Interest Expense for such one fiscal quarter, two fiscal
quarter and three fiscal quarter periods shall be multiplied by 4, 2 and 4/3,
respectively.
SECTION 6.09. Consolidated Tangible Net Worth. The Borrower will
not permit Consolidated Tangible Net Worth as of the last day of any fiscal
quarter following the Distribution Date to be less than 75% of Consolidated
Tangible Net Worth as of the Distribution Date after giving effect to the Spin
Off.
ARTICLE VII
Events of Default
If any of the following events ("Events of Default") shall occur:
(a) the Borrower shall fail to pay any principal of any Loan or
any reimbursement obligation in respect of any LC Disbursement when and
as the same shall become due and payable, whether at the due date
thereof or at a date fixed for prepayment thereof or otherwise;
(b) the Borrower shall fail to pay any interest on any Loan or any
fee or any other amount (other than an amount referred to in clause (a)
of this Article) payable under this Agreement, when and as the same
shall become due and payable, and such failure shall continue unremedied
for a period of five days;
(c) any representation or warranty made or deemed made by or on
behalf of the Borrower or any Subsidiary in or in connection with this
Agreement or any amendment or modification hereof or waiver hereunder,
or in any report, certificate, financial statement or other document
furnished pursuant to or in connection with this Agreement or any
amendment or modification hereof or waiver hereunder, shall prove to
have been materially incorrect when made or deemed made;
(d) the Borrower shall fail to observe or perform any covenant,
condition or agreement contained in Section 5.02, 5.03 (with respect to
the Borrower's existence) or 5.08 or in Article VI;
(e) the Borrower shall fail to observe or perform any covenant,
condition or agreement contained in this Agreement (other than those
specified in clause (a), (b) or (d) of this Article), and such failure
shall continue unremedied for a period of 30 days after notice thereof
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from the Administrative Agent to the Borrower (which notice will be
given at the request of any Lender);
(f) the Borrower or any Subsidiary shall be in default with
respect to any payment (whether of principal or interest and regardless
of amount) in respect of any Material Indebtedness;
(g) any event or condition occurs that results in any Material
Indebtedness becoming due or being declared due prior to its scheduled
maturity; provided that this clause (g) shall not apply to secured
Indebtedness that becomes due as a result of the voluntary sale or
transfer of the property or assets securing such Indebtedness if such
sale or transfer is permitted under Section 6.04(a), and provided
further that no Event of Default shall arise under this paragraph (g)
with respect to any Hedging Agreement unless the amount accelerated is
not paid on the date specified for such accelerated payment;
(h) an involuntary proceeding shall be commenced or an involuntary
petition shall be filed seeking (i) liquidation, reorganization or other
relief in respect of the Borrower or any Subsidiary or its debts, or of
a substantial part of its assets, under any Federal, state or foreign
bankruptcy, insolvency, receivership or similar law now or hereafter in
effect or (ii) the appointment of a receiver, trustee, custodian,
sequestrator, conservator or similar official for the Borrower or any
Subsidiary or for a substantial part of its assets, and, in any such
case, such proceeding or petition shall continue undismissed for 60 days
or an order or decree approving or ordering any of the foregoing shall
be entered;
(i) the Borrower or any Subsidiary shall (i) voluntarily commence
any proceeding or file any petition seeking liquidation, reorganization
or other relief under any Federal, state or foreign bankruptcy,
insolvency, receivership or similar law now or hereafter in effect, (ii)
consent to the institution of, or fail to contest in a timely and
appropriate manner, any proceeding or petition described in clause (h)
of this Article, (iii) apply for or consent to the appointment of a
receiver, trustee, custodian, sequestrator, conservator or similar
official for the Borrower or any Subsidiary or for a substantial part of
its assets, (iv) file an answer admitting the material allegations of a
petition filed against it in any such proceeding, (v) make a general
assignment for the benefit of creditors or (vi) take any action for the
purpose of effecting any of the foregoing;
(j) the Borrower or any Subsidiary shall become unable, admit in
writing or fail generally to pay its debts as they become due;
(k) (i) one or more judgments for the payment of money in an
aggregate amount in excess of $25,000,000 shall be rendered against the
Borrower, any Subsidiary or any combination thereof and the same shall
remain undischarged for a period of 30 consecutive days during which
execution shall not be effectively stayed, or any action shall be
legally taken by a judgment creditor to attach or levy upon any assets
of the Borrower or any Subsidiary to enforce any such judgment or (ii)
any non-monetary judgment, order or decree is entered against the
Borrower or any Subsidiary which does or would reasonably be expected to
have a Material Adverse Effect, and there shall be any period of 30
consecutive days during which a stay of enforcement of such judgment or
