LIMITED GUARANTY AND SUBORDINATION AGREEMENT
Exhibit 10.11
Execution Version
LIMITED GUARANTY AND SUBORDINATION AGREEMENT
THIS LIMITED GUARANTY AND SUBORDINATION AGREEMENT (as amended, restated, amended and restated, replaced, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, this “Agreement”) is dated as of the 18th day of August, 2023 and made by FUELCELL ENERGY, INC., a Delaware corporation with a principal place of business at 0 Xxxxx Xxxxxxx Xxxx, Xxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxxxx 00000 (“Guarantor”), for the benefit of LIBERTY BANK, a mutual savings bank, having an address at 000 Xxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxxxx 00000, in its capacity as administrative agent for itself and the Secured Parties (in such capacity, the “Administrative Agent”).
a. | The compromise, settlement, release, change, renewal, modification or termination of any or all of the obligations, covenants or agreements of the Borrower or any other Loan Party under any of the Loan Documents (including, without limitation, Obligations); |
b. | The failure to give notice to Guarantor of the occurrence of any Event of Default; |
c. | The waiver of the payment, performance or observance by Xxxxxxxx, Guarantor, any Other Guarantor or any other Loan Party of any of the obligations, conditions, covenants or agreements of any of them contained in any of the Loan Documents; |
d. | The extension of the time for payment of the principal and premium, if any, or interest owing or payable on the Loan or of the time for performance of any other obligations, covenants or agreements under or arising out of any of the Loan Documents or the extension or the renewal thereof; |
e. | The modification or amendment (whether material or otherwise) of any duty, obligation, covenant or agreement set forth in any of the Loan Documents; |
f. | The taking or the omission of any of the actions referred to in any of the Loan Documents; |
g. | Any failure, omission, delay or lack on the part of Administrative Agent or any Lender to enforce, assert or exercise any right, power or remedy conferred on Administrative Agent or any Lender in any of the Loan Documents, or any other act or acts on the part of Administrative Agent or any Lender; |
h. | The exchange, release, surrender or disposal of any collateral for the Obligations or the Guaranteed Obligations, or the failure to perfect or maintain any Lien granted in connection with the Obligations or the Guaranteed Obligations; |
i. | The voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution, sale or other disposition of all or substantially all the assets, marshalling of assets and liabilities, receivership, insolvency, bankruptcy, assignment for the benefit of creditors, reorganization, arrangement, composition with creditors or readjustment of, or other similar proceedings affecting Borrower, Guarantor, any Other Guarantor or any of the other Loan Parties or any of the assets of any of them, or any allegation or contest of the validity of this Agreement in any such proceeding; |
j. | The release or discharge of Guarantor from the performance or observance of any obligation, covenant or agreement contained in this Agreement by operation of law; |
k. | The default or failure of Guarantor to fully perform any of its obligations set forth in this Agreement; or |
l. | Any other circumstances which would otherwise constitute the legal or equitable discharge of Guarantor. |
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a. | Guarantor shall (i) on the date hereof, provide a special contribution payment to the Payment Reserve Account associated with the 10,122 MWH shortfall of the electricity expected to be generated by the Facility in the first year, calculated at $855,000, representing an “Output Shortfall”, (ii) on the date hereof, provide a special payment to the Payment Reserve Account in the amount of $500,000, related to delays in Renewable Energy Certificate generation and sales and, (iii) to the extent that shortfalls exist with respect to expected electricity in subsequent years, Guarantor shall provide additional special contribution payments to the Payment Reserve Account in amounts satisfactory to the Senior Lenders; provided that the contribution in any year will not exceed the required “Output Shortfall Payment” (as such term is defined in the Power Purchase Agreement) to be made to CMEEC pursuant to the Power Purchase Agreement. |
