SUBORDINATION AGREEMENT
EXHIBIT 10.3
This Agreement,
dated as of 29th of August, 2006, is made by Redcats SA, a Société
Anonyme duly organized and existing under the laws of France, and
whose registered office is at 000 xxx xx Xxxxxxxxxxxxx,
00000 Xxxxxxx, Xxxxxx (the “Subordinated Creditor”), for the benefit of Xxxxx Fargo Bank, National
Association, a national banking association (the “Lender”).
The Sportsman’s Guide, Inc., a Minnesota corporation (the “Borrower”), is now or hereafter may
be indebted to the Lender on account of loans or the other extensions of credit or financial
accommodations from the Lender to the Borrower, or to any other person under the guaranty or
endorsement of the Borrower.
The Subordinated Creditor has made or may make loans or grant other financial accommodations
to the Borrower.
As a condition to making any loan or extension of credit to the Borrower, the Lender has
required that the Subordinated Creditor subordinate the payment of the Subordinated Creditor’s
loans and other financial accommodations to the payment of any and all indebtedness of the Borrower
to the Lender. Assisting the Borrower in obtaining credit accommodations from the Lender and
subordinating its interests pursuant to the terms of this Agreement are in the Subordinated
Creditor’s best interest.
ACCORDINGLY, in consideration of the loans and other financial accommodations that have been
made and may hereafter be made by the Lender for the benefit of the Borrower, and for other good
and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the
Subordinated Creditor hereby agrees as follows:
1. Definitions. As used herein, the following terms have the meanings set forth
below:
“Borrower Default” means a Default or Event of Default as defined in any agreement or
instrument evidencing, governing, or issued in connection with Lender Indebtedness,
including, but not limited to, the Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated as of
August 29, 2006, by and between the Borrower and the Lender as the same may hereafter be
amended, supplemented or restated from time to time, or any default under or breach of any
such agreement or instrument.
“Lender Indebtedness” means each and every debt, liability and obligation of every type and
description which the Borrower may now or at any time hereafter owe to the Lender, whether
such debt, liability or obligation now exists or is hereafter created or incurred, and
whether it is or may be direct or indirect, due or to become due, absolute or contingent,
primary or secondary, liquidated or unliquidated, or joint, several or joint and several,
all interest thereon, all renewals, extensions and modifications thereof and any notes
issued in whole or partial substitution therefor.
“Subordinated Indebtedness” means all obligations arising under the Subordinated Note and
each and every other debt, liability and obligation of every type and description
which the Borrower may now or at any time hereafter owe to the Subordinated Creditor, whether such
debt, liability or obligation now exists or is hereafter created or incurred, and whether it
is or may be direct or indirect, due or to become due, absolute or contingent, primary or
secondary, liquidated or unliquidated, or joint, several or joint and several.
“Subordinated Note” means the
Borrower’s Revolving Credit Agreement, dated as of August 25, 2006,
payable to the order of the Subordinated Creditor in the original principal amount
of $40,000,000 (forty million United States dollars), together with all renewals, extensions and modifications thereof and any
note or notes issued in substitution therefor.
2. Subordination.
The payment of all of the Subordinated Indebtedness is hereby
expressly subordinated to the extent and in the manner hereinafter set forth to the payment in full
of the Lender Indebtedness; and regardless of any priority otherwise available to the Subordinated
Creditor by law or by agreement, the Lender shall hold a first security interest in all collateral
securing payment of the Lender Indebtedness (the “Collateral”), and any security interest claimed
therein (including any proceeds thereof) by the Subordinated Creditor shall be and remain fully
subordinate for all purposes to the security interest of the Lender therein for all purposes
whatsoever.
3. Principal Payments. Until all of the Lender Indebtedness has been paid in full, the
Subordinated Creditor shall not, without the Lender’s prior written consent, demand, receive or
accept any principal payment from the Borrower in respect of the Subordinated Indebtedness, or
exercise any right of or permit any setoff in respect of the Subordinated Indebtedness.