order, by reason of a pending appeal or otherwise, shall not be in
effect;
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(l) an ERISA Event shall have occurred that, in the opinion of the
Required Lenders, when taken together with all other ERISA Events that
have occurred, could reasonably be expected to result in a Material
Adverse Effect;
(m) a Change in Control shall occur; or
(n) an event of default shall occur under the PBGC Agreement;
then, and in every such event (other than an event with respect to the Borrower
described in clause (h) or (i) of this Article), and at any time thereafter
during the continuance of such event, the Administrative Agent may, and at the
request of the Required Lenders shall, by notice to the Borrower, take either or
both of the following actions, at the same or different times: (i) terminate the
Commitments, and thereupon the Commitments shall terminate immediately, and (ii)
declare the Loans then outstanding to be due and payable in whole (or in part,
in which case any principal not so declared to be due and payable may thereafter
be declared to be due and payable), and thereupon the principal of the Loans so
declared to be due and payable, together with accrued interest thereon and all
fees and other obligations of the Borrower accrued hereunder, shall become due
and payable immediately, without presentment, demand, protest or other notice of
any kind, all of which are hereby waived by the Borrower; and in case of any
event with respect to the Borrower described in clause (h) or (i) of this
Article, the Commitments shall automatically terminate and the principal of the
Loans then outstanding, together with accrued interest thereon and all fees and
other obligations of the Borrower accrued hereunder, shall automatically become
due and payable, without presentment, demand, protest or other notice of any
kind, all of which are hereby waived by the Borrower.
ARTICLE VIII
Agents
Each of the Lenders and the Issuing Banks hereby irrevocably
appoints the Administrative Agent as its agent 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, together with such
actions and powers as are reasonably incidental thereto.
The bank 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 such
bank and its Affiliates may accept deposits from, lend money to and generally
engage in any kind of business with the Borrower or any Subsidiary or other
Affiliate thereof as if it were not the Administrative Agent hereunder.
The Administrative Agent shall not have any duties or obligations
except those expressly set forth herein. Without limiting the generality of the
foregoing, (a) the Administrative Agent shall not be subject to any fiduciary or
other implied duties, regardless of whether a Default has occurred and is
continuing, (b) the Administrative Agent shall not have any duty to take any
discretionary action or exercise any discretionary powers, except discretionary
rights and powers expressly contemplated hereby that the Administrative Agent is
required to exercise in writing by the Required Lenders (or such other number or
percentage of the Lenders as shall be necessary under the circumstances as
provided in Section 9.02), and (c) except as expressly set forth herein, the
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Administrative Agent shall not have any duty to disclose, and shall not be
liable for the failure to disclose, any information relating to the Borrower or
any of its Subsidiaries that is communicated to or obtained by the bank serving
as 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
with the consent or at the request of the Required Lenders (or such other number
or percentage of the Lenders as shall be necessary under the circumstances as
provided in Section 9.02) or in the absence of its own gross negligence or
wilful misconduct. The Administrative Agent shall be deemed not to have
knowledge of any Default unless and until written notice thereof is given to the
Administrative Agent by the Borrower or a Lender, and 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, (ii) the contents of any certificate, report or other document
delivered hereunder or in connection herewith, (iii) the performance or
observance of any of the covenants, agreements or other terms or, except as
provided in clause (v) below, conditions set forth herein, (iv) the validity,
enforceability, effectiveness or genuineness of this Agreement 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.
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 believed by it to be
genuine and to have been signed or sent 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 be made by the proper Person, and shall not incur any
liability for relying thereon. The Administrative Agent may consult with legal
counsel (who may be counsel for the Borrower), 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.
The Administrative Agent may perform any and all its duties and
exercise its rights and powers 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 its duties and exercise its rights and powers
through their respective Related Parties. The exculpatory provisions of the
preceding paragraphs shall apply to any such sub-agent and to the Related
Parties of the Administrative Agent and any such sub-agent and to the
Documentation Agent and its Related Parties, 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.
