CREDIT AGREEMENT Dated as of May 11, 2006 among GREAT PLAINS ENERGY INCORPORATED, CERTAIN LENDERS, BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., as Administrative Agent, JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., as Syndication Agent, and BNP PARIBAS, THE BANK OF TOKYO-MITSUBISHI UFJ,...
Exhibit
10.1.b
[Published
CUSIP Number: ____]
Dated
as
of May 11, 2006
among
GREAT
PLAINS ENERGY INCORPORATED,
CERTAIN
LENDERS,
BANK
OF
AMERICA, N.A.,
as
Administrative Agent,
JPMORGAN
CHASE BANK, N.A.,
as
Syndication Agent,
and
BNP
PARIBAS, THE
BANK
OF TOKYO-MITSUBISHI UFJ,
LIMITED,
CHICAGO BRANCH and
WACHOVIA BANK N.A.,
as
Co-Documentation Agents
BANC
OF
AMERICA SECURITIES LLC
and
X.X.
XXXXXX SECURITIES INC.
Joint
Lead Arrangers and Joint Book Runners
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
Page
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ARTICLE
I DEFINITIONS
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1
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1.1
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Definitions.
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1
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1.2
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Accounting
Principles.
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14
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1.3
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Letter
of Credit Amounts.
|
15
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ARTICLE
II THE CREDITS
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15
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2.1
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Commitment
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15
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2.2
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Required
Payments; Termination.
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15
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2.3
|
Ratable
Loans.
|
15
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2.4
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Types
of Advances; Minimum Amount.
|
16
|
|
2.5
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Facility
Fee; Utilization Fee.
|
16
|
|
2.6
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Changes
in Aggregate Commitment.
|
16
|
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2.7
|
Optional
Prepayments.
|
17
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2.8
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Method
of Selecting Types and Interest Periods for New Advances.
|
17
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2.9
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Conversion
and Continuation of Outstanding Advances.
|
18
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2.10
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Changes
in Interest Rate, etc.
|
18
|
|
2.11
|
Rates
Applicable After Default.
|
19
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2.12
|
Method
of Payment.
|
19
|
|
2.13
|
Noteless
Agreement; Evidence of Indebtedness.
|
20
|
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2.14
|
Telephonic
Notices.
|
20
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2.15
|
Interest
Payment Dates; Interest and Fee Basis.
|
20
|
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2.16
|
Notification
of Advances, Interest Rates, Prepayments and Commitment
Reductions.
|
21
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2.17
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Lending
Installations.
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21
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2.18
|
Non-Receipt
of Funds by the Administrative Agent.
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21
|
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2.19
|
Letters
of Credit.
|
22
|
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ARTICLE
III YIELD PROTECTION; TAXES
|
28
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3.1
|
Yield
Protection.
|
28
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3.2
|
Changes
in Capital Adequacy Regulations.
|
29
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3.3
|
Availability
of Types of Advances.
|
29
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3.4
|
Funding
Indemnification.
|
30
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3.5
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Taxes.
|
30
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3.6
|
Lender
Statements; Survival of Indemnity.
|
31
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ARTICLE
IV CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
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32
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4.1
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Initial
Credit Extension.
|
32
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4.2
|
Each
Credit Extension.
|
33
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ARTICLE
V REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES
|
34
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5.1
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Existence
and Standing.
|
34
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5.2
|
Authorization
and Validity
|
34
|
|
5.3
|
No
Conflict; Government Consent
|
34
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5.4
|
Financial
Statements
|
35
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5.5
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Material
Adverse Change
|
35
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5.6
|
Taxes
|
35
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5.7
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Litigation;
etc.
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35
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5.8
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ERISA.
|
36
|
i
5.9
|
Accuracy
of Information.
|
36
|
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5.10
|
Regulation
U.
|
36
|
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5.11
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Material
Agreements.
|
36
|
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5.12
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Compliance
With Laws.
|
36
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5.13
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Ownership
of Properties.
|
37
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5.14
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Plan
Assets; Prohibited Transactions.
|
37
|
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5.15
|
Environmental
Matters.
|
37
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5.16
|
Investment
Company Act.
|
37
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5.17
|
Pari
Passu Indebtedness.
|
37
|
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5.18
|
Solvency.
|
37
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ARTICLE
VI COVENANTS
|
38
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6.1
|
Financial
Reporting.
|
38
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6.2
|
Permits,
Etc.
|
40
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6.3
|
Use
of Proceeds.
|
40
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6.4
|
Notice
of Default.
|
40
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6.5
|
Conduct
of Business.
|
40
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6.6
|
Taxes.
|
40
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6.7
|
Insurance.
|
41
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6.8
|
Compliance
with Laws.
|
41
|
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6.9
|
Maintenance
of Properties; Books of Record.
|
41
|
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6.10
|
Inspection.
|
41
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6.11
|
Consolidations,
Mergers and Sale of Assets.
|
42
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6.12
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Liens.
|
43
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6.13
|
Affiliates.
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46
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6.14
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ERISA.
|
46
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6.15
|
Total
Indebtedness to Total Capitalization
|
47
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6.16
|
Restriction
on Subsidiary Dividends.
|
47
|
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ARTICLE
VII DEFAULTS
|
47
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ARTICLES
VIII ACCELERATION, WAIVERS, AMENDMENTS AND
REMEDIES
|
49
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8.1
|
Acceleration,
Letter of Credit Account.
|
49
|
|
8.2
|
Amendments.
|
50
|
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8.3
|
Preservation
of Rights.
|
51
|
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ARTICLE
IX GENERAL PROVISIONS
|
51
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9.1
|
Survival
of Representations.
|
51
|
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9.2
|
Governmental
Regulation.
|
51
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9.3
|
Headings.
|
51
|
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9.4
|
Entire
Agreement.
|
51
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9.5
|
Several
Obligations; Benefits of this Agreement.
|
52
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9.6
|
Expenses;
Indemnification.
|
52
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9.7
|
Numbers
of Documents.
|
53
|
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9.8
|
Accounting.
|
53
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9.9
|
Severability
of Provisions.
|
53
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9.10
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Nonliability
of Lenders.
|
53
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9.11
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Limited
Disclosure.
|
54
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9.12
|
USA
PATRIOT ACT NOTIFICATION.
|
54
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9.13
|
Nonreliance.
|
55
|
ii
9.14
|
No
Advisory or Fiduciary Responsibility.
|
55
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ARTICLE
X THE ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
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56
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10.1
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Appointment
and Authority.
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56
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10.2
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Rights
as a Lender.
|
56
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10.3
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Exculpatory
Provisions.
|
56
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10.4
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Reliance
by Administrative Agent.
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57
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10.5
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Delegation
of Duties.
|
57
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10.6
|
Resignation
of Administrative Agent.
|
58
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10.7
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Non-Reliance
on Administrative Agent and Other Lenders.
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59
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10.8
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No
Other Duties, Etc.
|
59
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10.9
|
Administrative
Agent May File Proofs of Claim
|
59
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ARTICLE
XI SETOFF; RATABLE PAYMENTS
|
60
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11.1
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Setoff.
|
60
|
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11.2
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Ratable
Payments.
|
60
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ARTICLE
XII BENEFIT OF AGREEMENT; ASSIGNMENTS;
PARTICIPATIONS
|
61
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12.1
|
Successors
and Assigns.
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61
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12.2
|
Replacement
of Lenders.
|
64
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ARTICLE
XIII NOTICES
|
65
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13.1
|
Notices.
|
65
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13.2
|
Change
of Address.
|
65
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ARTICLE
XIV COUNTERPARTS
|
65
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ARTICLES XV OTHER
AGENTS
|
65
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ARTICLE
XVI CHOICE OF LAW; CONSENT TO JURISDICTION; WAIVER OF JURY
TRIAL
|
66
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16.1
|
CHOICE
OF LAW.
|
66
|
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16.2
|
CONSENT
TO JURISDICTION.
|
66
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16.3
|
WAIVER
OF JURY TRIAL.
|
66
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ARTICLE
XVII TERMINATION OF EXISTING CREDIT FACILITY
|
67
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iii
SCHEDULES
|
|
I
II
III
IV
V
|
Commitments
Existing
Letters of Credit
Pricing
Schedule
Processing
& Recordation Fees
Certain
Addresses for Notices
|
EXHIBITS
|
|
A
B
C
D
|
Form
of Compliance Certificate
Form
of Assignment and Assumption
Form
of Wire Transfer Instructions
Form
of Note
|
iv
This
Credit Agreement dated as of May 11, 2006 is among Great Plains Energy
Incorporated, a Missouri corporation, the Lenders, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.,
as
Syndication Agent and Bank of America, N.A., as Administrative Agent. The
parties hereto agree as follows:
ARTICLE
I
DEFINITIONS
1.1 Definitions.
As
used
in this Agreement, the following terms have the following meanings (such
meanings to be equally applicable to both the singular and plural forms of
such
terms):
“Additional
Commitment Lender” is defined in Section
2.20(d).
“Administrative
Agent” means Bank of America in its capacity as administrative agent under any
of the Loan Documents, or any successor administrative agent.
“Administrative
Questionnaire” means an Administrative Questionnaire in a form supplied by the
Administrative Agent.
“Advance”
means a borrowing hereunder (or conversion or continuation thereof) consisting
of the aggregate amount of the several Loans made on the same Borrowing Date
(or
date of conversion or continuation) by the Lenders to the Borrower of the same
Type and, in the case of Eurodollar Advances, for the same Interest
Period.
“Affiliate”
of any Person means any other Person directly or indirectly controlling,
controlled by or under common control with such Person. For purposes of this
definition, “control” (including, with correlative meanings, the terms
“controlled by” and “under common control with”) shall mean the possession,
directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the
management or policies of a Person, whether through the ownership of voting
securities or by contract or otherwise.
“Agents”
means, collectively, the Administrative Agent and the Syndication Agent, and
“Agent” means either of them.
“Aggregate
Commitment” means the aggregate of the Commitments of all Lenders, as changed
from time to time pursuant to the terms hereof. The amount of the Aggregate
Commitment in effect as of the Closing Date is SIX HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS
($600,000,000).
“Aggregate
Outstanding Credit Exposure” means, at any time, the aggregate of the
Outstanding Credit Exposure of all Lenders.
“Agreement”
means this credit agreement, as it may be amended or modified and in effect
from
time to time.
“Alternate
Base Rate” means for any day a fluctuating rate per annum equal to the higher of
(a) the Federal Funds Effective Rate plus 1/2 of 1% and (b) the rate
of interest in effect for such day as publicly announced from time to time
by
Bank of America as its “prime rate.” The “prime rate” is a rate set by Bank of
America based upon various factors including Bank of America’s costs and desired
return, general economic conditions and other factors, and is used as a
reference point for pricing some loans, which may be priced at, above, or
below
such announced rate. Any change in such rate announced by Bank of America
shall
take effect at the opening of business on the day specified in the public
announcement of such change.
“Applicable
Margin” means, with respect to Advances of any Type at any time, the percentage
rate per annum which is applicable at such time with respect to Advances
of such
Type as set forth in the Pricing Schedule.
“Approved
Fund” means any Fund that is administered or managed by (a) a Lender, (b) an
Affiliate of a Lender or (c) an entity or an Affiliate of an entity that
administers or manages a Lender.
“Approving
Lenders” is defined in Section
2.20(e).
“Arrangers”
means Banc of America Securities LLC and X.X. Xxxxxx Securities, Inc., and
“Arranger” means either of them.
“Article”
means an article of this Agreement unless another document is specifically
referenced.
“Assignment
Agreement” means an assignment and assumption entered into by a Lender and an
Eligible Assignee (with the consent of any party whose consent is required
by
Section 12.1(b)),
and
accepted by the Administrative Agent, in substantially the form of Exhibit B
or any
other form approved by the Administrative Agent.
“Attributable
Indebtedness” means, on any date, (i) in respect of any Capitalized Lease
Obligation of any Person, the capitalized amount thereof that would appear
on a
balance sheet of such Person prepared as of such date in accordance with
GAAP,
and (ii) in respect of any Synthetic Lease Obligation, the capitalized amount
of
the remaining lease payments under the relevant lease that would appear on
a
balance sheet of such Person prepared as of such date in accordance with
GAAP if
such lease were accounted for as a Capitalized Lease.
“Authorized
Officer” means any of the President, any Vice President, the Chief Financial
Officer or the Treasurer of the Borrower, in each case acting
singly.
“Bank
of
America” means Bank of America, N.A. in its individual capacity and its
successors.
2
“BAS”
means Banc of America Securities LLC.
“Borrower”
means Great Plains Energy Incorporated, a Missouri corporation, and its
permitted successors and assigns.
“Borrowing
Date” means a date on which an Advance is made hereunder.
“Borrowing
Notice” is defined in Section 2.8.
“Business
Day” means (i) with respect to any borrowing, payment or rate selection of
Eurodollar Advances, a day (other than a Saturday or Sunday) on which banks
generally are open in Chicago and New York City for the conduct of substantially
all of their commercial lending activities and on which dealings in United
States dollars are carried on in the London interbank market and (ii) for
all
other purposes, a day (other than a Saturday or Sunday) on which banks
generally
are open in Chicago and New York City for the conduct of substantially
all of
their commercial lending activities.
“Capitalized
Lease” of a Person means any lease of Property by such Person as lessee which
would be capitalized on a balance sheet of such Person prepared in accordance
with GAAP.
“Capitalized
Lease Obligations” of a Person means the amount of the obligations of such
Person under Capitalized Leases which would be shown as a liability on
a balance
sheet of such Person prepared in accordance with GAAP.
“Change
of Control” means an event or series of events by which:
(i) any
“person” or “group” (as such terms are used in Sections 13(d) and 14(d) of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, but excluding any employee benefit
plan of
the Borrower or its Subsidiaries, or any Person acting in its capacity
as
trustee, agent or other fiduciary or administrator of any such plan) becomes
the
“beneficial owner” (as defined in Rules 13d-3 and 13d-5 under the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934), directly or indirectly, of 33 1/3% or more of the
equity
interests of the Borrower; or
(ii) during
any period of 12 consecutive months (or such lesser period of time as shall
have
elapsed since the formation of the Borrower), a majority of the members
of the
board of directors or other equivalent governing body of the Borrower ceases
to
be composed of individuals (x) who were members of that board or equivalent
governing body on the first day of such period, (y) whose election or nomination
to that board or equivalent governing body was approved by individuals
referred
to in clause (x)
above
constituting at the time of such election or nomination at least a majority
of
that board or equivalent governing body or (z) whose election or nomination
to
that board or other equivalent governing body was approved by individuals
referred to in clauses (x)
and
(y)
above
constituting at the time of such election or nomination at least a majority
of
that board or equivalent governing body.
3
“Closing
Date” means May 11, 2006.
“Code”
means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, reformed or otherwise
modified from time to time.
“Commitment”
means, for each Lender, the obligation of such Lender to make Loans and
to
participate in Letters of Credit in an aggregate amount not exceeding the
amount
set forth on Schedule I
hereto
or as set forth in any Assignment Agreement relating to any assignment
that has
become effective pursuant to Section 12.1(b),
as such
amount may be modified from time to time pursuant to the terms
hereof.
“Consolidated
Net Income” means, for any period, for the Borrower and its Consolidated
Subsidiaries, the net income of the Borrower and its Consolidated Subsidiaries
from continuing operations, excluding extraordinary items for that
period.
“Consolidated
Subsidiaries” means all Subsidiaries of the Borrower that are (or should be)
included when preparing the consolidated financial statements of the
Borrower.
“Consolidated
Tangible Net Worth” means, as of any date of determination, for the Borrower and
its Consolidated Subsidiaries, Shareholders’ Equity of the Borrower and its
Consolidated Subsidiaries on that date minus
the
Intangible Assets of the Borrower and its Consolidated Subsidiaries on
that
date.
“Contingent
Obligation” of a Person means any agreement, undertaking or arrangement by which
such Person assumes, guarantees, endorses, contingently agrees to purchase
or
provide funds for the payment of, or otherwise becomes or is contingently
liable
upon, the obligation or liability of any other Person, or agrees to maintain
the
net worth or working capital or other financial condition of any other
Person,
or otherwise assures any creditor of such other Person against
loss.
“Controlled
Group” means all members of a controlled group of corporations or other business
entities and all trades or businesses (whether or not incorporated) under
common
control which, together with the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries, are
treated as a single employer under Section 414 of the Code.
“Conversion/Continuation
Notice” is defined in Section 2.9.
“Credit
Extension” means the making of an Advance or the issuance of a Letter of
Credit.
“Default”
means an event described in Article VII.
“Eligible
Assignee” means (a) a Lender; (b) an Affiliate of a Lender;
(c) an Approved Fund; and (d) any other Person (other than a natural
person) approved by (i) the Administrative Agent and the Issuers, and
(ii) unless a Default has occurred and is continuing, the Borrower (each
such approval not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed); provided
that
notwithstanding
4
the
foregoing, “Eligible Assignee” shall not include the Borrower or any of the
Borrower’s Affiliates or Subsidiaries.
“Environmental
Laws” means any and all federal, state, local and foreign statutes, laws,
judicial decisions, regulations, ordinances, rules, judgments, orders,
decrees,
plans, injunctions, permits, concessions, grants, franchises, licenses,
agreements and other governmental restrictions relating to (i) the protection
of
the environment, (ii) the effect of the environment on human health, (iii)
emissions, discharges or releases of pollutants, contaminants, hazardous
substances or wastes into surface water, ground water or land, or (iv)
the
manufacture, processing, distribution, use, treatment, storage, disposal,
transport or handling of pollutants, contaminants, hazardous substances
or
wastes or the clean-up or other remediation thereof.
“Equity-Linked
Securities” means (i) all securities issued by the Borrower or any Subsidiary
that contain two distinct components: (a) medium-term debt and (b) a forward
contract for the issuance of common stock of the Borrower or such Subsidiary
prior to the maturity of, and in an amount not less than, such debt, including
the securities commonly referred to by the tradenames “FELINE PRIDES”, “PEPS”,
“HITS” and “DECS” and generally referred to as “equity units”; provided
that
such securities shall not contain any provision permitting them to be put
to the
Borrower or any Subsidiary prior to the settlement of the related purchase
contract and (ii) all other securities issued by the Borrower or any Subsidiary
that are similar to those described in clause (i).
“ERISA”
means the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended from
time
to time, and any rule or regulation issued thereunder.
“Eurodollar
Advance” means an Advance which bears interest at the applicable Eurodollar
Rate.
“Eurodollar
Rate” means for any Interest Period with respect to a Eurodollar Loan, a rate
per annum (rounded to the nearest multiple of 1/16 of 1%) determined by
the
Administrative Agent pursuant to the following formula:
Eurodollar
Rate =
|
Eurodollar
Base Rate
1.00
- Eurodollar Reserve Percentage
|
Where,
“Eurodollar
Base Rate” means, for such Interest Period, the rate per annum equal to the
British Bankers Association LIBOR Rate (“BBA LIBOR”), as published by Reuters
(or other commercially available source providing quotations of BBA LIBOR
as
designated by the Administrative Agent from time to time) at approximately
11:00 a.m., London time, two Business Days prior to the commencement of
such Interest Period, for Dollar deposits (for delivery on the first day
of such
Interest Period) with a term equivalent to such Interest Period. If such
rate is
not available at such time for any reason, then the “Eurodollar Base Rate” for
such Interest Period shall be the rate per annum determined by the
Administrative Agent to be the rate at which deposits in Dollars for delivery
on
the first day of such Interest Period in same day
5
funds
in
the approximate amount of the Eurodollar Loan being made, continued or
converted
by Bank of America and with a term equivalent to such Interest Period would
be
offered by Bank of America’s London Branch to major banks in the London
interbank eurodollar market at their request at approximately 11:00 a.m.
(London time) two Business Days prior to the commencement of such Interest
Period.
“Eurodollar
Reserve Percentage” means, for any day during any Interest Period, the reserve
percentage (expressed as a decimal, carried out to five decimal places)
in
effect on such day, whether or not applicable to any Lender, under regulations
issued from time to time by the FRB for determining the maximum reserve
requirement (including any emergency, supplemental or other marginal reserve
requirement) with respect to Eurocurrency funding (currently referred to
as
“Eurocurrency liabilities”). The Eurodollar Rate for each outstanding Eurodollar
Loan shall be adjusted automatically as of the effective date of any change
in
the Eurodollar Reserve Percentage.
“Eurodollar
Loan” means a Loan which bears interest at the applicable Eurodollar
Rate.
“Excluded
Taxes” means, in the case of each Lender or applicable Lending Installation and
the Administrative Agent, taxes imposed on its overall net income, and
franchise
taxes imposed on it, by (i) the jurisdiction under the laws of which such
Lender
or the Administrative Agent is incorporated or organized or (ii) the
jurisdiction in which the Administrative Agent’s or such Lender’s principal
executive office or such Lender’s applicable Lending Installation is
located.
“Exhibit”
refers to an exhibit to this Agreement, unless another document is specifically
referenced.
“Existing
Credit Facility” means the credit agreement among the Borrower, JPMorgan Chase
Bank, N.A., as administrative agent and the other lenders party thereto
dated as
of December 15, 2004, as amended or modified from time to time.
“Existing
Letters of Credit” means those letters of credit identified on Schedule
II.
“Facility
Fee Rate” means, at any time, the percentage rate per annum at which facility
fees are accruing at such time as set forth in the Pricing
Schedule.
“Facility
Termination Date” means (a) the later of (i) May 11, 2011 and (ii) with respect
to some or all of the Lenders if the facility termination date is extended
pursuant to Section 2.20, such extended facility termination date or (b)
any
earlier date on which the Aggregate Commitment is reduced to zero or otherwise
terminated pursuant to the terms hereof.
“Federal
Funds Effective Rate” means, for any day, the rate per annum equal to the
weighted average of the rates on overnight Federal funds transactions with
members of the Federal Reserve System arranged by Federal funds brokers
on such
day, as published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on the Business
Day
next succeeding such day; provided
that (a)
if such day is not a Business Day, the Federal Funds Effective Rate for
such day
shall be
6
such
rate
on such transactions on the next preceding Business Day as so published
on the
next succeeding Business Day, and (b) if no such rate is so published on
such
next succeeding Business Day, the Federal Funds Effective Rate for such
day
shall be the average rate (rounded upward, if necessary, to a whole multiple
of
1/100 of 1%) charged to Bank of America on such day on such transactions
as
determined by the Administrative Agent.
“Fee
Letter” means that certain fee letter dated April 6, 2006 among the Agents, the
Arrangers, the Borrower and KCPL.
“Floating
Rate Advance” means an Advance which bears interest at the Alternate Base
Rate.
“Floating
Rate Loan” means a Loan which bears interest at the Alternate Base
Rate.