4. Interest Payments. Without the Lender’s prior written consent, the Subordinated
Creditor shall not demand, receive or accept any interest payment from the Borrower in respect of
the Subordinated Indebtedness so long as any Borrower Default exists or if a Borrower Default will
occur as a result of or immediately following such interest payment.
5. Receipt of Prohibited Payments. If the Subordinated Creditor receives any payment
on the Subordinated Indebtedness that the Subordinated Creditor is not entitled to receive under
the provisions of this Agreement, the Subordinated Creditor will hold the amount so received in
trust for the Lender and will forthwith turn over such payment to the Lender in the form received
(except for the endorsement of the Subordinated Creditor where necessary) for application to
then-existing Lender Indebtedness (whether or not due), in such manner of application as the Lender
may deem appropriate. If the Subordinated Creditor exercises any right of setoff which the
Subordinated Creditor is not permitted to exercise under the provisions of this Agreement, the
Subordinated Creditor will promptly pay over to the Lender, in immediately available funds, an
amount equal to the amount of the claims or obligations offset. If the Subordinated Creditor fails
to make any endorsement required under this Agreement, the Lender, or any of its officers or
employees or agents on behalf of the Lender, is hereby irrevocably appointed as the
attorney-in-fact (which appointment is coupled with an interest) for the Subordinated Creditor to
make such endorsement in the Subordinated Creditor’s name.
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6. Action on Subordinated Debt. The Subordinated Creditor will not commence any action
or proceeding against the Borrower to recover all or any part of the Subordinated Indebtedness, or
join with any creditor (unless the Lender shall so join) in bringing any proceeding against the
Borrower under any bankruptcy, reorganization, readjustment of debt, arrangement of debt
receivership, liquidation or insolvency law or statute of the federal or any state government, or
take possession of, sell, or dispose of any Collateral, or exercise or enforce any right or remedy
available to the Subordinated Creditor with respect to any such Collateral, unless and until the
Lender Indebtedness has been paid in full.
7. Action Concerning Collateral.
(a) Notwithstanding any security interest now held or hereafter acquired by the
Subordinated Creditor, the Lender may take possession of, sell, dispose of, and otherwise
deal with all or any part of the Collateral, and may enforce any right or remedy available
to it with respect to the Collateral, all without notice to or consent of the Subordinated
Creditor except as specifically required by applicable law.
(b) In addition, and without limiting the generality of the foregoing, if a Borrower
Default has occurred and is continuing and the Borrower intends to sell any Collateral to an
unrelated third party outside the ordinary course of business, the Subordinated Creditor
shall, upon the Lender’s request, execute and deliver to such purchaser such instruments as
may reasonably be necessary to terminate and release any security interest or lien the
Subordinated Creditor has in the Collateral to be sold.
(c) The Lender shall have no duty to preserve, protect, care for, insure, take
possession of, collect, dispose of, or otherwise realize upon any of the Collateral, and in
no event shall the Lender be deemed the Subordinated Creditor’s agent with respect to the
Collateral. All proceeds received by the Lender with respect to any Collateral may be
applied, first, to pay or reimburse the Lender for all costs and expenses (including
reasonable attorneys’ fees) incurred by the Lender in connection with the collection of such
proceeds, and, second, to any indebtedness secured by the Lender’s security interest in that
Collateral in any order that it may choose.