Subject to the appointment and acceptance of a successor
Administrative Agent as provided in this paragraph, the Administrative Agent may
resign at any time by notifying the Lenders, the Issuing Banks and the Borrower.
Upon any such resignation, the Required Lenders shall have the right, in
consultation with and subject to the consent of the Borrower, to appoint a
successor. If no 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 Issuing Banks,
appoint a successor Administrative Agent which shall be a bank with an office in
New York, New York, and having a combined capital and surplus of at least
$100,000,000, or an Affiliate of any such bank. Upon the acceptance of its
appointment as Administrative Agent hereunder by a successor, such successor
shall succeed to and become vested with all the rights, powers, privileges and
duties of the retiring Administrative Agent, and the retiring Administrative
Agent shall be discharged from its duties and obligations hereunder. The fees
payable by the Borrower to a successor Administrative Agent shall
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be the same as those payable to its predecessor unless otherwise agreed between
the Borrower and such successor. After the Administrative Agent's resignation
hereunder, the provisions of this Article and Section 9.03 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 it was acting as Administrative Agent.
Each Lender acknowledges that it has, independently and without
reliance upon the Administrative Agent or any other Lender 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 also
acknowledges that it will, independently and without reliance upon the
Administrative Agent or any other Lender 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 related agreement or any document furnished hereunder or thereunder.
Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Documentation
Agent shall not have any separate duties, responsibilities, obligations or
authority as Documentation Agent hereunder. The bank serving as the
Documentation 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 Documentation Agent, and such bank and its Affiliates may accept
deposits from, lend money to and generally engage in any kind of business with
the Borrower or any Subsidiary or any Affiliate thereof as if it were not the
Documentation Agent hereunder.
ARTICLE IX
Miscellaneous
SECTION 9.01. Notices. Except in the case of notices and other
communications expressly permitted to be given by telephone, all notices and
other communications provided for herein shall be in writing and shall be
delivered by hand or overnight courier service, mailed by certified or
registered mail or sent by telecopy, as follows:
(a) if to the Borrower, to it at XXX Xxxxxxxxxxx, 0000 Xxxxx
Xxxxxxxxx Xxxx., Xxxxxx, XX 00000, Attention of Treasurer (Telecopy No.
(000) 000-0000);
(b) if to the Administrative Agent, to The Chase Manhattan Bank,
Loan and Agency Services Group, Xxx Xxxxx Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxx, Xxx Xxxx, Xxx
Xxxx 00000, Attention of Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx (Telecopy No. (000) 000-0000),
with a copy to The Chase Manhattan Bank, 000 Xxxx Xxxxxx, Xxx Xxxx
00000, Attention of Xxxxxx Xxxxx (Telecopy No. (000) 000-0000; and
(c) if to the Documentation Agent, an Issuing Bank, the Swingline
Lender or any other Lender, to it at its address (or telecopy number)
set forth in its Administrative Questionnaire.
Any party hereto may change its address or telecopy number for notices and other
communications hereunder by notice to the other parties hereto. All notices and
other communications given to any
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party hereto in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement shall be deemed
to have been given on the date of receipt.
SECTION 9.02. Waivers; Amendments. (a) No failure or delay by the
Administrative Agent, the Issuing Banks or any Lender in exercising any right or
power hereunder shall operate as a waiver thereof, nor shall any single or
partial exercise of any such right or power, or any abandonment or
discontinuance of steps to enforce such a right or power, preclude any other or
further exercise thereof or the exercise of any other right or power. The rights
and remedies of the Administrative Agent, the Issuing Banks and the Lenders
hereunder are cumulative and are not exclusive of any rights or remedies that
they would otherwise have. No waiver of any provision of this Agreement or
consent to any departure by the Borrower therefrom shall in any event be
effective unless the same shall be permitted by paragraph (b) of this Section,
and then such waiver or consent shall be effective only in the specific instance
and for the purpose for which given. Without limiting the generality of the
foregoing, the making of a Loan or issuance of a Letter of Credit shall not be
construed as a waiver of any Default, regardless of whether the Administrative
Agent, any Lender or the Issuing Banks may have had notice or knowledge of such
Default at the time.
