Contract
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Exhibit 4.1 AMENDED AND RESTATED
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TABLE OF CONTENTS |
| §1. DEFINITIONS AND RULES OF INTERPRETATION | 1 |
| §1.1. Definitions | 1 |
| §1.2. Rules of Interpretation | 16 |
| §2. THE REVOLVING CREDIT FACILITY | 17 |
| §2.1. Commitment to Lend | 17 |
| §2.2. Facility Fee; Utilization Fee | 17 |
| §2.3. Reduction of Commitment | 17 |
| §2.4. The Notes for the Loans | 18 |
| §2.5. Notice and Manner of Borrowing or Conversion of Loans; Swing Line | 18 |
| §2.6. Funds for Loans | 19 |
| §2.7. Euros | 20 |
| §2.8. Mandatory Repayments of Loans | 21 |
| §2.9. Optional Repayments of Loans | 22 |
| §2.10. Settlements | 22 |
| §3. LETTERS OF CREDIT | 23 |
| §3.1. Letter of Credit Commitments | 23 |
| §3.2. Reimbursement Obligations of the Borrower | 25 |
| §3.3. Letter of Credit Payments | 25 |
| §3.4. Obligations Absolute | 26 |
| §3.5. Reliance by Issuer | 26 |
| §3.6. Letter of Credit Fee | 27 |
| §4. INTEREST; CERTAIN GENERAL PROVISIONS | 27 |
| §4.1. Interest on Loans; Payments of Interest | 27 |
| §4.2. Interest Period Options | 27 |
| §4.3. Indemnity | 28 |
| §4.4. Funds for Payments | 28 |
| §4.5. Computations | 29 |
| §4.6. Inability to Determine Eurocurrency Rate | 29 |
| §4.7. Illegality | 30 |
| §4.8. Additional Costs, Etc. | 30 |
| §4.9. Certificate | 32 |
| §4.10. Capital Adequacy | 32 |
| §4.11. Interest on Overdue Amounts | 32 |
| §4.12. Payment Date Adjustment for Non-Business Days | 32 |
| §4.13. Currency Matters | 33 |
| §5. REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES | 33 |
| §5.1. Corporate Authority | 33 |
| §5.2. Governmental Approvals | 34 |
| §5.3. Title to Properties; Leases | 34 |
| §5.4. Financial Statements | 34 |
| §5.5. No Material Changes, Etc. | 35 |
| §5.6. Franchises, Patents, Copyrights, Etc. | 35 |
| §5.7. No Litigation | 35 |
| §5.8. No Materially Adverse Contracts, etc. | 35 |
| §5.9. Compliance with other Instruments, Laws, Etc. | 36 |
| §5.10. Tax Status | 36 |
| §5.11. No Event of Default | 36 |
| §5.12. Holding Company and Investment Company Acts | 36 |
| §5.13. Certain Transactions | 36 |
| §5.14. ERISA Compliance | 37 |
| §5.15. Purpose Credit | 37 |
| §5.16. Environmental Compliance | 38 |
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-ii- |
| §5.17. Compliance With Fair Labor Standards Act | 38 |
| §5.18. Subsidiaries | 39 |
| §5.19. Solvency | 39 |
| §5.20. Disclosure | 39 |
| §6. AFFIRMATIVE COVENANTS OF THE BORROWER | 39 |
| §6.1. Punctual Payment | 39 |
| §6.2. Maintenance of Office | 39 |
| §6.3. Records and Accounts | 40 |
| §6.4. Financial Statements, Certificates and Information | 40 |
| §6.5. Corporate Existence; Maintenance of Properties | 41 |
| §6.6. Insurance | 42 |
| §6.7. Taxes; etc. | 42 |
| §6.8. Inspection of Properties and Books | 43 |
| §6.9. Compliance with Laws, Contracts, Licenses, and Permits | 43 |
| §6.10. Pension Plans | 43 |
| §6.11. Further Assurances | 44 |
| §6.12. Notices | 44 |
| §6.13. Fair Labor Standards Act | 44 |
| §6.14. Environmental Events | 44 |
| §6.15. Notification of Claims | 45 |
| §6.16. Use of Proceeds | 45 |
| §6.17. Notice of Litigation, Judgment and Material Events | 45 |
| §7. CERTAIN NEGATIVE COVENANTS OF THE BORROWER | 45 |
| §7.1. Indebtedness | 45 |
| §7.2. Restrictions on Liens | 45 |
| §7.3. Limitation on Sales, Consolidation, Merger, etc. | 48 |
| §7.4. Federal Regulations | 49 |
| §7.5. Restrictions on Ability to Repay Loans | 49 |
| §7.6. Employee Benefit Plans | 49 |
| §7.7. Compliance with Environmental Laws | 49 |
| §7.8. Limitation on Sale and Leaseback | 50 |
| §8. FINANCIAL COVENANTS OF THE BORROWER | 51 |
| §8.1. Funded Debt to Capitalization Ratio | 51 |
| §8.2. Interest Coverage Ratio | 51 |
| §9. CLOSING CONDITIONS | 51 |
| §9.1. Corporate Action | 51 |
| §9.2. Loan Documents | 51 |
| §9.3. Opinion of Borrower's Legal Counsel | 51 |
| §9.4. Certified Copies of Charter Documents | 52 |
| §9.5. Incumbency Certificate | 52 |
| §9.6. Good Standing Certificates | 52 |
| §9.7. Payment of Fees | 52 |
| §9.8. Assignments | 52 |
| §9.9. Receipt of Financial Statements | 52 |
| §10. CONDITIONS TO ALL BORROWINGS | 52 |
| §10.1. Representations True; No Event of Default | 52 |
| §10.2. No Legal Impediment | 53 |
| §10.3. Governmental Regulation | 53 |
| §10.4. Proceedings and Documents | 53 |
| §10.5. Exchange Limitation | 53 |
| §11. EVENTS OF DEFAULT; XXXXXXXXXXXX | 00 |
| §00. ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT | 56 |
| §12.1. Appointment and Authority | 56 |
| §12.2. Rights as a Lender | 56 |
| §12.3. Exculpatory Provisions | 56 |
| §12.4. Reliance by Administrative Agent | 57 |
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| §12.5. Delegation of Duties | 58 |
| §12.6. Resignation and Administrative Agent | 58 |
| §12.7. Non-Reliance on Administrative Agent and Other Lenders | 59 |
| §12.8. No Other Duties, Etc. | 59 |
| §12.9. Indemnity | 59 |
| §13. EXPENSES | 59 |
| §14. INDEMNIFICATION | 60 |
| §15. ADJUSTMENTS; SETOFF | 60 |
| §16. SURVIVAL OF COVENANTS, ETC. | 61 |
| §17. ASSIGNMENT AND PARTICIPATION | 61 |
| §17.1. General Conditions | 61 |
| §17.2. Assignments | 62 |
| §17.3. Register | 63 |
| §17.4. Participations | 63 |
| §17.5. Payments to Participants | 63 |
| §17.6. Miscellaneous Assignment Provisions | 63 |
| §17.7. Assignee or Participant Affiliated with the Borrower | 63 |
| §17.8. New Notes | 64 |
| §17.9. Special Purpose Funding Vehicle | 64 |
| §18. NOTICES, ETC. | 65 |
| §19. GOVERNING LAW | 66 |
| §20. HEADINGS | 66 |
| §21. COUNTERPARTS | 66 |
| §22. ENTIRE AGREEMENT, ETC. | 66 |
| §23. WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL | 66 |
| §24. CONSENTS, AMENDMENTS, WAIVERS, ETC. | 67 |
| §25. XXX XXXXXXXX | 00 |
| §00. SEVERABILITY | 68 |
| §27. CONFIDENTIALITY | 68 |
| §28. USA PATRIOT ACT | 68 |
| §29. INTEREST RATE LIMITATION | 69 |
| §30. ASSIGNMENT TO BANK OF AMERICA, N.A. | 69 |
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-iv- SCHEDULES AND EXHIBITS |
| EXHIBIT A | Form of Note |
| EXHIBIT B: | Form of Loan Request |
| EXHIBIT C: | Form of Compliance Certificate |
| EXHIBIT D: | Form of Opinion of Borrower's Counsel |
| EXHIBIT E: | Form of Assignment and Acceptance |
| SCHEDULE 1.1(a): | Commitments |
| SCHEDULE 1.1(b): | Eurocurrency Lending Offices |
| SCHEDULE 1.2: | Margin Percentages |
| SCHEDULE 2 | Disclosure Schedule |
AMENDED AND RESTATED
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(i) to increase the cost to any Lender of making, funding, issuing, renewing, extending or maintaining the Loans, any Letter of Credit or such Lender’s Commitment, or |
(ii) to reduce the amount of principal, interest or other amounts payable to such Lender hereunder on account of such Lender’s Commitment, the Loans or any Letter of Credit, or |
(iii) to require such Lender to make any payment or to forego any interest or Reimbursement Obligation or other sum payable hereunder, the amount of which payment or foregone interest or Reimbursement Obligation or other sum is calculated by reference to the gross amount of any sum receivable or deemed received by such Lender from the Borrower hereunder, |
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then, and in each such case, the Borrower will, upon written demand made by such Lender at any time and from time to time and as often as the occasion therefor may arise, pay to such Lender such additional amounts as will be sufficient to compensate such Lender for such additional cost, reduction, payment or foregone interest or Reimbursement Obligation or other sum (after such Lender shall have allocated the same fairly and equitably among all customers of any class generally affected thereby); provided that in the event that such additional cost, reduction, payment, or foregone interest or Reimbursement Obligations or other sum which was incurred by such Lender is subsequently returned or reimbursed to such Lender, such Lender shall return or reimburse to the Borrower any additional amount paid pursuant to this §4.8 by the Borrower to such Lender with respect thereto. In the event that any of the foregoing events occur, each Lender will use its reasonable efforts to take such actions as are reasonably feasible and available to such Lender to decrease the additional costs payable hereunder; provided that no Lender shall be required to transfer any activities related to this Agreement to any jurisdiction in which such -32- Lender does not at such time regularly conduct ordinary banking operations or to a jurisdiction which otherwise will be disadvantageous to such Lender. Such Lender shall give the Borrower written notice of any event causing such additional cost, reduction, payment or foregone interest or Reimbursement Obligation or other sum within 90 days after the occurrence thereof and the Borrower shall not be liable for any such costs incurred prior to the date which is 90 days prior to the date of such notice. §4.9. Certificate. A certificate setting forth any additional amounts payable pursuant to §§4.7 and 4.8 and the changes as a result of which such amounts are due and the computations in reasonable detail pursuant to which such amounts were calculated, submitted by any Lender to the Borrower, shall be conclusive absent manifest error. Upon delivery of a notice to such Lender no more than thirty (30) Business Days after receipt of such certificate, the Borrower shall have reasonable opportunity to review and discuss such computations with a responsible officer of such Lender. §4.10. Capital Adequacy. If any present or future, or any change in any present or future, law, governmental rule, regulation, policy, guideline or directive (whether or not having the force of law) or the interpretation thereof by any court or governmental authority with appropriate jurisdiction affects the amount of capital required or expected to be maintained by any Lender or any corporation controlling such Lender and such Lender determines that the amount of capital required to be maintained by it or such corporation is increased by or based upon the existence of its Commitment or the Loans made pursuant hereto, then such Lender may notify the Borrower of such fact. To the extent that the costs of such increased capital requirements are not reflected in the rates of interest payable hereunder, the Borrower and such Lender shall thereafter attempt to negotiate in good faith, within thirty (30) days after the day on which the Borrower receives such notice, an adjustment payable hereunder that will adequately compensate such Lender in light of these circumstances. If the Borrower and such Lender are unable to agree to such adjustment within thirty (30) days after the date on which the Borrower receives such notice, then commencing on the date of such notice (but not earlier than the effective date of any such increased capital requirement), the fees payable hereunder shall increase by an amount that will, in such Lender’s reasonable determination, provide adequate compensation to such Lender, such amount to be conclusive and binding on the Borrower, absent manifest error. Each Lender shall allocate such cost increases among its customers in good faith and on an equitable basis. §4.11. Interest on Overdue Amounts. Overdue principal and (to the extent permitted by applicable law) interest on the Loans and all other overdue amounts payable hereunder or under any of the other Loan Documents shall bear interest compounded daily and payable on demand at a rate per annum which is two percent (2%) above the per annum interest rate otherwise applicable thereto, until such amount shall be paid in full (after as well as before judgment). §4.12. Payment Date Adjustment for Non-Business Days. Unless otherwise explicitly set forth herein, if any payment hereunder becomes due on a day which is not a Business Day, the due date of such payment shall be extended to the next succeeding Business Day, and such extension of time shall be included in computing interest and fees in connection with such payment. -33- §4.13. Currency Matters. Dollars are the currency of account and payment for each and every sum at any time due from the Borrower hereunder; provided that: (a) except as expressly provided in this Credit Agreement, each repayment of a Loan or a part thereof shall be made in the currency in which such Loan is denominated at the time of that repayment; (b) each payment of interest shall be made in the currency in which such principal or other sum in respect of which such interest is payable, is denominated; (c) each payment of Letter of Credit Fees, the Facility Fees and the Utilization Fees shall be in Dollars; (d) each payment in respect of costs, expenses and indemnities shall be made in the currency in which the same were incurred; and (e) any amount expressed to be payable in Euros shall be paid in Euros. No payment to the Administrative Agent or any Lender (whether under any judgment or court order or otherwise) shall discharge the obligation or liability in respect of which it was made unless and until the Administrative Agent or such Lender shall have received payment in full in the currency in which such obligation or liability was incurred, and to the extent that the amount of any such payment shall, on actual conversion into such currency, fall short of such obligation or liability expressed in that currency, the Borrower shall indemnify and hold harmless the Administrative Agent or such Lender, as the case may be, with respect to the amount of the shortfall, with such indemnity surviving the termination of this Credit Agreement and any legal proceeding, judgment or court order pursuant to which the original payment was made which resulted in the shortfall. §5. REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES. The Borrower represents and warrants to the Lenders and the Administrative Agent as follows: §5.1. Corporate Authority. (a) Incorporation; Good Standing. Each of the Borrower and its Material Subsidiaries (i) is a corporation, limited liability company or other legal entity duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of its state of organization, (ii) has all requisite power and authority and legal right to own and operate its property, to lease the property it operates as lessee and to conduct its business as now conducted and as presently contemplated, and (iii) is in good standing as a foreign corporation, foreign limited liability company or other foreign legal entity and is duly authorized to do business in each jurisdiction where such qualification is necessary except where (x) a failure to be so qualified would not have a materially adverse effect on the business, assets or financial condition of the Borrower or the Borrower and its Material Subsidiaries, taken as a whole or the Borrower’s ability to perform the Obligations or (y) the Borrower or such Material Subsidiary has applied for qualification to do business in such jurisdiction and such application is pending. -34- (b) Authorization. The execution, delivery and performance of this Credit Agreement and the other Loan Documents to which the Borrower is or is to become a party and the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby (i) are within the corporate authority and legal right of the Borrower, (ii) have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate proceedings, (iii) do not conflict with or result in any breach or contravention of any provision of law, statute, rule or regulation to which the Borrower is subject or any judgment, order, writ, injunction, license or permit applicable to the Borrower which would have a materially adverse effect on the business, assets or financial condition of the Borrower or the Borrower and its Material Subsidiaries, taken as a whole and (iv) do not conflict with any provision of the corporate charter or bylaws of, or any agreement or other instrument binding upon, the Borrower. (c) Enforceability. The execution and delivery of this Credit Agreement and the other Loan Documents to which the Borrower is or is to become a party will result in valid and legally binding obligations of the Borrower enforceable against it in accordance with the respective terms and provisions hereof and thereof, except as enforceability is limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or other laws relating to or affecting generally the enforcement of creditors’ rights and except to the extent that availability of the remedy of specific performance or injunctive relief is subject to the discretion of the court before which any proceeding therefor may be brought. §5.2. Governmental Approvals. The execution, delivery and performance by the Borrower of this Credit Agreement and the other Loan Documents to which the Borrower is or is to become a party and the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby do not require the Borrower to obtain the approval or consent of, to make a filing with, or to perform or obtain the performance of any other act by or in respect of any governmental agency or authority other than those already obtained or