“FRB”
means the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
“Fund”
means any Person (other than a natural person) that is (or will be) engaged
in
making, purchasing, holding or otherwise investing in commercial loans
and
similar extensions of credit in the ordinary course of its
business.
“GAAP”
means generally accepted accounting principles set forth from time to time
in
the opinions and pronouncements of the Accounting Principles Board and
the
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and statements of the
Financial Accounting Standards Board.
“Governmental
Authority” means the government of the United States or any other nation, or of
any political subdivision thereof, whether state or local, and any agency,
authority, instrumentality, regulatory body, court, central bank or other
entity
exercising executive, legislative, judicial, taxing, regulatory or
administrative powers or functions of or pertaining to government.
“including”
means “including without limiting the generality of the following”.
“Indebtedness”
means, as to any Person at a particular time, all of the following, without
duplication, to the extent recourse may be had to the assets or properties
of
such Person in respect thereof: (i) all obligations of such Person for
borrowed
money and all obligations of such Person evidenced by bonds, debentures,
notes,
loan agreements or other similar instruments; (ii) any direct or contingent
obligations of such Person in the aggregate in excess of $2,000,000 arising
under letters of credit (including standby and commercial), banker’s
acceptances, bank guaranties, surety bonds and similar instruments; (iii)
net
obligations of such Person under Swap Contracts; (iv) all obligations of
such
Person to pay the deferred purchase price of property or services (except
trade
accounts payable arising, and accrued expenses incurred, in the ordinary
course
of business), and indebtedness (excluding prepaid interest thereon) secured
by a
Lien on property owned or being purchased by such Person (including indebtedness
arising under conditional sales or other title retention agreements), whether
or
not such indebtedness shall have been assumed by such Person or is limited
in
recourse; (v) Capitalized Lease Obligations and
7
Synthetic
Lease Obligations of such Person; and (vi) all Contingent Obligations of
such
Person in respect of any of the foregoing.
For
all
purposes hereof, the Indebtedness of any Person shall include the Indebtedness
of any partnership or joint venture in which such Person is a general partner
or
a joint venturer, unless such Indebtedness is non-recourse to such Person.
It is
understood and agreed that Indebtedness (including Contingent Obligations)
shall
not include any obligations of the Borrower with respect to (i) subordinated,
deferrable interest debt securities, and any related securities issued
by a
trust or other special purpose entity in connection therewith, as long
as the
maturity date of such debt is subsequent to the Facility Termination Date;
provided
that the
amount of mandatory principal amortization or defeasance of such debt prior
to
the Facility Termination Date shall be included in this definition of
Indebtedness; or (ii) Equity-Linked Securities until the mandatory redemption
date therefor, provided
that the
principal amount of all outstanding Equity-Linked Securities in excess
of 20% of
Total Capitalization shall constitute Indebtedness. The amount of any
Capitalized Lease Obligation or Synthetic Lease Obligation as of any date
shall
be deemed to be the amount of Attributable Indebtedness in respect thereof
as of
such date.
“Intangible
Assets” means, assets that are considered to be intangible assets under GAAP,
including, but not limited to, customer lists, goodwill, computer software,
copyrights, trade names, trademarks, patents, franchises and
licenses.
“Interest
Period” means, with respect to a Eurodollar Advance, a period of one, two, three
or six months commencing on a Business Day selected by the Borrower pursuant
to
this Agreement. Such Interest Period shall end on the day which corresponds
numerically to such date one, two, three or six months thereafter; provided
that if
there is no such numerically corresponding day in such next, second, third
or
sixth succeeding month, such Interest Period shall end on the last Business
Day
of such next, second, third or sixth succeeding month. If an Interest Period
would otherwise end on a day which is not a Business Day, such Interest
Period
shall end on the next succeeding Business Day; provided
that if
said next succeeding Business Day falls in a new calendar month, such Interest
Period shall end on the immediately preceding Business Day.
“Issuer”
means each of Bank of America, JPMorgan and any other Lender approved by
the
Borrower and the Administrative Agent, in each case in its capacity as
an issuer
of Letters of Credit hereunder. Notwithstanding the foregoing, The Bank
of
Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Limited, Chicago Branch shall be the Issuer with
respect
to those Existing Letters of Credit identified on Part B of Schedule
II.
“Issuer
Documents” means with respect to any Letter of Credit, the Letter Credit
Application and any other document, agreement and instrument entered into
by the
applicable Issuer and the Borrower or in favor of the applicable Issuer
and
relating to such Letter of Credit.
“JPMorgan”
means JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. in its individual capacity, and its
successors.
8
“KCPL”
means Kansas City Power & Light Company, a Missouri
corporation.
“KCPL
Credit Agreement” means that certain Credit Agreement dated of the Closing Date
among KCPL, the financial institutions party thereto, JPMorgan, as syndication
agent and Bank of America, N.A., as administrative agent, as amended or
modified
from time to time.
“LC
Collateral Account” is defined in Section 2.19(k).
“Lenders”
means the lending institutions listed on the signature pages of this Agreement
and their respective successors and assigns.
“Lending
Installation” means, with respect to a Lender or the Administrative Agent, the
office, branch, subsidiary or affiliate of such Lender or the Administrative
Agent listed on the signature pages hereof or on a Schedule or otherwise
selected by such Lender or the Administrative Agent pursuant to Section 2.17.
“Letter
of Credit” means any standby letter of credit issued pursuant to Section
2.19 and
any
Existing Letter of Credit.
“Letter
of Credit Application” is defined in Section 2.19(c).
“Letter
of Credit Fee” is defined in Section 2.19(d).
“Letter
of Credit Fee Rate” means, at any time, the percentage rate per annum applicable
to Letter of Credit Fees at such time as set forth in the Pricing
Schedule.
“Letter
of Credit Obligations” means, at any time, the sum, without duplication, of (i)
the aggregate undrawn stated amount of all Letters of Credit at such time
plus
(ii) the aggregate unpaid amount of all Reimbursement Obligations at such
time.
“Lien”
means any lien (statutory or other), mortgage, pledge, hypothecation,
assignment, deposit arrangement, encumbrance or preference, priority or
other
security agreement or preferential arrangement of any kind or nature whatsoever
(including the interest of a vendor or lessor under any conditional sale,
Capitalized Lease or other title retention agreement).
“Loan”
means, with respect to a Lender, such Lender’s loans made pursuant to
Article II
(or any
conversion or continuation thereof).
“Loan
Documents” means this Agreement, each Note issued pursuant to Section 2.13,
each
Letter of Credit, each Letter of Credit Application and the Fee
Letter.
“Material
Adverse Effect” means a material adverse effect on (i) the business, Property,
condition (financial or otherwise), results of operations, or prospects
of the
Borrower and its Subsidiaries taken as a whole, (ii) the ability of the
Borrower
to perform its obligations under the Loan Documents or (iii) the validity
or
enforceability of any of the Loan Documents or the rights or remedies of
the
Agents, the Lenders or the Issuers thereunder.
9
“Material
Indebtedness” is defined in Section 7.5.
“Modification”
and “Modify” are defined in Section 2.19(a).
“Moody’s”
means Xxxxx’x Investors Service, Inc.
“Multiemployer
Plan” means a Plan maintained pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement or
any other arrangement to which the Borrower or any member of the Controlled
Group is a party to which more than one employer is obligated to make
contributions.
“Non-Extending
Lender” is defined in Section
2.20(b).
“Non-U.S.
Lender” is defined in Section 3.5(iv).
“Note”
is
defined in Section 2.13.
“Notice
Date” is defined in Section 2.20(b).
“Obligations”
means all unpaid principal of and accrued and unpaid interest on the Loans,
all
Reimbursement Obligations and accrued and unpaid interest thereon, all
accrued
and unpaid fees and all expenses, reimbursements, indemnities and other
obligations of the Borrower to any Lender, any Issuer, either Agent or
any
indemnified party arising under any Loan Document.
“Other
Taxes” is defined in Section 3.5(ii).
“Outstanding
Credit Exposure” means, as to any Lender at any time, the sum of (i) the
aggregate principal amount of its Loans outstanding at such time, plus
(ii) its
Pro Rata Share of the Letter of Credit Obligations at such time.
“Participant”
is defined in Section 12.1(d).
“Payment
Date” means the last Business Day of each March, June, September and
December.
“PBGC”
means the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, or any successor
thereto.
“Person”
means any natural person, corporation, firm, joint venture, partnership,
limited
liability company, association, enterprise, trust or other entity or
organization, or any government or political subdivision or any agency,
department or instrumentality thereof.
“Plan”
means an employee pension benefit plan which is covered by Title IV of
ERISA or subject to the minimum funding standards under Section 412 of the
Code as to which the Borrower or any member of the Controlled Group may
have any
liability.
10
“Pricing
Schedule” means Schedule III
attached
hereto identified as such.
“Prime
Rate” means a rate per annum equal to the prime rate of interest announced by
Bank of America from time to time (which is not necessarily the lowest
rate
charged to any customer). The “prime rate” is a rate set by Bank of America
based upon various factors including Bank of America’s costs and desired return,
general economic conditions and other factors, and is used as a reference
point
for pricing some loans, which may be priced at, above, or below such announced
rate. Any change in such rate announced by Bank of America shall take effect
at
the opening of business on the day specified in the public announcement
of such
change.
“Project
Finance Subsidiary” means any Subsidiary that meets the following requirements:
(i) it is primarily engaged, directly or indirectly, in the ownership,
operation
and/or financing of independent power production and related facilities
and
assets; and (ii) neither the Borrower nor any other Subsidiary (other than
another Project Finance Subsidiary) has any liability, contingent or otherwise,
for the Indebtedness or other obligations of such Subsidiary (other than
non-recourse liability resulting from the pledge of stock of such
Subsidiary).
“Property”
of a Person means any and all property, whether real, personal, tangible,
intangible, or mixed, of such Person, or other assets owned or leased by
such
Person.
“Pro
Rata
Share” means, with respect to any Lender on any date of determination, the
percentage which the amount of such Lender’s Commitment is of the Aggregate
Commitment (or, if the Commitments have terminated, which such Lender’s
Outstanding Credit Exposure is of the Aggregate Outstanding Credit Exposure)
as
of such date. For purposes of determining liability for any indemnity obligation
under Section 2.19(j)
or
9.6(iii),
each
Lender’s Pro Rata Share shall be determined as of the date the applicable Issuer
or the Administrative Agent notifies the Lenders of such indemnity obligation
(or, if such notice is given after termination of this Agreement, as of
the date
of such termination).
“Register”
is defined in Section
12.1(c).
“Regulation D”
means Regulation D of the FRB as from time to time in effect and any
successor thereto or other regulation or official interpretation of the
FRB
relating to reserve requirements applicable to member banks of the Federal
Reserve System.
“Regulation U”
means Regulation U of the FRB as from time to time in effect and any
successor or other regulation or official interpretation of the FRB relating
to
the extension of credit by banks for the purpose of purchasing or carrying
margin stocks applicable to member banks of the Federal Reserve
System.
“Reimbursement
Obligations” means, at any time, the aggregate of all obligations of the
Borrower then outstanding under Section 2.19
to
reimburse the Issuers for amounts paid by the Issuers in respect of any
one or
more drawings under Letters of Credit.
11
“Related
Parties” means, with respect to any Person, such Person’s Affiliates and the
partners, directors, officers, employees, agents and advisors of such Person
and
of such Person’s Affiliates.
“Reportable
Event” means a reportable event as defined in Section 4043 of ERISA and the
regulations issued under such section, with respect to a Plan, excluding,
however, such events as to which the PBGC has by regulation waived the
requirement of Section 4043(a) of ERISA that it be notified within 30 days
of the occurrence of such event; provided
that a
failure to meet the minimum funding standard of Section 412 of the Code and
of Section 302 of ERISA shall be a Reportable Event regardless of the
issuance of any such waiver of the notice requirement in accordance with
either
Section 4043(a) of ERISA or Section 412(d) of the Code.
“Required
Lenders” means Lenders in the aggregate having more than 50% of the Aggregate
Commitment or, if the Aggregate Commitment has been terminated, Lenders
in the
aggregate holding more than 50% of the Aggregate Outstanding Credit
Exposure.
“Re-Transfer”
is defined in Section
2.6(b).
“S&P”
means Standard and Poor’s Ratings Services, a division of The McGraw Hill
Companies, Inc.
“Schedule”
refers to a specific schedule to this Agreement, unless another document
is
specifically referenced.
“SEC”
means the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“Section”
means a numbered section of this Agreement, unless another document is
specifically referenced.
“Shareholders’
Equity” means, as of any date of determination for the Borrower and its
Consolidated Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis, shareholders’ equity as of
that date determined in accordance with GAAP.
“Significant
Subsidiary” means, at any time, KCPL and each other Subsidiary which (i) as of
the date of determination, owns consolidated assets equal to or greater
than 15%
of the consolidated assets of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries or (ii)
which
had consolidated net income from continuing operations (excluding extraordinary
items) during the four most recently ended fiscal quarters equal to or
greater
than 15% of Consolidated Net Income during such period.
“Single
Employer Plan” means a Plan maintained by the Borrower or any member of the
Controlled Group for employees of the Borrower or any member of the Controlled
Group.
“Subsidiary”
of a Person means (i) any corporation more than 50% of the outstanding
securities having ordinary voting power of which shall at the time be owned
or
controlled, directly or indirectly, by such Person or by one or more of
its
Subsidiaries or by such Person and
12
one
or
more of its Subsidiaries, (ii) any partnership, limited liability company,
association, joint venture or similar business organization more than 50%
of the
ownership interests having ordinary voting power of which shall at the
time be
so owned or controlled; or (iii) any other Person the operations and/or
financial results of which are required to be consolidated with those of
such
first Person in accordance with GAAP. Unless otherwise expressly stated,
all
references herein to a “Subsidiary” shall mean a Subsidiary of the
Borrower.
“Substantial
Portion” means, with respect to the Property of the Borrower and its
Subsidiaries, Property which (i) represents more than 10% of the consolidated
assets of the Borrower and its Consolidated Subsidiaries as would be shown
in
the consolidated financial statements of the Borrower and its Consolidated
Subsidiaries as at the beginning of the twelve-month period ending with
the
month in which such determination is made, or (ii) is responsible for more
than
10% of the consolidated net sales or of the Consolidated Net Income of
the
Borrower and its Consolidated Subsidiaries as reflected in the financial
statements referred to in clause (i)
above.
“Swap
Contract” means (i) any and all rate swap transactions, basis swaps, credit
derivative transactions, forward rate transactions, commodity swaps, commodity
options, forward commodity contracts, equity or equity index swaps or options,
bond or bond price or bond index swaps or options or forward bond or forward
bond price or forward bond index transactions, interest rate options, forward
foreign exchange transactions, cap transaction, floor transactions, collar
transactions, currency swap transactions, cross-currency rate swap transactions,
currency options, spot contracts, or any other similar transactions or
any
combination of any of the foregoing (including any options to enter into
any of
the foregoing), whether or not any such transaction is governed by or subject
to
any master agreement, and (ii) any and all transactions of any kind, and
the
related confirmations, which are subject to the terms and conditions of,
or
governed by, any form of master agreement published by the International
Swaps
and Derivatives Association, Inc., any International Foreign Exchange Master
Agreement, or any other master agreement (any such master agreement, together
with any related schedules, a “Master Agreement”), including any such
obligations or liabilities under any Master Agreement.
“Syndication
Agent” means JPMorgan, in its capacity as syndication agent hereunder, and not
in its individual capacity as a Lender, and any successor thereto.
“Synthetic
Lease Obligation” means the monetary obligation of a Person under (i) a
so-called synthetic or off-balance sheet or tax retention lease, or (ii)
an
agreement for the use or possession of property creating obligations that
do not
appear on the balance sheet of such Person but which, upon the insolvency
or
bankruptcy of such Person, would be characterized as the indebtedness of
such
Person (without regard to accounting treatment).
“Taxes”
means any and all present or future taxes, duties, levies, imposts, deductions,
charges or withholdings, and any and all liabilities with respect to the
foregoing, but excluding Excluded Taxes.
13
“’34
Act
Reports” means the periodic reports of the Borrower filed with the SEC on Forms
10-K, 10-Q and 8-K (or any successor forms thereto).
“Total
Capitalization” means Total Indebtedness of the Borrower and its Consolidated
Subsidiaries plus the sum of (i) Shareholder’s Equity (without giving effect to
the application of FASB Statement No. 133 or 149) and (ii) to the extent
not
otherwise included in Indebtedness or Shareholder’s Equity, preferred and
preference stock and securities of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries included
in
a consolidated balance sheet of the Borrower and its Consolidated Subsidiaries
in accordance with GAAP.
“Total
Indebtedness” means all Indebtedness of the Borrower and its Consolidated
Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis (and without duplication), excluding
(i)
Indebtedness arising under Swap Contracts entered into in the ordinary
course of
business to hedge bona fide transactions and business risks and not for
speculation, (ii) Indebtedness of Project Finance Subsidiaries, (iii) Contingent
Obligations incurred after May 15, 1996 with respect to obligations of
Strategic Energy, L.L.C. in an aggregate amount not exceeding $400,000,000
and
(iv) Indebtedness of KLT Investments Inc. incurred in connection with the
acquisition and maintenance of its interests (whether direct or indirect)
in low
income housing projects.
“Transfer”
is defined in Section 2.6(b).
“Type”
means, with respect to any Advance, its nature as a Floating Rate Advance
or a
Eurodollar Advance.
“Unmatured
Default” means an event which but for the lapse of time or the giving of notice,
or both, would constitute a Default.
“Utilization
Fee Rate” means, at any time, the percentage rate per annum at which utilization
fees are accruing at such time as set forth in the Pricing
Schedule.
“Wholly-Owned
Subsidiary” of a Person means (i) any Subsidiary all of the outstanding voting
securities of which shall at the time be owned or controlled, directly
or
indirectly, by such Person or one or more Wholly-Owned Subsidiaries of
such
Person, or by such Person and one or more Wholly-Owned Subsidiaries of
such
Person, or (ii) any partnership, limited liability company, association,
joint
venture or similar business organization 100% of the ownership interests
having
ordinary voting power of which shall at the time be so owned or
controlled.
1.2 Accounting
Principles.
Unless
the context otherwise clearly requires, all accounting terms not expressly
defined herein shall be construed, and all financial computations required
under
this Agreement shall be made, in accordance with GAAP, consistently applied;
provided
that if
the Borrower notifies the Administrative Agent that the Borrower wishes
to amend
any covenant in Section 6
to
eliminate the effect of any change in GAAP on the operation of such covenant
(or
if the Administrative Agent notifies the Borrower that the Required Lenders
wish
to amend any covenant in Section 6
for such
purpose), then the Borrower’s compliance with such covenant shall be determined
on
14
the
basis
of GAAP in effect immediately before the relevant change in GAAP became
effective, until either such notice is withdrawn or such covenant is amended
in
a manner satisfactory to the Borrower and the Required Lenders.
1.3 Letter
of Credit Amounts.
Unless
otherwise specified herein, the amount of a Letter of Credit at any time
shall
be deemed to be the stated amount of such Letter of Credit in effect at
such
time; provided
that
with respect to any Letter of Credit that, by its terms or the terms of
any
Issuer Document related thereto, provides for one or more automatic increases
in
the stated amount thereof, the amount of such Letter of Credit shall be
deemed
to be the maximum stated amount of such Letter of Credit after giving effect
to
all such increases, whether or not such maximum stated amount is in effect
at
such time.
ARTICLE
II
THE
CREDITS
2.1 Commitment.
From
and
including the date of this Agreement and prior to the Facility Termination
Date,
subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement, (a)
each Lender
severally agrees to make Loans to the Borrower from time to time in amounts
not
to exceed in the aggregate at any one time outstanding the amount of
its
Commitment and (b) each Issuer agrees to issue Letters of Credit for
the account
of the Borrower from time to time (and each Lender severally agrees to
participate in each such Letter of Credit as more fully set forth in
Section 2.19);
provided
(i) that
the Aggregate Outstanding Credit Exposure shall not at any time exceed
the
Aggregate Commitment; and (ii) the Outstanding Credit Exposure of any
Lender
shall not at any time exceed the amount of such Lender’s Commitment. Subject to
the terms of this Agreement, the Borrower may borrow, repay and reborrow
at any
time prior to the Facility Termination Date. The Commitments shall expire
on the
Facility Termination Date.
2.2 Required
Payments; Termination.
The
Borrower shall (a) repay the principal amount of all Advances made to
it on the
Facility Termination Date and (b) deposit into the LC Collateral Account
on the
Facility Termination Date an amount in immediately available funds equal
to the
aggregate stated amount of all Letters of Credit that will remain outstanding
after the Facility Termination Date.
2.3 Ratable
Loans.
Each
Advance hereunder shall consist of Loans made from the several Lenders
ratably
in proportion to their respective Pro Rata Shares.
15
2.4 Types
of Advances; Minimum Amount.
The
Advances may be Floating Rate Advances or Eurodollar Advances, or a combination
thereof, selected by the Borrower in accordance with Sections 2.8
and
2.9.
Each
Eurodollar Advance shall be in the amount of $5,000,000 or a higher integral
multiple of $1,000,000, and each Floating Rate Advance shall be in the
amount of
$1,000,000 or an integral multiple thereof.
2.5 Facility
Fee; Utilization Fee.
The
Borrower agrees to pay to the Administrative Agent for the account of
each
Lender (a) a facility fee at a per annum rate equal to the Facility Fee
Rate on
such Lender’s Commitment (regardless of usage) from the date hereof to but
excluding the Facility Termination Date, payable on each Payment Date
and on the
Facility Termination Date and, if applicable, thereafter on demand and
(b) a
utilization fee at a rate per annum equal to the Utilization Fee Rate
on such
Lender’s Outstanding Credit Exposure for any date on which the Aggregate
Outstanding Credit Exposure exceeds 50% of the Aggregate Commitment such
utilization fee to be payable on each Payment Date, on the Facility Termination
Date and, if applicable, thereafter on demand.
2.6 Changes
in Aggregate Commitment.
(a) The
Borrower may permanently reduce the Aggregate Commitment in whole, or
in part
ratably among the Lenders (according to their respective Pro Rata Shares)
in
integral multiples of $5,000,000, upon at least three Business Days’ prior
written notice to the Administrative Agent, which notice shall specify
the
amount of any such reduction; provided
that the
amount of the Aggregate Commitment may not be reduced below the Aggregate
Outstanding Credit Exposure. All accrued facility fees and utilization
fees
shall be payable on the effective date of any termination of the obligations
of
the Lenders to make Loans hereunder.