(b) Neither this Agreement nor any provision hereof may be waived,
amended or modified, except pursuant to an agreement or agreements in writing
entered into by the Borrower and the Required Lenders or by the Borrower and the
Administrative Agent with the consent of the Required Lenders; provided that no
such agreement shall (i) increase the Commitment of any Lender without the
written consent of such Lender, (ii) reduce the principal amount of any Loan or
LC Disbursement or reduce the rate of interest thereon, or reduce any fees
payable hereunder, without the written consent of each Lender affected thereby,
(iii) postpone the scheduled date of payment of the principal amount of any Loan
or LC Disbursement, or any interest thereon, or any fees payable hereunder, or
reduce the amount of, waive or excuse any such payment, or postpone the
scheduled date of expiration of any Commitment, without the written consent of
each Lender affected thereby, (iv) change Section 2.18(b) or (c) in a manner
that would alter the pro rata sharing of payments required thereby, without the
written consent of each Lender, or (v) change any of the provisions of this
Section or the definition of "Required Lenders" or any other 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, without the written consent of each Lender; provided further that no
such agreement shall amend, modify or otherwise affect the rights or duties of
the Administrative Agent, the Documentation Agent, the Issuing Banks or the
Swingline Lender hereunder without the prior written consent of the
Administrative Agent, the Documentation Agent, the Issuing Banks or the
Swingline Lender, as the case may be.
SECTION 9.03. Expenses; Indemnity; Damage Waiver. (a) The Borrower
shall pay (i) all reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the
Administrative Agent, the Documentation Agent and their Affiliates, including
the reasonable fees, charges and disbursements of counsel (including the
allocated costs and expenses of in-house counsel), in connection with the
syndication of the credit facilities provided for herein, the preparation and
administration of this Agreement or any amendments, modifications or waivers of
the provisions hereof (whether or not the transactions contemplated hereby or
thereby shall be consummated), (ii) all reasonable out-of-pocket expenses
incurred by any Issuing Bank in connection with the issuance, amendment, renewal
or extension of any Letter of Credit or any demand for payment thereunder and
(iii) all out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the Administrative Agent, the
Documentation Agent, any Issuing Bank or any Lender, including the fees, charges
and disbursements of any counsel (including, in the case of the Administrative
Agent and
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the Documentation Agent, allocated costs and expenses of in-house counsel) for
the Administrative Agent, the Documentation Agent, any Issuing Bank or any
Lender, in connection with the enforcement or protection of its rights in
connection with this Agreement, including its rights under this Section, or in
connection with the Loans made or Letters of Credit issued hereunder, including
all such out-of-pocket expenses incurred during any workout, restructuring or
negotiations in respect of such Loans or Letters of Credit.
(b) The Borrower shall indemnify the Administrative Agent, the
Documentation Agent, each Issuing Bank and each Lender, and each Related Party
of any of the foregoing Persons (each such Person being called an "Indemnitee")
against, and hold each Indemnitee harmless from, any and all losses, claims,
damages, liabilities and related expenses, including the fees, charges and
disbursements of any counsel for any Indemnitee (including, in the case of the
Administrative Agent and the Documentation Agent, allocated costs and expenses
of in-house counsel), incurred by or asserted against any Indemnitee arising out
of, in connection with, or as a result of (i) the execution or delivery of this
Agreement or any agreement or instrument contemplated hereby, the performance by
the parties hereto of their respective obligations hereunder or the consummation
of the Transactions or any other transactions contemplated hereby, (ii) any Loan
or Letter of Credit or the use of the proceeds therefrom (including any refusal
by any Issuing Bank to honor a demand for payment under a Letter of Credit if
the documents presented in connection with such demand do not strictly comply
with the terms of such Letter of Credit), (iii) any actual or alleged presence
or release of Hazardous Materials on or from any property owned or operated by
the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries, or any Environmental Liability related
in any way to the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries, or (iv) any actual or
prospective claim, litigation, investigation or proceeding relating to any of
the foregoing, whether based on contract, tort or any other theory and
regardless of whether any Indemnitee is a party thereto; provided that such
indemnity shall not, as to any Indemnitee, be available to the extent that such
losses, claims, damages, liabilities or related expenses resulted from the gross
negligence or wilful misconduct of such Indemnitee.
(c) To the extent that the Borrower fails to pay any amount
required to be paid by it to the Administrative Agent, the Documentation Agent,
any Issuing Bank or the Swingline Lender under paragraph (a) or (b) of this
Section, each Lender severally agrees to pay to the Administrative Agent, the
Documentation Agent, such Issuing Bank or the Swingline Lender, as the case may
be, such Lender's Applicable Percentage (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, the Documentation Agent, such Issuing
Bank or the Swingline Lender in its capacity as such.