8. Bankruptcy and Insolvency. In the event of any receivership, insolvency,
bankruptcy, assignment for the benefit of creditors, reorganization or arrangement with creditors,
whether or not pursuant to bankruptcy law, the sale of all or substantially all of the assets of
the Borrower, dissolution, liquidation or any other marshalling of the assets or liabilities of the
Borrower, the Subordinated Creditor will file all claims, proofs of claim or other instruments of
similar character necessary to enforce the obligations of the Borrower in respect of the
Subordinated Indebtedness and will hold in trust for the Lender and promptly pay over to the Lender
in the form received (except for the endorsement of the Subordinated Creditor where necessary) for
application to the then-existing Lender Indebtedness, any and all moneys, dividends or other assets
received in any such proceedings on account of the Subordinated Indebtedness, unless and until the
Lender Indebtedness has been paid in full. If the Subordinated Creditor shall fail to take any such
action, the Lender, as attorney-in-fact for the Subordinated Creditor,
may take such action on the Subordinated Creditor’s behalf. The Subordinated Creditor
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hereby
irrevocably appoints the Lender, or any of its officers or employees on behalf of the Lender, as
the attorney-in-fact for the Subordinated Creditor (which appointment is coupled with an interest)
with the power but not the duty to demand, xxx for, collect and receive any and all such moneys,
dividends or other assets and give acquittance therefor and to file any claim, proof of claim or
other instrument of similar character, to vote claims comprising Subordinated Indebtedness to
accept or reject any plan of partial or complete liquidation, reorganization, arrangement,
composition or extension and to take such other action in the Lender’s own name or in the name of
the Subordinated Creditor as the Lender may deem necessary or advisable for the enforcement of the
agreements contained herein; and the Subordinated Creditor will execute and deliver to the Lender
such other and further powers-of-attorney or instruments as the Lender may request in order to
accomplish the foregoing.
9. Restrictive Legend; Transfer of Subordinated Indebtedness. The Subordinated
Creditor will cause the Subordinated Note and all other notes, bonds, debentures or other
instruments evidencing the Subordinated Indebtedness or any part thereof to contain a specific
statement thereon to the effect that the indebtedness thereby evidenced is subject to the
provisions of this Agreement, and the Subordinated Creditor will xxxx its books conspicuously to
evidence the subordination effected hereby. Attached hereto is a true and correct copy of the
Subordinated Note bearing such legend. At the request of the Lender, the Subordinated Creditor
shall deposit with the Lender the Subordinated Note and all of the other notes, bonds, debentures
or other instruments evidencing the Subordinated Indebtedness, which notes, bonds, debentures or
other instruments may be held by the Lender so long as any Lender Indebtedness remains outstanding.
The Subordinated Creditor is the lawful holder of the Subordinated Note and has not transferred any
interest therein to any other person. Without the prior written consent of the Lender, the
Subordinated Creditor will not assign, transfer or pledge to any other person any of the
Subordinated Indebtedness or agree to a discharge or forgiveness of the same so long as there
remains outstanding any of the Lender Indebtedness.
10. Continuing Effect. This Agreement shall constitute a continuing agreement of
subordination, and the Lender may, without notice to or consent by the Subordinated Creditor,
modify any term of the Lender Indebtedness in reliance upon this Agreement. Without limiting the
generality of the foregoing, the Lender may, at any time and from time to time, either before or
after receipt of any such notice of revocation, without the consent of or notice to the
Subordinated Creditor and without incurring responsibility to the Subordinated Creditor or
impairing or releasing any of the Lender’s rights or any of the Subordinated Creditor’s obligations
hereunder:
(a) change the interest rate or change the amount of payment or extend the time for
payment or renew or otherwise alter the terms of any Lender Indebtedness or any instrument
evidencing the same in any manner;
(b) sell, exchange, release or otherwise deal with any property at any time securing
payment of the Lender Indebtedness or any part thereof;
(c) release anyone liable in any manner for the payment or collection of the Lender
Indebtedness or any part thereof;
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(d) exercise or refrain from exercising any right against the Borrower or any other
person (including the Subordinated Creditor); and
(e) apply any sums received by the Lender, by whomsoever paid and however realized, to
the Lender Indebtedness in such manner as the Lender shall deem appropriate.
11. No Commitment. None of the provisions of this Agreement shall be deemed or
construed to constitute or imply any commitment or obligation on the part of the Lender to make any
future loans or other extensions of credit or financial accommodations to the Borrower.