b. | Guarantor further agrees to make any REC Contribution payment required for the benefit of Senior Lenders and Subordinated Lender as required by Section 6.25 of the Credit Agreement. |
Notwithstanding the foregoing, except as otherwise provided herein, the Guarantor may retain payments of the Sponsor O&M Fees in accordance with the O&M Agreement; provided, however, that if either (a) an Event of Default pursuant to Section 8.01 of the Credit Agreement has occurred and is continuing or would result from the making of such payment, and/or (b) (i) an “Output Shortfall” (as defined in the Power Purchase Agreement) exists and is continuing under the Power Purchase Agreement; and (ii) in connection with such “Output Shortfall,” either (X) the Project Company has failed to make the required “Output Shortfall Payment” (as defined in the Power Purchase Agreement) to CMEEC or has otherwise committed an “Event of Default” (as defined in the Power Purchase Agreement); or (Y) the payment of the Sponsor O&M Fees by the Project Company to Guarantor would result in a reduction in cash distributions by the Tax Equity Holdco to the Borrower such that Borrower would not have sufficient cash to make the required payments under items FIRST through TENTH of section 6.19(b) of the Credit Agreement (and Guarantor has otherwise not provided Borrower with the funds to make such payments), then, in either of subsection (a) or subsection (b) above, the Guarantor shall not retain, any payment of any Sponsor O&M Fees, unless and until the earliest of the following time:
A. | In the case of an Event(s) of Default referenced in subsection (a) above, such Event of Default (i) shall have been cured or ceases to exist; or (ii) such Event(s) of Default or the application of this Agreement to such Event(s) of Default shall have been waived in writing by Administrative Agent; |
B. | In the case of an event referenced in subsection (b) above, any Output Shortfall Payment owed by the Project Company to CMEEC shall have been made, any event of default shall under the Power Purchase Agreement shall have been cured, cease to exist or otherwise been waived by CMEEC, and the payment of the Sponsor O&M Fees by the Project Company to Guarantor |
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would not result in a reduction in cash distributions by the Tax Equity Holdco to the Borrower such that Borrower would not have sufficient cash to make the required payments under items FIRST through TENTH of section 6.19(b) of the Credit Agreement (and Guarantor has otherwise not provided Borrower with the funds to make such payments); or |
C. | the Guaranteed Obligations have been finally paid in full; |
Upon the earlier of (A), (B) or (C) above, the Guarantor shall be permitted to receive payment of Sponsor O&M Fees including any previously accrued but unpaid Sponsor O&M Fees, so long as the Borrower is in pro forma compliance with the financial covenants contained in Article VI of the Credit Agreement after giving effect to such payments, and such compliance is certified to Administrative Agent in a compliance certificate delivered in accordance with the terms of the Credit Agreement.
In the event that the Guarantor receives any payment or distribution at a time when such payment or distribution was prohibited by the provisions of this Agreement, then, and in such event, such payment or distribution shall be deemed to have been paid to such Guarantor in trust for the benefit of the Administrative Agent and such Guarantor agrees to immediately deliver such payment or distribution over to the Administrative Agent to the extent necessary to pay the Guaranteed Obligations in full in cash. Any such payments or distributions so paid over to Administrative Agent by the Guarantor in accordance with the foregoing sentence shall not constitute payments in respect of the Sponsor O&M Fees and will not reduce the outstanding amount of the Sponsor O&M Fees. To the extent there are any excess amounts received by Administrative Agent from the Guarantor beyond the amount necessary to pay in full in cash the Guaranteed Obligations then due, Administrative Agent shall remit such excess to the Guarantor as the Guarantor shall direct in writing, to the extent necessary to pay all the Sponsor O&M Fees then due, which amounts shall constitute payments in respect of the Sponsor O&M Fees and will so reduce the outstanding amount of the Sponsor O&M Fees.