(d) To the extent permitted by applicable law, the Borrower shall
not assert, and hereby waives, any claim against any Indemnitee, on any theory
of liability, for special, indirect, consequential or punitive damages (as
opposed to direct or actual damages) arising out of, in connection with, or as a
result of, this Agreement or any agreement or instrument contemplated hereby,
the Transactions, any Loan or Letter of Credit or the use of the proceeds
thereof.
(e) All amounts due under this Section shall be payable promptly
after written demand therefor.
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SECTION 9.04. 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 (including any
Affiliate of any Issuing Bank that issues any Letter of Credit), except that the
Borrower may not assign or otherwise transfer any of its rights or obligations
hereunder without the prior written consent of each Lender (and any attempted
assignment or transfer by the Borrower without such consent 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 (including any Affiliate of any Issuing
Bank that issues any Letter of Credit) and, to the extent expressly contemplated
hereby, the Related Parties of each of the Administrative Agent, the
Documentation Agent, the Issuing Banks and the Lenders) any legal or equitable
right, remedy or claim under or by reason of this Agreement.
(b) Any Lender may assign to one or more assignees all or a
portion of its rights and obligations under this Agreement (including all or a
portion of its Commitment and the Loans at the time owing to it); provided that
(i) except in the case of an assignment to a Lender or an Affiliate of a Lender,
each of the Borrower and the Administrative Agent (and, in the case of an
assignment of all or a portion of a Commitment or any Lender's obligations in
respect of its LC Exposure or Swingline Exposure, the Issuing Banks and the
Swingline Lender) must give their prior written consent to such assignment
(which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld), (ii) except in the case of
an assignment to a Lender or an Affiliate of a Lender or an assignment of the
entire remaining amount of the assigning Lender's Commitment, the amount of the
Commitment of the assigning Lender subject to each such assignment (determined
as of the date the Assignment and Acceptance with respect to such assignment is
delivered to the Administrative Agent) shall not be less than $10,000,000 unless
each of the Borrower and the Administrative Agent otherwise consent, (iii) 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, except that
this clause (iii) shall not apply to rights in respect of outstanding
Competitive Loans, (iv) the parties to each assignment shall execute and deliver
to the Administrative Agent an Assignment and Acceptance, together with a
processing and recordation fee of $3,500, and (v) the assignee, if it shall not
be a Lender, shall deliver to the Administrative Agent an Administrative
Questionnaire; and provided further that any consent of the Borrower otherwise
required under this paragraph shall not be required if an Event of Default under
clause (h) or (i) of Article VII has occurred and is continuing. Subject to
acceptance and recording thereof pursuant to paragraph (d) of this Section, from
and after the effective date specified in each Assignment and Acceptance the
assignee thereunder shall be a party hereto and, to the extent of the interest
assigned by such Assignment and Acceptance, 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 and Acceptance, be released
from its obligations under this Agreement (and, in the case of an Assignment and
Acceptance 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 2.15, 2.16, 2.17 and 9.03). Any
assignment or transfer by a Lender of rights or obligations under this Agreement
that does not comply with this paragraph 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 paragraph (e) of this Section.
(c) The Administrative Agent, acting for this purpose as an agent
of the Borrower, shall maintain at one of its offices in The City of New York a
copy of each Assignment and Acceptance delivered to it and a register for the
recordation of the names and addresses of the Lenders, and the Commitment of,
and principal amount of the Loans and LC Disbursements owing to, each
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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, the Issuing Banks 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 inspection by the Borrower, the
Issuing Banks and any Lender, at any reasonable time and from time to time upon
reasonable prior notice.
(d) Upon its receipt of a duly completed Assignment and Acceptance
executed by an assigning Lender and an assignee, the assignee's completed
Administrative Questionnaire (unless the assignee shall already be a Lender
hereunder), the processing and recordation fee referred to in paragraph (b) of
this Section and any written consent to such assignment required by paragraph
(b) of this Section, the Administrative Agent shall accept such Assignment and
Acceptance and record the information contained therein in the Register. No
assignment shall be effective for purposes of this Agreement unless it has been
recorded in the Register as provided in this paragraph.