12. Notice. All notices and other communications hereunder shall be in writing and
shall be (i) personally delivered, (ii) transmitted by registered mail, postage prepaid, or (iii)
transmitted by telecopy, in each case addressed to the party to whom notice is being given at its
address as set forth below:
| If to the Lender: | ||||||
| Xxxxx Fargo Bank, National Association | ||||||
| 000 Xxxxx Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx | ||||||
| Xxxxx 000 | ||||||
| Xx. Xxxx, XX 00000 | ||||||
| Facsimile: (000) 000-0000 | ||||||
| Attention: Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxx | ||||||
| If to the Subordinated Creditor: | ||||||
| Redcats SA 0-0 xxx xx Xxxxx 00000 Xxxxx Xxxxxx |
||||||
| Facsimile: | x00.0.00.00.00.00 | |||||
| Attention: | Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx | |||||
or at such other address as may hereafter be designated in writing by that party. All such notices
or other communications shall be deemed to have been given on (i) the date received if delivered
personally, (ii) the date of posting if delivered by mail, or (iii) the date of transmission if
delivered by telecopy.
13. Conflict in Agreements. If the subordination provisions of any instrument
evidencing Subordinated Indebtedness conflict with the terms of this Agreement, the terms of this
Agreement shall govern the relationship between the Lender and the Subordinated Creditor.
14. No Waiver. No waiver shall be deemed to be made by the Lender of any of its rights
hereunder unless the same shall be in writing signed on behalf of the Lender, and each such
waiver, if any, shall be a waiver only with respect to the specific matter or matters to which
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the waiver relates and shall in no way impair the rights of the Lender or the obligations of the
Subordinated Creditor to the Lender in any other respect at any time.
15. Binding Effect; Acceptance. This Agreement shall be binding upon the Subordinated
Creditor and the Subordinated Creditor’s heirs, legal representatives, successors and assigns and
shall inure to the benefit of the Lender and its participants, successors and assigns irrespective
of whether this or any similar agreement is executed by any other Subordinated Creditor of the
Borrower. Notice of acceptance by the Lender of this Agreement or of reliance by the Lender upon
this Agreement is hereby waived by the Subordinated Creditor.
16. Miscellaneous. The paragraph headings herein are included for convenience of
reference only and shall not constitute a part of this Agreement for any other purpose. This
Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be an original, but
all of which together shall constitute one instrument.
17. Governing Law; Consent to Jurisdiction and Venue; Waiver of Jury Trial. This
Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the substantive laws (other than
conflict laws) of the State of Minnesota. Each party consents to the personal jurisdiction of the
state and federal courts located in the State of Minnesota in connection with any controversy
related to this Agreement, waives any argument that venue in any such forum is not convenient, and
agrees that any litigation initiated by any of them in connection with this Agreement shall be
venued in either the District Court of Hennepin County, Minnesota, or the United States District
Court, District of Minnesota, Fourth Division. THE PARTIES WAIVE ANY RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY
ACTION OR PROCEEDING BASED ON OR PERTAINING TO THIS ACKNOWLEDGMENT.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Subordinated Creditor has executed this Agreement as of the date and
year first above-written.
| REDCATS SA | ||||||||||
By
|
Xxxxxxxx XXXXXXX | By | Xxxxxxx XXXXXX | |||||||
| Director Corporate Finance | Tax Director | |||||||||
| /s/ Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx | /s/ Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx | |||||||||
Acknowledgment by Borrower
The undersigned, being the Borrower referred to in the foregoing Agreement, hereby (i)
acknowledges receipt of a copy thereof, (ii) agrees to all of the terms and provisions thereof,
(iii) agrees to and with the Lender that it shall make no payment on the Subordinated Indebtedness
that the Subordinated Creditor would not be entitled to receive under the provisions of the
Agreement, (iv) agrees that any such payment will constitute a default under the Lender
Indebtedness, and (v) agrees to xxxx its books conspicuously to evidence the subordination of
the Subordinated Indebtedness effected hereby.
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| THE SPORTSMAN’S GUIDE, INC. | ||||||||||
| By | ||||||||||
| Its | ||||||||||
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EXHIBIT A
attach copy of Subordinated Note with following legend
THIS INSTRUMENT IS SUBJECT TO THE TERMS OF A SUBORDINATION AGREEMENT BY REDCATS U.S.A. IN FAVOR OF
XXXXX FARGO BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION DATED AS OF , 2006.
XXXXX FARGO BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION DATED AS OF , 2006.