If an Event of Default shall occur under the Credit Agreement, and, in connection with exercising its remedies, the Administrative Agent becomes the Class B Member and Managing Member of the Tax Equity Holdco, Guarantor hereby grants to Administrative Agent (and any supplier engaged pursuant to the immediately preceding paragraph) a non-exclusive, royalty-free, right and license within the United States of America (the “Operations License”), where owned by Guarantor, or sublicense, where owned by a third party, to use the SureSource Operations Technology provided by Guarantor to the Project Company as contemplated by the O&M Agreement, solely for the operation, monitoring and maintenance of the Facility to be serviced under the O&M Agreement, including a license to use the SureSource Power Plant Operations and Maintenance Manuals, the SureSource Power Plant communications system software and firmware, and the SureSource Power Plant monitoring software. Such Operations License shall continue to apply, and shall not terminate, if and as long as Administrative Agent (or such supplier) has the right to exercise, or exercises, the Purchase License and may be exercised solely in connection with the exercise by Administrative Agent (or such supplier) of the Purchase License. For purposes of this paragraph,
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“SureSource Operations Technology”, has the meaning ascribed thereto in the O&M Agreement and also means that portion of the Service Provider’s fuel cell technology comprising trade secrets, know-how and other confidential information, including, without limitation, Confidential Information owned or otherwise controlled by Guarantor which are necessary or useful for the Project Company to monitor, operate and maintain (or have monitored, operated and maintained) the Facility.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Administrative Agent shall not exercise rights under the Purchase License or the Operations License until one or more of the following events (each such event, a “Trigger Event”) has occurred, and upon the occurrence of any Trigger Event, the Administrative Agent shall be entitled to exercise such rights automatically without any notice to, or consent from, the Guarantor but without the expansion of such rights:
a. | Guarantor is no longer capable of providing (i) such replacement fuel cell Modules or components thereof or (ii) the “Services”, as such term is defined in the O&M Agreement; or |
b. | Guarantor has either (i) ceased providing replacement fuel cell Modules or components as required under the O&M Agreement or (ii) materially defaulted in its obligation to provide Service as required under the O&M Agreement, in either case because of: (I) a material adverse change in the financial condition of the Guarantor has occurred; (II) authorization by the officers, directors or other governing body of Guarantor for Guarantor to file a voluntary petition under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (the “Bankruptcy Code”), whether or not such a petition is filed; or (III) the entry of an order for relief under the Bankruptcy Code in connection with a petition filed under Section 303 of the Bankruptcy Code; or |
c. | Guarantor is acquired by a third party, which fails to continue the business or maintain an adequate commercial supply of replacement equipment and parts for the Facility, including Modules. |
9. | Guarantor covenants, represents and warrants that, as of the date of this Agreement: |
a. | Guarantor has received reasonably equivalent value in exchange for its execution of this Agreement. |
b. | Guarantor is a duly formed and validly existing corporation organized under the laws of the State of Delaware. Guarantor has the power and authority to own its assets and to transact the business in which it is now engaged or proposed to be engaged, and is duly qualified to do business in each jurisdiction in which such qualification is necessary, except where a failure to be so qualified would not have a material adverse effect. Guarantor has full power and authority to enter into and perform its obligations under this Agreement, to execute and deliver this Agreement and the other Loan Documents it is a party to, all of which have been duly authorized by all necessary and proper corporate action. |
c. | The execution and delivery of this Agreement, the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and the fulfillment of and compliance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement is not prevented or limited by and does not conflict with or result in a breach of the terms, conditions or provisions of any contractual or other restriction on Guarantor, or agreement or instrument of any nature to which Guarantor |
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is now a party or by which Guarantor or its property are bound, or constitutes a default under any of the foregoing. |
d. | Guarantor is Solvent and no bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings are pending or contemplated by or against Guarantor. |
e. | This Agreement is a valid and binding obligation of Guarantor and enforceable in accordance with its terms. |
f. | There is no action, suit or proceeding pending, or to the knowledge of Guarantor, threatened against or affecting Guarantor or any of its property. |
g. | Guarantor has filed all required federal, state and local tax returns (or extensions therefor), and no claims have been asserted and/or are unpaid with respect to such taxes. |
h. | The assumption by Guarantor of the Guaranteed Obligations hereunder will result in a financial benefit to Guarantor. |
i. | Omitted. |
j. | The representations and warranties in the Loan Documents made by the Borrower on behalf of the Guarantor are true and accurate in all respects. |
k. | Guarantor is in compliance in all respects with the requirements of all laws and all orders, writs, injunctions and decrees applicable to it, except in such instances in which (i) such requirement of law or order, writ, injunction or decree is being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings diligently conducted or (ii) the failure to comply therewith, either individually or in the aggregate, could not reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect. |
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REMAINDER OF XXXX INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK, SIGNATURE PAGE FOLLOWS
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Xxxxxxxxx has caused this Agreement to be executed and delivered as of the 18th day of August, 2023.
GUARANTOR:
FUELCELL ENERGY, INC.
By: /s/ Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxx
Name:Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxx
Title: | Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer |
[Signature page to Limited Guaranty and Subordination Agreement]