(e) Any Lender may, without the consent of the Borrower, the
Administrative Agent, the Issuing Banks or the Swingline Lender, sell
participations to one or more banks or other entities (a "Participant") in all
or a portion of such Lender's rights and obligations under this Agreement
(including all or a portion of its Commitment and the Loans 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 Issuing Banks and the other Lenders 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, modification or waiver
described in the first proviso to Section 9.02(b) that affects such Participant.
Subject to paragraph (f) of this Section, the Borrower agrees that each
Participant shall be entitled to the benefits of Sections 2.15, 2.16 and 2.17 to
the same extent as if it were a Lender and had acquired its interest by
assignment pursuant to paragraph (b) of this Section. To the extent permitted by
law, each Participant, if notice of such Participant is given to the Borrower,
also shall be entitled to the benefits of Section 9.08 as though it were a
Lender, provided such Participant agrees to be subject to Section 2.18(c) as
though it were a Lender.
(f) A Participant shall not be entitled to receive any greater
payment under Section 2.15 or 2.17 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 2.17 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
2.17(e) as though it were a Lender.
(g) Any Lender may at any time pledge or assign a security
interest in all or any portion of its rights under this Agreement to secure
obligations of such Lender, including any pledge or assignment to secured
obligations to a Federal Reserve Bank, and this Section shall not apply to any
such pledge or assignment of a security interest; provided that no such pledge
or assignment of a
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security interest shall release a Lender from any of its obligations hereunder
or substitute any such pledgee or assignee for such Lender as a party hereto.
SECTION 9.05. Survival. All covenants, agreements, representations
and warranties made by the Borrower herein and in the certificates or other
instruments delivered in connection with or pursuant to this Agreement shall be
considered to have been relied upon by the other parties hereto and shall
survive the execution and delivery of this Agreement and the making of any Loans
and issuance of any Letters of Credit, regardless of any investigation made by
any such other party or on its behalf and notwithstanding that the
Administrative Agent, the Issuing Banks or any Lender may have had notice or
knowledge of any Default or incorrect representation or warranty at the time any
credit is extended hereunder, and shall continue in full force and effect as
long as the principal of or any accrued interest on any Loan or any fee or any
other amount payable under this Agreement is outstanding and unpaid or any
Letter of Credit is outstanding and so long as the Commitments have not expired
or terminated. The provisions of Sections 2.15, 2.16, 2.17 and 9.03 and Article
VIII shall survive and remain in full force and effect regardless of the
consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby, the repayment of the
Loans, the expiration or termination of the Letters of Credit and the
Commitments or the termination of this Agreement or any provision hereof.
SECTION 9.06. Counterparts; Integration; Effectiveness. This
Agreement may be executed in counterparts (and by different parties hereto on
different counterparts), each of which shall constitute an original, but all of
which when taken together shall constitute a single contract. This Agreement and
any separate letter agreements with respect to fees payable to the
Administrative Agent constitute the entire contract among the parties relating
to the subject matter hereof and supersede any and all previous agreements and
understandings, oral or written, relating to the subject matter hereof. Except
as provided in Section 4.01, this Agreement shall become effective when it shall
have been executed by the Administrative Agent and when the Administrative Agent
shall have received counterparts hereof which, when taken together, bear the
signatures of each of the other parties hereto, and thereafter shall be binding
upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective
successors and assigns. Delivery of an executed counterpart of a signature page
of this Agreement by telecopy shall be effective as delivery of a manually
executed counterpart of this Agreement.
SECTION 9.07. Severability. Any provision of this Agreement held
to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any jurisdiction shall, as to such
jurisdiction, be ineffective to the extent of such invalidity, illegality or
unenforceability without affecting the validity, legality and enforceability of
the remaining provisions hereof; and the invalidity of a particular provision in
a particular jurisdiction shall not invalidate such provision in any other
jurisdiction.
SECTION 9.08. Right of Setoff. If an Event of Default shall have
occurred and be continuing, each Lender and each of its Affiliates is hereby
authorized at any time and from time to time, to the fullest extent permitted by
law, to set off and apply any and all deposits (general or special, time or
demand, provisional or final) at any time held and other obligations at any time
owing by such Lender or Affiliate to or for the credit or the account of the
Borrower against any of and all the obligations of the Borrower now or hereafter
existing under this Agreement held by such Lender, irrespective of whether or
not such Lender shall have made any demand under this Agreement and although
such obligations may be unmatured. The rights of each Lender under this Section
are in addition to other rights and remedies (including other rights of setoff)
which such Lender may have.