performed. §5.3. Title to Properties; Leases. Other than as noted on the audited consolidated financial statements of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries as at the Balance Sheet Date, the Borrower and its Subsidiaries own all of the assets reflected in the consolidated balance sheet of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries as at the Balance Sheet Date or acquired since that date (except property and assets sold or otherwise disposed of in the ordinary course of business since that date and except for defects of title to certain real property which do not materially impair the value or usefulness thereof), subject to no rights of others, including any mortgages, leases, conditional sales agreements, title retention agreements, liens or other encumbrances, except for liens permitted pursuant to §7.2. The Borrower and its Material Subsidiaries enjoy peaceful and undisturbed possession under all leases under which they are operating, and all said leases are valid and subsisting and in full force and effect except to the extent that the failure to enjoy peaceful and undisturbed possession of such lease or the failure of such lease to be valid, subsisting and in full force and effect does not have a material adverse effect on the assets, financial condition or business of the Borrower and its Material Subsidiaries, taken as a whole. §5.4. Financial Statements. There has been furnished to each of the Lenders a consolidated balance sheet of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries as at the Balance Sheet Date, and related consolidated statements of income, retained earnings and cash flow for the fiscal year then ended, certified by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, the Borrower’s independent certified public accountants. There has also been furnished to each of the -35- Lenders an unaudited consolidated balance sheet of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries as at the end of fiscal quarter ending September 30, 2004, and the related consolidated statement of income and consolidated statement of cash flow for the portion of the Borrower’s fiscal year then elapsed, all in reasonable detail. Such balance sheets and statements of income, retained earnings and cash flow have been prepared in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles consistently applied and are correct and complete and fairly present the financial condition of the Borrower and its Material Subsidiaries as at the close of business as at the respective dates of such balance sheets and the consolidated results of operations for the respective periods then ended. There are no contingent liabilities of the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries as at the respective dates of such balance sheets involving material amounts, known to the officers of the Borrower, required to be disclosed in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and not disclosed in such balance sheets and the related notes thereto. §5.5. No Material Changes, Etc. As of the Closing Date, there has occurred no Material Adverse Change since the Balance Sheet Date. §5.6. Franchises, Patents, Copyrights, Etc. Each of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries, respectively, possesses or has a valid right to use all material franchises, patents, copyrights, inventions, technology, trademark registrations, trademarks, trade names, trade secrets, service marks, FCC Licenses, other licenses and permits, and rights in respect of the foregoing and, to its knowledge, patent and trademark applications and rights in respect thereto (collectively, the “Proprietary Rights”), adequate for the conduct of its business substantially as now conducted without known conflict with any rights of others which could reasonably be expected to affect or impair in a material manner the business or assets of the Borrower and its Material Subsidiaries, taken as a whole. Except as disclosed in the financial statements referred to in §5.4 hereof, the Borrower is not aware of any existing or threatened infringement or misappropriation of (a) any Proprietary Rights of others by the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries or (b) any Proprietary Rights of the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries by others, in any way which could reasonably be expected to materially adversely affect the business, assets or condition, financial or otherwise, of the Borrower and its Material Subsidiaries, taken as a whole. §5.7. No Litigation. There are no actions, suits, proceedings or investigations of any kind pending or, to the Borrower’s knowledge, threatened against the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries before any court, tribunal or administrative agency or board that, if adversely determined are reasonably likely to in the aggregate, materially adversely affect the properties, assets, financial condition or business of the Borrower and its Material Subsidiaries, taken as a whole or materially impair the right of the Borrower and its Material Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, to carry on business substantially as now conducted by them, or result in any substantial liability not adequately covered by insurance, or for which adequate reserves are not maintained on the consolidated balance sheet of the Borrower, or which question the validity of this Credit Agreement or any of the other Loan Documents, or any action taken or to be taken pursuant hereto or thereto. §5.8. No Materially Adverse Contracts, etc. Neither the Borrower nor any of its Subsidiaries is subject to any charter, corporate or other legal restriction, or any judgment, decree, order, rule or regulation that has or, to the Borrower’s knowledge, is expected in the -36- future to have any materially adverse effect on the business, assets or financial condition of the Borrower and its Material Subsidiaries, taken as a whole. Neither the Borrower nor any of its Subsidiaries is a party to any contract or agreement that has or, to the Borrower’s knowledge, is expected, in the judgment of the Borrower’s officers, to have any materially adverse effect on the business, assets or financial condition of the Borrower and its Material Subsidiaries, taken as a whole. §5.9. Compliance with other Instruments, Laws, Etc. Neither the Borrower nor any of its Subsidiaries is in violation of any provision of its charter documents, bylaws, or any agreement or instrument to which it is subject or by which it or any of its properties are bound or any decree, order, judgment, statute, license, rule or regulation, in any of the foregoing cases in a manner that is reasonably likely to result in the imposition of substantial penalties or materially and adversely affect the financial condition, properties or business of the Borrower and its Material Subsidiaries, taken as a whole or the Borrower’s ability to perform the Obligations. §5.10. Tax Status. The Borrower and, to the Borrower’s knowledge, its Subsidiaries have (a) made or filed all federal and state income and all other material tax returns, reports and declarations required by any jurisdiction to which any of them is subject or properly filed for and received extensions with respect thereto which are still in full force and effect and which have been fully complied with in all material respects, (b) paid all taxes and other governmental assessments and charges shown or determined to be due on such returns, reports and declarations, except those being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings and for which adequate reserves, to the extent required by Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, have been established and (c) set aside on their books provisions reasonably adequate for the payment of all estimated taxes for periods subsequent to the periods to which such returns, reports or declarations apply. §5.11. No Event of Default. No Default or Event of Default has occurred and is continuing. §5.12. Holding Company and Investment Company Acts. Neither the Borrower nor any of its Subsidiaries is a “holding company”, or a “subsidiary company” of a “holding company”, or an “affiliate” of a “holding company”, as such terms are defined in the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935; nor is it a “registered investment company”, or an “affiliated company” or a “principal underwriter” of a “registered investment company”, as such terms are defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940. §5.13. Certain Transactions. Except for arm’s length transactions pursuant to which the Borrower makes payments in the ordinary course of business upon terms no less favorable than the Borrower could obtain from third parties and transactions disclosed in the Borrower’s Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for its fiscal year ending December 31, 2003, none of the officers, directors or other key employees of the Borrower or any of its Material Subsidiaries is presently a party to any transaction with the Borrower or any of its Material Subsidiaries (other than for services as employees, officers and directors), including any contract, agreement or other arrangement providing for the furnishing of services to or by, providing for rental of real or personal property to or from, or otherwise requiring payments to or from any officer, director, or such key employee or, to the knowledge of the -37- Borrower, any corporation, partnership, trust or other entity in which any officer, director, or any such key employee has a substantial interest or is an officer, director, trustee or partner. §5.14. ERISA Compliance. (a) In General. To the Borrower’s knowledge, the Borrower and its Subsidiaries have complied in all material respects with provisions of the Code, to the extent applicable, and of ERISA relevant to the Borrower’s Pension Plans (as defined in Section 3(2) of ERISA), including the provisions thereof respecting funding requirements for, and the termination of, such plans and respecting prohibited transactions thereunder, and the funding of any Guaranteed Pension Plan complies with the minimum funding standards of Section 412 of the Code. (b) Guaranteed Pension Plans. Each contribution required to be made to a Guaranteed Pension Plan, whether required to be made to avoid the incurrence of an accumulated funding deficiency, the notice or lien provisions of §302(f) of ERISA, or otherwise, has been timely made. No waiver of an accumulated funding deficiency or extension of amortization periods has been received with respect to any Guaranteed Pension Plan. No liability to the PBGC (other than required insurance premiums, all of which have been paid) has been incurred by the Borrowers or any ERISA Affiliate with respect to any Guaranteed Pension Plan and there has not been any ERISA Reportable Event, or any other event or condition which presents a material risk of termination of any Guaranteed Pension Plan by the PBGC. Based on the latest valuation of each Guaranteed Pension Plan (which in each case occurred within twelve months of the date of this representation), and except as disclosed in Section 5.14 of the Disclosure Schedule, the current value of all accrued benefits under each of such plans did not, as of the latest valuation date, exceed the then current value of the assets of such plans allocable to such accrued benefits based upon the actuarial methods and assumptions used for such plans by an amount that could reasonably be expected to have a materially adverse effect on the assets, financial condition or business of the Borrower and its Material Subsidiaries, taken as whole. (c) Multiemployer Plans. Neither the Borrower nor any ERISA Affiliate has incurred any material liability (including secondary liability) to any Multiemployer Plan as a result of a complete or partial withdrawal from such Multiemployer Plan under §4201 of ERISA or as a result of a sale of assets described in §4204 of ERISA. Neither the Borrower nor any ERISA Affiliate has been notified that any Multiemployer Plan is in reorganization or insolvent under and within the meaning of §4241 or §4245 of ERISA or that any Multiemployer Plan intends to terminate or has been terminated under §4041A of ERISA, which reorganization, insolvency or termination could reasonably be expected to result in the incurrence by the Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate of any material liability (including secondary liability). §5.15. Purpose Credit. (a) The Borrower has not engaged principally or as one of its important activities in the business of extending credit for the purpose of “purchasing” or “carrying” any “margin stock” within the respective meanings of each of the quoted terms under Regulation U of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. -38- (b) The Borrower shall not, directly or indirectly, apply any part of the proceeds of the Loans for the purpose of or in connection with the Borrower’s broker-dealer activities, if any, within the meaning of Regulation T of the Federal Reserve Board (Title 12, Part 220, Code of Federal Regulations, as amended) or any published regulations, interpretations or rulings thereunder. (c) The issuance of the Notes and the application of the proceeds of the Loans by the Borrower will not contravene Regulation X of the Federal Reserve Board (Title 12, Part 224, Code of Federal Regulations, as amended) or any published regulations, interpretations or rulings thereunder. §5.16. Environmental Compliance. (a) The Borrower has no actual knowledge that any operator of the Real Estate, has violated, or is alleged to have violated, any judgment, decree, order, law, license, rule or regulation pertaining to environmental matters (hereinafter “Environmental Laws”), which violation could reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the environment or the business, assets or financial condition of the Borrower or any of its Material Subsidiaries, taken as a whole. (b) Neither the Borrower nor any of its Material Subsidiaries has received notice from any third party including, without limitation, any federal, state or local governmental authority, (i) that any one of them has been identified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) as a potentially responsible party under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 with respect to a site listed on the National Priorities List, 40 C.F.R. Part 000 Xxxxxxxx X; (ii) that any hazardous waste, as defined by 42 U.S.C. §6903(5), any hazardous substances as defined by 42 U.S.C. §9601(14), any pollutant or contaminant as defined by 42 U.S.C. §9601(33) and any toxic substances, oil or hazardous materials or other chemicals or substances regulated by any Environmental Laws (hereinafter “Hazardous Substances”) which any one of them has generated, transported or disposed of has been found at any site at which a federal, state or local agency or other third party has conducted or has ordered that the Borrower or any of its Material Subsidiaries conduct a remedial investigation, removal or other response action pursuant to any Environmental Law; or (iii) that it is or shall be a named party to any claim, action, cause of action, complaint, or legal or administrative proceeding (in each case, contingent or otherwise) arising out of any third party’s incurrence of costs, expenses, losses or damages of any kind whatsoever in connection with the release of Hazardous Substances. (c) Neither the Borrower nor any of its Material Subsidiaries are subject to any applicable Environmental Law requiring the performance of Hazardous Substances site assessments, or the removal or remediation of Hazardous Substances, or the giving of notice to any governmental agency or the recording or delivery to other Persons of an environmental disclosure document or statement by virtue of the transactions set forth herein and contemplated hereby or the effectiveness of any other transactions contemplated hereby. §5.17. Compliance With Fair Labor Standards Act. To the Borrower’s knowledge, the Borrower has at all times operated its business in compliance with all applicable provisions -39- of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. §§106 and 207) except to the extent that the Borrower’s failure to comply therewith could not reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the business, assets or condition, financial or otherwise, of the Borrower and its Material Subsidiaries, taken as a whole. To the Borrower’s knowledge, none of the Borrower’s inventory has been produced by employees who are or were employed in violation of the minimum wage or maximum hour provisions of such Act or any regulations thereunder. §5.18. Subsidiaries. §5.18 of the Disclosure Schedule identifies with respect to each Material Subsidiary the jurisdiction in which it is organized and the approximate percentage of the outstanding Voting Stock and other Capital Stock of that Subsidiary held either by the Borrower or another Subsidiary. All of the outstanding Capital Stock of each Material Subsidiary has been duly authorized and issued and is fully-paid and non-assessable; and, except as indicated in §5.18 of the Disclosure Schedule, free and clear of any pledge, charge, lien, security interest or other encumbrance or restriction on transfer. §5.19. Solvency. The Borrower, both before and after giving effect to the transactions contemplated by this Credit Agreement and the other Loan Documents (a) is solvent, (b) has assets having a fair value in excess of its liabilities, (c) has assets having a fair value in excess of the amount required to pay its liabilities on existing debts as such debts become absolute and matured, and (d) has, and expects to continue to have, access to adequate capital for the conduct of its business and the ability to pay its debts from time to time incurred in connection with the operation of its business as such debts mature. §5.20. Disclosure. No representation or warranty made by the Borrower in the Credit Agreement or any of the other Loan Documents or in any other document furnished from time to time in connection herewith or therewith, contains any misrepresentation of a material fact or omits to state any material fact necessary to make the statements herein or therein not misleading. There is no fact known to the Borrower that materially adversely affects, or that could reasonably be expected to materially adversely affect, the business, property or financial condition of the Borrower and its Material Subsidiaries taken as a whole. §6. AFFIRMATIVE COVENANTS OF THE BORROWER. The Borrower covenants and agrees that, so long as any Loan, Unpaid Reimbursement Obligation, Letter of Credit or Note is outstanding or any Lender has any obligation to make any Loans or the Administrative Agent has any obligation to issue, extend or renew any Letters of Credit: §6.1. Punctual Payment. The Borrower will duly and punctually pay or cause to be paid the principal and interest on the Loans, all Reimbursement Obligations, the Letter of Credit Fees, the Facility Fee, and the Utilization Fee, all in accordance with the terms of this Credit Agreement and the Notes. §6.2. Maintenance of Office. The Borrower will maintain its chief executive office in Chicago, Illinois, or at such other place in the United States of America as the Borrower shall designate upon written notice to the Administrative Agent, where notices, presentations and demands to or upon the Borrower in respect of the Loan Documents may be given or made. -40- §6.3. Records and Accounts. The Borrower will (a) keep, and cause each of its Subsidiaries to keep, true and accurate records and books of account in which full, true and correct entries will be made in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and (b) maintain adequate accounts and reserves for all taxes (including income taxes), depreciation, depletion, obsolescence and amortization of its properties and the properties of its Subsidiaries, contingencies, and other reserves. §6.4. Financial Statements, Certificates and Information. The Borrower will deliver to each of the Lenders or, with respect to paragraph (f) of this §6.4 only, make available to each of the Lenders at the Borrower’s principal place of business: (a) as soon as practicable, but in any event not later than ninety (90) days after the end of each fiscal year of the Borrower, the consolidated balance sheet of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries as at the end of such fiscal year, and the related consolidated statements of income, retained earnings and cash flow for such fiscal year, each setting forth in comparative form the figures for the previous fiscal year and all such consolidated statements to be in reasonable detail, prepared in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, and certified without material qualification as to any circumstance which could reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the Borrower and its Material Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP or independent public accountants of nationally recognized standing selected by the Borrower and acceptable to the Required Lenders, together with a written statement from such accountants to the effect that they have read a copy of this Credit Agreement, and that, in making the examination necessary to said certification, they have obtained no knowledge of any Default or Event of Default, or, if such accountants shall have obtained knowledge of any then existing Default or Event of Default they shall disclose in such statement any such Default or Event of Default; provided that such accountants shall not be liable to the Lenders for failure to obtain knowledge of any Default or Event of Default; (b) as soon as practicable, but in any event not later than forty-five (45) days after the end of each of the first three fiscal quarters in each of the Borrower’s fiscal years, copies of the unaudited consolidated balance sheet of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries as at the end of such quarter, and the related consolidated statements of income and cash flow for such fiscal quarter and the portion of the Borrower’s fiscal year then elapsed, together with comparative consolidated figures for the same periods of the preceding fiscal year, all in reasonable detail and prepared in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and accompanied by a certificate of the principal financial officer of the Borrower stating that the information contained in such financial statements is correct and complete and fairly presents the financial position of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries as of the date thereof and the results of their operations for the periods covered thereby (subject to year-end adjustments); (c) simultaneously with the delivery of the financial statements referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) above, a statement certified by the principal financial officer of the Borrower in substantially the form of Exhibit C hereto and setting forth in reasonable detail computations (based on the four-fiscal quarter period then ended) evidencing compliance with the covenants contained in §§8.1 and 8.2 as at the end of the period covered by such statements or during such period as may be required, and (if applicable) reconciliations to reflect changes in -41- Generally Accepted Accounting Principles since the Balance Sheet Date (each a “Compliance Certificate”); (d) contemporaneously with the filing or mailing thereof, copies of all material of a financial nature filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission or sent to the stockholders of the Borrower or any holder of the Borrower’s Funded Debt; (e) promptly upon request by the Administrative Agent or any Lender, all detailed audits or reports submitted to the Borrower by independent public accountants in connection with any annual or interim audits of the books of the Borrower or any Material Subsidiary; and (f) from time to time upon request by the Administrative Agent or any Lender, such other financial data and information (including, without limitation, accountants management letters and such other information regarding the business and affairs and condition, financial and otherwise, of the Borrower, its Subsidiaries and their respective properties) as the Administrative Agent or any Lender may reasonably request, subject to the confidentiality provisions set forth in §26 hereof. Documents required to be delivered pursuant to this §6.4 (to the extent any such documents are included in materials otherwise filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission) may be delivered electronically and if so delivered, shall be deemed to have been delivered on the date (i) on which the Borrower posts such documents, or provides a link thereto on the Borrower’s website on the Internet at the Borrower’s website address; or (ii) on which such documents are posted on the Borrower’s behalf on an Internet or intranet website, if any, to which each Lender and the Administrative Agent have access (whether a commercial, third-party website or whether sponsored by the Administrative Agent); provided that: (i) the Borrower shall deliver paper copies of such documents to the Administrative Agent or any Lender that requests the Borrower to deliver such paper copies until a written request to cease delivering paper copies is given by the Administrative Agent or such Lender and (ii) the Borrower shall notify the Administrative Agent and each Lender (by telecopier or electronic mail) of the posting of any such documents and provide to the Administrative Agent by electronic mail electronic versions (i.e., soft copies) of such documents. Notwithstanding anything contained herein, in every instance the Borrower shall be required to provide paper or PDF copies of the Compliance Certificates required by §6.4(c) to the Administrative Agent. Except for such Compliance Certificates, the Administrative Agent shall have no obligation to request the delivery or to maintain copies of the documents referred to above, and in any event shall have no responsibility to monitor compliance by the Borrower with any such request for delivery, and each Lender shall be solely responsible for requesting delivery to it or maintaining its copies of such documents. §6.5. Corporate Existence; Maintenance of Properties. The Borrower will do or cause to be done all things necessary to preserve and keep in full force and effect its corporate existence, material rights, franchises and Proprietary Rights and those of its Subsidiaries except to the extent that the Borrower’s failure to do so could not reasonably be expected to have a materially adverse effect on the assets, financial condition or business of the Borrower and its Material Subsidiaries, taken as a whole. The Borrower (a) will cause all of its material properties and those of its Subsidiaries used or useful in the conduct of its business or the business of its Subsidiaries to be maintained and kept in good condition, repair and working order and supplied -42- with all reasonably necessary equipment, (b) will cause to be made all reasonably necessary repairs, renewals, replacements, betterments and improvements thereof, all as in the judgment of the Borrower may be necessary so that the business carried on in connection therewith may be properly and advantageously conducted at all times, and (c) will, and will cause each of its Material Subsidiaries to, continue to engage primarily in the businesses now conducted by them and in related businesses; provided that nothing in this §6.5 shall prevent the Borrower from discontinuing the operation and maintenance of any of its properties or those of its Material Subsidiaries if such discontinuance is, in the sole judgment of the Borrower, desirable in the conduct of its or their business and that does not in the aggregate materially adversely affect the business of the Borrower and its Material Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis. Anything in this Credit Agreement express or implied to the contrary notwithstanding, the creation, organization or formation, and continuing existence as a direct or indirect Subsidiary of the Borrower, of one or more limited liability companies or other legal entities, and the dissolution, termination, winding up, conversion, merger, consolidation or other reorganization of any corporate Subsidiary of the Borrower, in each case, in order to change, or as a part of a transaction or series of related transactions changing, any Subsidiary of the Borrower from a corporation into a limited liability company or other legal entity, shall not be or be deemed to be (i) prohibited or otherwise restricted by the provisions of this §6.5 or any other provisions of this Credit Agreement, (ii) a breach of paragraph (a) of §5.1 or a breach of any other representations or warranties of the Credit Agreement, (iii) a breach of (i.e., failure to satisfy) any closing conditions or other conditions precedent in this Credit Agreement, or (iv) any Default or Event of Default under §11 or any other provisions of this Credit Agreement. §6.6. Insurance. The Borrower will, and will cause each of its Subsidiaries to, maintain with financially sound and reputable insurers insurance with respect to its insurable properties and business against such casualties and contingencies as shall be in accordance with the general practices of businesses engaged in similar activities in similar geographic areas and in amounts, containing such terms, in such forms and for such periods as may be reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent; provided, however, that the Borrower and any of its Subsidiaries may self-insure for physical damage to automobiles, welfare benefits and against liability to workers in any state or jurisdiction, or may effect worker’s compensation insurance therein through an insurance fund operated by such state or jurisdiction; and provided, further, that notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the Borrower and each of its Subsidiaries will keep its assets which are of an insurable character insured by financially sound and reputable insurers against loss or damage by fire or explosion in amounts sufficient to prevent the Borrower or such Subsidiary from becoming a co-insurer and not in any event less than eighty percent (80%) of the full insurable value of the property insured, subject to customary exclusions. §6.7. Taxes; etc. The Borrower will, and will cause each of its Subsidiaries to, (a) duly pay and discharge, or cause to be paid and discharged, before the same shall become overdue or (b) properly file for and receive extensions for such payment and duly pay and discharge, or cause to be paid and discharged, within such extension period, all taxes, assessments and other governmental charges (other than taxes, assessments and other governmental charges imposed by foreign jurisdictions, including states in which neither the Borrower nor any of its Subsidiaries conducts a material portion of its business, that in the aggregate are not material to the business or assets of the Borrower on an individual basis or of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis) imposed upon it and its real properties, sales and activities, or any part -43- thereof, or upon the income or profits therefrom, as well as all claims for labor, materials, or supplies that if unpaid might by law become a lien or charge upon any of its property; provided, however, that any such tax, assessment, charge, levy or claim need not be paid if the validity or amount thereof shall currently be contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings and if the Borrower or such Subsidiary shall have set aside on its books adequate reserves with respect thereto; and provided further that the Borrower and each Subsidiary of the Borrower will pay all such taxes, assessments, charges, levies or claims forthwith upon the commencement of proceedings to foreclose any lien that may have attached as security therefor. §6.8. Inspection of Properties and Books. The Borrower shall permit the Lenders, through the Administrative Agent or any of the Lenders’ other designated representatives, to visit and inspect any of the properties of the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries, to examine the books of account of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries (and to make copies thereof and extracts therefrom), and to discuss the affairs, finances and accounts of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries with, and to be advised as to the same by, its and their officers, employees and independent public accountants (such accountants being hereby authorized by the Borrower to so discuss and advise) all at such reasonable times and intervals as the Administrative Agent or any Lender may reasonably request. In connection with any such inspections or discussions, (a) the Borrower shall be given reasonable notice of and shall have the right to be present at such inspections or discussions, and (b) each Lender, on behalf of itself and any representative authorized by it, agrees to treat all non-public information as confidential information pursuant to §27 and to take all reasonable precautions to prevent such confidential information from being exposed to third parties and to those of its employees and representatives who do not need to know such confidential information; provided that this §6.8 shall not affect the disclosure by any Lender of information required to be disclosed to its auditors, regulatory agencies or pursuant to subpoena or other legal process or by virtue of any other law, regulation, order or interpretation. §6.9. Compliance with Laws, Contracts, Licenses, and Permits. The Borrower will, and will cause each of its Material Subsidiaries to, comply with (a) the applicable laws and regulations wheresoever its business is conducted, including all Environmental Laws which may be in effect from time to time, (b) the provisions of its charter documents and by-laws, (c) all agreements and instruments by which it or any of its properties or business may be bound and (d) all applicable decrees, orders, and judgments, if in each such case failure to comply could reasonably be expected to have a materially adverse effect on the Borrower and its Material Subsidiaries, taken as a whole. If at any time any authorization, consent, approval, permit or license from any officer, agency or instrumentality of any government shall become necessary or required in order that the Borrower may pay, perform or otherwise fulfill any of the Obligations, the Borrower will promptly take or cause to be taken all reasonable steps within the power of the Borrower to obtain such authorization, consent, approval, permit or license and furnish the Lenders with evidence thereof. §6.10. Pension Plans. The Borrower and any ERISA Affiliate shall: (a) promptly after the Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate knows or has reason to know that any ERISA Reportable Event has occurred, unless the PBGC has waived the reporting requirement for such Reportable Event, notify the Administrative Agent that such ERISA Reportable Event has occurred; -44- (b) promptly upon request make available to each Lender at the Borrower’s principal place of business a copy of (i) any actuarial statement related to any pension plan required to be submitted under §103(d) of ERISA and (ii) any notice, report or demand sent or received by a pension plan under §4065 of ERISA if such notice, report or demand, or the matters described or referred to therein, could reasonably be expected to result in the incurrence by the Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate of any material liability; (c) furnish to each Lender forthwith, a copy of (i) any notice of a pension plan termination sent to the PBGC under §4041(a) of ERISA and (ii) any notice, report or demand sent or received by a pension plan under §§4041, 4042, 4043, 4063, 4066 or 4068 of ERISA; and (d) furnish to each Lender a copy of any request for waiver from the funding standards or extension of the amortization periods required by §412 of the Code no later than the date on which the request is submitted to the Department of Labor or the Internal Revenue Service, as the case may be. §6.11. Further Assurances. The Borrower will cooperate with the Lenders and the Administrative Agent and execute such further instruments and documents as the Lenders or the Administrative Agent shall reasonably request to carry out to their satisfaction the transactions contemplated by this Credit Agreement and the other Loan Documents. §6.12. Notices. The Borrower will promptly notify the Administrative Agent and each of the Lenders in writing of the occurrence of any Default or Event of Default. If any Person shall give any notice or take any other action in respect of a claimed default (whether or not constituting an Event of Default) under this Credit Agreement or any other material note, evidence of indebtedness, indenture or other obligation to which or with respect to which the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries is a party or obligor, whether as principal or surety, the Borrower shall forthwith give written notice thereof to each of the Lenders, describing the notice or action and the nature of the claimed default. §6.13. Fair Labor Standards Act. The Borrower will, and will cause each of its Subsidiaries to, at all times operate its business in compliance with all applicable provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. §§ 206 and 207) if the failure to comply with such provisions could reasonably be expected to have a materially adverse effect on the Borrower and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole. §6.14. Environmental Events. The Borrower will promptly give notice to the Administrative Agent (a) of any violation of any Environmental Laws that the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries reports in writing or is reportable by such Person in writing (or for which any written report supplemental to any oral report is made) to any federal, state or local environmental agency and (b) upon becoming aware thereof, of any inquiry, proceeding, investigation, or other action, including a notice from any agency of potential environmental liability, or any federal, state or local environmental agency or board, that could reasonably be expected to materially adversely affect the assets, liabilities, financial condition or operations of the Borrower and its Material Subsidiaries taken as a whole. -45- §6.15. Notification of Claims. The Borrower will, immediately upon becoming aware thereof, notify the Administrative Agent in writing of any uninsured set-off, claims (including, with respect to the Real Estate, environmental claims), withholdings or other defenses which could reasonably be expected to have a materially adverse affect on the assets, liabilities, financial condition or operations of the Borrower and its Material Subsidiaries taken as a whole. §6.16. Use of Proceeds. The Borrower will use the proceeds of the Loans and obtain Letters of Credit solely for working capital and other general corporate purposes, including without limitation the financing of capital expenditures and acquisitions. §6.17. Notice of Litigation, Judgment and Material Events. The Borrower will give notice to the Administrative Agent in writing within fifteen (15) days after becoming aware of any litigation or proceedings threatened in writing or any pending litigation and proceedings affecting the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries or to which the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries is or becomes a party involving an uninsured claim against the Borrower individually or the Borrower and its Subsidiaries taken as a whole that could reasonably be expected to have a materially adverse effect on the Borrower and its Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis and stating the nature and status of such litigation or proceedings. The Borrower will, and will cause each of its Subsidiaries to, give notice to the Administrative Agent, in writing, in form and detail reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent, (a) within ten (10) days after any judgment not covered by insurance or reserves, final or otherwise, against the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries in an amount which in aggregate with other such judgments against the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries exceeds five percent (5%) of the Consolidated Net Worth of the Borrower and (b) promptly after becoming aware thereof, of the occurrence of any event that it is reasonable to expect will be required to be reported to or filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. §7. CERTAIN NEGATIVE COVENANTS OF THE BORROWER. The Borrower covenants and agrees that, so long as any Loan, Unpaid Reimbursement Obligations, Letter of Credit or Note is outstanding or any Lender has any obligation to make any Loans or the Administrative Agent has any obligation to issue, extend or renew any Letters of Credit: §7.1. Indebtedness. The Borrower will not, and will not permit any of its Subsidiaries to incur any Funded Debt if an Event of Default will occur hereunder immediately after giving effect thereto as a consequence of the incurrence of such Funded Debt. The Borrower will not incur any obligation to repay money borrowed in an aggregate principal amount in excess of $225,000,000 under or in connection with any line of credit having an initial or scheduled maturity date of less than one year from the initial borrowing date or renewal date therefor. §7.2. Restrictions on Liens. The Borrower will not, and will not cause or permit any of its Subsidiaries to, create, incur or permit to exist any Liens of any kind on any property or assets of any character, whether now owned or hereafter acquired other than the following Liens: (a) Liens to secure taxes, assessments and other governmental charges in respect of obligations not overdue or Liens on properties to secure claims for labor, material or supplies in respect of obligations not overdue or in respect of which the Borrower or relevant Subsidiary shall at the time in good faith be prosecuting an appeal or proceeding for review and in respect of -46- which a stay of execution shall have been obtained pending such appeal or review and for which any reserves required in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles have been established; (b) deposits or pledges made in connection with, or to secure payment of, workmen’s compensation, unemployment insurance, old age pensions or other social security obligations; (c) Liens on properties in respect of judgments or awards that have been in force for less than the applicable period for taking an appeal so long as execution is not levied thereunder or in respect of which the Borrower or relevant Subsidiary shall at the time in good faith be prosecuting an appeal or proceeding for review and in respect of which a stay of execution shall have been obtained pending such appeal or review and for which any reserves required in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles have been established; (d) Liens of carriers, warehousemen, mechanics and materialmen, and other like liens on properties in existence less than 120 days from the date of creation thereof in respect of obligations not overdue; (e) encumbrances consisting of easements, rights of way, zoning restrictions, restrictions on the use of real property and defects and irregularities in the title thereto, landlord’s or lessor’s Liens under leases to which the Borrower or relevant Subsidiary is a party, and other minor Liens or encumbrances none of which in the opinion of the Borrower interferes materially with the use of the property affected in the ordinary conduct of the business of the Borrower or such Subsidiary, which defects do not individually or in the aggregate have a materially adverse effect on the business of the Borrower or such Subsidiary individually or of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries taken as a whole; (f) presently outstanding Liens listed in §7.2 of the Disclosure Schedule; (g) Liens on property existing at the time the Borrower or relevant Subsidiary acquires such property and not created in anticipation of such acquisition, purchase money security interests in or purchase money mortgages on real or personal property acquired or constructed after the date hereof to secure Funded Debt permitted to be incurred hereunder and incurred in connection with the acquisition or construction of such property at the time of or within 270 days following the acquisition of such property, which security interests or mortgages cover only the real or personal property so acquired, and Liens on existing properties or assets to secure Funded Debt permitted hereunder and incurred for improvements on such properties or assets; (h) Liens on the property of a Person (i) existing at the time such Person is merged into or consolidated with the Borrower or relevant Subsidiary as permitted hereby or at the time of a sale, lease or other disposition of the properties of a Person as an entirety or substantially as an entirety to the Borrower or relevant Subsidiary as permitted hereby, (ii) resulting from such merger, consolidation, sale, lease or disposition by virtue of any Lien on property granted by the Borrower or relevant Subsidiary as permitted hereby prior to such merger, consolidation, sale, lease or disposition (and not in contemplation thereof or in connection therewith) which applies to after-acquired property of the Borrower or relevant Subsidiary, or (iii) resulting from such -47- merger, consolidation, sale, lease or disposition pursuant to a Lien or contractual provision granted or entered into by such Person prior to such merger, consolidation, sale, lease or disposition (and not at the request of the Borrower or relevant Subsidiary); provided that any such Lien referred to in clause (i) shall not apply to any property of the Borrower or relevant Subsidiary other than the property subject thereto at the time such Person or properties were acquired and any such Lien referred to in clause (ii) or (iii) shall not apply to any property of the Borrower or relevant Subsidiary other than the property so acquired; (i) (A) Liens arising by reason of deposits with, or the giving of any form of security to, any governmental agency or any body created or approved by law or governmental regulation, which Liens (x) are required by law or governmental regulation as a condition to the transaction of any business or the exercise of any privilege, franchise, license or permit, and (y) cover or otherwise attach to only such deposits or (as the case may be) the properties and assets which are the subject of such transaction, privilege, franchise, license or permit; and (B) Liens in favor of any government or governmental entity to secure partial, progress, advance or other payments, or other obligations, pursuant to any contract or statute or to secure any indebtedness incurred for the purpose of financing all or any part of the costs of acquiring, constructing or improving the property subject to such Liens, which Liens referred to in this clause (B) cover or otherwise attach to only the properties or assets which are the subject of such contract or statute or which are acquired, constructed or improved with the proceeds of such indebtedness; (j) Liens incurred by any telephone company owned by the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries to secure Funded Debt owing to governmental entities such as the Rural Utility Services, Rural Electrification Administration, Rural Telephone Bank or Rural Telephone Finance Cooperative and Liens incurred by the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries to secure the indebtedness incurred to finance the purchase of equipment or services; (k) Liens on any equity interests owned by the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries in (i) Deutsche Telekom AG, Rural Cellular Corporation, Verisign, Inc., Vodafone Group plc or any of their respective successors, or (ii) any other Person or Persons that are not directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, Controlled by the Borrower or by any of its Subsidiaries; provided, however, that in each case such Liens (A) are incurred only in connection with any Monetization Transaction, (B) such Liens cover or otherwise attach to only the specific Equity Interests which are the subject of such Monetization Transaction (and rights and interests usually and customarily related thereto, e.g., proceeds and dividends) and do not cover any other property or assets owned or acquired by the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries, and (C) such Liens remain in existence only during the continuation of such Monetization Transaction; (l) Liens incurred on deposits made in the ordinary course of business to secure surety and appeal bonds, leases, return-on-money bonds and other similar obligations (exclusive of obligations for the payment of borrowed money); (m) Liens upon or in any property or assets (other than spectrum licenses) now owned or from time to time hereafter acquired by United States Cellular Corporation or any of its Subsidiaries related in any way to the ownership by United States Cellular Corporation or by any of its Subsidiaries of wireless telecommunications towers, including, but not limited to, tower structures, land on which towers are located, other real estate associated with such towers, leases -48- for towers or for tower sites, subleases, licenses, co-location arrangements, easements and all other real property and other tangible or intangible assets related thereto; (n) any extension, renewal or replacement (or successive extensions, renewals or replacements) in whole or in part of any Lien referred to in the foregoing clauses (a) through (m), inclusive; provided, however, that the principal amount secured thereby shall not exceed the principal amount secured thereby at the time of such extension, renewal or replacement, and that such extension, renewal or replacement shall be limited to all or a part of the property which secured the obligation so extended, renewed or replaced (plus improvements to such property); and (o) any other Liens on the property and assets of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries so long as the net book value of all of the property and assets subject to all of such other Liens, together with the net book value of all of the property and assets subject to Sale and Leaseback Transactions permitted by §7.8(g), shall not at any time in the aggregate exceed twenty percent (20%) of Consolidated Net Assets. §7.3. Limitation on Sales, Consolidation, Merger, etc. (a) The Borrower will not, and will not permit any of its Subsidiaries to complete a Sale if a Default or Event of Default is continuing, or would result immediately after giving effect to such Sale. (b) Nothing contained in this Credit Agreement shall prevent any consolidation of the Borrower with or merger of the Borrower into any other Person or Persons (whether or not affiliated with the Borrower), or successive consolidations or mergers to which the Borrower or its successor or successors shall be a party or parties, provided, however, that, the Borrower hereby consents and agrees that, upon any such consolidation or merger, the due and punctual payment of the principal of and interest on all of the Loans and the due and punctual performance and observance of all of the covenants, conditions and other obligations of the Credit Agreement and the Notes to be performed and observed by the Borrower, shall be expressly assumed in an agreement satisfactory in form and substance to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders, executed and delivered to the Administrative Agent by the Person formed by such consolidation or merger, provided, further, that the Person formed by such consolidation or merger shall be a Person organized and existing under the laws of the United States, any state thereof or the District of Columbia, and provided, further, that immediately before and after giving effect to any such transaction (and treating any Funded Debt or Sale and Leaseback Transaction which becomes an obligation of the resulting or surviving Person as a result of such transaction as having been incurred or entered into by such Person at the time of such transaction), no Default or Event of Default shall exist. Unless the conditions prescribed above in this §7.3(b) are satisfied, no such consolidation or merger shall be permitted. (c) Nothing contained in this Credit Agreement shall prevent any consolidation of any Subsidiary of the Borrower with, or merger of any Subsidiary of the Borrower into, any other Person or Persons (whether or not affiliated with the Borrower), or successive consolidations or mergers to which any such Subsidiary of the Borrower or its successor or successors shall be a party or parties, provided that, immediately before and after giving effect to -49- any such transaction, no Default or Event of Default shall exist. Unless the condition prescribed above in this §6.3(c) is satisfied, no such consolidation or merger shall be permitted. §7.4. Federal Regulations. The Borrower will not, and will not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, engage, principally or as one of its important activities, in the business of extending credit for the purpose of “purchasing” or “carrying” any “margin stock” within the respective meanings of each of the quoted terms under Regulation U of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The Borrower will not, directly or indirectly, use any part of the proceeds of any Loans for “purchasing” or “carrying” any “margin stock” within the respective meanings of each of the quoted terms under Regulation U of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System or for any purpose that violates, or that would be inconsistent with, the provisions of the Regulations of such Board of Governors. §7.5. Restrictions on Ability to Repay Loans. The Borrower will not, and will not permit any of its Material Subsidiaries to, become or remain subject to any restriction which could reasonably be expected to impair the Borrower’s ability to repay in full its Obligations hereunder, including, without limitation, any restriction which would prohibit the distribution by any Material Subsidiary to the Borrower of proceeds from any direct or indirect Transfer of any business or property. §7.6. Employee Benefit Plans. Neither the Borrower nor any ERISA Affiliate will: (a) engage in any “prohibited transaction” within the meaning of §406 of XXXXX xx §0000 of the Code which could reasonably be expected to result in a material liability for the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries; or (b) permit any Guaranteed Pension Plan (other than those maintained by Persons that become ERISA Affiliates after the Closing Date) to incur an “accumulated funding deficiency”, as such term is defined in §302 of ERISA, in excess of $5,000,000, whether or not such deficiency is or may be waived; or (c) fail to contribute to any Guaranteed Pension Plan to an extent which, or terminate any Guaranteed Pension Plan in a manner which, could result in the imposition of a lien or encumbrance on the assets of the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries pursuant to §302(f) or §4068 of ERISA. §7.7. Compliance with Environmental Laws. Except as permitted by any applicable Environmental Laws, the Borrower will not, and will not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, (a) use any of the Real Estate or any portion thereof for the handling, processing, storage or disposal of Hazardous Substances, (b) cause or permit to be located on any of the Real Estate any underground tank or other underground storage receptacle for Hazardous Substances, (c) generate any Hazardous Substances on any of the Real Estate, (d) conduct any activity at any Real Estate or use any Real Estate in any manner which is likely to cause a release (i.e., releasing, spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, discharging, injecting, escaping, leaching, disposing or dumping) of Hazardous Substances on, upon or into the Real Estate or (e) otherwise conduct any activity at any Real Estate or use any Real Estate in any manner that could reasonably be expected to violate any Environmental Laws or bring such Real -50- Estate in violation of any Environmental Laws if any of the foregoing could reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the Borrower and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole. §7.8. Limitation on Sale and Leaseback. The Borrower will not, and will not cause or permit any of its Subsidiaries to, enter into any Sale and Leaseback Transactions, other than the following: (a) presently outstanding Sale and Leaseback Transactions listed on §7.8 of the Disclosure Schedule; (b) any Sale and Leaseback Transaction entered into by the Borrower to finance the payment of all or any part of the purchase price of such real or personal property (including any improvements to existing property) acquired or constructed after the date hereof at the time of or within 270 days following the acquisition or construction of such property, which covers only the real or personal property so acquired and does not in the aggregate exceed the lesser of the purchase price or the fair market value of such property; (c) any Sale and Leaseback Transaction involving property of a Person existing at the time such Person is merged into or consolidated with the Borrower as permitted hereby or at the time of a sale, lease or other disposition of the properties of a Person as an entirety or substantially as an entirety to the Borrower as permitted hereby; (d) any Sale and Leaseback Transaction in which the lessor is a government or governmental entity and which Sale and Leaseback Transaction is entered into to secure partial progress, advance or other payments, or other obligations, pursuant to any contract or statute or to secure any indebtedness incurred for the purpose of securing all or any part of the cost of constructing or improving the property subject to such Sale and Leaseback Transaction (including, without limitation, Sale and Leaseback Transactions incurred in connection with pollution control, industrial revenue, private activity bond or similar financing); (e) any Sale and Leaseback Transaction the net proceeds of which are at least equal to the fair value (as determined by the Borrower’s Board of Directors) of the property leased pursuant to such Sale and Leaseback Transaction, so long as within 270 days of the effective date of such Sale and Leaseback Transaction, the Borrower applies (or irrevocably commits to an escrow account for the purpose or purposes hereinafter mentioned) an amount equal to the net proceeds of such Sale and Leaseback Transaction to either (i) the purchase of other property having a fair market value at least equal to the fair market value of the property leased in such Sale and Leaseback Transaction and having a similar utility and function or (ii) the repayment of Funded Debt of the Borrower or the retirement of preferred stock of any Subsidiary (other than preferred stock owned by the Borrower or any Subsidiary) and if any such repayment is applied to the Loans under this Credit Agreement then upon such repayment the Total Commitment shall be automatically reduced by an amount equal to the amount of such repayment; (f) any Sale and Leaseback Transaction involving any property or assets (other than spectrum licenses) now owned or from time to time hereafter acquired by United States Cellular Corporation or any of its Subsidiaries related in any way to the ownership by United States Cellular Corporation or by any of its Subsidiaries of wireless telecommunications towers, -51- including, but not limited to, tower structures, land on which towers are located, other real estate associated with such towers, leases for towers or for tower sites, subleases, licenses, collocation arrangements, easements and all other real property and other tangible or intangible assets related thereto; (g) any other Sale and Leaseback Transactions so long as the net book value of all of the property and assets subject to all of such other Sale and Leaseback Transactions, together with the net book value of all of the property and assets subject to Liens permitted by §6.2(o), shall not at any time in the aggregate exceed more than twenty percent (20%) of Consolidated Net Assets; and (h) any Sale and Leaseback Transaction involving the extension, renewal or replacement (or successive extensions, renewals or replacements) in whole or in part of a lease pursuant to a Sale and Leaseback Transaction referred to in the foregoing clauses (a) through (g), inclusive; provided, however, that any such lease, extension, renewal or replacement shall be limited to all or any part of the same property leased under the lease so extended, renewed or replaced (plus improvements to such property). §8. FINANCIAL COVENANTS OF THE BORROWER. The Borrower covenants and agrees that, so long as any Loan, Unpaid Reimbursement Obligation, Letter of Credit or Note is outstanding or any Lender has any obligation to make any Loans or the Administrative Agent has any obligation to issue, extend or renew any Letters of Credit: §8.1. Funded Debt to Capitalization Ratio. The Borrower will not permit its Funded Debt to Capitalization Ratio for any Measurement Period to exceed sixty-five percent (65%). §8.2. Interest Coverage Ratio. The Borrower will not permit its Interest Coverage Ratio for any Measurement Period to be less than 3.00 to 1.00. §9. CLOSING CONDITIONS. The obligation of any Lender to make the initial Loan and of the Administrative Agent to issue any initial Letter of Credit shall be subject to the satisfaction of the following conditions precedent: §9.1. Corporate Action. All corporate action necessary for the valid execution, delivery and performance by the Borrower of this Credit Agreement and the other Loan Documents to which it is or is to become a party shall have been duly and effectively taken, and evidence thereof satisfactory to the Lenders shall have been provided to each of the Lenders. §9.2. Loan Documents. Each of the Loan Documents shall have been duly executed and delivered by the respective parties thereto, shall be in full force and effect and shall be in form and substance satisfactory to each of the Lenders. Each Lender shall have received a fully executed copy of each such document. §9.3. Opinion of Borrower’s Legal Counsel. Each of the Lenders and the Administrative Agent shall have received from legal counsel to the Borrower, a favorable opinion addressed to the Lenders and the Administrative Agent dated the Closing Date, in substantially the form of Exhibit D hereto. -52- §9.4. Certified Copies of Charter Documents. Each of the Lenders shall have received from the Borrower a copy of the Borrower’s charter or other incorporation documents and by-laws certified by the Secretary of the Borrower to be true and complete as of the Closing Date. §9.5. Incumbency Certificate. Each of the Lenders shall have received from the Borrower an incumbency certificate, dated the Closing Date, signed by a duly authorized officer of the Borrower, and giving the name and bearing a specimen signature of each individual who shall be authorized: (a) to sign, in the name and on behalf of the Borrower, each of the Loan Documents to which it is or is to become a party; (b) to make Loan Requests, Continuation Requests and to apply for Letters of Credit; and (c) to give notices and to take other action on its behalf under the Loan Documents. §9.6. Good Standing Certificates. The Administrative Agent shall have received, with a copy for each Lender, a certificate from the Secretary of State, or other appropriate authority of such jurisdiction, evidencing the good standing of the Borrower in the jurisdiction of its incorporation and each jurisdiction in which a failure to so qualify could reasonably be expected to have a materially adverse effect on the business, operations, property or financial or other condition of the Borrower. §9.7. Payment of Fees. The Borrower shall have paid (a) to the Agents all fees which the Borrower is obligated to pay on the Closing Date pursuant to the Fee Letters and (b) to the Administrative Agent’s Special Counsel all invoiced amounts which the Borrower is obligated to pay pursuant to §13(c). §9.8. Assignments Each lender party to the Existing Credit Agreement which is not a Lender under this Agreement shall have executed an assignment of all of its interests thereunder satisfactory in form and substance to the Administrative Agent. §9.9. Receipt of Financial Statements. Each of the Lenders shall have received from the Borrower a certified copy of the Borrower’s audited consolidated balance sheet and the related consolidated statements of income, retained earnings and cash flow for the Borrower’s fiscal year ended December 31, 2003, each setting forth in comparative form the figures for the previous fiscal year and all such consolidated statements to be in reasonable detail. Each of the Lenders shall also have received from the Borrower a copy of the Borrower’s unaudited consolidated balance sheet and related consolidated statements of income and cash flow for the Borrower’s fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2004, together with comparative consolidated figures for the same period of the preceding year. §10. CONDITIONS TO ALL BORROWINGS. The obligation of any Lender to make any Loan, and of the Administrative Agent to issue, extend or renew any Letter of Credit, in each case whether on or after the Closing Date, shall also be subject to the satisfaction of the following conditions precedent: §10.1. Representations True; No Event of Default. Each of the representations and warranties of the Borrower contained in this Credit Agreement or in any document or instrument delivered pursuant to or in connection with this Credit Agreement shall be true as of the date as -53- of which they were made and shall also be true at and as of the time of the making of the Loan or the issuance, extension or renewal of such Letter of Credit, with the same effect as if made at and as of that time (except to the extent of changes resulting from transactions contemplated or permitted by this Credit Agreement and changes occurring in the ordinary course of business that singly or in the aggregate are not materially adverse, and to the extent that such representations and warranties relate expressly to an earlier date) and no Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing. The Administrative Agent shall have received a certificate of the Borrower signed by an authorized officer of the Borrower to such effect. §10.2. No Legal Impediment. No change shall have occurred in any law or regulations thereunder or interpretations thereof that in the reasonable opinion of any Lender would make it illegal for such Lender to make the Loans or to participate in the issuance, extension or renewal of any Letter of Credit or in the reasonable opinion of the Administrative Agent would make it illegal for the Administrative Agent to issue, extend or renew any Letter of Credit. §10.3. Governmental Regulation. Each Lender shall have received such statements in substance and form reasonably satisfactory to such Lender as such Lender shall require for the purpose of compliance with any applicable regulations of the Comptroller of the Currency or the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. §10.4. Proceedings and Documents. All proceedings in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Credit Agreement and all documents incident thereto shall be satisfactory in substance and in form to the Lenders and to the Administrative Agent’s Special Counsel, and the Lenders and such counsel shall have received all information and such counterpart originals or certified or other copies of such documents as the Lenders may reasonably request. §10.5. Exchange Limitation. There exists no reason whatsoever, including without limitation, by reason of the application of any so-called “currency exchange” laws or regulations (as in effect at the time of any proposed borrowing hereunder) which could reasonably be expected to interfere with the Borrower satisfying any of its obligations hereunder in full at such time as such Obligations become due and payable pursuant to the terms hereof. §11. EVENTS OF DEFAULT; ACCELERATION. If any of the following events (“Events of Default” or, if the giving of notice or the lapse of time or both is required, then, prior to such notice or lapse of time, “Defaults”) shall occur: (a) the Borrower shall fail to pay any principal of the Loans or any Reimbursement Obligation when the same shall become due and payable, whether at the stated date of maturity or any accelerated date of maturity or at any other date fixed for payment; (b) the Borrower shall fail to pay any interest on the Loans, any Letter of Credit Fee, the Facility Fee, the Utilization Fee or other sums due hereunder or under any of the other Loan Documents, on or prior to the second day immediately succeeding the day on which the same shall become due and payable, whether at the stated date of maturity or any accelerated date of maturity or at any other date fixed for payment; -54- (c) the Borrower or any Subsidiary of the Borrower shall fail to comply with any of its covenants contained in §§6.9, 6.10, 6.12, 6.15 through 6.17, inclusive, §7 or §8; (d) the Borrower fails to perform any term, covenant or agreement contained in §6.4 for five (5) days after written notice of such failure has been given to the Borrower by the Administrative Agent or the Borrower shall fail to perform any other term, covenant or agreement contained herein or in any of the other Loan Documents (other than those specified elsewhere in this §11) for thirty (30) days after written notice of such failure shall have been given to the Borrower by the Administrative Agent or, if such performance is not possible within such thirty (30) day period, the Borrower shall fail to undertake such performance within such thirty (30) day period and thereafter to diligently and in good faith pursue the completion of such performance; (e) any representation or warranty of the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries in this Credit Agreement or any of the other Loan Documents or in any other document or instrument delivered pursuant to or in connection with this Credit Agreement shall prove to have been false in any material respect upon the date when made; (f) the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries shall (i) fail to pay at maturity, or within any applicable period of grace, any obligations for borrowed money in an aggregate amount equal to or greater than 2% of the Consolidated Capitalization of the Borrower or (ii) fail to observe or perform any term, covenant or agreement relating to or contained in any instrument or agreement evidencing or securing any obligations for borrowed money which would permit the holders thereof to accelerate such indebtedness or results in the acceleration (whether by declaration or automatically) of such indebtedness, in either case, in an aggregate amount equal to or greater than 2% of the Consolidated Capitalization of the Borrower; (g) the Borrower or any of its Material Subsidiaries shall make an assignment for the benefit of creditors, or admit in writing its inability to pay or generally fail to pay its debts as they mature or become due, or shall petition or apply for the appointment of a trustee or other custodian, liquidator or receiver of the Borrower or any of its Material Subsidiaries or of any substantial part of the assets of the Borrower or any of its Material Subsidiaries or shall commence any case or other proceeding relating to the Borrower or any of its Material Subsidiaries under any bankruptcy, reorganization, arrangement, insolvency, readjustment of debt, dissolution or liquidation or similar law of any jurisdiction, now or hereafter in effect, or shall take any action to authorize or in furtherance of any of the foregoing, or if any such petition or application shall be filed or any such case or other proceeding shall be commenced against the Borrower or any of its Material Subsidiaries, and the Borrower or any of its Material Subsidiaries shall indicate its approval thereof, consent thereto or acquiescence therein; (h) a decree or order is entered appointing any such trustee, custodian, liquidator or receiver or adjudicating the Borrower or any of its Material Subsidiaries bankrupt or insolvent, or approving a petition in any such case or other proceeding, or a decree or order for relief is entered in respect of the Borrower or any Material Subsidiary of the Borrower in an involuntary case under federal bankruptcy laws as now or hereafter constituted; -55- (i) there shall remain in force, undischarged, unsatisfied and unstayed, for more than thirty (30) days, whether or not consecutive, any final judgment against the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries that, with other outstanding final judgments, undischarged and not covered by insurance, against such Person(s) exceeds in the aggregate five percent (5%) of the Consolidated Net Worth of the Borrower; or (j) a Change in Control occurs; then, and in any such event, so long as the same may be continuing, the Administrative Agent may, and upon the request of the Majority Lenders shall, by notice in writing to the Borrower declare all amounts owing with respect to this Credit Agreement, the Notes, the other Loan Documents and all Reimbursement Obligations to be, and they shall thereupon forthwith become, immediately due and payable without presentment, demand, protest or other notice of any kind, all of which are hereby expressly waived by the Borrower; provided that in the event of any Event of Default specified in §11(g) or §11(h), all such amounts shall become immediately due and payable automatically and without any requirement of notice from the Administrative Agent or any Lender. If any one or more of the Events of Default specified in §11(g) or §11(h) shall occur, any unused portion of the Commitments hereunder shall forthwith terminate and each of the Lenders shall be relieved of all obligations to make Loans hereunder and the Administrative Agent shall be relieved of all further obligations to issue, extend or renew Letters of Credit and the Borrower shall immediately Cash Collateralize the Reimbursement Obligations related to all Letters of Credit which are outstanding and undrawn. If any other Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing, the Administrative Agent, upon the request of the Majority Lenders, shall, by notice to the Borrower, terminate the unused portion of the Commitments hereunder, and upon such notice being given such unused portion of the Commitments hereunder shall terminate immediately and each of the Lenders shall be relieved of all further obligations to make Loans and the Administrative Agent shall be relieved of all further obligations to issue, extend or renew Letters of Credit, and the Borrower shall immediately Cash Collateralize the Reimbursement Obligations related to all Letters of Credit which are outstanding and undrawn. If any such notice is given to the Borrower, the Administrative Agent will forthwith furnish a copy thereof to each of the Lenders. No termination of all or any part of the Commitments hereunder shall relieve the Borrower of any of the Obligations or any of its existing obligations to the Lenders arising under other agreements or instruments. After the exercise of remedies provided for in this §11 (or after the Loans have automatically become immediately due and payable and the Reimbursement Obligations have automatically been required to be Cash Collateralized as set forth in this §11), any amounts received on account of the Obligations shall be applied by the Administrative Agent in the following order: First, to payment of that
portion of the Obligations constituting fees, indemnities, expenses and other amounts
(including fees, charges and disbursements of counsel to the Administrative Agent payable
to the Administrative Agent in its capacity as such; -56-
disbursements
of counsel to the respective Lenders, ratably among them in proportion to the amounts
described in this clause Second payable to them; §12. ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT. §12.1. Appointment and Authority. Each of the Lenders 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 and the Lenders, and the Borrower shall not have rights as a third party beneficiary of any of such provisions. §12.2. Rights as a Lender. The Person serving as the Administrative Agent hereunder shall have the same rights and powers in its capacity as a Lender as any other Lender and may exercise the same as though it were not the Administrative Agent and the term “Lender” or “Lenders” shall, unless otherwise expressly indicated or unless the context otherwise requires, include the Person serving as the Administrative Agent hereunder in its individual capacity. Such Person and its Affiliates may accept deposits from, lend money to, act as the financial advisor or in any other advisory capacity for and generally engage in any kind of business with the Borrower or 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. §12.3. 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: -57- (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 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 Majority 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 §11) 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 unless and until notice describing such Default is given to the Administrative Agent by the Borrower or a Lender. 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 Event of 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 §9 or §10 or elsewhere herein, other than to confirm receipt of items expressly required to be delivered to the Administrative Agent. §12.4. 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, the Administrative Agent may presume that such condition is satisfactory to such Lender unless the Administrative Agent shall have received notice to the contrary from such Lender prior to the making of such Loan or the issuance of such Letter of Credit. The Administrative -58- 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. §12.5. Delegation of Duties. The Administrative Agent may perform any and all of its duties and exercise its rights and powers hereunder or under any other Loan Document by or through any one or more sub-agents appointed by the Administrative Agent. The Administrative Agent and any such sub-agent may perform any and all of its duties and exercise its rights and powers by or through their respective Affiliates. The exculpatory provisions of this Article shall apply to any such sub-agent and to the Affiliates 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. §12.6. Resignation and Administrative Agent. The Administrative Agent may at any time give notice of its resignation to the Lenders 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. Unless a Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing, such successor, if other than a Lender, shall be reasonably acceptable to the Borrower. 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, 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 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 §12 and §14 shall continue in effect for the benefit of such retiring Administrative Agent, its sub-agents and their respective Affiliates 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. Upon the acceptance of a successor’s appointment as Administrative Agent hereunder, the successor Administrative Agent shall issue letters of credit in substitution for the Letters of Credit, if -59- any, outstanding at the time of such succession or make other arrangement satisfactory to the retiring Administrative Agent to effectively assume the obligations of the retiring Administrative Agent with respect to such Letters of Credit. §12.7. Non-Reliance on Administrative Agent and Other Lenders. Each Lender acknowledges that it has, independently and without reliance upon the Administrative Agent or any other Lender or any of their Affiliates and based on such documents and information as it has deemed appropriate, made its own credit analysis and decision to enter into this Agreement. Each Lender also acknowledges that it will, independently and without reliance upon the Administrative Agent or any other Lender or any of their Affiliates 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. §12.8. No Other Duties, Etc. Anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding, none of the Joint Bookrunners, Joint Lead Arrangers, Document Agents or Syndication Agent 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 or a Lender hereunder. §12.9. Indemnity. The Lenders jointly and severally agree hereby to indemnify and hold harmless the Agents from and against any and all claims, actions and suits (whether groundless or otherwise), losses, damages, costs, expenses (including any expenses for which the Agents have not been reimbursed by the Borrower as required by §12 or §13), and liabilities of every nature and character arising out of or related to this Credit Agreement or the Notes or the transactions contemplated or evidenced hereby or thereby, or the actions of any of the Agents taken hereunder or thereunder, except to the extent that any of the same shall be directly caused by any such Agent’s own willful misconduct or gross negligence. §13. EXPENSES. The Borrower agrees to pay (a) the reasonable cost of producing and reproducing this Credit Agreement, the other Loan Documents and the other agreements and instruments mentioned herein, (b) any taxes (including any interest and penalties in respect thereto) payable by the Administrative Agent or the Lenders (other than taxes based upon the Administrative Agent’s or any Lender’s net income) on or with respect to the transactions contemplated by this Credit Agreement (the Borrower hereby agreeing to indemnify the Lenders with respect thereto), (c) the reasonable fees, expenses and disbursements of the Administrative Agent’s Special Counsel or any local counsel to the Administrative Agent incurred in connection with the preparation, syndication, administration or interpretation of the Loan Documents and other instruments mentioned herein, each closing hereunder, and amendments, modifications, approvals, consents or waivers hereto or hereunder regardless of whether any such transaction is consummated, (d) the fees, expenses and disbursements of the Administrative Agent incurred by the Administrative Agent in connection with the preparation, syndication, administration or interpretation of the Loan Documents and other instruments mentioned herein, each closing hereunder and amendments, modifications, approvals, consents or waivers hereto or hereunder, regardless of whether any such transaction is consummated, and (e) all reasonable out-of-pocket expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ (which attorneys may be, but shall not be required to -60- be, employees of any Lender or the Administrative Agent) fees and costs) incurred by any Lender or the Administrative Agent in connection with (i) the enforcement of any of the Loan Documents against the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries or the administration thereof after the occurrence of a Default or Event of Default, (ii) any so-called “work-out” of the Obligations and (iii) any litigation, proceeding or dispute whether arising hereunder or otherwise in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby or under the other Loan Documents, in any way related to any Lender’s or the Administrative Agent’s relationship with the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries. The Borrower agrees to pay to the Administrative Agent’s Special Counsel all amounts invoiced on or prior to the Closing Date and which the Borrower is obligated to pay pursuant to §13(c) within fourteen (14) days of receipt of the invoice. The covenants of this §13 shall survive payment or satisfaction of payment of amounts owing under or with respect to the Loan Documents. §14. INDEMNIFICATION. The Borrower agrees to indemnify and hold harmless each of the Lenders, Agents, Arrangers and their respective shareholders, directors, officers, employees, affiliates, agents, attorneys, accountants and consultants, and each other entity, if any, which controls any of the Lenders, Agents or Arrangers, and to hold each of such Persons and entities harmless from and against any and all losses, claims, damages, settlement payments, actions, causes of action, obligations, liabilities and reasonable costs and expenses, joint or several, which any such Person or entity may incur arising out of or in connection with this Agreement, the use of proceeds of any extensions of credit hereunder or any related transactions, or any claims, litigation, investigations or proceedings relating to any of the foregoing, regardless of whether any of such indemnified Persons is a party hereto, and to reimburse each of such indemnified Persons, upon demand, for any reasonable legal or other costs or expenses reasonably incurred in connection with any of the foregoing; provided, however, that the foregoing indemnity will not, as to any indemnified Person, apply to any losses, claims, damages, settlement payments, liabilities or related costs or expenses to the extent resulting from the willful misconduct or gross negligence of the proposed indemnified Person. No indemnified Person shall be liable for any indirect or consequential damages in connection with any of its activities relating to this Agreement or the other Loan Documents. In litigation, or the preparation therefor, the Lenders and the Administrative Agent shall be entitled to select their own counsel and, in addition to the foregoing indemnity, the Borrower agrees to pay promptly the reasonable fees and expenses of such counsel. If, and to the extent that the obligations of the Borrower under this §14 are unenforceable for any reason, the Borrower hereby agrees to make the maximum contribution to the payment in satisfaction of such obligations which is permissible under applicable law. The covenants of this §14 shall survive payment or satisfaction of payment of amounts owing under or with respect to the Loan Documents. §15. ADJUSTMENTS; SETOFF. (a) If any Lender (a “benefitted Lender”) shall at any time receive any payment of all or part of its Loans or Unpaid Reimbursement Obligations, or interest thereon, or receive any collateral in respect thereof (whether voluntarily or involuntarily, by set-off, or otherwise), in a greater proportion than any such payment to or collateral received by any other Lender, if any, in respect of such other Lender’s Loans or Unpaid Reimbursement Obligations, or interest thereon, such benefitted Lender shall purchase for cash from the other Lenders a participating interest in -61- such portion of each such other Lender’s Loans and Unpaid Reimbursement Obligations, or shall provide such other Lenders with the benefits of any such collateral, or the proceeds thereof, as shall be necessary to cause such benefitted Lender to share the excess payment or benefits of such collateral or proceeds ratably with each of the Lenders; provided, however, that if all or any portion of such excess payment or benefits is thereafter recovered from such benefitted Lender, such purchase shall be rescinded, and the purchase price and benefits returned, to the extent of such recovery, but without interest, unless the Lender from which such payment is recovered is required to pay interest thereon, in which case each Lender returning funds to such Lender shall pay its pro rata share of such interest. (b) In addition to any other rights and remedies of the Lenders provided by law, and regardless of the adequacy of any collateral, if any Event of Default shall be continuing, each Lender is authorized at any time and from time to time, without prior notice to the Borrower, any such notice being irrevocably waived by the Borrower to the fullest extent permitted by law, to set off and apply, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any and all deposits (general or special, time or demand, provisional or final) at any time held by, and other indebtedness at any time owing by, such Lender to or for the credit or the account of the Borrower against any and all Obligations owing to such Lender, now or at any time hereafter created, arising or existing, irrespective of whether or not the Administrative Agent or such Lender shall have made demand under this Agreement or any other Loan Document and although such Obligations may be contingent or unmatured. Each Lender agrees promptly to notify the Borrower and the Administrative Agent after any such set-off and application made by such Lender; provided, however, that the failure to give any such notice shall not affect the validity of such set-off and application. The rights of each Lender under this §15 are in addition to all of the other rights and remedies (including other rights of set-off) which such Lender may have. §16. SURVIVAL OF COVENANTS, ETC. All covenants, agreements, representations and warranties made herein, in the Notes, in any of the other Loan Documents or in any documents or other papers delivered by or on behalf of the Borrower pursuant hereto shall be deemed to have been relied upon by the Lenders and the Administrative Agent, notwithstanding any investigation heretofore or hereafter made by any of them, and shall survive the making by the Lenders of the Loans and the issuance, extension or renewal of any Letters of Credit, as herein contemplated, and shall continue in full force and effect so long as any Obligation or Letter of Credit remains outstanding or any Lender has any obligation to make any Loans or the Administrative Agent has any obligation to issue, extend or renew any Letter of Credit. All statements contained in any certificate or other paper delivered to any Lender or the Administrative Agent at any time by or on behalf of the Borrower pursuant hereto or in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby shall constitute representations and warranties by the Borrower hereunder. §17. ASSIGNMENT AND PARTICIPATION. §17.1. General Conditions. 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 each Lender, and no Lender may assign or otherwise transfer any of its rights or obligations hereunder except (a) -62- to any Eligible Assignee in accordance with the provisions of §17.2, (b) by way of participation in accordance with the provisions of §17.4, or (c) by way of pledge or assignment of a security interest subject to the restrictions of §17.6 (and any other attempted assignment or transfer by any party hereto shall be null and void). Nothing in this Agreement, express 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 §17.4 and, to the extent expressly contemplated hereby, the Affiliates of each of the Administrative Agent and the Lenders) any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim under or by reason of this Agreement or any of the other Loan Documents. §17.2. Assignments. Any Lender may at any time assign to one or more Eligible Assignees all or any portion of its rights and obligations under this Agreement (including all or any portion of its Commitments and the Loans at the time owing to it); provided, however, that: (a) except in the case of an assignment of the entire remaining amount of the assigning Lender’s Commitments and the Loans at the time owing to it, or in the case of an assignment to a Lender or a Lender Affiliate, the aggregate amount of the Commitments (which for this purpose includes Loans outstanding thereunder) or, if the applicable Commitments are 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 on which the Assignment and Acceptance with respect to such assignment is delivered to the Administrative Agent) shall not be less than $5,000,000 unless each of the Administrative Agent and, so long as no Default or Event of Default has occurred and is continuing, the Borrower otherwise consents (each such consent not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed); (b) 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, Letter of Credit Participations and Commitments assigned, it being understood that non-pro rata assignments of or among any of the Commitments, the Loans and Letter of Credit Participations are not permitted; and (c) the parties to each assignment shall execute and deliver to the Administrative Agent an Assignment and Acceptance, together with a processing and recordation fee of $3,500, and 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 §17.3, from and after the effective date specified in each Assignment and Acceptance, the Eligible Assignee thereunder shall be a party to this Agreement and, to the extent of the interest assigned by such Assignment and Acceptance, have the rights and obligations of a Lender under this Agreement, and the assigning Lender thereunder shall, to the extent of the interest assigned by such Assignment and Acceptance, be released from its obligations under this Agreement (and, in the case of an Assignment and Acceptance covering all of the assigning Lender’s rights and obligations under this Agreement, such Lender shall cease to be a party hereto) but shall continue to be entitled to the benefits of each of §§4.3, 4.4, 4.8, 4.9, 4.11, 13 and 14 with respect to facts and circumstances occurring prior to the effective date of such assignment. Any assignment or transfer by a Lender of rights or obligations under this Agreement that does not comply with this §17.2 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 §17.4. -63- §17.3. Register. 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 and Acceptance 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 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 the Borrower and any Lender, at any reasonable time and from time to time upon reasonable prior notice. §17.4. Participations. 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) (each, a “Participant”) in all or any portion of such Lender’s rights and/or obligations under this Agreement (including all or any portion of its Commitments and/or the Loans owing to it); provided, however, that: (a) such Lender’s obligations under this Agreement shall remain unchanged; (b) such Lender shall remain solely responsible to the other parties hereto for the performance of such obligations; and (c) the Borrower, the Administrative Agent and the other Lenders shall continue to deal solely and directly with such Lender in connection with such Lender’s rights and obligations under this Agreement. Any agreement or instrument pursuant to which a Lender sells such a participation shall provide that such Lender shall retain the sole right to enforce this Agreement and to approve any amendment, modification or waiver of any provision of this Agreement; provided that such agreement or instrument may provide that such Lender will not, without the consent of the Participant, agree to any amendment, modification or waiver that would reduce the principal of or the interest rate on any Loans, extend the term or increase the amount of the Commitments of such Lender as it relates to such Participant, reduce the amount of any fees to which such Participant is entitled or extend any regularly scheduled payment date for principal or interest. §17.5. Payments to Participants. A Participant shall not be entitled to receive any greater payment under any of §§4.3, 4.4 or 4.8 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. §17.6. Miscellaneous Assignment Provisions. A Lender may at any time grant a security interest in, pledge or assign all or any portion of its rights under this Agreement, the Notes or any of the other Loan Documents to secure obligations of such Lender to any of the twelve Federal Reserve Banks organized under Section 4 of the Federal Reserve Act, 12 U.S.C. Section 341, provided that no such grant shall release such Lender from any of its obligations hereunder, provide any voting rights hereunder to the secured party thereof, substitute any such secured party for such Lender as a party hereto or affect any rights or obligations of the Borrower or Administrative Agent hereunder. §17.7. Assignee or Participant Affiliated with the Borrower. If any assignee Lender is an Affiliate of the Borrower, then any such assignee Lender shall have no right to vote as a Lender hereunder or under any of the other Loan Documents for purposes of granting -64- consents or waivers or for purposes of agreeing to amendments or other modifications to any of the Loan Documents or for purposes of making requests to the Administrative Agent pursuant to §11, and the determination of the Required Lenders shall for all purposes of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents be made without regard to such assignee Lender’s interest in any of the Loans or Letter of Credit Participations. If any Lender sells a participating interest in any of the Loans or Letter of Credit Participations to a Participant, and such Participant is the Borrower or an Affiliate of the Borrower, then such transferor Lender shall promptly notify the Administrative Agent of the sale of such participation. A transferor Lender shall have no right to vote as a Lender hereunder or under any of the other Loan Documents for purposes of granting consents or waivers or for purposes of agreeing to amendments or modifications to any of the Loan Documents or for purposes of making requests to the Administrative Agent pursuant to §11 to the extent that such participation is beneficially owned by the Borrower or any Affiliate of the Borrower, and the determination of the Required Lenders shall for all purposes of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents be made without regard to the interest of such transferor Lender in the Loans or Letter of Credit Participations to the extent of such participation. §17.8. New Notes. Upon its receipt of an Assignment and Acceptance executed by the parties to such assignment, together with each Note subject to such assignment, the Administrative Agent shall (a) record the information contained therein in the Register, and (b) give prompt notice thereof to the Borrower. Within five (5) Business Days after receipt of such notice, the Borrower, at its own expense, shall execute and deliver to the Administrative Agent, in exchange for each surrendered Note, a new Note to the order of such assignee in an amount equal to the amount assumed by such assignee pursuant to such Assignment and Acceptance and, if the assigning Lender has retained some portion of its obligations hereunder, a new Note to the order of the assigning Lender in an amount equal to the amount retained by it hereunder. Such new Notes shall provide that they are replacements for the surrendered Notes, shall be in an aggregate principal amount equal to the aggregate principal amount of the surrendered Notes, shall be dated the effective date of such Assignment and Acceptance and shall otherwise be in substantially the form of the assigned Notes. Within twenty (20) Business Days after issuance of any new Notes pursuant to this §17.8, the Borrower shall deliver, upon the request of and at the sole expense of the assignee Lender, an opinion of counsel, addressed to the Lenders and the Administrative Agent, relating to the due authorization, execution and delivery of such new Notes and the legality, validity and binding effect thereof, in form and substance satisfactory to the Lenders. The surrendered Notes shall be cancelled and returned to the Borrower. §17.9. Special Purpose Funding Vehicle. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this §17, any Lender (a “Granting Lender”) may grant to a special purpose funding vehicle (an “SPC”) of such Granting Lender, identified as such in writing from time to time delivered by the Granting Lender to the Administrative Agent and the Borrower, the option to provide to the Borrower all or any part of any Loans that such Granting Lender would otherwise be obligated to make to the Borrower pursuant to this Agreement; provided, however, that (a) nothing herein shall constitute a commitment to make any Loans by any SPC; (b) the Granting Lender’s obligations under this Agreement shall remain unchanged; (c) the Granting Lender shall retain the sole right to enforce this -65- Agreement and to approve any amendment, modification or waiver of any provision of this Agreement; and (d) if any SPC elects not to exercise such option or otherwise fails to provide all or any part of such Loans, the Granting Lender shall be obligated to make such Loans pursuant to the terms hereof. The making of any Loan by an SPC hereunder shall utilize the Commitment of the Granting Lender to the same extent, and as if, such Loan were made by the Granting Lender. Each party hereto hereby agrees that no SPC shall be liable for any expense reimbursement, indemnity or similar payment obligation under this Agreement (all liability for which shall remain with the Granting Lender). In furtherance of the foregoing, each party hereto hereby agrees (which agreement shall survive the termination of this Agreement) that, prior to the date that is one year and one day after the later of (i) the payment in full of all outstanding senior indebtedness of any SPC, and (ii) the Maturity Date, it will not institute against, or join any other person in instituting against, such SPC any bankruptcy, reorganization, arrangement, insolvency or liquidation proceedings or similar proceedings under the laws of the United States of America or any State thereof. In addition, notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this §17.9, any SPC may (A) with notice to, but (except as specified below) without the prior written consent of, the Borrower or the Administrative Agent and without paying any processing fee therefor, assign all or any portion of its interests in any Loans to its Granting Lender or to any financial institutions (consented to by the Administrative Agent and, so long as no Default has occurred and is continuing, the Borrower, which consents shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed) providing liquidity and/or credit facilities to or for the account of such SPC to fund the Loans made by such SPC or to support the securities (if any) issued by such SPC to fund such Loans, and (B) disclose on a confidential basis any non-public information relating to its Loans (other than financial statements referred to in §§5.4 and 6.4) to any rating agency, commercial paper dealer or provider of a surety, guarantee or credit or liquidity enhancement to such SPC. In no event shall the Borrower be obligated to pay to any SPC that has made any Loan any greater amount than the Borrower would have been obligated to pay under this Agreement if the Granting Lender had made such Loan. An amendment to this §17.9 without the written consent of an SPC shall be ineffective insofar as it alters the rights and obligations of such SPC. §18. NOTICES, ETC. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this Credit Agreement, all notices and other communications made or required to be given pursuant to this Credit Agreement or the Notes or any Letter of Credit Applications shall be in writing and shall be delivered in hand, mailed by United States registered or certified first class mail, postage prepaid, or sent by telecopy and confirmed by delivery via courier or postal service, addressed as follows: (a) if to the Borrower, at 00 Xxxxx XxXxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxx 00000, Attention: Corporate Treasurer, (with a copy to Xxxxxxx XxXxxxx, Xxxxxx Xxxxxx Xxxxx & Xxxx LLP, Bank One Plaza, 00 Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxx 00000, or at such other address for notice as the Borrower shall last have furnished in writing to the Person giving the notice; (b) if to the Administrative Agent or Fleet, at the address set forth for Bank of America on Schedule 1.1(a) hereto or such other address for notice as Bank of America shall last have furnished in writing to the Person giving the notice; -66- (c) if to any other Agent or any other Lender, at the address set forth for such Agent or Lender in Schedule 1.1(a) hereto or such other address for notice as such Agent or such Lender shall have last furnished in writing to the Person giving the notice. Any such notice or demand shall be deemed to have been duly given or made and to have become effective (i) if telecopied or delivered by hand to a responsible officer of the party to which it is directed, at the time of the receipt thereof by such officer and (ii) if sent by registered or certified first-class mail, postage prepaid, three days after the date mailed. §19. GOVERNING LAW. THIS CREDIT AGREEMENT AND EACH OF THE OTHER LOAN DOCUMENTS ARE CONTRACTS UNDER THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK AND SHALL FOR ALL PURPOSES BE CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH AND GOVERNED BY THE LAWS OF SAID STATE (EXCLUDING THE LAWS APPLICABLE TO CONFLICTS OR CHOICE OF LAW OTHER THAN GENERAL OBLIGATIONS LAW §5-1401). THE BORROWER CONSENTS TO THE JURISDICTION IN ANY OF THE FEDERAL OR STATE COURTS LOCATED IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK IN CONNECTION WITH ANY SUIT TO ENFORCE THE RIGHTS OF THE LENDERS AND THE AGENT UNDER THIS CREDIT AGREEMENT OR ANY OF THE OTHER LOAN DOCUMENTS. §20. HEADINGS. The captions in this Credit Agreement are for convenience of reference only and shall not define or limit the provisions hereof. §21. COUNTERPARTS. This Credit Agreement and any amendment hereof may be executed in several counterparts and by each party on a separate counterpart, each of which when so executed and delivered shall be an original, and all of which together shall constitute one instrument. In proving this Credit Agreement it shall not be necessary to produce or account for more than one such counterpart signed by the party against whom enforcement is sought. Delivery by facsimile by any of the parties hereto of an executed counterpart hereof or of any amendment or waiver hereto shall be as effective as an original executed counterpart hereof or of such amendment or waiver. §22. ENTIRE AGREEMENT, ETC. The Loan Documents and any other documents executed in connection herewith or therewith express the entire understanding of the parties with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby. The obligations of the Borrower to make payments required by the Fee Letters shall remain in full force and effect after the Closing Date. Neither this Credit Agreement nor any term hereof may be changed, waived, discharged or terminated, except as provided in §24. §23. WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL. Each of the parties hereto hereby waives its right to a jury trial with respect to any action or claim arising out of any dispute in connection with this Credit Agreement or any of the other Loan Documents, any rights or obligations hereunder or thereunder or the performance of such rights and obligations. The Borrower (a) certifies that no representative, agent or attorney of any Lender or the Administrative Agent has represented, expressly or otherwise, that such Lender or the Administrative Agent would not, in the event of litigation seek to enforce the foregoing waivers and (b) acknowledges that it has been induced to -67- enter into this Credit Agreement and the other Loan Documents by, among other things, the mutual waivers and certifications contained herein. §24. CONSENTS, AMENDMENTS, WAIVERS, ETC. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this Credit Agreement, any consent or approval required or permitted by this Credit Agreement to be given by the Lenders may be given, and any term of this Credit Agreement or of any other instrument related hereto or mentioned herein may be amended, and the performance or observance by the Borrower of any terms of this Credit Agreement or such other instrument or the continuance of any Default or Event of Default may be waived (either generally or in a particular instance and either retroactively or prospectively) with, but only with, the written consent of the Borrower and the written consent of the Majority Lenders. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no amendment, modification or waiver shall: (a) without the written consent of the Borrower and each Lender directly affected thereby: |
(i) reduce or forgive the principal amount of any Loans or Reimbursement Obligations, or reduce the rate of interest on the Notes or the amount of the Facility Fee, the Utilization Fee or Letter of Credit Fees (other than interest accruing pursuant to §4.11 whether prior to, on or after the effective date of any waiver by the Majority Lenders of the Default or Event of Default relating thereto); |
(ii) increase the amount of such Lender’s Commitment or extend the expiration date or termination date of such Lender’s Commitment; and |
(iii) postpone or extend the Maturity Date or any other regularly scheduled dates for payments of principal of, or interest on, the Loans or Reimbursement Obligations or any fees or other amounts payable to such Lender (it being understood that (A) a waiver of the application of the default rate of interest pursuant to §4.11, and (B) any vote to rescind any acceleration made pursuant to §11 of amounts owing with respect to the Loans and other Obligations shall require only the approval of the Majority Lenders); |
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(b) without the written consent of all of the Lenders, amend or waive§15 this§24 or the definition of Majority Lenders; (c) without the written consent of the Administrative Agent, amend or waive §2.5(c), §2.10, the amount or time of payment of Letter of Credit Fees payable for the Administrative Agent’s account or any other provisions applicable to the Administrative Agent; and (d) without the written consent of the Agents, amend or waive §12. No waiver shall extend to or affect any obligation not expressly waived or impair any right consequent thereon. No course of dealing or delay or omission on the part of any Lender or the Administrative Agent in exercising any right shall operate as a waiver thereof or otherwise be prejudicial thereto. No notice to or demand upon the Borrower shall entitle the Borrower to other or further notice or demand in similar or other circumstances. -68- §25. FCC APPROVAL. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Credit Agreement or in the other Loan Documents, neither the Administrative Agent nor any Lender will take any action pursuant to this Agreement or any of the other Loan Documents, which would constitute or result in a change in control of the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries requiring the prior approval of the FCC without first obtaining such prior approval of the FCC. After the occurrence of an Event of Default, the Borrower shall take or cause to be taken any action which the Agents may reasonably request in order to obtain from the FCC such approval as may be necessary to enable the Agents to exercise and enjoy the full rights and benefits granted to the Administrative Agent, for the benefit of the Lenders by this Credit Agreement or any of the other Loan Documents, including, at the Borrower’s cost and expense, the use of the Borrower’s best efforts to assist in obtaining such approval for any action or transaction contemplated by this Credit Agreement or any of the other Loan Documents for which such approval is required by law. §26. SEVERABILITY. The provisions of this Credit Agreement are severable and if any one clause or provision hereof shall be held invalid or unenforceable in whole or in part in any jurisdiction, then such invalidity or unenforceability shall affect only such clause or provision, or part thereof, in such jurisdiction, and shall not in any manner affect such clause or provision in any other jurisdiction, or any other clause or provision of this Credit Agreement in any jurisdiction. §27. CONFIDENTIALITY. Each of the Lenders and the Administrative Agent agrees to keep any non-public information delivered or made available to it pursuant to this Credit Agreement or any other Loan Document (including the terms hereof or of any amendment or waiver hereto to the extent the Borrower does not disclose such information in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission) confidential from any Person other than officers, employees, agents, accountants, professional advisors, counsel, designees or representatives of such Lender or the Administrative Agent who are or are expected to become engaged in evaluating, approving, structuring or administering this Credit Agreement or any of the other Loan Documents; provided, that, nothing herein shall prevent the Administrative Agent or any Lender from disclosing such information (i) to any assignee or participant that has agreed in writing to comply with the confidentiality provision of this §27 in connection with the contemplated assignment or participation, (ii) to any of its Affiliates to the extent any such Affiliates require such information in the ordinary course of the Administrative Agent’s or such Lender’s credit committee or asset management procedures, or (iii) as required or requested by any governmental authority or representative thereof or pursuant to subpoena or other legal process, by virtue of any other law, regulation, order, or interpretation, or as required in connection with the exercise or any remedy under this Credit Agreement or any of the other Loan Documents. §28. USA PATRIOT ACT. Each Lender and the Administrative Agent (for itself and not on behalf of any Lender) hereby notifies the Borrower that pursuant to the requirements of the USA PATRIOT Act (Title III of Pub. L. 107-56 (signed into law October 26, 2001)) (the “Act”), it is required to obtain, verify and record information that identifies the Borrower, which information includes the name and address of the Borrower and other information that will allow such Lender or the Administrative Agent, as applicable, to identify the Borrower in accordance with the Act. -69- §29. INTEREST RATE LIMITATION. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any Loan Document, the interest paid or agreed to be paid under the Loan Documents shall not exceed the maximum rate of non-usurious interest permitted by applicable law (the “Maximum Rate”). If the Administrative Agent or any Lender shall receive interest in an amount that exceeds the Maximum Rate, the excess interest shall be applied to the principal of the Loans or, if it exceeds such unpaid principal, refunded to the Borrower. In determining whether the interest contracted for, charged, or received by the Administrative Agent or a Lender exceeds the Maximum Rate, such Person may, to the extent permitted by applicable law, (a) characterize any payment that is not principal as an expense, fee, or premium rather than interest, (b) exclude voluntary prepayments and the effects thereof, and (c) amortize, prorate, allocate, and spread in equal or unequal parts the total amount of interest throughout the contemplated term of the Obligations hereunder. §30. ASSIGNMENT TO BANK OF AMERICA, N.A. Each of the Lenders and the Borrower (a) hereby consents to the assignment in full by Fleet National Bank to Bank of America, N.A. of all of Fleet National Bank’s rights, interests and duties in its capacity as a lender and administrative agent under the Existing Credit Agreement (except all rights, interests and duties related to Letters of Credit issued by Fleet National Bank prior to the Closing Date), and (b) hereby waives any and all requirements with respect to any such assignments as set forth in the Existing Credit Agreement. [THE REMAINDER OF THIS
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***Signature Pages to Revolving Credit Agreement Follow***IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned have duly executed this Credit Agreement under seal as of the date first set forth above. |
| TELEPHONE AND DATA SYSTEMS, INC. | ||||
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| BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., individually and as Administrative Agent | ||||
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| FLEET NATIONAL BANK, as Administrative Agent with respect to existing Letters of Credit | ||||
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| Name: | ||||
| Title | ||||
| LASALLE BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, individually and as a Documentation Agent | ||||
| By: | ||||
| Name: | ||||
| Title | ||||
|
**Signature Page to Revolving Credit Agreement** ***Signature Pages to Revolving Credit Agreement Follow*** |
| WACHOVIA BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, individually and as a Documentation Agent | ||||
| By: | ||||
| Name: | ||||
| Title | ||||
| THE BANK OF TOKYO-MITSUBISHI, LTD., CHICAGO BRANCH, individually and as a Documentation Agent | ||||
| By: | ||||
| Name: | ||||
| Title | ||||
| TORONTO DOMINION (TEXAS) LLC, individually | ||||
| By: | ||||
| Name: | ||||
| Title | ||||
| TD SECURITIES (USA) LLC, as Syndication Agent | ||||
| By: | ||||
| Name: | ||||
| Title | ||||
|
**Signature Page to Revolving Credit Agreement** ***Signature Pages to Revolving Credit Agreement Follow*** |
| U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION | ||||
| By: | ||||
| Name: | ||||
| Title | ||||
|
**Signature Page to Revolving Credit Agreement** ***Signature Pages to Revolving Credit Agreement Follow*** |
| THE NORTHERN TRUST COMPANY | ||||
| By: | ||||
| Name: | ||||
| Title | ||||
|
**Signature Page to Revolving Credit Agreement** ***Signature Pages to Revolving Credit Agreement Follow*** |
| FIFTH THIRD BANK | ||||
| By: | ||||
| Name: | ||||
| Title | ||||
|
**Signature Page to Revolving Credit Agreement** ***Signature Pages to Revolving Credit Agreement Follow*** |
| MELLON BANK, N.A. | ||||
| By: | ||||
| Name: | ||||
| Title | ||||
|
**Signature Page to Revolving Credit Agreement** ***Signature Pages to Revolving Credit Agreement Follow*** |
| SUMITOMO MITSUI BANKING CORPORATION, NEW YORK | ||||
| By: | ||||
| Name: | ||||
| Title | ||||
**Signature Page to Revolving Credit Agreement**
***Signature Pages to Revolving Credit Agreement Follow***
| JPMORGAN CHASE BANK N.A. | ||||
| By: | ||||
| Name: | ||||
| Title | ||||
|
**Signature Page to Revolving Credit Agreement** ***Signature Pages to Revolving Credit Agreement Follow*** |
| CITIBANK, N.A. | ||||
| By: | ||||
| Name: | ||||
| Title | ||||
|
**Signature Page to Revolving Credit Agreement** ***Signature Pages to Revolving Credit Agreement Follow*** |
| CREDIT SUISSE FIRST BOSTON, acting through its Cayman Islands Branch | ||||
| By: | ||||
| Name: | ||||
| Title | ||||
|
**Signature Page to Revolving Credit Agreement** ***Signature Page to Revolving Credit Agreement Follows*** |
| THE BANK OF NEW YORK | ||||
| By: | ||||
| Name: | ||||
| Title | ||||
|
**Signature Page to Revolving Credit Agreement** |