(b) (i)
Subject to Section 4.2 of the KCPL Credit Agreement, the Borrower and
KCPL may,
by joint election in a written notice to the Administrative Agent (which
shall
promptly provide a copy of such notice to the Lenders) and the “Administrative
Agent” under the KCPL Credit Agreement, transfer up to $200,000,000 of the
unused Commitments to the Commitments (as such term is defined in the
KCPL
Credit Agreement) under the KCPL Credit Agreement (any such reduction,
a
“Transfer”) and (ii) subject to Section 4.2, the Borrower and KCPL may, by joint
election in a written notice to the Administrative Agent (which shall
promptly
provide a copy of such notice to the Lenders) and the “Administrative Agent”
under the KCPL Credit Agreement, re-transfer up to $200,000,000 of the
unused
Commitments (as such term is defined in the KCPL Credit Agreement) previously
transferred from this Agreement to the KCPL Credit Agreement pursuant
to
subclause (b)(i) above back to the Commitments hereunder (any such addition,
a
“Re-Transfer”). For the avoidance of doubt, the parties acknowledge and agree
that after giving effect to any Transfer or Re-Transfer contemplated
in
subclauses (i) and (ii) above, (x) the aggregate Commitments hereunder
shall not
exceed $600,000,000, (y) the aggregate Commitments under and as defined
in the
KCPL Credit Agreement shall not exceed $600,000,000 and (z) the aggregate
commitments under both this Agreement and the KCPL Credit Agreement shall
not
exceed $1,000,000,000.
16
(c) On
the
effective date of a Transfer, which shall be specified in the notice
delivered
pursuant to Section 2.6(b)(i) and which shall not be less than five (5)
Business
Days subsequent to the date of giving of such notice, then subject to
the
satisfaction of the conditions precedent specified in Section 4.2 of
the KCPL
Credit Agreement, (i) the Commitments hereunder shall be ratably decreased
by
the aggregate amount specified in such notice and (ii) the aggregate
amount of
the “Commitments” under and as defined in the KCPL Credit Agreement shall be
ratably increased by such amount. Such Transfer and the consequent decreases
and
increases shall be irrevocable subject, however, to subsequent permissible
Re-Transfers in accordance with the terms hereof.
(d) On
the
effective date of a Re-Transfer, which shall be specified in the notice
delivered pursuant to Section 2.6(b)(ii) and which shall not be less
than five
(5) Business Days subsequent to the date of giving of such notice, then
subject
to the satisfaction of the conditions precedent specified in Section
4.2, (i)
the Commitments hereunder shall be ratably increased by the aggregate
amount
specified in such notice and (ii) the aggregate amount of the “Commitments”
under and as defined in the KCPL Credit Agreement shall be ratably decreased
by
such amount. Such Re-Transfer and the consequent decreases and increases
shall
be irrevocable.
2.7 Optional
Prepayments.
(a) The
Borrower may from time to time prepay Floating Rate Advances upon one
Business
Day’s prior notice to the Administrative Agent, without penalty or premium.
Each
partial prepayment of Floating Rate Advances shall be in an aggregate
amount of
$1,000,000 or an integral multiple thereof.
(b) The
Borrower may from time to time prepay Eurodollar Advances (subject to
the
payment of any funding indemnification amounts required by Section 3.4)
upon
three Business Days’ prior notice to the Administrative Agent, without penalty
or premium. Each partial prepayment of Eurodollar Advances shall be in
an
aggregate amount of $5,000,000 or a higher integral multiple of
$1,000,000.
(c) All
prepayments of Advances shall be applied ratably to the Loans of the
Lenders in
accordance with their respective Pro Rata Shares.
2.8 Method
of Selecting Types and Interest Periods for New
Advances.
The
Borrower shall select the Type of Advance and, in the case of each Eurodollar
Advance, the Interest Period applicable thereto from time to time. The
Borrower
shall give the Administrative Agent irrevocable notice (a “Borrowing Notice”)
not later than noon (Charlotte, North Carolina time) on the Borrowing
Date of
each Floating Rate Advance and not later than noon (Charlotte, North
Carolina
time) three Business Days before the Borrowing Date for each Eurodollar
Advance,
specifying:
(i) the
Borrowing Date, which shall be a Business Day, of such Advance,
17
(ii) the
aggregate amount of such Advance,
(iii) the
Type
of Advance selected, and
(iv) in
the
case of each Eurodollar Advance, the Interest Period applicable
thereto.
Not
later
than 1:00 p.m. (Charlotte, North Carolina time) on each Borrowing Date,
each Lender shall make available its Loan or Loans in funds immediately
available to the Administrative Agent at its address specified pursuant
to
Article XIII.
The
Administrative Agent will make the funds so received from the Lenders
available
to the Borrower at the Administrative Agent’s aforesaid address.
2.9 Conversion
and Continuation of Outstanding Advances.
Floating
Rate Advances shall continue as Floating Rate Advances unless and until
such
Floating Rate Advances are converted into Eurodollar Advances pursuant
to this
Section 2.9
or are
repaid in accordance with Section 2.7.
Each
Eurodollar Advance shall continue as a Eurodollar Advance until the end
of the
then applicable Interest Period therefor, at which time such Eurodollar
Advance
shall be automatically converted into a Floating Rate Advance unless
(x) such
Eurodollar Advance is or was repaid in accordance with Section 2.7
or (y)
the Borrower shall have given the Administrative Agent a Conversion/Continuation
Notice (as defined below) requesting that, at the end of such Interest
Period,
such Eurodollar Advance continue as a Eurodollar Advance for the same
or another
Interest Period. Subject to the terms of Section 2.4,
the
Borrower may elect from time to time to convert all or any part of a
Floating
Rate Advance into a Eurodollar Advance. The Borrower shall give the
Administrative Agent irrevocable notice (a “Conversion/Continuation Notice”) of
each conversion of a Floating Rate Advance into a Eurodollar Advance
or
continuation of a Eurodollar Advance not later than 11:00 a.m. (Charlotte,
North Carolina time) at least three Business Days prior to the date of
the
requested conversion or continuation, specifying:
(i) the
requested date, which shall be a Business Day, of such conversion or
continuation,
(ii) the
aggregate amount and Type of the Advance which is to be converted or
continued,
and
(iii) the
amount of such Advance which is to be converted into or continued as
a
Eurodollar Advance and the duration of the Interest Period applicable
thereto.
2.10 Changes
in Interest Rate, etc.
Each
Floating Rate Advance shall bear interest on the outstanding principal
amount
thereof, for each day from and including the date such Advance is made
or is
automatically converted from a Eurodollar Advance into a Floating Rate
Advance
pursuant to Section 2.9,
to but
excluding the date it is paid or is converted into a Eurodollar Advance
pursuant
to Section 2.9
hereof,
at a rate per annum equal to the Alternate Base Rate for such day. Changes
18
in
the
rate of interest on that portion of any Advance maintained as a Floating
Rate
Advance will take effect simultaneously with each change in the Alternate
Base
Rate. Each Eurodollar Advance shall bear interest on the outstanding
principal
amount thereof from and including the first day of the Interest Period
applicable thereto to (but not including) the last day of such Interest
Period
at the interest rate determined by the Administrative Agent as applicable
to
such Eurodollar Advance based upon the Borrower’s selections under Sections 2.8
and
2.9
and
otherwise in accordance with the terms hereof. No Interest Period may
end after
the Facility Termination Date.
2.11 Rates
Applicable After Default.
Notwithstanding
anything to the contrary contained in Section 2.8
or
2.9,
during
the continuance of a Default or Unmatured Default the Required Lenders
may, at
their option, by notice to the Borrower (which notice may be revoked
at the
option of the Required Lenders notwithstanding any provision of Section 8.2
requiring unanimous consent of the Lenders to changes in interest rates),
declare that no Advance may be made as, converted into or continued as
a
Eurodollar Advance. During the continuance of a Default the Required
Lenders
may, at their option, by notice to the Borrower (which notice may be
revoked at
the option of the Required Lenders notwithstanding any provision of Section 8.2
requiring unanimous consent of the Lenders to changes in interest rates),
declare that (i) each Eurodollar Advance shall bear interest for the
remainder
of the applicable Interest Period at the rate otherwise applicable to
such
Interest Period plus 2% per annum, (ii) each Floating Rate Advance shall
bear
interest at a rate per annum equal to the Alternate Base Rate in effect
from
time to time plus 2% per annum and (iii) the Letter of Credit Fee Rate
shall be
increased by 2% per annum; provided
that,
during the continuance of a Default under Section 7.6
or
7.7,
the
interest rates set forth in clauses (i)
and
(ii)
above
and the increase in the Letter of Credit Fee Rate set forth in clause (iii)
above
shall be applicable to all applicable Credit Extensions without any election
or
action on the part of the Administrative Agent or any Lender.
2.12 Method
of Payment.
All
payments of the Obligations hereunder shall be made, without setoff,
deduction,
or counterclaim, in immediately available funds to the Administrative
Agent at
the Administrative Agent’s address specified pursuant to Article XIII,
or at
any other Lending Installation of the Administrative Agent specified
in writing
by the Administrative Agent to the Borrower, by 1:00 p.m. (Charlotte, North
Carolina time) on the date when due and shall be applied ratably by the
Administrative Agent among the Lenders in accordance with their respective
Pro
Rata Shares. Each payment delivered to the Administrative Agent for the
account
of any Lender shall be delivered promptly by the Administrative Agent
to such
Lender in the same type of funds that the Administrative Agent received
at its
address specified pursuant to Article XIII
or at
any Lending Installation specified in a notice received by the Administrative
Agent from such Lender.
19
2.13 Noteless
Agreement; Evidence of Indebtedness.
(i) Each
Lender shall maintain in accordance with its usual practice an account
or
accounts evidencing the indebtedness of the Borrower to such Lender resulting
from each Loan made by such Lender from time to time, including the amounts
of
principal and interest payable and paid to such Lender from time to time
hereunder.
(ii) The
Administrative Agent shall also maintain accounts in which it will record
(a)
the amount of each Loan made hereunder, the Type thereof and the Interest
Period
with respect thereto, (b) the amount of any principal or interest due
and
payable or to become due and payable from the Borrower to each Lender
hereunder,
(c) the original stated amount of each Letter of Credit and the amount
of Letter
of Credit Obligations outstanding at any time and (d) the amount of any
sum
received by the Administrative Agent hereunder from the Borrower and
each
Lender’s share thereof.
(iii) The
entries maintained in the accounts maintained pursuant to clauses (i)
and
(ii)
above
shall be prima
facie
evidence
of the existence and amounts of the Obligations therein recorded; provided that
the
failure of the Administrative Agent or any Lender to maintain such accounts
or
any error therein shall not in any manner affect the obligation of the
Borrower
to repay the Obligations in accordance with their terms.
(iv) Any
Lender may request that its Loans be evidenced by a promissory note
substantially in the form of Exhibit D
(a
“Note”). In such event, the Borrower shall prepare, execute and deliver to
such
Lender a Note payable to the order of such Lender. Thereafter, the Loans
evidenced by such Note and interest thereon shall at all times (including
after
any assignment pursuant to Section 12.1(b))
be
represented by one or more Notes payable to the order of the payee named
therein
or any assignee pursuant to Section 12.1(b),
except
to the extent that any such Lender or assignee subsequently returns any
such
Note for cancellation and requests that such Loans once again be evidenced
as
described in clauses (i)
and
(ii)
above.
2.14 Telephonic
Notices.
The
Borrower hereby authorizes the Lenders and the Administrative Agent to
extend,
convert or continue Advances, effect selections of Types of Advances
and to
transfer funds based on telephonic notices made by any person or persons
the
Administrative Agent or any Lender in good faith believes to be acting
on behalf
of the Borrower. The Borrower agrees to deliver promptly to the Administrative
Agent a written confirmation, if such confirmation is requested by the
Administrative Agent or any Lender, of each telephonic notice signed
by an
Authorized Officer. If the written confirmation differs in any material
respect
from the action taken by the Administrative Agent and the Lenders, the
records
of the Administrative Agent and the Lenders shall govern absent manifest
error.
2.15 Interest
Payment Dates; Interest and Fee Basis.
Interest
accrued on each Floating Rate Advance shall be payable on each Payment
Date,
commencing with the first such date to occur after the date hereof, and
at
maturity. Interest
20
accrued
on each Eurodollar Advance shall be payable on the last day of its applicable
Interest Period, on any date on which such Eurodollar Advance is prepaid,
whether by acceleration or otherwise, and at maturity. Interest accrued
on each
Eurodollar Advance having an Interest Period longer than three months
shall also
be payable on the last day of each three-month interval during such Interest
Period. All computations of interest for Floating Rate Loans when the
Alternate
Base Rate is determined by the Prime Rate shall be made on the basis
of a year
of 365 or 366 days, as the case may be, and actual days elapsed. All
other
computations of interest and fees shall be calculated for actual days
elapsed on
the basis of a 360-day year. Interest shall be payable for the day an
Advance is
made but not for the day of any payment on the amount paid if payment
is
received prior to 1:00 p.m. (Charlotte, North Carolina time) at the place
of payment (it being understood that the Administrative Agent shall be
deemed to
have received a payment prior to 1:00 p.m. (Charlotte, North Carolina time)
if (x) the Borrower has provided the Administrative Agent with evidence
satisfactory to the Administrative Agent that the Borrower has initiated
a wire
transfer of such payment prior to such time and (y) the Administrative
Agent
actually receives such payment on the same Business Day on which such
wire
transfer was initiated). If any payment of principal of or interest on
an
Advance shall become due on a day which is not a Business Day, such payment
shall be made on the next succeeding Business Day and, in the case of
a
principal payment, such extension of time shall be included in computing
interest in connection with such payment.
2.16 Notification
of Advances, Interest Rates, Prepayments and Commitment
Reductions.
Promptly
after receipt thereof, the Administrative Agent will notify each Lender
of the
contents of each Aggregate Commitment reduction notice, Borrowing Notice,
Conversion/Continuation Notice, and repayment notice received by it hereunder.
The Administrative Agent will notify each Lender of the interest rate
applicable
to each Eurodollar Advance promptly upon determination of such interest
rate and
will give each Lender prompt notice of each change in the Alternate Base
Rate.
The Administrative Agent will also promptly notify each Lender of any
increase
or reduction of the Aggregate Commitments pursuant to the terms
hereof.
2.17 Lending
Installations.
Each
Lender may book its Loans at any Lending Installation selected by such
Lender
and may change its Lending Installation from time to time. All terms
of this
Agreement shall apply to any such Lending Installation and the Loans
and any
Notes issued hereunder shall be deemed held by each Lender for the benefit
of
such Lending Installation. Each Lender may, by written notice to the
Administrative Agent and the Borrower in accordance with Article XIII,
designate replacement or additional Lending Installations through which
Loans
will be made by it and for whose account Loan payments are to be
made.
2.18 Non-Receipt
of Funds by the Administrative Agent.
Unless
the Borrower or a Lender, as the case may be, notifies the Administrative
Agent
prior to the date on which it is scheduled to make payment to the Administrative
Agent of (i) in
21
the
case
of a Lender, the proceeds of a Loan or (ii) in the case of the Borrower,
a
payment of principal, interest or fees to the Administrative Agent for
the
account of the Lenders, that it does not intend to make such payment,
the
Administrative Agent may assume that such payment has been made. The
Administrative Agent may, but shall not be obligated to, make the amount
of such
payment available to the intended recipient in reliance upon such assumption.
If
such Lender or the Borrower, as the case may be, has not in fact made
such
payment to the Administrative Agent, the recipient of such payment shall,
on
demand by the Administrative Agent, repay to the Administrative Agent
the amount
so made available together with interest thereon in respect of each day
during
the period commencing on the date such amount was so made available by
the
Administrative Agent until the date the Administrative Agent recovers
such
amount at a rate per annum equal to (x) in the case of payment by a Lender,
the
Federal Funds Effective Rate for such day or (y) in the case of payment
by the
Borrower, the interest rate applicable to the relevant Loan.
2.19 Letters
of Credit.
(a) Issuance.
Each
Issuer hereby agrees, on the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement,
to issue Letters of Credit and to extend, increase, decrease or otherwise
modify
Letters of Credit (“Modify,” and each such action a “Modification”) from time to
time from and including the date of this Agreement and prior to the Facility
Termination Date upon the request of the Borrower; provided
that
immediately after each such Letter of Credit is issued or Modified, the
Aggregate Outstanding Credit Exposure shall not exceed the Aggregate
Commitment.
No Letter of Credit shall have an expiry date later than the date that
is five
days prior to the scheduled Facility Termination Date. All Existing Letters
of
Credit shall be deemed to have been issued pursuant hereto, and from
and after
the Closing Date shall be subject to and governed by the terms and conditions
hereof.
(b) Participations.
Upon
the issuance or Modification by any Issuer of a Letter of Credit in accordance
with this Section 2.19,
such
Issuer shall be deemed, without further action by any Person, to have
unconditionally and irrevocably sold to each Lender, and each Lender
shall be
deemed, without further action by any Person, to have unconditionally
and
irrevocably purchased from such Issuer, a participation in such Letter
of Credit
(and each Modification thereof) and the related Letter of Credit Obligations
in
proportion to its Pro Rata Share.
(c) Notice.
Subject
to Section 2.19(a),
the
Borrower shall give the applicable Issuer and the Administrative Agent
notice
prior to 11:00 a.m. (Charlotte, North Carolina time) at least three
Business Days (or such lesser period of time as such Issuer may agree
in its
sole discretion) prior to the proposed date of issuance or Modification
of each
Letter of Credit, specifying the beneficiary, the proposed date of issuance
(or
Modification) and the expiry date of such Letter of Credit, and describing
the
proposed terms of such Letter of Credit and the nature of the transactions
proposed to be supported thereby. Upon receipt of such notice, the applicable
Issuer shall promptly notify the Administrative Agent, and the Administrative
Agent shall promptly notify each Lender, of the contents thereof and
of the
amount of such Lender’s participation in such proposed Letter of Credit. The
issuance or Modification by an Issuer of any Letter of Credit shall,
in addition
to the conditions precedent set forth in Article IV
(the
satisfaction of which such Issuer shall have no duty to ascertain, it
being
understood, however, that such Issuer
22
shall
not
issue any Letter of Credit if it has received written notice from the
Borrower,
the Administrative Agent or any Lender one day prior to the proposed
date of
issuance, that any such condition precedent has not been satisfied),
be subject
to the conditions precedent that such Letter of Credit shall be satisfactory
to
such Issuer and that the Borrower shall have executed and delivered such
application agreement and/or such other instruments and agreements relating
to
such Letter of Credit as such Issuer shall have reasonably requested
(each a
“Letter of Credit Application”). In the event of any conflict between the terms
of this Agreement and the terms of any Letter of Credit Application,
the terms
of this Agreement shall control.
(d) Letter
of Credit Fees.
The
Borrower shall pay to the Administrative Agent, for the account of the
Lenders
ratably in accordance with their respective Pro Rata Shares, with respect
to
each Letter of Credit, a letter of credit fee (the “Letter of Credit Fee”) at a
per annum rate equal to the Letter of Credit Fee Rate in effect from
time to
time on the daily maximum amount available under such Letter of Credit,
such fee
to be payable in arrears on each Payment Date, on the Facility Termination
Date
and, if applicable, thereafter on demand. The Borrower shall also pay
to each
Issuer for its own account (x) a fronting fee in the amount agreed to
by such
Issuer and the Borrower from time to time, with such fee to be payable
in
arrears on each Payment Date, and (y) documentary and processing charges
in
connection with the issuance or Modification of and draws under Letters
of
Credit in accordance with such Issuer’s standard schedule for such charges as in
effect from time to time.
(e) Administration;
Reimbursement by Lenders.
Upon
receipt from the beneficiary of any Letter of Credit of any demand for
payment
under such Letter of Credit, the applicable Issuer shall notify the
Administrative Agent and the Administrative Agent shall promptly notify
the
Borrower and each Lender of the amount to be paid by such Issuer as a
result of
such demand and the proposed payment date (the “Letter of Credit Payment Date”).
The responsibility of any Issuer to the Borrower and each Lender shall
be only
to determine that the documents delivered under each Letter of Credit
issued by
such Issuer in connection with a demand for payment are in conformity
in all
material respects with such Letter of Credit. Each Issuer shall endeavor
to
exercise the same care in its issuance and administration of Letters
of Credit
as it does with respect to letters of credit in which no participations
are
granted, it being understood that in the absence of any gross negligence
or
willful misconduct by such Issuer, each Lender shall be unconditionally
and
irrevocably obligated, without regard to the occurrence of any Default
or any
condition precedent whatsoever, to reimburse such Issuer on demand for
(i) such
Lender’s Pro Rata Share of the amount of each payment made by such Issuer under
each Letter of Credit to the extent such amount is not reimbursed by
the
Borrower pursuant to Section 2.19(f)
below,
plus (ii) interest on the foregoing amount, for each day from the date
of the
applicable payment by such Issuer to the date on which such Issuer is
reimbursed
by such Lender for its Pro Rata Share thereof, at a rate per annum equal
to the
Federal Funds Effective Rate or, beginning on third Business Day after
demand
for such amount by such Issuer, the rate applicable to Floating Rate
Advances.
(f) Reimbursement
by Borrower.
The
Borrower shall be irrevocably and unconditionally obligated to reimburse
each
Issuer through the Administrative Agent on or before the applicable Letter
of
Credit Payment Date for any amount to be paid by such Issuer upon any
drawing
under any Letter of Credit, without presentment, demand, protest or other
23
formalities
of any kind; provided
that the
Borrower shall not be precluded from asserting any claim for direct (but
not
consequential) damages suffered by the Borrower which the Borrower proves
were
caused by (i) the willful misconduct or gross negligence of such Issuer
in
determining whether a request presented under any Letter of Credit complied
with
the terms of such Letter of Credit or (ii) such Issuer’s failure to pay under
any Letter of Credit after the presentation to it of a request strictly
complying with the terms and conditions of such Letter of Credit. All
such
amounts paid by an Issuer and remaining unpaid by the Borrower shall
bear
interest, payable on demand, for each day until paid at a rate per annum
equal
to the sum of 2% plus the rate applicable to Floating Rate Advances.
The
Administrative Agent will pay to each Lender ratably in accordance with
its Pro
Rata Share all amounts received by it from the Borrower for application
in
payment, in whole or in part, of the Reimbursement Obligation in respect
of any
Letter of Credit, but only to the extent such Lender made payment to
the
applicable Issuer in respect of such Letter of Credit pursuant to Section 2.19(e).
(g) Obligations
Absolute.
The
Borrower’s obligations under this Section 2.19
shall be
absolute and unconditional under any and all circumstances and irrespective
of
any setoff, counterclaim or defense to payment which the Borrower may
have or
have had against any Issuer, any Lender or any beneficiary of a Letter
of
Credit. The Borrower further agrees with the Issuers and the Lenders
that
neither any Issuer nor any Lender shall be responsible for, and the Borrower’s
Reimbursement Obligation in respect of any Letter of Credit shall not
be
affected by, among other things, the validity or genuineness of documents
or of
any endorsements thereon, even if such documents should in fact prove
to be in
any or all respects invalid, fraudulent or forged, or any dispute between
or
among the Borrower, any of its Affiliates, the beneficiary of any Letter
of
Credit or any financing institution or other party to whom any Letter
of Credit
may be transferred or any claims or defenses whatsoever of the Borrower
or of
any of its Affiliates against the beneficiary of any Letter of Credit
or any
such transferee. No Issuer shall be liable for any error, omission, interruption
or delay in transmission, dispatch or delivery of any message or advice,
however
transmitted, in connection with any Letter of Credit. The Borrower agrees
that
any action taken or omitted by any Issuer or any Lender under or in connection
with any Letter of Credit and the related drafts and documents, if done
without
gross negligence or willful misconduct, shall be binding upon the Borrower
and
shall not put any Issuer or any Lender under any liability to the Borrower.
Nothing in this Section 2.19(g)
is
intended to limit the right of the Borrower to make a claim against any
Issuer
for damages as contemplated by the proviso to the first sentence of Section 2.19(f).
(h) Actions
of Issuers.
Each
Issuer shall be entitled to rely, and shall be fully protected in relying,
upon
any Letter of Credit, draft, writing, resolution, notice, consent, certificate,
affidavit, letter, cablegram, telegram, facsimile, telex or teletype
message,
statement, order or other document believed by it to be genuine and correct
and
to have been signed, sent or made by the proper Person or Persons, and
upon
advice and statements of legal counsel, independent accountants and other
experts selected by such Issuer. Each Issuer shall be fully justified
in failing
or refusing to take any action under this Agreement unless it shall first
have
received such advice or concurrence of the Required Lenders as it reasonably
deems appropriate or it shall first be indemnified to its reasonable
satisfaction by the Lenders against any and all liability and expense
which may
be incurred by it by reason of taking or continuing to take any such
action.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section 2.19,
each
Issuer shall in all
24
cases
be
fully protected in acting, or in refraining from acting, under this Agreement
in
accordance with a request of the Required Lenders, and such request and
any
action taken or failure to act pursuant thereto shall be binding upon
the
Lenders and any future holder of a participation in any Letter of Credit
issued
by such Issuer.
(i) Indemnification.
The
Borrower agrees to indemnify and hold harmless each Lender, each Issuer
and the
Administrative Agent, and their respective directors, officers, agents
and
employees, from and against any and all claims and damages, losses, liabilities,
costs or expenses which such Person may incur (or which may be claimed
against
such Person by any other Person whatsoever) by reason of or in connection
with
the issuance, execution and delivery or transfer of or payment or failure
to pay
under any Letter of Credit or any actual or proposed use of any Letter
of
Credit, including any claims, damages, losses, liabilities, costs or
expenses
which any Issuer may incur by reason of or in connection with (i) the
failure of
any other Lender to fulfill or comply with its obligations to such Issuer
hereunder (but nothing herein contained shall affect any right the Borrower
may
have against any defaulting Lender) or (ii) by reason of or on account
of such
Issuer issuing any Letter of Credit which specifies that the term “Beneficiary”
therein includes any successor by operation of law of the named Beneficiary,
but
which Letter of Credit does not require that any drawing by any such
successor
Beneficiary be accompanied by a copy of a legal document, satisfactory
to such
Issuer, evidencing the appointment of such successor Beneficiary; provided
that the
Borrower shall not be required to indemnify any Person for any claims,
damages,
losses, liabilities, costs or expenses to the extent, but only to the
extent,
caused by (x) the willful misconduct or gross negligence of any Issuer
in
determining whether a request presented under any Letter of Credit issued
by
such Issuer complied with the terms of such Letter of Credit or (y) any
Issuer’s
failure to pay under any Letter of Credit issued by it after the presentation
to
it of a request strictly complying with the terms and conditions of such
Letter
of Credit. Nothing in this Section 2.19(i)
is
intended to limit the obligations of the Borrower under any other provision
of
this Agreement.
(j) Lenders’
Indemnification.
Each
Lender shall, ratably in accordance with its Pro Rata Share, indemnify
each
Issuer and its Affiliates and their respective directors, officers, agents
and
employees (to the extent not reimbursed by the Borrower) against any
cost,
expense (including reasonable counsel fees and charges), claim, demand,
action,
loss or liability (except such as result from such indemnitees’ gross negligence
or willful misconduct or such Issuer’s failure to pay under any Letter of Credit
issued by it after the presentation to it of a request strictly complying
with
the terms and conditions of such Letter of Credit) that such indemnitees
may
suffer or incur in connection with this Section 2.19
or any
action taken or omitted by such indemnitees hereunder.
(k) LC
Collateral Account.
The
Borrower agrees that it will establish on the Facility Termination Date
(or on
such earlier date as may be required pursuant to Section 8.1),
and
thereafter maintain so long as any Letter of Credit Obligation remains
outstanding or any other amount is payable to any Issuer or the Lenders
in
respect of any Letter of Credit, a special collateral account pursuant
to
arrangements satisfactory to the Administrative Agent (the “LC Collateral
Account”) at the Administrative Agent’s office at the address specified pursuant
to Article XIII,
in the
name of the Borrower but under the sole dominion and control of the
Administrative Agent, for the benefit of the Lenders, and in which the
Borrower
shall have no
25
interest
other than as set forth in Section 8.1.
The
Borrower hereby pledges, assigns and grants to the Administrative Agent,
on
behalf of and for the ratable benefit of the Lenders and the Issuers,
a security
interest in all of the Borrower’s right, title and interest in and to all funds
which may from time to time be on deposit in the LC Collateral Account,
to
secure the prompt and complete payment and performance of the Obligations.
The
Administrative Agent will invest any funds on deposit from time to time
in the
LC Collateral Account in certificates of deposit of Bank of America having
a
maturity not exceeding 30 days. If funds are deposited in the LC Collateral
Account pursuant to Section 2.2(b)
and the
provisions of Section 8.1
are not
applicable,
then
the Administrative Agent shall release from the LC Collateral Account
to the
Borrower, upon the request of the Borrower, an amount
equal to
the excess (if any) of all funds in the LC Collateral Account over the
Letter of
Credit Obligations.
(l) Issuers’
Obligation to Issue Letters of Credit.
No
Issuer shall be under any obligation to issue any Letter of Credit
if:
(i) any
order, judgment or decree of any Governmental Authority or arbitrator
shall by
its terms purport to enjoin or restrain such Issuer from issuing such
Letter of
Credit, or any law applicable to such Issuer or any request or directive
(whether or not having the force of law) from any Governmental Authority
with
jurisdiction over such Issuer shall prohibit, or request that such Issuer
refrain from, the issuance of letters of credit generally or such Letter
of
Credit in particular or shall impose upon such Issuer with respect to
such
Letter of Credit any restriction, reserve or capital requirement (for
which such
Issuer is not otherwise compensated hereunder) not in effect on the Closing
Date, or shall impose upon such Issuer any unreimbursed loss, cost or
expense
which was not applicable on the Closing Date and which such Issuer in
good xxxxx
xxxxx material to it;
(ii) the
issuance of such Letter of Credit would violate one or more policies
of such
Issuer applicable to letters of credit generally; or
(iii) except
as
otherwise agreed by the Administrative Agent and the applicable Issuer,
such
Letter of Credit is in an initial stated amount less than $250,000.
(m) Rights
as a Lender.
In its
capacity as a Lender, each Issuer shall have the same rights and obligations
as
any other Lender.
2.20 Extension
of Facility Termination Date.
(a) Request
for Extension.
The
Borrower may by notice to the Administrative Agent (who shall promptly
notify
the Lenders) given not more than 60 days and not less than 45 days prior
to any
anniversary of the Closing Date, request that each Lender extend the
Facility
Termination Date for an additional one year from the then existing Facility
Termination Date; provided,
that
the Borrower shall only be permitted to exercise this extension option
two times
during the term of the Agreement.
(b) Lenders
Election to Extend.
Each
Lender, acting in its sole and individual discretion, shall, by notice
to the
Administrative Agent given not later than 15 days following the
26
receipt
of notice of such request from the Administrative Agent (the “Notice Date”),
advise the Administrative Agent in writing whether or not such Lender
agrees to
such extension (and each Lender that determines not to so extend its
Facility
Termination Date (a “Non-Extending Lender”) shall notify the Administrative
Agent of such fact promptly after such determination (but in any event
no later
than the Notice Date) and any Lender that does not so advise the Administrative
Agent on or before the Notice Date shall be deemed to be a Non-Extending
Lender.
The election of any Lender to agree to such extension shall not obligate
any
other Lender to so agree.
(c) Notification
by Administrative Agent.
The
Administrative Agent shall notify the Borrower of each Lender’s determination
under this Section no later than the date 15 days after the Notice Date
(or, if such date is not a Business Day, on the next preceding Business
Day).
(d) Additional
Commitment Lenders.
The
Borrower shall have the right on or before the applicable anniversary
of the
Closing Date to replace each Non-Extending Lender with, and add as “Lenders”
under this Agreement in place
thereof,
one or more Eligible Assignees (each, an “Additional Commitment Lender”) as
provided in Section 12.2,
each of
which Additional Commitment Lenders shall have entered into an Assignment
Agreement pursuant to which such Additional Commitment Lender shall,
undertake,
a Commitment (and, if any such Additional Commitment Lender is already
a Lender,
its Commitment shall be in addition to such Lender’s Commitment hereunder on
such date)
and
shall be a “Lender” for all purposes of this Agreement.
(e) Minimum
Extension Requirement.
If all
of the Lenders agree to any such request for extension of the Facility
Termination Date then the Facility Termination for all Lenders shall
be extended
for the additional one year, as applicable. If there exists any Non-Extending
Lenders then the Borrower shall (i) withdraw its extension request and
the
Facility Termination Date will remain unchanged or (ii) provided that
the
Required Lenders (but for the avoidance of doubt, not including any Additional
Commitment Lenders) have agreed to the extension request (such Lenders
agreeing
to such extension, the “Approving Lenders”), then the Borrower may extend the
Facility Termination Date solely as to the Approving Lenders and the
Additional
Commitment Lenders with a reduced amount of Aggregate Commitments during
such
extension period equal to the aggregate Commitments of the Approving
Lenders and
the Additional Commitment Lenders; it being understood that (A) the Facility
Termination Date relating to any Non-Extending Lenders not replaced by
an
Additional Commitment Lender shall not be extended and the repayment
of all
obligations owed to them and the termination of their Commitments shall
occur on
the already existing Facility Termination Date and (B) the Facility Termination
Date relating to the Approving Lenders and the Additional Commitment
Lenders
shall be extended for an additional year, as applicable.
(f) Conditions
to Effectiveness of Extensions.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, any extension of the Facility Termination
Date
pursuant to this Section shall not be effective with respect to any Lender
unless:
(i) no
Default or Unmatured Default shall have occurred and be continuing on
the date
of such extension and after giving effect thereto;
27
(ii) the
representations
and
warranties contained in Article
V
are true
and correct on and as of the date of such extension except to the extent
any
such representation or warranty is stated to relate solely to an earlier
date,
in which case such representation or warranty shall have been true and
correct
on and as of such earlier date; and
(iii) on
any
Facility Termination Date, the Borrower shall prepay any Loans outstanding
on
such date (and pay any additional amounts required pursuant to Section 3.4)
to the
extent necessary to keep outstanding Loans ratable with any revised Pro
Rata
Shares of the respective Lenders effective as of such date.
ARTICLE
III
YIELD
PROTECTION; TAXES
3.1 Yield
Protection.
If,
on or
after the date of this Agreement, the adoption of any law or any governmental
or
quasi-governmental rule, regulation, policy, guideline or directive
(whether or
not having the force of law), or any change in the interpretation or
administration thereof by any governmental or quasi-governmental authority,
central bank or comparable agency charged with the interpretation or
administration thereof, or compliance by any Lender, any applicable
Lending
Installation or any Issuer with any request or directive (whether or
not having
the force of law) of any such authority, central bank or comparable
agency:
(i) subjects
any Lender, any applicable Lending Installation or any Issuer to any
Taxes, or
changes the basis of taxation of payments (other than with respect
to Excluded
Taxes) to any Lender in respect of its Eurodollar Loans or Letters
of Credit or
participations therein, or
(ii) imposes
or increases or deems applicable any reserve, assessment, insurance
charge,
special deposit or similar requirement against assets of, deposits
with or for
the account of, or credit extended by, any Lender, any applicable Lending
Installation or any Issuer (other than reserves and assessments taken
into
account in determining the interest rate applicable to Eurodollar Advances),
or
(iii) imposes
any other condition the result of which is to increase the cost to
any Lender,
any applicable Lending Installation or any Issuer of making, funding
or
maintaining its Eurodollar Loans or of issuing or participating in
Letters of
Credit or reduces any amount receivable by any Lender, any applicable
Lending
Installation or any Issuer in connection with its Eurodollar Loans
or Letters of
Credit, or requires any Lender, any applicable Lending Installation
or any
Issuer to make any payment calculated by reference to the amount of
Eurodollar
Loans or Letters of Credit held or interest received by it, by an amount
deemed
material by such Lender or such Issuer, as the case may be,
28
and
the
result of any of the foregoing is to increase the cost to such Lender,
the
applicable Lending Installation or such Issuer of making or maintaining
its
Eurodollar Loans, Letters of Credit or Commitment or to reduce the
return
received by such Lender, the applicable Lending Installation or such
Issuer in
connection with such Eurodollar Loans, Letters of Credit or Commitment,
then,
within 15 days of demand by such Lender or such Issuer, the Borrower
shall pay
such Lender or such Issuer such additional amount or amounts as will
compensate
such Lender or such Issuer for such increased cost or reduction in
amount
received.
3.2 Changes
in Capital Adequacy Regulations.
If
a
Lender or an Issuer determines the amount of capital required or expected
to be
maintained by such Lender, any Lending Installation of such Lender,
such Issuer
or any corporation controlling such Lender or such Issuer is increased
as a
result of a Change, then, within 15 days of demand by such Lender or
such
Issuer, the Borrower shall pay such Lender or such Issuer the amount
necessary
to compensate for any shortfall in the rate of return on the portion
of such
increased capital which such Lender or such Issuer determines is attributable
to
this Agreement, its Outstanding Credit Exposure or its Commitment to
make Loans
or to issue or participate in Letters of Credit hereunder (after taking
into
account such Lender’s policies as to capital adequacy). “Change” means (i) any
change after the date of this Agreement in (or in the interpretation
of) the
Risk-Based Capital Guidelines or (ii) any adoption of or change in
(or any
change in the interpretation of) any other law, governmental or
quasi-governmental rule, regulation, policy, guideline, interpretation,
or
directive (whether or not having the force of law) after the date of
this
Agreement which affects the amount of capital required or expected
to be
maintained by any Lender, any Lending Installation, any Issuer or any
corporation controlling any Lender or any Issuer. “Risk-Based Capital
Guidelines” means (x) the risk-based capital guidelines in effect in the United
States on the date of this Agreement, including transition rules, and
(y) the
corresponding capital regulations promulgated by regulatory authorities
outside
the United States implementing the July 1988 report of the Basle Committee
on Banking Regulation and Supervisory Practices Entitled “International
Convergence of Capital Measurements and Capital Standards,” including transition
rules, and any amendments to such regulations adopted prior to the
date of this
Agreement.
3.3 Availability
of Types of Advances.
If
(i)
any Lender determines that maintenance of its Eurodollar Loans at a
suitable
Lending Installation would violate any applicable law, rule, regulation,
or
directive, whether or not having the force of law, (ii) the Required
Lenders
determine that (a) deposits of a type and maturity appropriate to match
fund
Eurodollar Advances are not available or (b) the interest rate applicable
to a
Type of Advance does not accurately reflect the cost of making or maintaining
such Advance or (iii) the Administrative Agent determines that adequate
and
reasonable means do not exist for determining the Eurodollar Base Rate,
then the
Administrative Agent shall suspend the availability of the affected
Type of
Advance and, in the case of clause (i),
require
any affected Eurodollar Advances to be repaid or converted to Floating
Rate
Advances, subject to the payment of any funding indemnification amounts
required
by Section 3.4.
29
3.4 Funding
Indemnification.
If
any
conversion, prepayment or payment of a Eurodollar Advance occurs on
a date which
is not the last day of the applicable Interest Period, whether because
of
acceleration, prepayment or otherwise, or a Eurodollar Advance is not
made,
paid, continued or converted on the date or in the amount specified
by the
Borrower for any reason other than default by the Lenders, the Borrower
will
indemnify each Lender for any loss or cost incurred by it resulting
therefrom,
including any loss or cost in liquidating or employing deposits acquired
to fund
or maintain such Eurodollar Advance.
3.5 Taxes.
(i) All
payments by the Borrower to or for the account of any Lender, any Issuer
or the
Administrative Agent hereunder or under any Note shall be made free
and clear of
and without deduction for any and all Taxes. If the Borrower shall
be required
by law to deduct any Taxes from or in respect of any sum payable hereunder
to
any Lender, any Issuer or the Administrative Agent, (a) the sum payable
shall be
increased as necessary so that after making all required deductions
(including
deductions applicable to additional sums payable under this Section 3.5)
such
Lender, such Issuer or the Administrative Agent (as the case may be)
receives an
amount equal to the sum it would have received had no such deductions
been made,
(b) the Borrower shall make such deductions, (c) the Borrower shall
pay the full
amount deducted to the relevant authority in accordance with applicable
law and
(d) the Borrower shall furnish to the Administrative Agent the original
copy of
a receipt evidencing payment thereof within 30 days after such payment
is
made.
(ii) In
addition, the Borrower hereby agrees to pay any present or future stamp
or
documentary taxes and any other excise or property taxes, charges or
similar
levies which arise from any payment made hereunder or under any Note
or Letter
of Credit Application or from the execution or delivery of, or otherwise
with
respect to, this Agreement, any Note or any Letter of Credit Application
(“Other
Taxes”).
(iii) The
Borrower hereby agrees to indemnify the Administrative Agent, each
Lender and
each Issuer for the full amount of Taxes or Other Taxes (including
any Taxes or
Other Taxes imposed on amounts payable under this Section 3.5)
paid by
the Administrative Agent, such Lender or such Issuer and any liability
(including penalties, interest and expenses) arising therefrom or with
respect
thereto. Payments due under this indemnification shall be made within
30 days of
the date the Administrative Agent, such Lender or such Issuer makes
demand
therefor pursuant to Section 3.6.
(iv) Each
Lender that is not incorporated under the laws of the United States
of America
or a state thereof (each a “Non-U.S. Lender”) agrees that it will, not less than
ten Business Days after the date of this Agreement (or, if later, the
date it
becomes a party hereto), (i) deliver to each of the Borrower and the
Administrative Agent two duly completed copies of United States Internal
Revenue
Service Form W-8BEN or W-8ECI, certifying in either case that such Lender
is entitled to receive payments under this Agreement without deduction
or
withholding of any United States federal income taxes, and (ii) deliver
to each
of the Borrower
30
and
the
Administrative Agent a United States Internal Revenue Form W-8BEN or W-9,
as the case may be, and certify that it is entitled to an exemption
from United
States backup withholding tax. Each Non-U.S. Lender further undertakes
to
deliver to each of the Borrower and the Administrative Agent (x) renewals
or
additional copies of such form (or any successor form) on or before
the date
that such form expires or becomes obsolete, and (y) after the occurrence
of any
event requiring a change in the most recent forms so delivered by it,
such
additional forms or amendments thereto as may be reasonably requested
by the
Borrower or the Administrative Agent. All forms or amendments described
in the
preceding sentence shall certify that such Lender is entitled to receive
payments under this Agreement without deduction or withholding of any
United
States federal income taxes, unless an event (including any change
in treaty,
law or regulation) has occurred prior to the date on which any such
delivery
would otherwise be required which renders all such forms inapplicable
or which
would prevent such Lender from duly completing and delivering any such
form or
amendment with respect to it and such Lender advises the Borrower and
the
Administrative Agent that it is not capable of receiving payments without
any
deduction or withholding of United States federal income tax.
(v) For
any
period during which a Non-U.S. Lender has failed to provide the Borrower
with an
appropriate form pursuant to clause (iv)
above
(unless such failure is due to a change in treaty, law or regulation,
or any
change in the interpretation or administration thereof by any governmental
authority, occurring subsequent to the date on which a form originally
was
required to be provided), such Non-U.S. Lender shall not be entitled
to
indemnification under this Section 3.5
with
respect to Taxes imposed by the United States; provided
that,
should a Non-U.S. Lender which is otherwise exempt from or subject
to a reduced
rate of withholding tax become subject to Taxes because of its failure
to
deliver a form required under clause (iv)
above,
the Borrower shall take such steps as such Non-U.S. Lender shall reasonably
request to assist such Non-U.S. Lender to recover such Taxes.
(vi) Any
Lender that is entitled to an exemption from or reduction of withholding
tax
with respect to payments under this Agreement or any Note pursuant
to the law of
any relevant jurisdiction or any treaty shall deliver to the Borrower
(with a
copy to the Administrative Agent), at the time or times prescribed
by applicable
law, such properly completed and executed documentation prescribed
by applicable
law as will permit such payments to be made without withholding or
at a reduced
rate.
3.6 Lender
Statements; Survival of Indemnity.
To
the
extent reasonably possible and upon the request of the Borrower, each
Lender
shall designate an alternate Lending Installation with respect to its
Eurodollar
Loans to reduce any liability of the Borrower to such Lender under
Sections 3.1,
3.2
and
3.5
or to
avoid the unavailability of Eurodollar Advances under Section 3.3,
so long
as such designation is not, in the judgment of such Lender, disadvantageous
to
such Lender. Each Lender or each Issuer, as applicable, shall deliver
a written
statement of such Lender or such Issuer to the Borrower (with a copy
to the
Administrative Agent) as to any amount due under Section 3.1,
3.2,
3.4
or
3.5.
Such
written statement shall set forth in reasonable detail the calculations
upon
which such Lender or such Issuer determined such amount and shall be
final,
conclusive and binding on the Borrower in the absence of manifest error.
Determination of amounts payable under such
31
Sections in
connection with a Eurodollar Loan shall be calculated as though each
Lender
funded its Eurodollar Loan through the purchase of a deposit of the
type and
maturity corresponding to the deposit used as a reference in determining
the
Eurodollar Rate applicable to such Loan, whether in fact that is the
case or
not. Unless otherwise provided herein, the amount specified in the
written
statement of any Lender or any Issuer shall be payable on demand after
receipt
by the Borrower of such written statement. The obligations of the Borrower
under
Sections 3.1,
3.2,
3.4
and
3.5
shall
survive payment of the Obligations and termination of this
Agreement.
ARTICLE
IV
CONDITIONS
PRECEDENT
4.1 Initial
Credit Extension.
The
Lenders and the Issuers shall not be required to make the initial
Credit
Extension hereunder until the Borrower has furnished the Administrative
Agent
with (a) all fees required to be paid to the Lenders on the date
hereof, (b)
evidence that, prior to or concurrently with the initial Credit Extension
hereunder, all obligations under the Existing Credit Facility have
been paid in
full and all commitments to lend thereunder have been terminated
and (c) all of
the following, in form and substance satisfactory to each Agent and
each Lender,
and in sufficient copies for each Lender:
(i) Copies
of
the articles or certificate of incorporation of the Borrower, together
with all
amendments, certified by the Secretary or an Assistant Secretary
of the
Borrower, and a certificate of good standing, certified by the appropriate
governmental officer in its jurisdiction of incorporation, as well
as any other
information that any Lender may request that is required by Section 326 of
the USA PATRIOT ACT or necessary for the Administrative Agent or
any Lender to
verify the identity of the Borrower as required by Section 326 of the USA
PATRIOT ACT.
(ii) Copies,
certified by the Secretary or an Assistant Secretary of the Borrower,
of its
by-laws and of its Board of Directors’ resolutions and of resolutions or actions
of any other body authorizing the execution of the Loan Documents
to which the
Borrower is a party.
(iii) An
incumbency certificate, executed by the Secretary or an Assistant
Secretary of
the Borrower, which shall identify by name and title and bear the
signatures of
the Authorized Officers and any other officers of the Borrower authorized
to
sign the Loan Documents to which the Borrower is a party, upon which
certificate
the Administrative Agent and the Lenders shall be entitled to rely
until
informed of any change in writing by the Borrower.
(iv) A
certificate, signed by the Chief Accounting Officer or the Chief
Financial
Officer of the Borrower, stating that on the initial Borrowing Date
no Default
or Unmatured Default has occurred and is continuing.
32
(v) A
written
opinion of the Borrower’s counsel, addressed to the Administrative Agent and the
Lenders in a form reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent
and its
counsel.
(vi) Executed
counterparts of this Agreement executed by the Borrower and each
Lender.
(vii) Any
Notes
requested by a Lender pursuant to Section 2.13
payable
to the order of each such requesting Lender.
(viii) If
the
initial Credit Extension will be the issuance of a Letter of Credit,
a properly
completed Letter of Credit Application.
(ix) Evidence
of the effectiveness of the KCPL Credit Agreement, having terms substantially
similar to the terms hereof.
(x) Written
money transfer instructions, in substantially the form of Exhibit C,
addressed to the Administrative Agent and signed by an Authorized
Officer who
has executed and delivered an incumbency certificate in accordance
with the
terms hereof, together with such other related money transfer authorizations
as
the Administrative Agent may have reasonably requested.
(xi) Such
other documents as any Lender or its counsel may have reasonably
requested.
4.2 Each
Credit Extension.
The
Lenders shall not be required to make any Credit Extension (other
than a Credit
Extension that, after giving effect thereto and to the application
of the
proceeds thereof, does not increase the aggregate amount of outstanding
Credit
Extensions) or increase its Commitment pursuant to any Re-Transfer,
unless on
the date of such Credit Extension or Re-Transfer:
(i) No
Default or Unmatured Default exists or would result from such Credit
Extension.
(ii) The
representations and warranties contained in Article V
are true
and correct as of the date of such Credit Extension except to the
extent any
such representation or warranty is stated to relate solely to an
earlier date,
in which case such representation or warranty shall have been true
and correct
on and as of such earlier date; provided
that
this clause (ii)
shall
not apply to the representations and warranties set forth in Section 5.5
(as it
relates to clause (i)
or
(ii)
of the
definition of “Material Adverse Effect”), clause (a)
of the
first sentence of Section 5.7
and the
second sentence of Section 5.7
with
respect to any borrowing hereunder which is not part of the Initial
Credit
Extension.
33
Each
delivery of a Borrowing Notice and each request for the issuance
of a Letter of
Credit shall constitute a representation and warranty by the Borrower
that the
conditions contained in Sections 4.2(i)
and
(ii)
have
been satisfied. Any Lender may require delivery of a duly completed
compliance
certificate in substantially the form of Exhibit A
as a
condition to making a Credit Extension.
ARTICLE
V
REPRESENTATIONS
AND WARRANTIES
The
Borrower represents and warrants to the Lenders that:
5.1 Existence
and Standing.
Each
of
the Borrower and its Significant Subsidiaries is a corporation, partnership
(in
the case of Subsidiaries only) or limited liability company duly
and properly
incorporated or organized, as the case may be, validly existing and
(to the
extent such concept applies to such entity) in good standing under
the laws of
its jurisdiction of incorporation or organization and has all requisite
authority to conduct its business in each jurisdiction in which its
business is
conducted.
5.2 Authorization
and Validity.
The
Borrower has the power and authority and legal right to execute and
deliver the
Loan Documents and to perform its obligations thereunder. The execution
and
delivery by the Borrower of the Loan Documents and the performance
of its
obligations thereunder have been duly authorized by proper corporate
proceedings, and the Loan Documents constitute legal, valid and binding
obligations of the Borrower enforceable against the Borrower in accordance
with
their terms, except as enforceability may be limited by bankruptcy,
insolvency
or similar laws affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights
generally.
5.3 No
Conflict; Government Consent.
Neither
the execution and delivery by the Borrower of the Loan Documents,
nor the
consummation of the transactions therein contemplated, nor compliance
with the
provisions thereof will violate (i) any law, rule, regulation, order,
writ,
judgment, injunction, decree or award binding on the Borrower or
(ii) the
Borrower’s articles or certificate of incorporation or by-laws or (iii) the
provisions of any indenture, instrument or agreement to which the
Borrower is a
party or is subject, or by which it, or its Property, is bound, or
conflict with
or constitute a default thereunder, or result in, or require, the
creation or
imposition of any Lien in, of or on the Property of the Borrower
pursuant to the
terms of any such indenture, instrument or agreement. No order, consent,
adjudication, approval, license, authorization, or validation of,
or filing,
recording or registration with, or exemption by, or other action
in respect of
any governmental or public body or authority, or any subdivision
thereof, which
has not been obtained by the Borrower, is required to be obtained
by the
Borrower in connection with the execution and
34
delivery
of the Loan Documents, the borrowings under this Agreement, the payment
and
performance by the Borrower of the Obligations or the legality, validity,
binding effect or enforceability of any of the Loan Documents.
5.4 Financial
Statements.
The
June
30, 2005, September 30, 2005, December 31, 2005 and March 31, 2006
consolidated financial statements of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries
heretofore delivered to the Lenders were prepared in accordance with
GAAP and
fairly present the consolidated financial condition and operations
of the
Borrower and its Subsidiaries at such dates and the consolidated
results of
their operations for the periods then ended subject, in the case
of the
June 30, 2005, September 30, 2005 and March 31, 2006 financial statements,
to normal year-end adjustments.
5.5 Material
Adverse Change.
Since
December 31, 2005, there has been no change in the business, Property,
prospects, condition (financial or otherwise) or results of operations
of the
Borrower and its Subsidiaries which could reasonably be expected
to have a
Material Adverse Effect, it being understood that the divestiture
of KLT Gas
Inc. and its Subsidiaries will be deemed not to have a Material Adverse
Effect.
5.6 Taxes.
The
Borrower and its Significant Subsidiaries have filed all United States
federal
tax returns and all other material tax returns which are required
to be filed
and have paid all taxes due and payable pursuant to said returns
or pursuant to
any assessment received by the Borrower or any of its Significant
Subsidiaries,
except such taxes, if any, as are being contested in good faith and
as to which
adequate reserves have been provided in accordance with GAAP and
as to which no
Lien exists. No tax liens have been filed and no material claims
are being
asserted against the Borrower or any Significant Subsidiary with
respect to any
such taxes. The charges, accruals and reserves on the books of the
Borrower and
its Significant Subsidiaries in respect of any taxes or other governmental
charges are adequate.
5.7 Litigation;
etc.
Except
as
set forth in the Borrower’s ‘34 Act Reports, there is no litigation,
arbitration, governmental investigation, proceeding or inquiry pending
or, to
the knowledge of any of their officers, threatened against or affecting
the
Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries which (a) could reasonably be
expected to
have a Material Adverse Effect or (b) seeks to prevent, enjoin or
delay the
making of any Credit Extension. Other than any liability incident
to any
litigation, arbitration or proceeding which could not reasonably
be expected to
have a Material Adverse Effect, the Borrower has no material contingent
obligations not provided for or disclosed in the financial statements
referred
to in Section 5.4.
35
5.8 ERISA.
The
Borrower and each other member of the Controlled Group has fulfilled
its
obligations under the minimum funding standards of ERISA and the
Code with
respect to each Plan and is in compliance with the presently applicable
provisions of ERISA and the Code with respect to each Plan, except
to the extent
that noncompliance, individually or in the aggregate, has not resulted
in and
could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse
Effect. Neither
the Borrower nor any other member of the Controlled Group has (i)
sought a
waiver of the minimum funding standard under Section 412 of the Code in
respect of any Plan, (ii) failed to make any required contribution
or payment to
any Plan or Multiemployer Plan, or made any amendment to any Plan
which has
resulted or could result in the imposition of a Lien or the posting
of a bond or
other security under ERISA or the Code or (iii) incurred any liability
under
Title IV of ERISA other than a liability to the PBGC for premiums under
Section 4007 of ERISA.
5.9 Accuracy
of Information.
No
information, exhibit or report furnished by the Borrower or any of
its
Subsidiaries to the Administrative Agent or to any Lender in connection
with the
negotiation of, or compliance with, the Loan Documents contained
any material
misstatement of fact or omitted to state a material fact or any fact
necessary
to make the statements contained therein not misleading.
5.10 Regulation U.
The
Borrower is not engaged and will not engage, principally or as one
of its
important activities, in the business of purchasing or carrying margin
stock (as
defined in Regulation U), or extending credit for the purpose of purchasing
or carrying margin stock. Margin stock constitutes less than 25%
of the value of
those assets of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries which are subject
to any
limitation on sale, pledge or other restriction hereunder.
5.11 Material
Agreements.
Neither
the Borrower nor any Subsidiary is a party to any agreement or instrument
or
subject to any charter or other corporate restriction which is reasonably
likely
to have a Material Adverse Effect. Neither the Borrower nor any Subsidiary
is in
default in the performance, observance or fulfillment of any of the
obligations,
covenants or conditions contained in any agreement to which it is
a party, which
default could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse
Effect.
5.12 Compliance
With Laws.
The
Borrower and its Subsidiaries have complied with all applicable statutes,
rules,
regulations, orders and restrictions of any domestic or foreign government
or
any instrumentality or agency thereof having jurisdiction over the
conduct of
their respective businesses or the ownership of their respective
Property except
for any failure to comply with any of the foregoing which could not
reasonably
be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
36
5.13 Ownership
of Properties.
On
the
date of this Agreement, the Borrower and its Significant Subsidiaries
will have
good title, free of all Liens other than those permitted by Section 6.12,
to all
of the Property and assets reflected in the Borrower’s most recent consolidated
financial statements provided to the Administrative Agent as owned
by the
Borrower and its Subsidiaries.
5.14 Plan
Assets; Prohibited Transactions.
To
the
Borrower’s knowledge, the Borrower is not an entity deemed to hold “plan assets”
within the meaning of 29 C.F.R. § 2510.3-101 of another entity’s
employee benefit plan (as defined in Section 3(3) of ERISA) which is
subject to Title I of ERISA or any plan (within the meaning of
Section 4975 of the Code), and neither the execution of this Agreement nor
the making of Loans hereunder gives rise to a prohibited transaction
within the
meaning of Section 406 of ERISA or Section 4975 of the
Code.
5.15 Environmental
Matters.
Except
as
set forth in the Borrower’s ‘34 Act Reports, there are no known risks and
liabilities accruing to the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries due
to
Environmental Laws that could reasonably be expected to have a Material
Adverse
Effect.
5.16 Investment
Company Act.
Neither
the Borrower nor any Subsidiary is or is required to be registered
as an
“investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940,
as amended.
5.17 Pari
Passu Indebtedness.
The
Indebtedness under the Loan Documents ranks at least pari passu
with all
other unsecured Indebtedness of the Borrower.
5.18 Solvency.
As
of the
date hereof and after giving effect to the consummation of the transactions
contemplated by the Loan Documents, the Borrower and each Significant
Subsidiary
is solvent. For purposes of the preceding sentence, solvent means
(a) the fair
saleable value (on a going concern basis) of the Borrower’s assets or a
Significant Subsidiary’s assets, as applicable, exceed its liabilities,
contingent or otherwise, fairly valued, (b) such Person will be able
to pay its
debts as they become due and (c) such Person will not be left with
unreasonably
small capital as is necessary to satisfy all of its current and reasonably
anticipated obligations giving due consideration to the prevailing
practice in
the industry in which such Person is engaged. In computing the amount
of
contingent liabilities at any time, it is intended that such liabilities
will be
computed at the amount which, in light of all the facts and circumstances
existing at such
37
time,
represents the amount that can reasonably be expected to become an
actual or
matured liability. The Borrower is not entering into the Loan Documents
with the
actual intent to hinder, delay or defraud its current or future creditors,
nor
does the Borrower intend to or believe that it will incur, as a result
of
entering into this Agreement and the other Loan Documents, debts
beyond its
ability to repay.
ARTICLE
VI
COVENANTS
During
the term of this Agreement, unless the Required Lenders shall otherwise
consent
in writing:
6.1 Financial
Reporting.
The
Borrower will maintain, for itself and each Subsidiary, a system
of accounting
established and administered in accordance with generally accepted
accounting
principles, and furnish to the Lenders:
(i) Within
90
days after the close of each of its fiscal years, an unqualified
audit report
certified by an independent registered public accounting firm which
is a member
of the “Big Four,” prepared in accordance with GAAP on a consolidated basis for
itself and its Consolidated Subsidiaries, including balance sheets
as of the end
of such period and related statements of income, common shareholders’ equity and
cash flows, accompanied by any management letter prepared by said
accountants.
(ii) Within
45
days after the close of the first three quarterly periods of each
of its fiscal
years, for itself and its Consolidated Subsidiaries, either (a)
consolidated and
consolidating unaudited balance sheets as at the close of each
such period and
consolidated and consolidating profit and loss and reconciliation
of surplus
statements and a statement of cash flows for the period from the
beginning of
such fiscal year to the end of such quarter, all certified by its
Chief
Accounting Officer or Chief Financial Officer or (b) if the Borrower
is then a
“registrant” within the meaning of Rule 1-01 of Regulation S-X of the
SEC and required to file a report on Form 10-Q with the SEC, a copy of the
Borrower’s report on Form 10-Q for such quarterly period.
(iii) Together
with the financial statements required under Sections 6.1(i)
and
(ii),
a
compliance certificate in substantially the form of Exhibit A
signed
by its Chief Accounting Officer or Chief
Financial
Officer setting forth calculations of the financial covenants contained
in
Section 6
and
stating that no Default or Unmatured Default exists, or if any
Default or
Unmatured Default exists, stating the nature and status thereof.
(iv) As
soon
as possible and in any event within 10 days after the Borrower
or any member of
the Controlled Group knows that any Reportable Event has occurred
with respect
to any Plan, a statement, signed by the Chief Accounting Officer
or Chief
38
Financial
Officer of the Borrower, describing said Reportable Event and the
action which
the Borrower or member of the Controlled Group proposes to take
with respect
thereto.
(v) As
soon
as possible and in any event within two days after receipt of notice
by the
Borrower or any member of the Controlled Group of the PBGC’s intention to
terminate any Plan or to have a trustee appointed to administer
any Plan, a copy
of such notice.
(vi) Promptly
upon the furnishing thereof to the shareholders of the Borrower,
copies of all
financial statements, reports and proxy statements so furnished.
(vii) Promptly
upon the filing thereof, copies of all registration statements
and annual,
quarterly, monthly or other regular reports which the Borrower
files with the
SEC.
(viii) As
soon
as possible, and in any event within three days after an Authorized
Officer of
the Borrower shall have knowledge thereof, notice of any change
by Xxxxx’x or
S&P in the senior unsecured debt rating of the Borrower.
(ix) Such
other information (including non-financial information) as the
Administrative
Agent or any Lender may from time to time reasonably request.
The
statements and reports required to be furnished by the Borrower
pursuant to
clauses
(ii),
(vi)
and
(vii)
above
shall be deemed furnished for such purpose upon becoming publicly
available on
the SEC’s XXXXX web page.
The
Borrower hereby acknowledges that (a) the Administrative Agent
and/or BAS will
make available to the Lenders and Issuers materials and/or information
provided
by or on behalf of the Borrower hereunder (collectively, “Borrower
Materials”)
by
posting the Borrower Materials on IntraLinks or another similar
electronic
system (the “Platform”)
and
(b) certain of the Lenders may be “public-side” Lenders (i.e., Lenders that do
not wish to receive material non-public information with respect
to the Borrower
or its securities) (each, a “Public
Lender”).
The
Borrower hereby agrees that (w) all Borrower Materials that are
to be made
available to Public Lenders shall be clearly and conspicuously
marked “PUBLIC”
which, at a minimum, shall mean that the word “PUBLIC” shall appear prominently
on the first page thereof; (x) by marking Borrower Materials “PUBLIC,” the
Borrower shall be deemed to have authorized the Agents, the Arrangers,
the
Issuers and the Lenders to treat such Borrower Materials as not
containing any
material non-public information with respect to the Borrower or
its securities
for purposes of United States Federal and state securities laws
(provided,
however,
that to
the extent such Borrower Materials constitute Specified Information,
they shall
be treated as set forth in Section 9.11(a));
(y)
all Borrower Materials marked “PUBLIC” are permitted to be made available
through a portion of the Platform designated “Public Investor;” and (z) the
Administrative Agent and BAS shall be entitled to treat any Borrower
Materials
that are not marked “PUBLIC” as being suitable only for posting on a portion of
the Platform not designated “Public Investor.” Notwithstanding the foregoing,
the Borrower shall be under no obligation to xxxx any Borrower
Materials
“PUBLIC.”
39
6.2 Permits,
Etc.
The
Borrower will, and will cause each Significant Subsidiary to, take
all
reasonable action to maintain all rights, privileges, permits,
licenses and
franchises necessary or desirable in the normal conduct of its
business, except
to the extent failure to do so could not reasonably be expected
to have a
Material Adverse Effect; and preserve or renew all of its registered
patents,
trademarks, trade names and service marks, the non-preservation
of which could
reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
6.3 Use
of Proceeds.
The
Borrower will use the proceeds of the Credit Extensions (i) to
repay the
Existing Credit Facility and (ii) for the general corporate and
working capital
purposes of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries, including support
for the
Borrower’s commercial paper. The Borrower will not use any of the proceeds
of
the Credit Extensions to purchase or carry any margin stock (as
defined in
Regulation U) or to extend credit for the purpose of purchasing or carrying
margin stock; provided
that the
Borrower may repurchase its own stock or Equity-Linked Securities
(or components
thereof) so long as such stock or Equity-Linked Securities are
immediately
retired. The Borrower will not permit margin stock to constitute
25% or more of
the value of those assets of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries
which are subject
to any limitation on sale, pledge or other restriction hereunder.
6.4 Notice
of Default.
The
Borrower will, and will cause each Subsidiary to, give prompt notice
in writing
to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders of the occurrence of
any Default or
Unmatured Default and of any other development, financial or otherwise,
which
could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
6.5 Conduct
of Business.
The
Borrower will, and will cause each Significant Subsidiary to, carry
on and
conduct its business in substantially the same manner and in substantially
the
same fields of enterprise as it is presently conducted and do all
things
necessary to remain duly incorporated or organized, validly existing
and (to the
extent such concept applies to such entity) in good standing as
a domestic
corporation, partnership or limited liability company in its jurisdiction
of
incorporation or organization, as the case may be, and maintain
all requisite
authority to conduct its business in each jurisdiction in which
its business is
conducted.
6.6 Taxes.
The
Borrower will, and will cause each Significant Subsidiary to, timely
file United
States federal and applicable foreign, state and local tax returns
required by
law and pay when due all taxes, assessments and governmental charges
and levies
upon it or its income, profits or
40
Property,
except those which are being contested in good faith by appropriate
proceedings
and with respect to which adequate reserves have been set aside
in accordance
with GAAP.
6.7 Insurance.
The
Borrower will, and will cause each Significant Subsidiary to, maintain
with
financially sound and reputable insurance companies that are not
Affiliates of
the Borrower or its Subsidiaries (other than any captive insurance
company)
insurance on all their Properties and business against loss or
damage of the
kinds customarily insured against by Persons engaged in the same
or similar
business, of such types and in such amounts as are customarily
carried under
similar circumstances by such other Persons, and the Borrower will
furnish to
any Lender upon request full information as to the insurance carried.
Such
insurance may be subject to co-insurance, deductibility or similar
clauses
which, in effect, result in self-insurance of certain losses; provided
that
such self-insurance is in accord with the customary industry practices
for
Persons in the same or similar businesses and adequate insurance
reserves are
maintained in connection with such self-insurance to the extent
required by
GAAP.
6.8 Compliance
with Laws.
The
Borrower will, and will cause each Significant Subsidiary to, comply
with all
laws, rules, regulations, orders, writs, judgments, injunctions,
decrees or
awards to which it may be subject including all Environmental Laws,
the failure
to comply with which could reasonably be expected to have a Material
Adverse
Effect.
6.9 Maintenance
of Properties; Books of Record.
The
Borrower will, and will cause each Significant Subsidiary to, (i)
do all things
necessary to maintain, preserve, protect and keep its Property
in good repair,
working order and condition, and make all necessary and proper
repairs, renewals
and replacements so that its business carried on in connection
therewith may be
properly conducted at all times and (ii) keep proper books of record
and
account, in which full and correct entries shall be made of all
material
financial transactions and the assets and business of the Borrower
and each
Significant Subsidiary in accordance with GAAP; provided
that
nothing in this Section shall prevent the Borrower or any Significant
Subsidiary from discontinuing the operation or maintenance of any
of its
Property or equipment if such discontinuance is, in the judgment
of such Person,
desirable in the conduct of its business.
6.10 Inspection.
The
Borrower will, and if a Default or Unmatured Default exists, will
cause each
Subsidiary to, permit the Administrative Agent and the Lenders,
by their
respective representatives and agents, to inspect any of the Property,
books and
financial records of such Person, to examine and make copies of
the books of
accounts and other financial records of such Person, and to discuss
the affairs,
finances and accounts of such Person with, and to be advised as
to the same by,
such Person’s officers at such reasonable times and intervals as the
Administrative Agent or any Lender may designate. After the occurrence
and
during the
41
continuance
of a Default, any such inspection shall be at the Borrower’s expense; at all
other times, the Borrower shall not be liable to pay the expenses
of the
Administrative Agent or any Lender in connection with such
inspections.
6.11 Consolidations,
Mergers and Sale of Assets.
The
Borrower will not, nor will it permit any Significant Subsidiary
(other than any
Project Finance Subsidiary) to, sell, lease, transfer, or otherwise
dispose of
all or substantially all of its assets (whether by a single transaction
or a
number of related transactions and whether at one time or over
a period of time)
or consolidate with or merge into any Person or permit any Person
to merge into
it, except
(i) A
Wholly-Owned Subsidiary may be merged into the Borrower.
(ii) Any
Significant Subsidiary may sell all or substantially all of its
assets to, or
consolidate or merge into, another Significant Subsidiary; provided
that,
immediately before and after such merger, consolidation or sale,
no Default or
Unmatured Default shall exist.
(iii) Strategic
Energy, L.L.C. may sell or transfer accounts receivable and contracts
that
generate accounts receivable, and KCPL may sell or transfer accounts
receivable,
in each case pursuant to one or more securitization transactions.
(iv) The
Borrower may sell all or substantially all of its assets to, or
consolidate with
or merge into, any other corporation, or permit another corporation
to merge
into it; provided
that (a)
the surviving corporation, if such surviving corporation is not
the Borrower, or
the transferee corporation in the case of a sale of all or substantially
all of
the Borrower’s assets (1) shall be a corporation organized and existing under
the laws of the United States of America or a state thereof or
the District of
Columbia, (2) shall expressly assume in a writing satisfactory
to the
Administrative Agent the due and punctual payment of the Obligations
and the due
and punctual performance of and compliance with all of the terms
of this
Agreement and the other Loan Documents to be performed or complied
with by the
Borrower and (3) shall deliver all documents required to be delivered
pursuant
to Sections 4.1(i),
(ii),
(iii),
(v)
and
(ix),
(b)
immediately before and after such merger, consolidation or sale,
there shall not
exist any Default or Unmatured Default and (c) the surviving corporation
of such
merger or consolidation, or the transferee corporation of the assets
of the
Borrower, as applicable, has, both immediately before and after
such merger,
consolidation or sale, a Xxxxx’x Rating of Baa3 or better or an S&P Rating
of BBB - or better.
Notwithstanding
the foregoing, the Borrower and its Consolidated Subsidiaries (excluding
Project
Finance Subsidiaries) will not convey, transfer, lease or otherwise
dispose of
(whether in one transaction or a series of transactions, but excluding
(a) sales
of inventory in the ordinary course of business, (b) transactions
permitted by
clauses (i) through (iv) above, (c) transfers by KCPL of assets
related to, or
ownership interests in, Iatan 2 to co-owners of Iatan 2 pursuant
to the
co-ownership, co-operating or other similar agreements of the co-owners
of Iatan
42
2
and (d)
sales of the capital stock or assets of KLT Gas Inc. and Subsidiaries
thereof)
in the aggregate within any 12-month period, more than 20% of the
aggregate book
value of the assets of the Borrower and its Consolidated Subsidiaries
(excluding
Project Finance Subsidiaries) as calculated as of the end of the
most recent
fiscal quarter.
6.12 Liens.
The
Borrower will not, nor will it permit any Significant Subsidiary
(other than any
Project Finance Subsidiary) to, create, incur, or suffer to exist
any Lien in,
of or on the Property of the Borrower or any of its Significant
Subsidiaries
(other than any Project Finance Subsidiary), except:
(i) Liens
for
taxes, assessments or governmental charges or levies on its Property
if the same
shall not at the time be delinquent or thereafter can be paid without
penalty,
or are being contested in good faith and by appropriate proceedings
and for
which adequate reserves in accordance with GAAP shall have been
set aside on its
books.
(ii) Liens
imposed by law, such as carriers’, warehousemen’s, mechanics’ and landlords’
liens and other similar liens arising in the ordinary course of
business which
secure payment of obligations not more than 60 days past due or
which are being
contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings and for which
adequate
reserves shall have been set aside on its books.
(iii) Liens
arising out of pledges or deposits in the ordinary course of business
under
worker’s compensation laws, unemployment insurance, old age pensions,
or other
social security or retirement benefits, or similar legislation,
other than any
Lien imposed under ERISA.
(iv) Liens
incidental to the normal conduct of the Borrower or any Significant
Subsidiary
or the ownership or leasing of its Property or the conduct of the
ordinary
course of its business, including (a) zoning restrictions, easements,
building
restrictions, rights of way, reservations, restrictions on the
use of real
property and such other encumbrances or charges against real property
as are of
a nature generally existing with respect to properties of a similar
character
and which are not substantial in amount and do not in any material
way affect
the marketability of the same, (b) rights of lessees and lessors
under leases,
(c) rights of collecting banks having rights of setoff, revocation,
refund or
chargeback with respect to money or instruments of the Borrower
or any
Significant Subsidiary on deposit with or in the possession of
such banks, (d)
Liens or deposits to secure the performance of statutory obligations,
tenders,
bids, contracts, leases, progress payments, performance or return-of-money
bonds, surety and appeal bonds, performance or other similar bonds,
letters of
credit, or other obligations of a similar nature incurred in the
ordinary course
of business, and (e) Liens required by any contract or statute
in order to
permit the Borrower or Significant Subsidiary to perform any contract
or
subcontract made by it with or pursuant to the requirements of
a governmental
entity, in each case which are not incurred in connection with
the borrowing of
money, the obtaining of advances of credit or the payment of the
deferred
43
purchase
price of Property and which do not in the aggregate impair the
use of Property
in the operation of the business of the Borrower and its Significant
Subsidiaries taken as a whole.
(v) Liens
arising under the General Mortgage Indenture and Deed of Trust
Dated
December 1, 1986 from KCPL to UMB, N.A.
(vi) Liens
on
Property of the Borrower or KCPL existing on the date hereof and
any renewal or
extension thereof; provided
that the
Property covered thereby is not increased and any renewal or extension
of the
obligations secured or benefited thereby is permitted by this
Agreement.
(vii) Judgment
Liens which secure payment of legal obligations that would not
constitute a
Default under Section 7.9.
(viii) Liens
on
Property acquired by the Borrower or a Significant Subsidiary after
the date
hereof, existing on such Property at the time of acquisition thereof
(and not
created in anticipation thereof); provided
that in
any such case no such Lien shall extend to or cover any other Property
of the
Borrower or such Significant Subsidiary, as the case may be.
(ix) Liens
on
the Property, revenues and/or assets of any Person that exist at
the time such
Person becomes a Significant Subsidiary and the continuation of
such Liens in
connection with any refinancing or restructuring of the obligations
secured by
such Liens.
(x) Liens
on
Property securing Indebtedness incurred or assumed at the time
of, or within 12
months after, the acquisition of such Property for the purpose
of financing all
or any part of the cost of acquiring such Property; provided
that (a)
such Lien attaches to such Property concurrently with or within
12 months after
the acquisition thereof, (b) such Lien attaches solely to the Property
so
acquired in such transaction and (c) the principal amount of the
Indebtedness
secured thereby does not exceed the cost or fair market value determined
at the
date of incurrence, whichever is lower, of the Property being acquired
on the
date of acquisition.
(xi) Liens
on
any improvements to Property securing Indebtedness incurred to
provide funds for
all or part of the cost of such improvements in a principal amount
not exceeding
the cost of construction of such improvements and incurred within
12 months
after completion of such improvements or construction, provided
that such Liens
do not extend to or cover any property of the Borrower or any Significant
Subsidiary other than such improvements.
(xii) Liens
to
government entities granted to secure pollution control or industrial
revenue
bond financings, which Liens in each financing transaction cover
only Property
the acquisition or construction of which was financed by such financings
and
Property related thereto.
44
(xiii) Liens
on
or over gas, oil, coal, fissionable material, or other fuel or
fuel products as
security for any obligations incurred by such Person (or any special
purpose
entity formed by such Person) for the sole purpose of financing
the acquisition
or storage of such fuel or fuel products or, with respect to nuclear
fuel, the
processing, reprocessing, sorting, storage and disposal thereof.
(xiv) Liens
on
(including Liens arising out of the sale of) accounts receivable
and/or
contracts which will give rise to accounts receivable of KCPL and
Strategic
Energy, L.L.C.; and other Liens on (including Liens arising out
of the sale of)
accounts receivable and/or contracts which will give rise to accounts
receivable
of the Borrower or any Subsidiary in an aggregate amount not at
any time
exceeding $10,000,000.
(xv) Liens
on
Property of KLT Gas Inc. and its Subsidiaries in favor of operators
and
non-operators under joint operating agreements, pooling orders
or agreements,
unitization agreements or similar contractual arrangements arising
in the
ordinary course of the business of such Person relating to the
development or
operation of oil and gas Properties to secure amounts owing, which
amounts are
not yet due or are being contested in good faith by appropriate
proceedings if
adequate reserves are maintained on the books of such Person in
accordance with
GAAP.
(xvi) Liens
on
Property of KLT Gas Inc. and its Subsidiaries under production
sales agreements,
division orders, operating agreements and other agreements customary
in the oil
and gas business for processing, production and selling hydrocarbons;
provided
that
such Liens do not secure obligations to deliver hydrocarbons at
some future date
without receiving full payment therefor within 90 days of delivery.
(xvii) Liens
on
Property or assets of a Significant Subsidiary securing obligations
owing to the
Borrower or any Significant Subsidiary (other than a Project Finance
Subsidiary).
(xviii) Liens
on
the stock or other equity interests of any Project Finance Subsidiary
to secure
obligations of such Project Finance Subsidiary (provided that the
agreement
under which any such Lien is created shall expressly state that
it is
non-recourse to the pledgor).
(xix) Liens
on
Property of Strategic Energy, L.L.C. and its Subsidiaries securing
Indebtedness
of Strategic Energy, L.L.C. under a credit facility providing for
revolving
credit advances to Strategic Energy, L.L.C. in an aggregate amount
not exceeding
$175,000,000.
(xx) Liens
on
Property of KCPL arising in connection with utility co-ownership,
co-operating
and similar agreements that are consistent with the utilities business
and
ancillary operations.
(xxi) Liens
on
assets held by entities which are required to be included in the
Borrower’s
consolidated financial statements solely as a result of the
45
application
of Financial
Accounting Standards Board Interpretation No. 46R, as it may be
amended or
supplemented.
(xxii) Liens
securing Swap Contracts permitted to be incurred under this
Agreement.
(xxiii) Liens
securing any extension, renewal, replacement or refinancing of
Indebtedness
secured by any Lien referred to in the foregoing clauses (viii),
(ix), (x),
(xi), (xii), (xiii) and (xx); provided that (A) such new Lien shall
be limited
to all or part of the same Property that secured the original Lien
(plus
improvements on such Property) and (B) the amount secured by such
Lien at such
time is not increased to any amount greater than the amount outstanding
at the
time of such renewal, replacement or refinancing.
(xxiv) Liens
which would otherwise not be permitted by clauses
(i)
through
(xxiii)
securing
additional Indebtedness of the Borrower or a Significant Subsidiary
(other than
a Project Finance Subsidiary); provided
that
after giving effect thereto the aggregate unpaid principal amount
of
Indebtedness (including Capitalized Lease Obligations) of the Borrower
and its
Significant Subsidiaries (other than any Project Finance Subsidiary)
(including
prepayment premiums and penalties) secured by Liens permitted by
this
clause
(xix)
shall
not exceed the greater of (a) $50,000,000 and (b) 10% of Consolidated
Tangible
Net Worth.
6.13 Affiliates.
Except
to
the extent required by applicable law with respect to transactions
among the
Borrower and its Subsidiaries (excluding any Project Finance Subsidiary),
the
Borrower will not, and will not permit any Subsidiary (other than
any Project
Finance Subsidiary) to, enter into any transaction (including the
purchase or
sale of any Property or service) with, or make any payment or transfer
to, any
Affiliate except in the ordinary course of business and pursuant
to the
reasonable requirements of the Borrower’s or such Subsidiary’s business and upon
fair and reasonable terms no less favorable to the Borrower or
such Subsidiary
than the Borrower or such Subsidiary would obtain in a comparable
arms-length
transaction.
6.14 ERISA.
The
Borrower will not, nor will it permit any Significant Subsidiary
to, (i)
voluntarily terminate any Plan, so as to result in any material
liability of the
Borrower or any Significant Subsidiary to the PBGC or (ii) enter
into any
Prohibited Transaction (as defined in Section 4975 of the Code and in
Section 406 of ERISA) involving any Plan which results in any liability
of
the Borrower or any Significant Subsidiary that could reasonably
be expected,
individually or in the aggregate, to cause a Material Adverse Effect
or (iii)
cause any occurrence of any Reportable Event which results in any
liability of
the Borrower or any Significant Subsidiary to the PBGC that could
reasonably be
expected, individually or in the aggregate, to cause a Material
Adverse Effect
or (iv) allow or suffer to exist any other event or condition known
to the
Borrower which results in any material liability of the Borrower
or any
Significant Subsidiary to the PBGC.
46
6.15 Total
Indebtedness to Total Capitalization.
The
Borrower shall at all times cause the ratio of (i) Total Indebtedness
to (ii)
Total Capitalization to be less than or equal to 0.65 to 1.0.
6.16 Restrictions
on Subsidiary Dividends.
The
Borrower will not, nor will it permit any Significant Subsidiary
(other than any
Project Finance Subsidiary) to, be a party to any agreement prohibiting
or
restricting the ability of such Significant Subsidiary to declare
or pay
dividends to the Borrower;
provided,
that
(a) the foregoing provisions of this Section
6.16
shall
not prohibit the Borrower or any Significant Subsidiary from entering
into any
debt instrument containing a total debt to capitalization covenant
and (b)
Strategic Energy, L.L.C. may be a party to a credit agreement restricting
its
ability to pay dividends to the Borrower if a breach of any financial
covenant
in such agreement exists or would result from such payment so long
as any such
financial covenant is customary for similarly-situated companies.
ARTICLE
VII
DEFAULTS
The
occurrence of any one or more of the following events shall constitute
a
Default:
7.1 Any
representation or warranty made or deemed made by or on behalf
of the Borrower
to the Lenders or the Administrative Agent under or in connection
with this
Agreement, any Loan, or any certificate or information delivered
in connection
with this Agreement or any other Loan Document shall be materially
false on the
date as of which made.
7.2 Nonpayment
of principal of any Loan when due, nonpayment of any Reimbursement
Obligations
within one Business Day after the same becomes due, or nonpayment
of interest
upon any Loan or of any fee or other obligation under any of
the Loan Documents
within three Business Days after the same becomes due.
7.3 The
breach by the Borrower of any of the terms or provisions of Section 6.3,
6.10
(with
respect to the Borrower and its Significant Subsidiaries only),
6.11,
6.12,
6.13,
6.15
or
6.16.
7.4 The
breach by the Borrower (other than a breach which constitutes
a Default under
another Section of this Article VII)
of any
of the terms or provisions of this Agreement which is not remedied
within 30
days after the earlier of (a) the Borrower becoming aware of
such breach and (b)
receipt by the Borrower of written notice from the Administrative
Agent or any
Lender; provided
that if
such breach is capable of cure but (i) cannot be cured by payment
of money and
(ii) cannot be cured by diligent efforts within such 30-day period,
but such
diligent efforts shall be properly commenced within such 30-day
period and the
Borrower is diligently
47
pursuing,
and shall continue to pursue diligently, remedy of such failure,
the cure period
shall be extended for an additional 90 days, but in no event
beyond the Facility
Termination Date.
7.5 Failure
of the Borrower or any of its Significant Subsidiaries to pay
when due any
Indebtedness aggregating in excess of $25,000,000 (“Material Indebtedness”); or
the default by the Borrower or any of its Significant Subsidiaries
in the
performance of any term, provision or condition contained in
any agreement under
which any such Material Indebtedness was created or is governed,
or any other
event shall occur or condition exist, the effect of which default
or event is to
cause, or to permit the holder or holders of such Material Indebtedness
to
cause, such Material Indebtedness to become due prior to its
stated maturity; or
any Material Indebtedness of the Borrower or any of its Significant
Subsidiaries
shall be declared to be due and payable or required to be prepaid
or repurchased
(other than by a regularly scheduled payment) prior to the stated
maturity
thereof; or the Borrower or any of its Significant Subsidiaries
shall not pay,
or admit in writing its inability to pay, its debts generally
as they become
due.
7.6 The
Borrower or any of its Significant Subsidiaries shall (i) have
an order for
relief entered with respect to it under the Federal bankruptcy
laws as now or
hereafter in effect, (ii) make an assignment for the benefit
of creditors, (iii)
apply for, seek, consent to, or acquiesce in, the appointment
of a receiver,
custodian, trustee, examiner, liquidator or similar official
for it or any
Substantial Portion of its Property, (iv) institute any proceeding
seeking an
order for relief under the Federal bankruptcy laws as now or
hereafter in effect
or seeking to adjudicate it a bankrupt or insolvent, or seeking
dissolution,
winding up, liquidation, reorganization, arrangement, adjustment
or composition
of it or its debts under any law relating to bankruptcy, insolvency
or
reorganization or relief of debtors or fail to file an answer
or other pleading
denying the material allegations of any such proceeding filed
against it, (v)
take any corporate, partnership or limited liability company
action to authorize
or effect any of the foregoing actions set forth in this Section 7.6
or (vi)
fail to contest in good faith any appointment or proceeding described
in
Section 7.7.
7.7 Without
the application, approval or consent of the Borrower or any of
its Subsidiaries,
a receiver, trustee, examiner, liquidator or similar official
shall be appointed
for the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries or any Substantial
Portion of its
Property, or a proceeding described in Section 7.6(iv)
shall be
instituted against the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries and
such appointment
continues undischarged or such proceeding continues undismissed
or unstayed for
a period of 30 consecutive days.
7.8 Any
court, government or governmental agency shall condemn, seize
or otherwise
appropriate, or take custody or control of, all or any portion
of the Property
of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries which, when taken together
with all other
Property of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries so condemned, seized,
appropriated, or taken custody or control of, during the twelve-month
period
ending with the month in which any such action occurs, constitutes
a Substantial
Portion.
7.9 The
Borrower or any of its Significant Subsidiaries shall fail within
30 days to
pay, bond or otherwise discharge (i) any judgment or order for
the payment of
money in excess of $25,000,000 (either singly or in the aggregate
with other
such judgments) or (ii) any
48
non-monetary
final judgment that has, or could reasonably be expected to have,
a Material
Adverse Effect, in either case which is not stayed on appeal
or otherwise being
appropriately contested in good faith.
7.10 A
Change
of Control shall occur.
7.11 A
Reportable Event shall have occurred with respect to a Plan which
could
reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect and,
30 days after
notice thereof shall have been given to the Borrower by the Administrative
Agent
or any Lender, such Reportable Event shall still exist.
7.12 Any
authorization or approval or other action by any governmental
authority or
regulatory body required for the execution, delivery or performance
of this
Agreement or any other Loan Document by the Borrower shall fail
to have been
obtained or be terminated, revoked or rescinded or shall otherwise
no longer be
in full force and effect, and such occurrence shall (i) adversely
affect the
enforceability of the Loan Documents against the Borrower and
(ii) to the extent
that such occurrence can be cured, shall continue for five days.
7.13 The
Borrower shall fail to own, directly or indirectly, all of the
outstanding stock
of KCPL which, in the absence of any contingency, has the right
to vote in an
election of directors of KCPL.
ARTICLE
VIII
ACCELERATION,
WAIVERS, AMENDMENTS AND REMEDIES
8.1 Acceleration;
Letter of Credit Account.
(a) If
any
Default described in Section 7.6
or
7.7
occurs
with respect to the Borrower, the obligations of the Lenders
to make Loans
hereunder and the obligation and power of the Issuers to issue
Letters of Credit
shall automatically terminate and the Obligations shall immediately
become due
and payable without any election or action on the part of the
Administrative
Agent, any Lender or any Issuer and the Borrower will be and
become thereby
unconditionally obligated, without any further notice, act
or demand, to pay to
the Administrative Agent an amount in immediately available
funds, which funds
shall be held in the LC Collateral Account, equal to the excess
of (i) the
amount of Letter of Credit Obligations at such time over (ii)
the amount on
deposit in the LC Collateral Account at such time which is
free and clear of all
rights and claims of third parties and has not been applied
against the
Obligations (such difference, the “Collateral Shortfall Amount”). If any other
Default occurs, the Administrative Agent may with the consent,
or shall at the
request, of the Required Lenders, (x) terminate or suspend
the obligations of
the Lenders to make Loans hereunder and the obligation and
power of the Issuers
to issue Letters of Credit, or declare the Obligations to be
due and payable, or
both, whereupon the Obligations shall become immediately due
and payable,
without presentment, demand, protest or notice of any kind,
all of which the
Borrower hereby expressly waives, and (y) upon notice to the
Borrower and in
addition to the continuing right to demand
49
payment
of all amounts payable under this Agreement, make demand on
the Borrower to pay,
and the Borrower will, forthwith upon such demand and without
any further notice
or act, pay to the Administrative Agent in immediately available
funds the
Collateral Shortfall Amount, which funds shall be deposited
in the LC Collateral
Account.
If
(a)
within 30 days after acceleration of the maturity of the Obligations
or
termination of the obligations of the Lenders to make Loans
hereunder as a
result of any Default (other than any Default as described
in Section 7.6
or
7.7
with
respect to the Borrower) and (b) before any judgment or decree
for the payment
of the Obligations due shall have been obtained or entered,
the Required Lenders
(in their sole discretion) shall so direct, the Administrative
Agent shall, by
notice to the Borrower, rescind and annul such acceleration
and/or
termination.
8.2 Amendments.
Subject
to the provisions of this Article VIII,
the
Required Lenders (or the Administrative Agent with the consent
in writing of the
Required Lenders) and the Borrower may enter into agreements
supplemental hereto
for the purpose of adding or modifying any provisions to the
Loan Documents or
changing in any manner the rights of the Lenders or the Borrower
hereunder or
waiving any Default hereunder; provided
that no
such supplemental agreement shall:
(i) Extend
the final maturity of any Loan or the expiry date of any Letter
of Credit to a
date after the Facility Termination Date or forgive all or
any portion of the
principal amount thereof, or reduce the rate or extend the
time of payment of
interest or fees thereon, without the consent of each Lender
directly affected
thereby.
(ii) Reduce
the percentage specified in the definition of Required Lenders,
without the
consent of each Lender directly affected thereby.
(iii) Increase
the amount of the Commitment of any Lender without the consent
of such Lender
(except as provided for in Section
2.6),
or
extend the Facility Termination Date (except as provided for
in Section
2.20),
reduce
the amount or extend the payment date for, the mandatory payments
required under
Section 2.2
or
permit the Borrower to assign its rights under this Agreement,
without the
consent of each Lender directly affected thereby.
(iv) Amend
this Section 8.2
without
the consent of each Lender directly affected thereby.
(v) Release
any funds from the LC Collateral Account, except to the extent
such release is
expressly permitted hereunder without the consent of each Lender
directly
affected thereby.
No
amendment of any provision of this Agreement relating to the
Administrative
Agent shall be effective without the written consent of the
Administrative
Agent, and no amendment of any provision of this Agreement
relating to any
Issuer shall be effective without the written
50
consent
of such Issuer. The Administrative Agent may waive payment
of the fee required
under Section 12.1(b)
without
obtaining the consent of any other party to this Agreement.
8.3 Preservation
of Rights.
No
delay
or omission of the Lenders, the Issuers or the Administrative
Agent to exercise
any right under the Loan Documents shall impair such right
or be construed to be
a waiver of any Default or an acquiescence therein, and the
making of a Credit
Extension notwithstanding the existence of a Default or the
inability of the
Borrower to satisfy the conditions precedent to such Credit
Extension shall not
constitute any waiver or acquiescence. Any single or partial
exercise of any
such right shall not preclude other or further exercise thereof
or the exercise
of any other right, and no waiver, amendment or other variation
of the terms,
conditions or provisions of the Loan Documents whatsoever shall
be valid unless
in writing signed by the Lenders required pursuant to Section 8.2,
and
then only to the extent in such writing specifically set forth.
All remedies
contained in the Loan Documents or by law afforded shall be
cumulative and all
shall be available to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders
and the Issuers
until the Obligations have been paid in full.
ARTICLE
IX
GENERAL
PROVISIONS
9.1 Survival
of Representations.
All
representations and warranties of the Borrower contained in
this Agreement shall
survive the making of the Credit Extensions herein contemplated.
9.2 Governmental
Regulation.
Anything
contained in this Agreement to the contrary notwithstanding,
no Lender shall be
obligated to extend credit to the Borrower in violation of
any limitation or
prohibition provided by any applicable statute or regulation.
9.3 Headings.
Section headings
in the Loan Documents are for convenience of reference only,
and shall not
govern the interpretation of any of the provisions of the Loan
Documents.
9.4 Entire
Agreement.
The
Loan
Documents embody the entire agreement and understanding among
the Borrower, the
Administrative Agent, the Lenders and the Issuers and supersede
all prior
agreements and understandings among the Borrower, the Administrative
Agent, the
Lenders and the Issuers relating to the subject matter thereof.
51
9.5 Several
Obligations; Benefits of this Agreement.
The
respective obligations of the Lenders hereunder are several
and not joint and no
Lender shall be the partner or agent of any other (except to
the extent to which
the Administrative Agent is authorized to act as such). The
failure of any
Lender to perform any of its obligations hereunder shall not
relieve any other
Lender from any of its obligations hereunder. This Agreement
shall not be
construed so as to confer any right or benefit upon any Person
other than the
parties to this Agreement and their respective successors and
assigns;
provided
that the
parties hereto expressly agree that each Arranger shall enjoy
the benefits of
the provisions of Sections 9.6,
9.10
and
10.7
to the
extent specifically set forth therein and shall have the right
to enforce such
provisions on its own behalf and in its own name to the same
extent as if it
were a party to this Agreement.
9.6 Expenses;
Indemnification.
(i) The
Borrower shall reimburse the Agents and the Arrangers for any
reasonable costs
and expenses (including fees and charges of outside counsel
for the Agents) paid
or incurred by the Agents or the Arrangers in connection with
the preparation,
negotiation, execution, delivery, syndication, distribution
(including via the
internet), review, amendment, modification, and administration
of the Loan
Documents. The Borrower also agrees to reimburse each Agent,
each Arranger, each
Lender and each Issuer for any reasonable costs, internal charges
and expenses
(including fees and charges of attorneys for such Agent, such
Arranger, such
Lender and such Issuer, which attorneys may be employees of
such Agent, such
Arranger, such Lender or such Issuer) paid or incurred by either
Agent, either
Arranger, any Lender or any Issuer in connection with the collection
and
enforcement, attempted enforcement, and preservation of rights
and remedies
under, any of the Loan Documents (including all such costs
and expenses incurred
during any “workout” or restructuring in respect of the Obligations and during
any legal proceeding).
(ii) The
Borrower hereby further agrees to indemnify each Agent, each
Arranger, each
Lender, each Issuer, their respective affiliates and the directors,
officers and
employees of the foregoing against all losses, claims, damages,
penalties,
judgments, liabilities and expenses (including all expenses
of litigation or
preparation therefor whether or not either Agent, either Arranger,
any Lender or
any Issuer or any affiliate is a party thereto) which any of
them may pay or
incur arising out of or relating to this Agreement, the other
Loan Documents,
the transactions contemplated hereby or the direct or indirect
application or
proposed application of the proceeds of any Credit Extension
hereunder except to
the extent that they are determined in a final non-appealable
judgment by a
court of competent jurisdiction to have resulted from the gross
negligence or
willful misconduct of the party seeking indemnification. In
the case of any
investigation, litigation or proceeding to which the indemnity
in this
Section applies, such indemnity shall be effective whether or not such
investigation, litigation or proceeding is brought by a third
party, by the
Borrower or by any affiliate of the Borrower. The obligations
of the Borrower
under this Section 9.6
shall
survive the payment of the Obligations and termination of this
Agreement.
52
(iii) To
the
extent that the Borrower for any reason fails to indefeasibly
pay any amount
required under subsection (i) or (ii) of this Section to be paid
by it to the Administrative Agent (or any sub-agent thereof),
any Issuer or any
Related Party of any of the foregoing, each Lender severally
agrees to pay to
the Administrative Agent (or any such sub-agent), such Issuer
or such Related
Party, as the case may be, such Lender’s Pro Rata Share (determined as of the
time that the applicable unreimbursed expense or indemnity
payment is sought) of
such unpaid amount, provided
that the
unreimbursed expense or indemnified loss, claim, damage, liability
or related
expense, as the case may be, was incurred by or asserted against
the
Administrative Agent (or any such sub-agent) or any Issuer
in its capacity as
such, or against any Related Party of any of the foregoing
acting for the
Administrative Agent (or any such sub-agent) or any Issuer
in connection with
such capacity.
9.7 Numbers
of Documents.
All
statements, notices, closing documents, and requests hereunder
shall be
furnished to the Administrative Agent with sufficient counterparts
so that the
Administrative Agent may furnish one to each of the Lenders.
9.8 Accounting.
Except
as
provided to the contrary herein, all accounting terms used
herein shall be
interpreted and all accounting determinations hereunder shall
be made in
accordance with GAAP.
9.9 Severability
of Provisions.
Any
provision in any Loan Document that is held to be inoperative,
unenforceable, or
invalid in any jurisdiction shall, as to that jurisdiction,
be inoperative,
unenforceable, or invalid without affecting the remaining provisions
in that
jurisdiction or the operation, enforceability, or validity
of that provision in
any other jurisdiction, and to this end the provisions of all
Loan Documents are
declared to be severable.
9.10 Nonliability
of Lenders.
The
relationship between the Borrower on the one hand and the Lenders,
the Issuers
and the Agents on the other hand shall be solely that of borrower
and lender.
None of either Agent, either Arranger, any Lender or any Issuer
shall have any
fiduciary responsibilities to the Borrower. None of either
Agent, either
Arranger, any Lender or any Issuer undertakes any responsibility
to the Borrower
to review or inform the Borrower of any matter in connection
with any phase of
the Borrower’s business or operations. The Borrower agrees that none of
either
Agent, either Arranger, any Lender or any Issuer shall have
liability to the
Borrower (whether sounding in tort, contract or otherwise)
for losses suffered
by the Borrower in connection with, arising out of, or in any
way related to,
the transactions contemplated and the relationship established
by the Loan
Documents, or any act, omission or event occurring in connection
therewith,
unless it is determined in a final non-appealable judgment
by a court of
competent jurisdiction that such losses resulted from the gross
negligence or
willful misconduct of the party
53
from
which recovery is sought. None of either Agent, either Arranger,
any Lender, any
Issuer or any Related Party of any of the foregoing Persons
shall have any
liability with respect to, and the Borrower hereby waives,
releases and agrees
not to xxx for, any special, indirect, consequential or punitive
damages
suffered by the Borrower in connection with, arising out of,
or in any way
related to the Loan Documents or the transactions contemplated
thereby. None of
either Agent, either Arranger, any Lender, any Issuer or any
Related Party of
any of the foregoing Persons shall be liable for any damages
arising from the
use by unintended recipients of any information or other materials
distributed
by it through telecommunications, electronic or other information
transmission
systems in connection with this Agreement or the other Loan
Documents or the
transactions contemplated hereby or thereby except to the extent
such recipient
receives such information due to the gross negligence of the
party from which
recovery is sought.
9.11 Limited
Disclosure.
(a) Neither
the Administrative Agent nor any Lender may disclose to any
Person any Specified
Information (as defined below) except (i) to its, and its Affiliates’, officers,
employees, agents, accountants, legal counsel, advisors and
other
representatives who have a need to know such Specified Information
(it being
understood that the Persons to whom such disclosure is made
will be informed of
the confidential nature of such Specified Information and instructed
to keep
such Specified Information confidential) or (ii) with the Borrower’s prior
consent. “Specified Information” means information that the Borrower furnishes
to the Administrative Agent or any Lender that is designated
in writing as
confidential, but does not include any such information that
is or becomes
generally available to the public or that is or becomes available
to the
Administrative Agent or such Lender from a source other than
the
Borrower.
(b) The
provisions of clause (a)
above
shall not apply to Specified Information (i) that is a matter
of general public
knowledge or has heretofore been or is hereafter published
in any source
generally available to the public, (ii) that is required to
be disclosed by law,
regulation or judicial order, (iii) that is requested by any
regulatory body
with jurisdiction over the Administrative Agent or any Lender,
or (iv) that is
disclosed (A) to legal counsel, accountants and other professional
advisors to
such Lender, (B) in connection with the exercise of any right
or remedy
hereunder or under any Note or any suit or other litigation
or proceeding
relating to this Agreement or any Note, (C) to a rating agency
if required by
such agency in connection with a rating relating to Credit
Extensions hereunder
or (D) to assignees or participants or potential assignees
or participants who
agree to be bound by the provisions of this Section 9.11.
9.12 USA
PATRIOT ACT NOTIFICATION.
The
following notification is provided to the Borrower pursuant
to Section 326
of the USA Patriot Act of 2001, 31 U.S.C. Section 5318: IMPORTANT
INFORMATION ABOUT PROCEDURES FOR OPENING A NEW ACCOUNT. To
help the government
fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities,
Federal law
requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify and record
information
that identifies each person or entity that opens an account,
including any
deposit account, treasury management account, loan, other extension
of credit or
other financial services product. What this means for the Borrower:
When the
Borrower opens an account, the Lenders will ask for the Borrower’s name, tax
identification
54
number,
business address and other information that will allow the
Administrative Agent
and the Lenders to identify the Borrower. The Administrative
Agent and the
Lenders may also ask to see the Borrower’s legal organizational documents or
other identifying documents.
9.13 Nonreliance.
Each
Lender hereby represents that it is not relying on or looking
to any margin
stock (as defined in Regulation U of the FRB) for the repayment of the
Loans provided for herein.
9.14 No
Advisory or Fiduciary Responsibility.
In
connection with all aspects of each transaction contemplated
hereby, the
Borrower acknowledges and agrees, and acknowledges its Affiliates’
understanding, that: (i) the credit facility provided for hereunder
and any
related arranging or other services in connection therewith
(including in
connection with any amendment, waiver or other modification
hereof or of any
other Loan Document) are an arm’s-length commercial transaction between the
Borrower and its Affiliates, on the one hand, and the Agents
and the Arrangers,
on the other hand, and the Borrower is capable of evaluating
and understanding
and understands and accepts the terms, risks and conditions
of the transactions
contemplated hereby and by the other Loan Documents (including
any amendment,
waiver or other modification hereof or thereof); (ii) in connection
with the
process leading to such transaction, each Agent and Arranger
is and has been
acting solely as a principal and is not the financial advisor,
agent or
fiduciary, for the Borrower or any of its Affiliates, stockholders,
creditors or
employees or any other Person; (iii) no Agent or Arranger has
assumed or will
assume an advisory, agency or fiduciary responsibility in favor
of the Borrower
with respect to any of the transactions contemplated hereby
or the process
leading thereto, including with respect to any amendment, waiver
or other
modification hereof or of any other Loan Document (irrespective
of whether any
Agent or Arranger has advised or is currently advising the
Borrower or any of
its Affiliates on other matters) and no Agent or Arranger has
any obligation to
the Borrower or any of its Affiliates with respect to the transactions
contemplated hereby except those obligations expressly set
forth herein and in
the other Loan Documents; (iv) the Agents and the Arrangers
and their respective
Affiliates may be engaged in a broad range of transactions
that involve
interests that differ from those of the Borrower and its Affiliates,
and no
Agent or Arranger has any obligation to disclose any of such
interests by virtue
of any advisory, agency or fiduciary relationship; and (v)
the Agents and the
Arrangers have not provided and will not provide any legal,
accounting,
regulatory or tax advice with respect to any of the transactions
contemplated
hereby (including any amendment, waiver or other modification
hereof or of any
other Loan Document) and the Borrower has consulted its own
legal, accounting,
regulatory and tax advisors to the extent it has deemed appropriate.
The
Borrower hereby waives and releases, to the fullest extent
permitted by law, any
claims that it may have against any Agent and any Arranger
with respect to any
breach or alleged breach of agency or fiduciary duty.
55
ARTICLE X
THE
ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
10.1 Appointment
and Authority.
Each
of
the Lenders and the Issuers hereby irrevocably appoints Bank
of America to act
on its behalf as the Administrative Agent hereunder and under
the other Loan
Documents and authorizes the Administrative Agent to take such
actions on its
behalf and to exercise such powers as are delegated to the
Administrative Agent
by the terms hereof or thereof, together with such actions
and powers as are
reasonably incidental thereto. The provisions of this Article are solely
for the benefit of the Administrative Agent, the Lenders and
the Issuers, and
the Borrower shall have no rights as a third party beneficiary
of any of such
provisions.
10.2 Rights
as a Lender.
The
Person serving as the Administrative Agent hereunder shall
have the same rights
and powers in its capacity as a Lender as any other Lender
and may exercise the
same as though it were not the Administrative Agent and the
term “Lender” or
“Lenders” shall, unless otherwise expressly indicated or unless the context
otherwise requires, include the Person serving as the Administrative
Agent
hereunder in its individual capacity. Such Person and its Affiliates
may accept
deposits from, lend money to, act as the financial advisor
or in any other
advisory capacity for and generally engage in any kind of business
with the
Borrowers or any Subsidiary or other Affiliate thereof as if
such Person were
not the Administrative Agent hereunder and without any duty
to account therefor
to the Lenders.
10.3 Exculpatory
Provisions.
The
Administrative Agent shall not have any duties or obligations
except those
expressly set forth herein and in the other Loan Documents.
Without limiting the
generality of the foregoing, the Administrative Agent:
(a) shall
not
be subject to any fiduciary or other implied duties, regardless
of whether a
Default or Unmatured Default has occurred and is continuing;
(b) shall
not
have any duty to take any discretionary action or exercise
any discretionary
powers, except discretionary rights and powers expressly contemplated
hereby or
by the other Loan Documents that the Administrative Agent is
required to
exercise as directed in writing by the Required Lenders (or
such other number or
percentage of the Lenders as shall be expressly provided for
herein or in the
other Loan Documents), provided
that the
Administrative Agent shall not be required to take any action
that, in its
opinion or the opinion of its counsel, may expose the Administrative
Agent to
liability or that is contrary to any Loan Document or applicable
law;
and
(c) shall
not, except as expressly set forth herein and in the other
Loan Documents, have
any duty to disclose, and shall not be liable for the failure
to disclose, any
information relating to the Borrower or any of its Affiliates
that is
communicated to
56
or
obtained by the Person serving as the Administrative Agent
or any of its
Affiliates in any capacity.
The
Administrative Agent shall not be liable for any action taken
or not taken by it
(i) with the consent or at the request of the Required Lenders
(or such other
number or percentage of the Lenders as shall be necessary,
or as the
Administrative Agent shall believe in good faith shall be necessary,
under the
circumstances as provided in Sections 8.1
and
8.2)
or (ii)
in the absence of its own gross negligence or willful misconduct.
The
Administrative Agent shall be deemed not to have knowledge
of any Default or
Unmatured Default unless and until notice describing such Default
or Unmatured
Default is given to the Administrative Agent by the Borrower,
a Lender or an
Issuer.
The
Administrative Agent shall not be responsible for or have any
duty to ascertain
or inquire into (i) any statement, warranty or representation
made in or in
connection with this Agreement or any other Loan Document,
(ii) the contents of
any certificate, report or other document delivered hereunder
or thereunder or
in connection herewith or therewith, (iii) the performance or observance of
any of the covenants, agreements or other terms or conditions
set forth herein
or therein or the occurrence of any Default or Unmatured Default,
(iv) the
validity, enforceability, effectiveness or genuineness of this
Agreement, any
other Loan Document or any other agreement, instrument or document
or (v) the
satisfaction of any condition set forth in Article IV
or
elsewhere herein, other than to confirm receipt of items expressly
required to
be delivered to the Administrative Agent.
10.4 Reliance
by Administrative Agent.
The
Administrative Agent shall be entitled to rely upon, and shall
not incur any
liability for relying upon, any notice, request, certificate,
consent,
statement, instrument, document or other writing (including
any electronic
message, Internet or intranet website posting or other distribution)
believed by
it to be genuine and to have been signed, sent or otherwise
authenticated by the
proper Person. The Administrative Agent also may rely upon
any statement made to
it orally or by telephone and believed by it to have been made
by the proper
Person, and shall not incur any liability for relying thereon.
In determining
compliance with any condition hereunder to the making of a
Loan, or the issuance
of a Letter of Credit, that by its terms must be fulfilled
to the satisfaction
of a Lender or an Issuer, the Administrative Agent may presume
that such
condition is satisfactory to such Lender or such Issuer unless
the
Administrative Agent shall have received notice to the contrary
from such Lender
or such Issuer prior to the making of such Loan or the issuance
of such Letter
of Credit. The Administrative Agent may consult with legal
counsel (who may be
counsel for the Borrower), 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.
10.5 Delegation
of Duties.
The
Administrative Agent may perform any and all of its duties
and exercise its
rights and powers hereunder or under any other Loan Document
by or through any
one or more sub-agents appointed by the Administrative Agent.
The Administrative
Agent and any such sub-agent may perform any and all of its
duties and exercise
its rights and powers by or through
57
their
respective Related Parties. The exculpatory provisions of this
Article shall apply to any such sub-agent and to the Related Parties
of the
Administrative Agent and any such sub-agent, and shall apply
to their respective
activities in connection with the syndication of the credit
facilities provided
for herein as well as activities as Administrative Agent.
10.6 Resignation
of Administrative Agent.
The
Administrative Agent may at any time give notice of its resignation
to the
Lenders, the Issuers and the Borrower. Upon receipt of any
such notice of
resignation, the Required Lenders shall have the right, in
consultation with the
Borrower, to appoint a successor, which shall be a bank with
an office in the
United States, or an Affiliate of any such bank with an office
in the United
States. If no such successor shall have been so appointed by
the Required
Lenders and shall have accepted such appointment within 30 days after the
retiring Administrative Agent gives notice of its resignation,
then the retiring
Administrative Agent may on behalf of the Lenders and the Issuers,
appoint a
successor Administrative Agent meeting the qualifications set
forth above;
provided
that if
the Administrative Agent shall notify the Borrower and the
Lenders that no
qualifying Person has accepted such appointment, then such
resignation shall
nonetheless become effective in accordance with such notice
and (1) the
retiring Administrative Agent shall be discharged from its
duties and
obligations hereunder and under the other Loan Documents and
(2) all
payments, communications and determinations provided to be
made by, to or
through the Administrative Agent shall instead be made by or
to each Lender and
each Issuer directly, until such time as the Required Lenders
appoint a
successor Administrative Agent as provided for above in this
Section. Upon the
acceptance of a successor’s appointment as Administrative Agent hereunder, such
successor shall succeed to and become vested with all of the
rights, powers,
privileges and duties of the retiring (or retired) Administrative
Agent, and the
retiring Administrative Agent shall be discharged from all
of its duties and
obligations hereunder or under the other Loan Documents (if
not already
discharged therefrom as provided above in this Section). The
fees payable by the
Borrower to a successor Administrative Agent shall be the same
as those payable
to its predecessor unless otherwise agreed between the Borrower
and such
successor. After the retiring Administrative Agent’s resignation hereunder and
under the other Loan Documents, the provisions of this Article and
Section 9.6
shall
continue in effect for the benefit of such retiring Administrative
Agent, its
sub-agents and their respective Related Parties in respect
of any actions taken
or omitted to be taken by any of them while the retiring Administrative
Agent
was acting as Administrative Agent.
Any
resignation by Bank of America as Administrative Agent pursuant
to this
Section shall also constitute its resignation as an Issuer. Upon the
acceptance of a successor’s appointment as Administrative Agent hereunder, (a)
such successor shall succeed to and become vested with all
of the rights,
powers, privileges and duties of the retiring Issuer, (b) the
retiring Issuer
shall be discharged from all of its duties and obligations
hereunder or under
the other Loan Documents, and (c) the successor Issuer shall
issue letters of
credit in substitution for the Letters of Credit, if any, outstanding
at the
time of such succession or make other arrangements satisfactory
to the retiring
Issuer to effectively assume the obligations of the retiring
Issuer with respect
to such Letters of Credit.
58
10.7 Non-Reliance
on Administrative Agent and Other Lenders.
Each
Lender and each Issuer acknowledges that it has, independently
and without
reliance upon the Administrative Agent or any other Lender
or any of their
Related Parties and based on such documents and information
as it has deemed
appropriate, made its own credit analysis and decision to enter
into this
Agreement. Each Lender and each Issuer also acknowledges that
it will,
independently and without reliance upon the Administrative
Agent or any other
Lender or any of their Related Parties and based on such documents
and
information as it shall from time to time deem appropriate,
continue to make its
own decisions in taking or not taking action under or based
upon this Agreement,
any other Loan Document or any related agreement or any document
furnished
hereunder or thereunder.
10.8 No
Other Duties, Etc.
Anything
herein to the contrary notwithstanding, none of the Bookrunners
or Arrangers
listed on the cover page hereof shall have any powers, duties
or
responsibilities under this Agreement or any of the other Loan
Documents, except
in its capacity, as applicable, as the Administrative Agent,
a Lender or an
Issuer hereunder.
10.9 Administrative
Agent May File Proofs of Claim.
In
case
of the pendency of any receivership, insolvency, liquidation,
bankruptcy,
reorganization, arrangement, adjustment, composition or other
judicial
proceeding relative to the Borrower, the Administrative Agent
(irrespective of
whether the principal of any Loan or L/C Obligation shall then
be due and
payable as herein expressed or by declaration or otherwise
and irrespective of
whether the Administrative Agent shall have made any demand
on any Borrower)
shall be entitled and empowered, by intervention in such proceeding
or
otherwise
(a) to
file
and prove a claim for the whole amount of the principal and
interest owing and
unpaid in respect of the Loans, Letter of Credit Obligations
and all other
Obligations that are owing and unpaid and to file such other
documents as may be
necessary or advisable in order to have the claims of the Lenders,
the Issuers
and the Administrative Agent (including any claim for the reasonable
compensation, expenses, disbursements and advances of the Lenders,
the Issuers
and the Administrative Agent and their respective agents and
counsel and all
other amounts due the Lenders, the Issuers and the Administrative
Agent under
Sections 2.5,
2.19(d),
and
9.6)
allowed
in such judicial proceeding; and
(b) to
collect and receive any monies or other property payable or
deliverable on any
such claims and to distribute the same;
and
any
custodian, receiver, assignee, trustee, liquidator, sequestrator
or other
similar official in any such judicial proceeding is hereby
authorized by each
Lender and each Issuer to make such payments to the Administrative
Agent and, in
the event that the Administrative Agent shall consent to the
making of such
payments directly to the Lenders and the Issuers, to pay to
the Administrative
Agent any amount due for the reasonable compensation, expenses,
disbursements
59
and
advances of the Administrative Agent and its agents and counsel,
and any other
amounts due the Administrative Agent under Sections 2.5
and
9.6.
Nothing
contained herein shall be deemed to authorize the Administrative
Agent to
authorize or consent to or accept or adopt on behalf of any
Lender or any Issuer
any plan of reorganization, arrangement, adjustment or composition
affecting the
Obligations or the rights of any Lender or to authorize the
Administrative Agent
to vote in respect of the claim of any Lender in any such
proceeding.
ARTICLE
XI
SETOFF;
RATABLE PAYMENTS
11.1 Setoff.
In
addition to, and without limitation of, any rights of the Lenders
under
applicable law, if the Borrower becomes insolvent, however
evidenced, or any
Default occurs, any and all deposits (including all account
balances, whether
provisional or final and whether or not collected or available)
and any other
Indebtedness at any time held or owing by any Lender or any
Affiliate of any
Lender to or for the credit or account of the Borrower may
be offset and applied
toward the payment of the Obligations owing to such Lender,
whether or not the
Obligations, or any part hereof, shall then be due.
11.2 Ratable
Payments.
If
any
Lender, whether by setoff or otherwise, has payment made to
it upon its
Outstanding Credit Exposure (other than payments received pursuant
to
Section 3.1,
3.2,
3.4
or
3.5
and
payments made to any Issuer in respect of Reimbursement Obligations
so long as
the Lenders have not funded their participations therein) in
a greater
proportion than that received by any other Lender, such Lender
agrees, promptly
upon demand, to purchase a portion of the Aggregate Outstanding
Credit Exposure
held by the other Lenders so that after such purchase each
Lender will hold its
Pro Rata Share of the Aggregate Outstanding Credit Exposure.
If any Lender,
whether in connection with setoff or amounts which might be
subject to setoff or
otherwise, receives collateral or other protection for its
Obligations or such
amounts which may be subject to setoff, such Lender agrees,
promptly upon
demand, to take such action necessary such that all Lenders
share in the
benefits of such collateral ratably in accordance with their
respective Pro Rata
Shares. In case any such payment is disturbed by legal process,
or otherwise,
appropriate further adjustments shall be made.
60
ARTICLE XII
BENEFIT
OF AGREEMENT; ASSIGNMENTS; PARTICIPATIONS
12.1 Successors
and Assigns.
(a) The
provisions of this Agreement shall be binding upon and inure
to the benefit of
the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns
permitted hereby,
except that the Borrower may not assign or otherwise transfer
any of its rights
or obligations hereunder without the prior written consent
of the Administrative
Agent and each Lender and no Lender may assign or otherwise
transfer any of its
rights or obligations hereunder except (i) to an Eligible Assignee
in accordance
with the provisions of subsection (b) of this Section, (ii)
by way of
participation in accordance with the provisions of subsection
(d) of this
Section, or (iii) by way of pledge or assignment of a security
interest subject
to the restrictions of subsection (d) of this Section (and
any other attempted
assignment or transfer by any party hereto shall be null and
void). Nothing in
this Agreement, expressed or implied, shall be construed to
confer upon any
Person (other than the parties hereto, their respective successors
and assigns
permitted hereby, Participants to the extent provided in subsection
(d) of this
Section and, to the extent expressly contemplated hereby, the
Related Parties of
each of the Administrative Agent, the Issuers and the Lenders)
any legal or
equitable right, remedy or claim under or by reason of this
Agreement.
(b) Any
Lender may at any time assign to one or more Eligible Assignees
all or a portion
of its rights and obligations under this Agreement (including
all or a portion
of its Commitment and the Loans (including for purposes of
this subsection (b)
participations in Letter of Credit Obligations) at the time
owing to it);
provided
that
(i) except
in
the case of an assignment of the entire remaining amount of
the assigning
Lender’s Commitment and the Loans at the time owing to it or in the
case of an
assignment to a Lender or an Affiliate of a Lender or an Approved
Fund with
respect to a Lender, the aggregate amount of the Commitment
(which for this
purpose includes Loans outstanding thereunder) or, if the Commitment
is not then
in effect, the principal outstanding balance of the Loans of
the assigning
Lender subject to each such assignment, determined as of the
date the Assignment
Agreement with respect to such assignment is delivered to the
Administrative
Agent or, if “Trade Date” is specified in the Assignment Agreement, as of the
Trade Date, shall not be less than $5,000,000 unless
each of the Administrative Agent and, so long as no Default
has occurred and is
continuing, the Borrower otherwise consents (each such consent
not to be
unreasonably withheld or delayed); provided,
however,
that
concurrent assignments to members of an Assignee Group and
concurrent
assignments from members of an Assignee Group to a single Eligible
Assignee (or
to an Eligible Assignee and members of its Assignee Group)
will be treated as a
single assignment for purposes of determining whether such
minimum amount has
been met;
(ii) each
partial assignment shall be made as an assignment of a proportionate
part of all
the assigning Lender’s rights and obligations under this Agreement with respect
to the Loans or the Commitment assigned;
61
(iii) any
assignment of a Commitment must be approved by the Administrative
Agent and the
Issuers unless the Person that is the proposed assignee is
itself a Lender
(whether or not the proposed assignee would otherwise qualify
as an Eligible
Assignee);
(iv) such
Lender shall at the same time enter into an Assignment Agreement
(as defined in
the KCPL Credit Agreement) with the same Eligible Assignee(s)
in an amount
representing an equal proportion of such Lender’s Commitment (as defined in the
KCPL Credit Agreement) under the KCPL Credit Agreement; and
(v) the
parties to each assignment shall execute and deliver to the
Administrative Agent
an Assignment Agreement, together with a processing and recordation
fee in the
amount, if any, required as set forth in Schedule
IV,
and the
Eligible Assignee, if it shall not be a Lender, shall deliver
to the
Administrative Agent an Administrative Questionnaire.
Subject
to acceptance and recording thereof by the Administrative Agent
pursuant to
subsection (c) of this Section, from and after the effective date specified
in each Assignment Agreement, the Eligible Assignee thereunder
shall be a party
to this Agreement and, to the extent of the interest assigned
by such Assignment
Agreement, have the rights and obligations of a Lender under
this Agreement, and
the assigning Lender thereunder shall, to the extent of the
interest assigned by
such Assignment Agreement, be released from its obligations
under this Agreement
(and, in the case of an Assignment Agreement covering all of
the assigning
Lender’s rights and obligations under this Agreement, such Lender
shall cease to
be a party hereto) but shall continue to be entitled to the
benefits of
Sections 3.1, 3.4, 3.5, and 9.6 with respect to facts and circumstances
occurring prior to the effective date of such assignment. Upon
request, the
Borrower (at its expense) shall execute and deliver a Note
to the assignee
Lender. Any assignment or transfer by a Lender of rights or
obligations under
this Agreement that does not comply with this subsection shall
be treated for
purposes of this Agreement as a sale by such Lender of a participation
in such
rights and obligations in accordance with subsection (d) of this
Section.
(c) The
Administrative Agent, acting solely for this purpose as an
agent of the
Borrower, shall maintain at the Administrative Agent’s Office a copy of each
Assignment Agreement delivered to it and a register for the
recordation of the
names and addresses of the Lenders, and the Commitments of,
and principal
amounts of the Loans and Letter of Credit Obligations owing
to, each Lender
pursuant to the terms hereof from time to time (the “Register”). The entries in
the Register shall be conclusive, and the Borrower, the Administrative
Agent and
the Lenders may treat each Person whose name is recorded in
the Register
pursuant to the terms hereof as a Lender hereunder for all
purposes of this
Agreement, notwithstanding notice to the contrary. The Register
shall be
available for inspection by each of the Borrower and the Issuers
at any
reasonable time and from time to time upon reasonable prior
notice. In addition,
at any time that a request for a consent for a material or
substantive change to
the Loan Documents is pending, any Lender may request and receive
from the
Administrative Agent a copy of the Register.
62
(d) Any
Lender may at any time, without the consent of, or notice to,
the Borrower or
the Administrative Agent, sell participations to any Person
(other than a
natural person or the Borrower or any of the Borrower’s Affiliates or
Subsidiaries) (each, a “Participant”) in all or a portion of such Lender’s
rights and/or obligations under this Agreement (including all
or a portion of
its Commitment and/or the Loans (including such Lender’s participations in
Letter of Credit Obligations) owing to it); provided
that
(i) such Lender’s obligations under this Agreement shall remain unchanged,
(ii) such Lender shall remain solely responsible to the other parties
hereto for the performance of such obligations and (iii) the Borrower, the
Administrative Agent, the Lenders and the Issuers shall continue
to deal solely
and directly with such Lender in connection with such Lender’s rights and
obligations under this Agreement.
Any
agreement or instrument pursuant to which a Lender sells such
a participation
shall provide that such Lender shall retain the sole right
to enforce this
Agreement and to approve any amendment, modification or waiver
of any provision
of this Agreement; provided
that
such agreement or instrument may provide that such Lender will
not, without the
consent of the Participant, agree to any amendment, waiver
or other modification
described in the proviso to Section 8.2
that
affects such Participant. Subject to subsection (e) of this Section, the
Borrower agrees that each Participant shall be entitled to
the benefits of
Sections 3.1, 3.4 and 3.5 to
the
same extent as if it were a Lender and had acquired its interest
by assignment
pursuant to subsection (b) of this Section. To the extent permitted by law,
each Participant also shall be entitled to the benefits of
Section 11.1 as
though
it were a Lender, provided
such
Participant agrees to be subject to Section 11.2 as though it were a
Lender.
(e) A
Participant shall not be entitled to receive any greater payment
under
Section 3.1 or 3.5 than
the
applicable Lender would have been entitled to receive with
respect to the
participation sold to such Participant, unless the sale of
the participation to
such Participant is made with the Borrower’s prior written consent. A
Participant that would be a Foreign Lender if it were a Lender
shall not be
entitled to the benefits of Section 3.5 unless the Borrower is notified of
the participation sold to such Participant and such Participant
agrees, for the
benefit of the Borrower, to comply with Section 3.5(iv) as though it were a
Lender.
(f) Any
Lender may at any time pledge or assign a security interest
in all or any
portion of its rights under this Agreement (including under
its Note, if any) to
secure obligations of such Lender, including any pledge or
assignment to secure
obligations to a Federal Reserve Bank; provided
that no
such pledge or assignment shall release such Lender from any
of its obligations
hereunder or substitute any such pledgee or assignee for such
Lender as a party
hereto.
(g) The
words
“execution,” “signed,” “signature,” and words of like import in any Assignment
Agreement shall be deemed to include electronic signatures
or the keeping of
records in electronic form, each of which shall be of the same
legal effect,
validity or enforceability as a manually executed signature
or the use of a
paper-based recordkeeping system, as the case may be, to the
extent and as
provided for in any applicable law, including the Federal Electronic
Signatures
in Global and National Commerce Act, the New York State Electronic
Signatures
and Records Act, or any other similar state laws based on the
Uniform Electronic
Transactions Act.
63
(h)
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein,
if at any time Bank
of America assigns all of its Commitment and Loans pursuant
to
subsection (b) above, Bank of America may, upon 30 days’ notice to the
Borrower and the Lenders, resign as an Issuer. In the event
of any such
resignation as an Issuer, the Borrower shall be entitled to
appoint from among
the Lenders another Issuer hereunder; provided,
however,
that no
failure by the Borrower to appoint any such Issuer shall affect
the resignation
of Bank of America as an Issuer. If Bank of America resigns
as an Issuer, it
shall retain all the rights, powers, privileges and duties
of an Issuer
hereunder with respect to all Letters of Credit outstanding
as of the effective
date of its resignation as Issuer and all Letter of Credit
Obligations with
respect thereto (including the right to require the Lenders
to fund risk
participations pursuant to Section 2.19(e)).
12.2 Replacement
of Lenders.
If
(i)
any Lender requests compensation under Section 3.1, (ii) the Borrower is
required to pay any additional amount to any Lender or any
governmental
authority for the account of any Lender pursuant to Section 3.4 or (iii)
any Lender is a Non-Extending Lender pursuant to Section 2.20(b),
then the
Borrower may, at its sole expense and effort, upon notice to
such Lender and the
Administrative Agent, require such Lender to assign and delegate,
without
recourse (in accordance with and subject to the restrictions
contained in, and
consents required by, Section 12.1(b)), all of its interests, rights and
obligations under this Agreement and the related Loan Documents
to an Eligible
Assignee that shall assume such obligations (which Eligible
Assignee may be
another Lender, if a Lender accepts such assignment), provided
that:
(a) the
Borrower shall have paid to the Administrative Agent the assignment
fee
specified in Section 12.1(b);
(b) such
Lender shall have received payment of an amount equal to the
outstanding
principal of its Loans and participations, accrued interest
thereon, accrued
fees and all other amounts payable to it hereunder and under
the other Loan
Documents from such Eligible Assignee (to the extent of such
outstanding
principal and accrued interest and fees) or the Borrower (in
the case of all
other amounts);
(c) in
the
case of any such assignment resulting from a claim for compensation
under
Section 3.1
or
payments required to be made pursuant to Section 3.4,
such
assignment will result in a reduction in such compensation
or payments
thereafter; and
(d) such
assignment does not conflict with applicable Laws.
A
Lender
shall not be required to make any such assignment or delegation
if, prior
thereto, as a result of a waiver by such Lender or otherwise,
the circumstances
entitling the Borrower to require such assignment and delegation
cease to
apply.
64
ARTICLE
XIII
NOTICES
13.1 Notices.
Except
as
otherwise permitted by Section 2.14
with
respect to borrowing notices, all notices, requests and other
communications to
any party hereunder shall be in writing (including electronic
transmission,
facsimile transmission or similar writing) and shall be given
to such party: (i)
in the case of the Borrower or the Administrative Agent, at
its address or
facsimile number set forth on Schedule
V,
(ii) in
the case of any Lender, at its address or facsimile number
specified in its
Administrative Questionnaire or (iii) in the case of any party,
at such other
address or facsimile number as such party may hereafter specify
for the purpose
by notice to the Administrative Agent and the Borrower in accordance
with the
provisions of this Section 13.1.
Each
such notice, request or other communication shall be effective
(a) if given by
facsimile transmission, when transmitted to the facsimile number
specified in
this Section and confirmation of receipt is received, (b) if given by mail,
72 hours after such communication is deposited in the mails
with first class
postage prepaid, addressed as aforesaid, or (c) if given by
any other means,
when delivered (or, in the case of electronic transmission,
received) at the
address specified in this Section; provided
that
notices to the Administrative Agent under Article II
shall
not be effective until received.
13.2 Change
of Address.
The
Borrower, the Administrative Agent and any Lender may each
change the address
for service of notice upon it by a notice in writing to the
other parties
hereto.
ARTICLE
XIV
COUNTERPARTS
This
Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, all
of which taken
together shall constitute one agreement, and any of the parties
hereto may
execute this Agreement by signing any such counterpart. This
Agreement shall be
effective when it has been executed by the Borrower, the Administrative
Agent
and the Lenders and each party has notified the Administrative
Agent by
facsimile transmission or telephone that it has taken such
action.
ARTICLE
XV
OTHER
AGENTS
No
Lender
identified on the cover page, the signature pages or otherwise
in this
Agreement, or in any document related hereto, as being the
“Syndication Agent”
or a
65
“Co-Documentation
Agent” shall have any right, power, obligation, liability, responsibility
or
duty under this Agreement in such capacity other than those
applicable to all
Lenders. Each Lender acknowledges that it has not relied, and
will not rely, on
the Syndication Agent or any Co-Documentation Agent in deciding
to enter into
this Agreement or in taking or refraining from taking any action
hereunder or
pursuant hereto.
ARTICLE XVI
CHOICE
OF LAW; CONSENT TO JURISDICTION; WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL
16.1 CHOICE
OF LAW.
THIS
AGREEMENT SHALL BE CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE INTERNAL
LAWS (AND NOT THE
LAW OF CONFLICTS) OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, BUT GIVING EFFECT
TO FEDERAL LAWS
APPLICABLE TO NATIONAL BANKS.
16.2 CONSENT
TO JURISDICTION.
THE
BORROWER HEREBY IRREVOCABLY SUBMITS TO THE NON-EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION
OF ANY
UNITED STATES FEDERAL OR NEW YORK STATE COURT SITTING IN NEW
YORK CITY, NEW YORK
IN ANY ACTION OR PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS
AGREEMENT AND THE
BORROWER HEREBY IRREVOCABLY AGREES THAT ALL CLAIMS IN RESPECT
OF SUCH ACTION OR
PROCEEDING MAY BE HEARD AND DETERMINED IN ANY SUCH COURT AND
IRREVOCABLY WAIVES
ANY OBJECTION IT MAY NOW OR HEREAFTER HAVE AS TO THE VENUE
OF ANY SUCH SUIT,
ACTION OR PROCEEDING BROUGHT IN SUCH A COURT OR THAT SUCH COURT
IS AN
INCONVENIENT FORUM. NOTHING HEREIN SHALL LIMIT THE RIGHT OF
THE ADMINISTRATIVE
AGENT, ANY LENDER OR ANY ISSUER TO BRING PROCEEDINGS AGAINST
THE BORROWER IN THE
COURTS OF ANY OTHER JURISDICTION. ANY JUDICIAL PROCEEDING BY
THE BORROWER
AGAINST THE ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT OR ANY LENDER OR ANY AFFILIATE
OF THE
ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT OR ANY LENDER INVOLVING, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY,
ANY MATTER
IN ANY WAY ARISING OUT OF, RELATED TO, OR CONNECTED WITH THIS
AGREEMENT SHALL BE
BROUGHT ONLY IN A COURT IN NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK.
16.3 WAIVER
OF JURY TRIAL.
THE
BORROWER, THE ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT, EACH LENDER AND EACH ISSUER
HEREBY WAIVE
TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY JUDICIAL PROCEEDING INVOLVING, DIRECTLY
OR INDIRECTLY, ANY
MATTER (WHETHER SOUNDING IN TORT, CONTRACT OR OTHERWISE) IN
ANY WAY ARISING OUT
OF, RELATED TO,
66
OR
CONNECTED WITH ANY LOAN DOCUMENT OR THE RELATIONSHIP ESTABLISHED
THEREUNDER.
ARTICLE
XVII
TERMINATION
OF EXISTING CREDIT FACILITY
Lenders
which are parties to the Existing Credit Facility (and which
constitute
“Required Lenders” under and as defined in the Existing Credit Facility) hereby
waive any advance notice requirement for terminating the commitments
under the
Existing Credit Facility, and the Borrower and the applicable
Lenders agree that
the Existing Credit Facility and the commitments thereunder
shall be terminated
on the date hereof (except for any provisions thereof which
by their terms
survive termination thereof).
67
IN
WITNESS WHEREOF, the Borrower, the Lenders, the Issuers and
the Agents have
executed this Agreement as of the date first above written.
GREAT
PLAINS ENERGY INCORPORATED
By: /s/Xxxxxxx
X. Xxxxx
Name: Xxxxxxx
X. Xxxxx
Title: Treasurer
and Chief Risk
Officer
|
BANK
OF AMERICA, N.A.,
as
Administrative Agent
By: /s/Xxxxx
Xxxxxx
Name: Xxxxx
Xxxxxx
Title: Senior
Vice President
|
BANK
OF AMERICA, N.A.,
as
an Issuer and as a Lender
By: /s/Xxxxx
Xxxxxx
Name: Xxxxx
Xxxxxx
Title: Senior
Vice President
|
JPMORGAN
CHASE BANK, N.A.,
as
Syndication Agent, as an Issuer and as a Lender
By: /s/Xxxxx
X. Xxxxxx
Name: Xxxxx
X. Xxxxxx
Title:
Vice President
|
BNP
PARIBAS,
as
a Lender
By: /s/Xxxxxxx
X. Xxxxxxx
Name: Xxxxxxx
X. Xxxxxxx
Title: Managing
Director
By: /s/Xxxxxx
Xxxxx
Name: Xxxxxx
Xxxxx
Title:
Director
|
THE
BANK OF TOKYO-MITSUBISHI UFJ,
LIMITED,
CHICAGO BRANCH,
as
a Lender
By: /s/Tsuguyuki
Umene
Name: Tsuguyuki
Umene
Title: Deputy
General Manager
|
WACHOVIA
BANK N.A.,
as
a Lender
By: /s/Xxxxxxx
Xxxxxx
Name: Xxxxxxx
Xxxxxx
Title: Vice
President
|
BANK
OF NEW YORK,
as
a Lender
By: /s/Xxxx-Xxxx
Xxxxxxx
Name: Xxxx-Xxxx
Xxxxxxx
Title: Managing
Director
|
KEYBANK
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION,
as
a Lender
By: /s/Xxxxx
X. Xxxxx
Name: Xxxxx
X. Xxxxx
Title: Senior
Vice President
|
THE
BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA,
as
a Lender
By: /s/Xxxxx
Xxxxxx
Name: Xxxxx
Xxxxxx
Title: Managing
Director
|
UMB
BANK, N.A.,
as
a Lender
By: /s/Xxxxxx
X. Xxxxxx
Name: Xxxxxx
X. Xxxxxx
Title: Senior
Vice President
|
COMMERCE
BANK, N.A.,
as
a Lender
By: /s/R.
Xxxxx Xxxxx, Xx.
Name: Xxxxx
Xxxxx, Xx.
Title:
Vice President
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