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SECTION 9.09. Governing Law; Jurisdiction; Consent to Service of
Process. (a) This Agreement shall be construed in accordance with and governed
by the law of the State of New York.
(b) The Borrower hereby irrevocably and unconditionally submits,
for itself and its property, to the nonexclusive jurisdiction of the Supreme
Court of the State of New York sitting in New York County and of the United
States District Court of the Southern District of New York, and any appellate
court from any thereof, in any action or proceeding arising out of or relating
to this Agreement, or for recognition or enforcement of any judgment, and each
of the parties hereto hereby irrevocably and unconditionally agrees that all
claims in respect of any such action or proceeding may be heard and determined
in such New York State or, to the extent permitted by law, in such Federal
court. Each of the parties hereto agrees that a final judgment in any such
action or proceeding shall be conclusive and may be enforced in other
jurisdictions by suit on the judgment or in any other manner provided by law.
Nothing in this Agreement shall affect any right that the Administrative Agent,
the Documentation Agent, any Issuing Bank or any Lender may otherwise have to
bring any action or proceeding relating to this Agreement against the Borrower
or its properties in the courts of any jurisdiction.
(c) The Borrower hereby irrevocably and unconditionally waives, to
the fullest extent it may legally and effectively do so, any objection which it
may now or hereafter have to the laying of venue of any suit, action or
proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement in any court referred to
in paragraph (b) of this Section. Each of the parties hereto hereby irrevocably
waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, the defense of an inconvenient
forum to the maintenance of such action or proceeding in any such court.
(d) Each party to this Agreement irrevocably consents to service
of process in the manner provided for notices in Section 9.01. Nothing in this
Agreement will affect the right of any party to this Agreement to serve process
in any other manner permitted by law.
SECTION 9.10. WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL. EACH PARTY HERETO HEREBY
WAIVES, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ANY RIGHT IT MAY HAVE
TO A TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY LEGAL PROCEEDING DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY ARISING OUT OF
OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT OR THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREBY (WHETHER
BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT OR ANY OTHER THEORY). EACH PARTY HERETO (A) CERTIFIES
THAT NO REPRESENTATIVE, AGENT OR ATTORNEY OF ANY OTHER PARTY HAS REPRESENTED,
EXPRESSLY OR OTHERWISE, THAT SUCH OTHER PARTY WOULD NOT, IN THE EVENT OF
LITIGATION, SEEK TO ENFORCE THE FOREGOING WAIVER AND (B) ACKNOWLEDGES THAT IT
AND THE OTHER PARTIES HERETO HAVE BEEN INDUCED TO ENTER INTO THIS AGREEMENT BY,
AMONG OTHER THINGS, THE MUTUAL WAIVERS AND CERTIFICATIONS IN THIS SECTION.
SECTION 9.11. Headings. Article and Section headings and the Table
of Contents used herein are for convenience of reference only, are not part of
this Agreement and shall not affect the construction of, or be taken into
consideration in interpreting, this Agreement.
SECTION 9.12. Confidentiality. Each of the Administrative Agent,
the Document Agent, the Issuing Banks and the Lenders agrees to maintain the
confidentiality of the Information (as
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defined below), except that Information may be disclosed (a) to its and its
Affiliates' directors, officers, employees and agents, including accountants,
legal counsel and other advisors (it being understood that the Persons to whom
such disclosure is made will be informed of the confidential nature of such
Information and instructed to keep such Information confidential), (b) to the
extent requested by any regulatory authority, (c) to the extent required by
applicable laws or regulations or by any subpoena or similar legal process (in
which event, the party receiving such subpoena or legal process will, if
permitted, as promptly as practicable give notice thereof to the Borrower and
use reasonable efforts, at the expense of the Borrower, to cooperate with the
Borrower in seeking a protective order), (d) to any other party to this
Agreement, (e) in connection with the exercise of any remedies hereunder or any
suit, action or proceeding relating to this Agreement or the enforcement of
rights hereunder, (f) subject to an agreement containing provisions
substantially the same as those of this Section and naming the Borrower as a
third party beneficiary (in the absence of a provision naming the Borrower as a
third party beneficiary, the applicable Lender hereby agrees to use its
reasonable efforts, at the expense of the Borrower, upon the request of the
Borrower to enforce such agreement), to any assignee of or Participant in, or
any prospective assignee of or Participant in, any of its rights or obligations
under this Agreement, (g) with the consent of the Borrower or (h) to the extent
such Information (i) becomes publicly available other than as a result of a
breach of this Section or (ii) becomes available to the Administrative Agent,
the Document Agent, any Issuing Bank or any Lender on a nonconfidential basis
from a source other than the Borrower not known by it to be bound by obligations
of confidentiality. For the purposes of this Section, "Information" means all
information received from the Borrower relating to the Borrower or its business,
other than any such information that is available to the Administrative Agent,
the Document Agent, any Issuing Bank or any Lender on a nonconfidential basis
prior to disclosure by the Borrower; provided that, in the case of information
received from the Borrower after the date hereof, such information is clearly
identified at the time of delivery as confidential. Any Person required to
maintain the confidentiality of Information as provided in this Section shall be
considered to have complied with its obligation to do so if such Person has
exercised the same degree of care to maintain the confidentiality of such
Information as such Person would accord to its own confidential information.
SECTION 9.13. Interest Rate Limitation. Notwithstanding anything
herein to the contrary, if at any time the interest rate applicable to any Loan,
together with all fees, charges and other amounts which are treated as interest
on such Loan under applicable law (collectively the "Charges"), shall exceed the
maximum lawful rate (the "Maximum Rate") which may be contracted for, charged,
taken, received or reserved by the Lender holding such Loan in accordance with
applicable law, the rate of interest payable in respect of such Loan hereunder,
together with all Charges payable in respect thereof, shall be limited to the
Maximum Rate and, to the extent lawful, the interest and Charges that would have
been payable in respect of such Loan but were not payable as a result of the
operation of this Section shall be cumulated and the interest and Charges
payable to such Lender in respect of other Loans or periods shall be increased
(but not above the Maximum Rate therefor) until such cumulated amount, together
with interest thereon at the Federal Funds Effective Rate to the date of
repayment, shall have been received by such Lender.
SECTION 9.14. Judgment Currency. (a) If, for the purpose of
obtaining judgment in any court, it is necessary to convert a sum owing
hereunder in one currency into another currency, each party hereto agrees, to
the fullest extent that it may effectively do so, that the rate of exchange used
shall be that at which in accordance with normal banking procedures in the
relevant jurisdiction the first currency could be purchased with such other
currency on the Business Day immediately preceding the day on which final
judgment is given.
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(b) The obligations of the Borrower in respect of any sum due to
any party hereto or any holder of the obligations owing hereunder (the
"Applicable Creditor") shall, notwithstanding any judgment in a currency (the
"Judgment Currency") other than the currency in which such sum is stated to be
due hereunder (the "Agreement Currency"), be discharged only to the extent that,
on the Business Day following receipt by the Applicable Creditor of any sum
adjudged to be so due in the Judgment Currency, the Applicable Creditor may in
accordance with normal banking procedures in the relevant jurisdiction purchase
the Agreement Currency with the Judgment Currency; if the amount of the
Agreement Currency so purchased is less than the sum originally due to the
Applicable Creditor in the Agreement Currency, the Borrower agrees, as a
separate obligation and notwithstanding any such judgment, to indemnify the
Applicable Creditor against such loss. The obligations of the Borrower contained
in this Section 9.14 shall survive the termination of this Agreement and the
payment of all other amounts owing hereunder.
SECTION 9.15. PBGC Agreement. Each Lender acknowledges that (a) it
has been provided or has access to a copy of the PBGC Agreement and (b) Section
7 of the PBGC Agreement contains provisions which, subject to and in accordance
with the terms and conditions thereof, entitle the PBGC to obtain an equal and
ratable security interest in any property in which the Lenders are granted a
Lien.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement
to be duly executed by their respective authorized officers as of the day and
year first above written.
XXX XXXXXXXXXXX,
by
-------------------------
Name:
Title:
THE CHASE MANHATTAN BANK, individually,
as Administrative Agent and as Issuing Bank,
by
-------------------------
Name:
Title:
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BANK OF AMERICA NATIONAL TRUST &
SAVINGS ASSOCIATION,
individually, as Documentation Agent and as
Issuing Bank,
by
-------------------------
Name:
Title:
[OTHER LENDERS],
by
-------------------------
Name:
Title:
