dated as of October 21,
2005
BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL
ASSOCIATION,
as Agent and sole initial Lender,
BANC OF AMERICA SECURITIES
LLC
as Lead Arranger and Book Manager
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Page
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1
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1.1 Certain Defined Terms
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1
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1.2 Other Interpretive Provisions
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16
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1.3 Accounting Principles
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17
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17
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2.1 Amounts and Terms of Commitments
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17
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17
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2.3 Procedure for Borrowing
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18
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2.4 Conversion and Continuation Elections for
Borrowings
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19
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2.5 Termination or Reduction of
Commitments
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20
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20
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21
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21
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21
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2.10 Computation of Fees and Interest
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21
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2.11 Payments by the Borrower
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22
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2.12 Payments by the Lenders to the
Agent
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22
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23
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ARTICLE III TAXES, YIELD PROTECTION AND
ILLEGALITY
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24
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24
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25
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3.3 Increased Costs and Reduction of
Return
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25
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26
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3.5 Inability to Determine Rates
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27
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3.6 Certificates of Lenders
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27
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3.7 Substitution of Lenders
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27
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27
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ARTICLE IV CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
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27
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4.1 Conditions to Effectiveness
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27
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-i-
TABLE OF CONTENTS
(continued)
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Page
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4.2 Conditions to All Credit
Extensions
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29
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ARTICLE V REPRESENTATIONS AND
WARRANTIES
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29
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5.1 Corporate Existence and Power
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29
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5.2 Corporate Authorization; No
Contravention
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30
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5.3 Governmental Authorization
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30
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30
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30
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30
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31
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5.8 Use of Proceeds; Margin
Regulations
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31
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31
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32
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32
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5.12 Environmental Matters
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32
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32
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5.14 No Burdensome Restrictions
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32
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5.15 Copyrights, Patents, Trademarks and
Licenses, etc
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32
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33
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33
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ARTICLE VI AFFIRMATIVE COVENANTS
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33
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33
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6.2 Certificates; Other Information
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34
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34
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6.4 Preservation of Corporate Existence,
Etc
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35
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6.5 Maintenance of Property
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36
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36
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6.7 Payment of Obligations
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36
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-ii-
TABLE OF CONTENTS
(continued)
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Page
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36
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6.9 Compliance with ERISA
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36
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6.10 Inspection of Property and Books and
Records
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36
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37
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37
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ARTICLE VII NEGATIVE COVENANTS
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37
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7.1 Financial Condition Covenants
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37
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37
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7.3 Disposition of Assets
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39
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7.4 Consolidations and Mergers
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39
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7.5 Loans and Investments
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40
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7.6 Limitation on Subsidiary
Indebtedness
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41
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7.7 Transactions with Affiliates
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41
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41
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42
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42
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42
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42
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42
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42
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ARTICLE VIII EVENTS OF DEFAULT
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43
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43
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44
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45
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45
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9.1 Appointment and Authorization
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45
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45
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46
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46
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-iii-
TABLE OF CONTENTS
(continued)
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Page
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46
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47
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47
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9.8 Agent in Individual Capacity
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47
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48
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48
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49
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10.1 Amendments and Waivers
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49
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50
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10.3 No Waiver; Cumulative Remedies
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51
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51
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10.5 Borrower Indemnification
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51
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52
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10.7 Successors and Assigns
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52
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10.8 Assignments, Participations, etc
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52
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54
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54
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10.11 Notification of Addresses, Lending
Offices, Etc
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55
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55
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10.14 No Third Parties Benefited
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55
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10.15 Governing Law and Jurisdiction
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55
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10.16 Waiver of Jury Trial
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10.17 Pari Passu Obligations
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56
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56
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56
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10.20 USA Patriot Act Notice
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57
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-iv-
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Schedule 2.1 Commitments and
Pro Rata Shares
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Schedule 5.16 Subsidiaries of Lance,
Inc.
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Schedule 7.2 Permitted
Liens
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Schedule 10.2 Offshore and Domestic Lending
Offices, Addresses for Notices
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Exhibit A Form of Notice of
Borrowing
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Exhibit B Form of Notice of
Conversion/Continuation
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Exhibit C Form of Compliance
Certificate
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Exhibit D Form of Assignment and
Acceptance
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Exhibit E Form of Promissory
Note
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-v-
This BRIDGE CREDIT
AGREEMENT is entered into as of October 21, 2005, between
LANCE, INC., a North Carolina corporation (the “
Borrower ”), and BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL
ASSOCIATION, as the sole initial lender hereunder (together with
any assigns and successors in such capacity, individually a “
Lender ” and collectively the “ Lenders
”) and as administrative agent for the Lenders (the “
Agent ”).
WHEREAS, the
Borrower wishes to finance its acquisition of assets of Tom’s
Foods Inc. out of the bankruptcy estate pursuant to a
Section 363 auction process (the “ Tom’s Foods
Acquisition ”) and the Lender is willing to provide such
financing on the terms and conditions stated herein;
NOW, THEREFORE, in
consideration of the mutual agreements, provisions and covenants
contained herein, the parties agree as follows:
1.1 Certain
Defined Terms . The following terms have the following
meanings:
Acquisition means any transaction or series of related
transactions for the purpose of or resulting, directly or
indirectly, in (a) the acquisition of all or substantially all
of the assets of a Person, or of any business or division of a
Person, (b) the acquisition of in excess of 50% of the capital
stock, partnership interests, membership interests or equity of any
Person, or otherwise causing any Person to become a Subsidiary, or
(c) a merger or consolidation or amalgamation or any other
combination with another Person (other than a Person that is a
Subsidiary) provided that the Borrower or the Subsidiary is the
surviving entity or, in the case of an amalgamation, the resulting
corporation has provided an assumption agreement and all other
assurances as the Agent may reasonably require.
Affiliate
means, as to any Person, any other Person which, directly or
indirectly, is in control of, is controlled by, or is under common
control with such Person. A Person shall be deemed to control
another Person if the controlling Person possesses, directly or
indirectly, the power to direct or cause the direction of the
management and policies of the other Person, whether through the
ownership of voting securities or membership interests, by contract
or otherwise.
Agent
means Bank of America in its capacity as agent for the Lenders
hereunder, and any successor thereto in such capacity arising under
Section 9.9 .
Agent-Related
Persons means Bank of America and any successor to Bank of
America as Agent arising under Section 9.9 , together
with their respective Affiliates
(including, in
the case of Bank of America, the Arranger), and the officers,
directors, employees, agents and attorneys-in-fact of such Persons
and Affiliates.
Agent’s
Payment Office means the address for payments set forth on
Schedule 10.2 or such other address as the Agent may from
time to time specify.
Aggregate
Commitment means at any time an amount equal to the aggregate
amount of the Commitments of all Lenders. The initial amount of the
Aggregate Commitment is U.S.$50,000,000.
Agreement
means this Bridge Credit Agreement.
Applicable
Law means, with reference to any Person, all laws (foreign or
domestic), ordinances and treaties and all judgments, decrees,
injunctions, writs and orders of any court, arbitrator or
Governmental Authority, and all rules and regulations of any
Governmental Authority applicable to such Person.
Applicable
Margin means (a) initially, 0.35% per annum, and
(b) beginning on any date on which the Applicable Margin is to
be adjusted pursuant to the sentence following the table below, the
rate per annum set forth in the table below opposite the applicable
Total Debt to EBITDA Ratio:
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Total
Debt
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Applicable
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to EBITDA
Ratio
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Margin
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Less than or equal to 0.50 to 1
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0.26
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%
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Greater than 0.50 to 1 but less than or equal to
1.25 to 1
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0.35
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%
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Greater than 1.25 to to 1 but less than or equal
to 2.00 to 1
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0.425
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%
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0.575
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%
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The Applicable
Margin for all Offshore Rate Loans shall be adjusted, to the extent
applicable, 46 days (or, in the case of the last fiscal
quarter of any year, 101 days) after the end of each fiscal
quarter (or, if earlier, 10 days following delivery by the
Borrower of the financial statements required by subsection
6.1(a) or 6.1(b) , as applicable, and the related
Compliance Certificate required by subsection 6.2(a) for
such fiscal quarter), based on the Total Debt to EBITDA Ratio as of
the last day of such fiscal quarter; it being understood
that if the Borrower fails to deliver the financial statements
required by subsection 6.1(a) or 6.1(b) , as
applicable, and the related Compliance Certificate required by
subsection 6.2(a) by the 46th day (or, if applicable, the
101st day) after any fiscal
2
quarter, the
Applicable Margin shall be 0.575% until such financial statements
and Compliance Certificate are delivered.
Arranger
means Banc of America Securities LLC.
Assignee
— see subsection 10.8(a) .
Assignment
and Acceptance — see subsection 10.8(a)
.
Attorney
Costs means and includes all reasonable fees and disbursements
of any law firm or other external counsel and, without duplication,
the allocated cost of internal legal services and all reasonable
disbursements of internal counsel provided that all
attorneys’ fees shall be determined without regard to any
statutory presumption based on the standard hourly rates for such
attorneys and the actual hours expended.
Bank of
America means Bank of America, National Association, a national
banking association.
Bankruptcy
Code means the Federal Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978 (11 U.S.C.
§101, et seq .).
Borrower
— see preamble to this Agreement.
Borrowing
means a borrowing hereunder consisting of Loans of the same Type
made to the Borrower on the same day by one or more Lenders under
Article II and, other than in the case of U.S. Base
Rate Loans, having the same Interest Period.
Borrowing
Date means any date on which a Borrowing occurs under
Section 2.3 .
Business
Day means any day other than a Saturday, Sunday or other day on
which commercial banks in Charlotte, North Carolina are authorized
or required by law to close and, if the applicable Business Day
relates to any Offshore Rate Loan, means such a day on which
dealings are carried on in the London offshore dollar interbank
market.
Capital
Adequacy Regulation means any guideline, request or directive
of any central bank or other relevant Governmental Authority, or
any other law, rule or regulation, whether or not having the force
of law, in each case, regarding capital adequacy of any bank or of
any corporation controlling a bank.
Change of
Control means any of the following events:
(a) any
Person or group (within the meaning of Rule 13d-5 of the SEC
under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as in effect on the date
hereof) (other than the Van Every Family) shall become the
Beneficial Owner (as defined in Rule 13d-3 of the SEC under
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as in effect on the date
hereof) of 20% or more of the capital stock or other equity
interests of the Borrower the holders of which are entitled under
ordinary circumstances (irrespective of whether at the time the
holders of such stock or other equity
3
interests shall
have or might have voting power by reason of the happening of any
contingency) to vote for the election of the directors of the
Borrower; or
(b) a
majority of the members of the Board of Directors of the Borrower
shall cease to be Continuing Members.
Code means
the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and regulations promulgated
thereunder.
Commitment
— see Section 2.1 . As of the Effective Date, the
amount of the Aggregate Commitments of the sole initial Lender is
U.S.$50,000,000.
Compliance
Certificate means a certificate substantially in the form of
Exhibit C .
Computation
Period means any period of four consecutive fiscal quarters
ending on the last day of a fiscal quarter.
Contingent
Obligation means, as to any Person, without duplication, any
direct or indirect liability of such Person, whether or not
contingent, with or without recourse, (a) with respect to any
Indebtedness, lease, dividend, letter of credit or other obligation
(the “primary obligations”) of another Person (the
“primary obligor”), including any obligation of such
Person (i) to purchase, repurchase or otherwise acquire such
primary obligations or any security therefor, (ii) to advance
or provide funds for the payment or discharge of any such primary
obligation, or to maintain working capital or equity capital of the
primary obligor or otherwise to maintain the net worth or solvency
or any balance sheet item, level of income or financial condition
of the primary obligor, (iii) to purchase property, securities
or services primarily for the purpose of assuring the owner of any
such primary obligation of the ability of the primary obligor to
make payment of such primary obligation, or (iv) otherwise to
assure or hold harmless the holder of any such primary obligation
against loss in respect thereof (each a “ Guaranty
Obligation ”); (b) with respect to any Surety
Instrument issued for the account of such Person or as to which
such Person is otherwise liable for reimbursement of drawings or
payments; or (c) in respect of any Swap Contract. The amount
of any Contingent Obligation shall (a) in the case of Guaranty
Obligations, be deemed equal to the stated or determinable amount
of the primary obligation in respect of which such Guaranty
Obligation is made or, if not stated or if indeterminable, the
maximum reasonably anticipated liability in respect thereof, and
(b) in the case of other Contingent Obligations, be equal to
the maximum reasonably anticipated liability in respect
thereof.
Continuing
Member means a member of the Board of Directors of the Borrower
who either (a) was a member of the Borrower’s Board of
Directors on the Effective Date and has been such continuously
thereafter or (b) became a member of such Board of Directors
after the Effective Date and whose election or nomination for
election was approved by a vote of the majority of the Continuing
Members then members of the Borrower’s Board of
Directors.
4
Contractual
Obligation means, as to any Person, any provision of any
security issued by such Person or of any agreement, undertaking,
contract, indenture, mortgage, deed of trust or other document to
which such Person is a party or by which it or any of its property
is bound.
Conversion/Continuation Date means any date on which, under
Section 2.4 the Borrower (a) converts Loans of one
Type to the other Type or (b) continues Offshore Rate Loans
for a new Interest Period.
Credit
Extension means and includes the making of any Loan
hereunder.
Deferred
Notes — see Section 7.6 .
Disclosure
Memorandum means the disclosure memorandum dated
October 21, 2005 of the Borrower delivered to the Agent and
the Lender on or before the Effective Date.
Dollar ,
dollar , U.S. Dollar , U.S.$ and $ each
means lawful money of the United States.
EBIT
means, for any Computation Period, the Borrower’s
consolidated earnings from continuing operations for such period,
plus, to the extent deducted in determining such earnings, Interest
Expense and income taxes, minus, to the extent included in
determining such earnings, any income tax refunds.
EBITDA
means, for any Computation Period, the Borrower’s
consolidated earnings from continuing operations for such period,
plus, to the extent deducted in determining such earnings, Interest
Expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, minus, to the
extent included in determining such earnings, any income tax
refunds.
Effective
Date — see Section 4.1 .
Eligible
Assignee means (i) a commercial bank organized under the
laws of the United States, or any state thereof, and having a
combined capital and surplus of at least U.S.$100,000,000;
(ii) a commercial bank organized under the laws of any other
country which is a member of the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development (the OECD), or a political subdivision
of any such country, and having a combined capital and surplus of
at least U.S.$100,000,000, provided that such bank is acting
through a branch or agency located in the United States; and
(iii) a Person that is primarily engaged in the business of
commercial banking and that is (A) a Subsidiary of a Lender,
(B) a Subsidiary of a Person of which a Lender is a
Subsidiary, or (C) a Person of which a Lender is a
Subsidiary.
Environmental
Claims means all claims, however asserted, by any Governmental
Authority or other Person alleging potential liability or
responsibility for violation of any Environmental Law, or for
release or injury to the environment.
5
Environmental
Laws means all federal, state or local laws, statutes, rules,
regulations, ordinances and codes, together with all administrative
orders, directed duties, requests, licenses, authorizations and
permits of, and agreements with, any Governmental Authorities, in
each case relating to environmental and human health
matters.
ERISA
means the U.S. Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and
the regulations promulgated thereunder.
ERISA
Affiliate means any trade or business (whether or not
incorporated) under common control with the Borrower within the
meaning of Section 414(b) or (c) of the Code (and Sections
414(m) and (o) of the Code for purposes of provisions relating
to Section 412 of the Code).
ERISA
Event means (a) a Reportable Event with respect to a
Pension Plan; (b) a withdrawal by the Borrower or any ERISA
Affiliate from a Pension Plan subject to Section 4063 of ERISA
during a plan year in which it was a substantial employer (as
defined in Section 4001(a)(2) of ERISA) or a substantial
cessation of operations which is treated as such a withdrawal;
(c) a complete or partial withdrawal by the Borrower or any
ERISA Affiliate from a Multiemployer Plan or notification that a
Multiemployer Plan is in reorganization; (d) the filing of a
notice of intent to terminate, the treatment of a Pension Plan
amendment as a termination under Section 4041 or 4041A of
ERISA, or the commencement of proceedings by the PBGC to terminate
a Pension Plan or Multiemployer Plan; (e) an event or
condition which might reasonably be expected to constitute grounds
under Section 4042 of ERISA for the termination of, or the
appointment of a trustee to administer, any Pension Plan or
Multiemployer Plan; or (f) the imposition of any liability
under Title IV of ERISA, other than PBGC premiums due but not
delinquent under Section 4007 of ERISA, upon the Borrower or
any ERISA Affiliate.
Event of
Default means any of the events or circumstances specified in
Section 8.1 .
Existing
Credit Agreement means the Second Amended and Restated Credit
Agreement dated as of February 8, 2002 among the Borrower,
Lanfin Investments Inc., the lenders party thereto and Bank of
America, as administrative agent, letter of credit issuer and
Canadian agent, as amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise
modified from time to time.
Facility Fee
Rate means (a) initially, 0.10% per annum, and
(b) beginning on any date on which the Facility Fee Rate is to
be adjusted pursuant to the sentence following the table below, the
rate per annum set forth in the table below opposite the applicable
Total Debt to EBITDA Ratio:
6
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total Debt
to
|
|
Facility
|
|
|
EBITDA
Ratio
|
|
Fee Rate
|
|
Less than or equal to 0.50 to 1
|
|
|
0.09
|
%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Greater than 0.50 to 1 but less than or equal to
1.25 to 1
|
|
|
0.10
|
%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Greater than 1.25 to 1 but less than or equal to
2.00 to 1
|
|
|
0.125
|
%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
0.175
|
%
|
The Facility
Fee Rate shall be adjusted, to the extent applicable, 46 days
(or, in the case of the last fiscal quarter of any year,
101 days) after the end of each fiscal quarter (or, if
earlier, 10 days following delivery by the Borrower of the
financial statements required by subsection 6.1(a) or
6.1(b) , as applicable, and the related Compliance
Certificate required by subsection 6.2(a) for such fiscal
quarter), based on the Total Debt to EBITDA Ratio as of the last
day of such fiscal quarter; it being understood that if the
Borrower fails to deliver the financial statements required by
subsection 6.1(a) or 6.1(b) , as applicable, and the
related Compliance Certificate required by subsection 6.2(a)
by the 46th day (or, if applicable, the 101st day) after any fiscal
quarter, the Facility Fee Rate shall be 0.175% until such financial
statements and Compliance Certificate are delivered.
Federal Funds
Rate means, for any day, the rate set forth in the weekly
statistical release designated as H.15(519), or any successor
publication, published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York
(including any such successor, “H.15(519)”) on the
preceding Business Day opposite the caption “Federal Funds
(Effective)”; or, if for any relevant day such rate is not so
published on any such preceding Business Day, the rate for such day
will be the arithmetic mean as determined by the Agent of the rates
for the last transaction in overnight Federal funds arranged prior
to 9:00 a.m. (New York City time) on that day by each of three
leading brokers of Federal funds transactions in New York City
selected by the Agent.
Fixed Rate
Loan means an Offshore Rate Loan.
FRB means
the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and any
Governmental Authority succeeding to any of its principal
functions.
Further
Taxes means any and all present or future taxes, levies,
assessments, imposts, duties, deductions, fees, withholdings or
similar charges (including net income taxes and franchise taxes),
and all liabilities with respect thereto, imposed by any
jurisdiction on account of amounts payable or paid pursuant to
Section 3.1 .
GAAP means
generally accepted accounting principles set forth from time to
time in the opinions and pronouncements of the Accounting
Principles Board and the American Institute of Certified Public
Accountants and statements and pronouncements
7
of the
Financial Accounting Standards Board (or agencies with similar
functions of comparable stature and authority within the U.S.
accounting profession), which are applicable to the circumstances
as of the date of determination.
Governmental
Authority means any applicable nation or government, any state,
provincial or other political subdivision thereof, any central bank
(or similar monetary or regulatory authority) thereof, any entity
exercising executive, legislative, judicial, regulatory or
administrative functions of or pertaining to government, and any
corporation or other entity owned or controlled, through stock or
capital ownership or otherwise, by any of the foregoing.
Guaranty
Obligation has the meaning specified in the definition of
Contingent Obligation.
HSW Mortgage
Loan means the mortgage loan in the original principal amount
of U.S.$95,000,000 owing by the Borrower to HSW Mortgage Corp. and
secured by a deed of trust on the real property of the Borrower
contiguous to and including its corporate headquarters located at
8600 South Boulevard, Charlotte, North Carolina.
Indebtedness of any Person means, without duplication,
(a) all indebtedness of such Person for borrowed money;
(b) all obligations issued, undertaken or assumed by such
Person as the deferred purchase price of property or services
(other than trade payables entered into in the ordinary course of
business on ordinary terms); (c) all reimbursement or payment
obligations of such Person with respect to Surety Instruments;
(d) all obligations of such Person evidenced by notes, bonds,
debentures or similar instruments; (e) all indebtedness of
such Person created or arising under any conditional sale or other
title retention agreement, or incurred as financing, in either case
with respect to property acquired by such Person (even though the
rights and remedies of the seller or lender under such agreement in
the event of default are limited to repossession or sale of such
property); (f) all obligations of such Person with respect to
capital leases which should be recorded on a balance sheet of such
Person in accordance with GAAP; (g) all indebtedness of the
types referred to in clauses (a) through (f) above
secured by (or for which the holder of such indebtedness has an
existing right, contingent or otherwise, to be secured by) any Lien
upon or in property (including accounts and contracts rights) owned
by such Person, even though such Person has not assumed or become
liable for the payment of such Indebtedness, provided that the
amount of any such Indebtedness shall be deemed to be the lesser of
the face principal amount thereof and the fair market value of the
property subject to such Lien; and (h) all Guaranty
Obligations of such Person in respect of indebtedness or
obligations of others. For all purposes of this Agreement, the
Indebtedness of any Person shall include all Indebtedness of any
partnership or joint venture in which such Person is a general
partner or a joint venturer to the extent of such Person’s
liability therefor; provided that to the extent that any
such indebtedness is expressly non-recourse to such Person it shall
not be included as Indebtedness.
Indemnified
Liabilities — see Section 10.5 .
8
Indemnified
Person — see Section 10.5 .
Independent
Auditor — see subsection 6.1(a) .
Insolvency
Proceeding means, with respect to any Person, (a) any
case, action or proceeding with respect to such Person before any
court or other Governmental Authority relating to bankruptcy,
reorganization, insolvency, liquidation, receivership, dissolution,
winding-up or relief of debtors or (b) any general assignment
for the benefit of creditors, composition, marshalling of assets
for creditors, or other, similar arrangement in respect of its
creditors generally or any substantial portion of its creditors; in
each case undertaken under any Applicable Law, including the
Bankruptcy Code.
Interest
Coverage Ratio means, for any Computation Period, the ratio of
(a) EBIT for such Computation Period, to (b) Interest Expense
for such Computation Period.
Interest
Expense means for any period, without duplication, the
consolidated interest expense (whether paid or accrued) of the
Borrower and its Subsidiaries for such period (including all
imputed interest on capital leases) plus the interest
component of synthetic leases (regardless of the accounting
treatment of the synthetic leases) plus consolidated yield
or discount accrued during such period on the aggregate outstanding
investment or claim held by purchasers, assignees or other
transferees of (or of interests in) receivables of the Borrower and
its Subsidiaries in connection with any Securitization Transaction
(regardless of the accounting treatment of such Securitization
Transaction).
Interest
Payment Date means, as to any Offshore Rate Loan, the last day
of each Interest Period applicable to such Loan and, as to any U.S.
Base Rate Loan, the last Business Day of each calendar quarter,
provided that if any Interest Period for an Offshore Rate
Loan exceeds three months, each three-month anniversary of the
first day of such Interest Period also shall be an Interest Payment
Date.
Interest
Period means, as to any Offshore Rate Loan, the period
commencing on the Borrowing Date of such Loan or on the
Conversion/Continuation Date on which such Loan is converted into
or continued as an Offshore Rate Loan, and ending on the date one,
two or three months thereafter as selected by the Borrower in its
Notice of Borrowing or Notice of Conversion/Continuation, as the
case may be; provided that:
(i) if any
Interest Period would otherwise end on a day that is not a Business
Day, such Interest Period shall be extended to the following
Business Day unless, in the case of an Offshore Rate Loan, the
result of such extension would be to carry such Interest Period
into another calendar month, in which event such Interest Period
shall end on the preceding Business Day;
(ii) any Interest
Period for an Offshore Rate Loan that begins on the last Business
Day of a calendar month (or on a day for which there is no
numerically corresponding day in the calendar month at the end of
such Interest Period) shall end on the last Business Day of the
calendar month at the end of such Interest Period; and
9
(iii) no Interest
Period for any Loan shall extend beyond the Termination
Date.
IRS means
the Internal Revenue Service, and any Governmental Authority
succeeding to any of its principal functions under the
Code.
Lender
— see the preamble to this Agreement.
Lending
Office means, as to any Lender, the office or offices of such
Lender specified as its “Lending Office” or
“Domestic Lending Office” or “Offshore Lending
Office”, as the case may be, on Schedule 12.2 ,
or such other office or offices as such Lender may from time to
time notify the Borrower and the Agent.
Lien means
any security interest, mortgage, deed of trust, pledge,
hypothecation, assignment, charge or deposit arrangement,
encumbrance, lien (statutory or other) or preferential arrangement
of any kind or nature whatsoever in respect of any property
(including those created by, arising under or evidenced by any
conditional sale or other title retention agreement, the interest
of a lessor under a capital lease, or any financing lease having
substantially the same economic effect as any of the foregoing, but
not including the interest of a lessor under an operating
lease).
Loan means
an extension of credit by a Lender to the Borrower under Article
II in the form of a Loan, which may be a U.S. Base Rate Loan or
an Offshore Rate Loan (each a “ Type ” of
Loan).
Loan
Documents means this Agreement and any Notes.
Margin
Stock means “margin stock” as such term is defined
in Regulation T, U or X of the FRB.
Material
Adverse Effect means a material adverse change in, or a
material adverse effect upon, the operations, business, properties,
assets, liabilities (actual or contingent), or financial condition
of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries taken as a whole.
Material
Financial Obligations means Indebtedness or Contingent
Obligations of the Borrower or any Subsidiary or obligations of the
Borrower or any Subsidiary in respect of any Securitization
Transaction, in an aggregate principal amount (for all applicable
Indebtedness, Contingent Obligations and obligations in respect of
Securitization Transactions) equal to or greater than
U.S.$7,500,000.
Multiemployer
Plan means a “multiemployer plan”, within the
meaning of Section 4001(a)(3) of ERISA, with respect to which the
Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate may have any liability.
Net Cash
Proceeds means (a) all cash proceeds received by the
Borrower or any Subsidiary pursuant to any issuance of
(i) equity securities or equity-linked securities (other than
any issuance (A) to the Borrower or any Subsidiary or
(B) in the ordinary
10
course of
business in connection with employee compensation and stock option,
stock purchase and similar plans) or (ii) Indebtedness for
borrowed money (other than the Existing Credit Agreement), in each
case net of the direct costs relating to such issuance (including
sales and underwriter’s discounts and commissions, upfront
fees and legal, accounting and investment banking fees); and
(b) all cash proceeds received by the Borrower or any
Subsidiary pursuant to any sale (or series of related sales) of
assets (other than sales of inventory in the ordinary course of
business) having a net book value in excess of $10,000,000, net of
the direct costs relating to such sale.
Note means
a promissory note executed by the Borrower in favor of a Lender
pursuant to subsection 2.3(b) , in substantially the form of
Exhibit E .
Notice of
Borrowing means a notice in substantially the form of
Exhibit A .
Notice of
Conversion/Continuation means a notice in substantially the
form of Exhibit B .
Obligations means all advances, debts, liabilities,
obligations, covenants and duties arising under any Loan Document
owing by the Borrower to any Lender, the Agent or any other
Indemnified Person, whether direct or indirect (including those
acquired by assignment), absolute or contingent, due or to become
due, or now existing or hereafter arising.
Offshore
Rate means, for any Interest Period, with respect to Offshore
Rate Loans comprising part of the same Borrowing, the rate of
interest per annum (rounded upward to the next 1/100th of 1%)
determined by the Agent as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Offshore Rate
=
|
|
LIBOR
|
|
|
|
|
|
1.00
-
|
|
Eurodollar
Reserve Percentage
|
|
|
“
Eurodollar Reserve Percentage ” means for any day for
any Interest Period the maximum reserve percentage (expressed as a
decimal, rounded upward, if necessary, to an integral multiple of
1/100th of 1%) in effect on such day (whether or not applicable to
any Lender) under regulations issued from time to time by the FRB
for determining the maximum reserve requirement (including any
emergency, supplemental or other marginal reserve requirement) with
respect to Eurocurrency funding (currently referred to as
“Eurocurrency liabilities”); and
“
LIBOR ” means, for any Offshore Rate Loan for any
Interest Period therefor, the rate per annum (rounded upwards, if
necessary, to the nearest 1/100th of 1%) appearing on Telerate Page
3750 (or any successor or equivalent page), as the London interbank
offered rate for deposits in U.S. Dollars and in the approximate
amount of the Loan to be made or continued as, or converted into,
such Offshore Rate Loan at approximately 11:00 a.m. (London
time) two (2) Business Days prior to the first day of such
Interest Period for a term comparable to such Interest Period;
provided , however , if more than one rate is
specified on
11
Telerate Page
3750, the relevant rate shall be the arithmetic mean of all such
rates. If for any reason such rate is not available, the term
“LIBOR” shall mean, for any Offshore Rate Loan for any
Interest Period therefor,
(a) the rate per
annum (rounded upwards, if necessary, to the nearest 1/100th of 1%)
appearing on Reuters Screen LIBO Page as the London interbank
offered rate for deposits in U.S. Dollars and in the approximate
amount of the Loan to be made or continued as, or converted into,
such Offshore Rate Loan at approximately 11:00 a.m. (London
time) two Business Days prior to the first day of such Interest
Period for a term comparable to such Interest Period;
provided , however , if more than one rate is
specified on Reuters Screen LIBO Page, the relevant rate shall be
the arithmetic mean of all such rates, or
(b) if no rate is
available on the Reuters Screen LIBO page, then the rate determined
by the Agent at which U.S. Dollars in the approximate amount of the
loan to be made or continued as, or converted into, such Offshore
Rate Loan is offered by leading banks in the London interbank
market at approximately 11:00 a.m. (London time) two Business
Days prior to the first day of the applicable Interest Period
(rounded upwards, if necessary, to the nearest 1/100th of
1%).
The Offshore
Rate shall be adjusted automatically as to all Offshore Rate Loans
then outstanding as of the effective date of any change in the
Eurodollar Reserve Percentage.
Offshore Rate
Loan means a Loan that bears interest based on the Offshore
Rate.
Organization
Documents means (i) for any corporation, the certificate
of incorporation, the bylaws, any certificate of determination or
instrument relating to the rights of preferred shareholders of such
corporation, any shareholder rights agreement, and all applicable
resolutions of the board of directors (or any committee thereof) of
such corporation, (ii) for any partnership or joint venture,
the partnership or joint venture agreement and any other
organizational document of such entity, (iii) for any limited
liability company, the certificate or articles of organization, the
operating agreement and any other organizational document of such
limited liability company, (iv) for any trust, the declaration
of trust, the trust agreement and any other organizational document
of such trust and (v) for any other entity, the document or
agreement pursuant to which such entity was formed and any other
organizational document of such entity.
Other
Taxes means any present or future stamp, court or documentary
taxes or any other excise or property taxes, charges or similar
levies which arise from any payment made hereunder or from the
execution, delivery, performance, enforcement or registration of,
or otherwise with respect to, this Agreement or any other Loan
Document.
Participant — see subsection 10.8(d)
.
12
PBGC means
the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, or any Governmental
Authority succeeding to any of its principal functions under
ERISA.
Pension
Plan means a pension plan (as defined in Section 3(2) of
ERISA) subject to Title IV of ERISA, other than a Multiemployer
Plan, with respect to which the Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate may
have any liability.
Permitted
Liens — see Section 7.2 .
Permitted Swap
Obligations means all obligations (contingent or otherwise) of
the Borrower or any Subsidiary existing or arising under Swap
Contracts, provided that such obligations are (or were) entered
into by such Person in the ordinary course of business for the
purpose of directly mitigating risks associated with (a) raw
materials purchases, (b) interest or currency exchange rates,
(c) operating expenses or other anticipated obligations of
such Person, (d) other liabilities, commitments or assets held
or reasonably anticipated by such Person or (e) changes in the
value of securities issued by such Person in conjunction with a
securities repurchase program not otherwise prohibited
hereunder.
Person
means an individual, partnership, corporation, limited liability
company, business trust, joint stock company, trust, unincorporated
association, joint venture or Governmental Authority.
Plan means
an employee benefit plan (as defined in Section 3(3) of
ERISA), other than a Multiemployer Plan, with respect to which the
Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate may have any liability, and
includes any Pension Plan.
Pro Rata
Share means for any Lender at any time the proportion
(expressed as a decimal, rounded to the ninth decimal place) which
the aggregate amount of such Lender’s Commitments constitutes
of the aggregate amount of the combined Commitments (or, after the
Commitments have terminated, which (i) the principal amount of
such Lender’s Loans constitutes of (ii) the Total
Outstandings).
Reportable
Event means, any of the events set forth in Section 4043(b) of
ERISA or the regulations thereunder, other than any such event for
which the 30-day notice requirement under ERISA has been waived in
regulations issued by the PBGC.
Required
Lenders means Lenders holding Pro Rata Shares aggregating more
than 50%.
Requirement of
Law means, as to any Person, any law (statutory or common),
treaty, rule or regulation or determination of an arbitrator or of
a Governmental Authority, in each case applicable to or binding
upon such Person or any of its property or to which such Person or
any of its property is subject.
Responsible
Officer means the chief executive officer, the president or any
vice president of the Borrower, or any other officer having
substantially the same authority and responsibility; or, with
respect to financial matters, the chief financial officer or
the
13
treasurer of
the Borrower, or any other officer having substantially the same
authority and responsibility.
Restricted
Subsidiary — see Section 7.4 .
SEC means
the Securities and Exchange Commission, or any Governmental
Authority succeeding to any of its principal functions.
Securitization
Transaction means any sale, assignment or other transfer by the
Borrower or any Subsidiary of accounts receivable, lease
receivables or other payment obligations owing to the Borrower or
any Subsidiary or any interest in any of the foregoing, together in
each case with any collections and other proceeds thereof, any
collection or deposit accounts related thereto, and any collateral,
guaranties or other property or claims in favor of the Borrower or
such Subsidiary supporting or securing payment by the obligor
thereon of, or otherwise related to, any such
receivables.
Subsidiary
of a Person means any corporation, association, partnership,
limited liability company, joint venture or other business entity
of which more than 50% of the voting stock, membership interests or
other equity interests is owned or controlled directly or
indirectly by such Person, or one or more of the Subsidiaries of
such Person, or a combination thereof. Unless the context otherwise
clearly requires, references herein to a “Subsidiary”
refer to a Subsidiary of the Borrower.
Surety
Instruments means all letters of credit (including standby and
commercial), bankers’ acceptances, bank guaranties, shipside
bonds, surety bonds and similar instruments.
Swap
Contract means any agreement, whether or not in writing,
relating to any transaction that is a rate swap, basis swap,
forward rate transaction, commodity swap, commodity option, equity
or equity index swap or option, bond, note or bill option, interest
rate option, forward foreign exchange transaction, cap, collar or
floor transaction, currency swap, cross-currency rate swap,
swaption, currency option or any other, similar transaction
(including any option to enter into any of the foregoing) or any
combination of the foregoing, and, unless the context otherwise
clearly requires, any master agreement relating to or governing any
or all of the foregoing.
Taxes
means any and all present or future taxes, levies, assessments,
imposts, duties, deductions, fees, withholdings or similar charges,
and all liabilities with respect thereto, excluding, in the case of
each Lender and the Agent, franchise taxes and taxes imposed on or
measured by its net income or capital by the jurisdiction (or any
political subdivision thereof) under the laws of which such Lender
or the Agent, as the case may be, is organized or maintains a
lending office.
Termination
Date means the earlier to occur of:
(a)
October 20, 2006; and
14
(b) the date on
which the Commitments terminate in accordance with the provisions
of this Agreement.
Tom’s
Foods Acquisition — see the recitals.
Total Debt to
EBITDA Ratio means, for any Computation Period, the ratio of
(a) Total Indebtedness as of the last day of such Computation
Period, to (b) EBITDA for such Computation Period.
Total
Indebtedness means, at any time, all Indebtedness of the
Borrower and its Subsidiaries determined on a consolidated basis
and to the extent not included in the definition of Indebtedness,
the aggregate outstanding investment or claim held at such time by
purchasers, assignees or other transferees of (or of interests in)
receivables or other rights to payment of the Borrower and its
Subsidiaries in connection with any Securitization Transaction
(regardless of the accounting treatment of such Securitization
Transaction).
Total
Outstandings means the sum of the aggregate principal amount of
all outstanding Loans.
Type has
the meaning specified in the definition of
“Loan.”
Unfunded
Pension Liability means the excess of a Pension Plan’s
benefit liabilities under Section 4001(a)(16) of ERISA, over
the current value of such Plan’s assets, determined in
accordance with the assumptions used for funding such Pension Plan
pursuant to Section 412 of the Code for the applicable plan
year.
United
States and U.S. each means the United States of
America.
Unmatured
Event of Default means any event or circumstance which, with
the giving of notice, the lapse of time or both, will (if not
cured, waived or otherwise remedied during such time) constitute an
Event of Default.
U.S. Base
Rate means, for any day, the higher of: (a) 0.50% per
annum above the latest Federal Funds Rate; and (b) the rate of
interest in effect for such day as publicly announced from time to
time by Bank of America as its “prime rate.” (The
“prime rate” is a rate set by Bank of America based
upon various factors including Bank of America’s costs and
desired return, general economic conditions and other factors, and
is used as a reference point for pricing some loans, which may be
priced at, above or below such announced rate.) Any change in the
prime rate announced by Bank of America shall take effect at the
opening of business on the day specified in the public announcement
of such change.
U.S. Base Rate
Loan means a Loan that bears interest based on the U.S. Base
Rate.
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Van Every
Family means (i) a lineal descendant of Salem A. Van
Every, Sr. including adopted persons as well as persons related by
blood, (ii) a spouse, widow or widower of an individual
described in clause (i) above or (iii) a trust, estate,
custodian and other fiduciary or similar account for the benefit of
an individual described in either clause (i) or clause
(ii) above.
Wholly-Owned
Subsidiary means any Subsidiary in which (other than
directors’ qualifying shares required by law) 100% of the
capital stock of each class having ordinary voting power, and 100%
of the capital stock of every other class, or 100% of the
membership interests or other equity interests, as applicable, in
each case, at the time as of which any determination is being made,
is owned, beneficially and of record, by the Borrower, or by one or
more of the other Wholly-Owned Subsidiaries, or both.
1.2 Other
Interpretive Provisions .
(a) The
meanings of defined terms are equally applicable to the singular
and plural forms of the defined terms.
(b) The
words “hereof”, “herein”,
“hereunder” and similar words refer to this Agreement
as a whole and not to any particular provision of this Agreement;
and subsection, Section, Schedule and Exhibit references are to
this Agreement unless otherwise specified.
(c) (i) The
term “documents” includes any and all instruments,
documents, agreements, certificates, indentures, notices and other
writings, however evidenced.
(ii) The term
“including” is not limiting and means “including
without limitation.”
(iii) In the
computation of periods of time from a specified date to a later
specified date, the word “from” means “from and
including”; the words “to” and
“until” each mean “to but excluding”, and
the word “through” means “to and
including.”
(d) Unless
otherwise expressly provided herein, (i) references to
agreements (including this Agreement) and other contractual
instruments shall be deemed to include all subsequent amendments
and other modifications thereto, but only to the extent such
amendments and other modifications are not prohibited by the terms
of any Loan Document, and (ii) references to any statute or
regulation are to be construed as including all statutory and
regulatory provisions consolidating, amending, replacing,
supplementing or interpreting the statute or regulation.
(e) The
captions and headings of this Agreement are for convenience of
reference only and shall not affect the interpretation of this
Agreement.
(f) This
Agreement and other Loan Documents may use several different
limitations, tests or measurements to regulate the same or similar
matters. All such limitations, tests and measurements are
cumulative and shall each be performed in accordance with their
terms. Unless otherwise expressly provided herein, any reference to
any action of the Agent, the
16
Lenders or the
Required Lenders by way of consent, approval or waiver shall be
deemed modified by the phrase “in its/their sole
discretion.”
(g) This
Agreement and the other Loan Documents are the result of
negotiations among and have been reviewed by counsel to the Agent,
the Borrower and the other parties, and are the products of all
parties. Accordingly, they shall not be construed against the
Lenders or the Agent merely because of the Agent’s or
Lenders’ involvement in their preparation.
1.3 Accounting
Principles .
(a) Unless
the context otherwise clearly requires, all accounting terms not
expressly defined herein shall be construed, and all financial
computations required under this Agreement shall be made, in
accordance with GAAP, consistently applied; provided that if
the Borrower notifies the Agent that the Borrower wishes to amend
any covenant in Article VII to eliminate the effect of
any change in GAAP on the operation of such covenant (or if the
Agent notifies the Borrower that the Required Lenders wish to amend
Article VII for such purpose), then the
Borrower’s compliance with such covenant shall be determined
on the basis of GAAP in effect immediately before the relevant
change in GAAP became effective, until either such notice is
withdrawn or such covenant is amended in a manner satisfactory to
the Borrower and the Required Lenders.
(b) References
herein to “fiscal year” and “fiscal
quarter” refer to such fiscal periods of the
Borrower.
2.1 Amounts and
Terms of Commitments . Each Lender severally agrees (and not
jointly or jointly and severally), on the terms and conditions set
forth herein, to make Loans to the Borrower from time to time on
any Business Day during the period from the Effective Date to the
Termination Date, in an aggregate amount not to exceed at any time
outstanding the amount set forth on Schedule 2.1 (such
amount, as reduced pursuant to Section 2.5 or changed
by one or more assignments under Section 10.8 , such
Lender’s “ Commitment ”); provided
, however , that, after giving effect to any Borrowing, the
Total Outstandings shall not exceed the Aggregate Commitment;
and provided , further , that the aggregate
principal amount of the Loans of any Lender shall not at any time
exceed such Lender’s Commitment. Within the limits of each
Lender’s Commitment, and subject to the other terms and
conditions hereof, the Borrower may borrow under this
Section 2.1 , prepay under Section 2.6(a)
and reborrow under this Section 2.1 .
2.2 Loan
Accounts . (a)The Loans made by each Lender shall be evidenced
by one or more accounts or records maintained by such Lender in the
ordinary course of business. The accounts or records maintained by
the Agent and each Lender shall be rebuttable presumptive evidence
of the amount of the Loans made by the Lenders to the Borrower, and
the interest and
17
payments
thereon. Any failure so to record or any error in doing so shall
not, however, limit or otherwise affect the obligation of the
Borrower hereunder to pay any amount owing with respect to the
Loans.
(b) Upon
the request of any Lender made through the Agent, the Loans made by
such Lender may be evidenced by a Note, instead of or in addition
to loan accounts. Each such Lender shall endorse on the schedules
annexed to its Note the date, amount and maturity of each Loan
evidenced thereby and the amount of each payment of principal made
by the Borrower with respect thereto (or such Lender shall maintain
such information in its own records). Each such Lender is
irrevocably authorized by the Borrower to endorse its Note and each
Lender’s record shall be rebuttable presumptive evidence of
the amount of the Loans evidenced thereby, and the interest and
payments thereon; provided , however , that the
failure of a Lender to make, or an error in making, a notation
thereon or an entry therein with respect to any Loan shall not
limit or otherwise affect the obligations of the Borrower hereunder
or under any such Note to such Lender.
2.3 Procedure
for Borrowing . (a) Each Borrowing shall be made upon the
Borrower’s irrevocable written notice delivered to the Agent
in the form of a Notice of Borrowing, which notice must be received
by the Agent prior to (i) 11:00 a.m. Charlotte time two
Business Days prior to the requested Borrowing Date, in the case of
Offshore Rate Loans, and (ii) 11:00 a.m. Charlotte time
on the requested Borrowing Date, in the case of U.S. Base Rate
Loans, specifying:
(A)
the amount of the Borrowing, which shall be in an aggregate amount
of U.S.$1,000,000 or a higher multiple of U.S.$500,000;
(B)
the requested Borrowing Date, which shall be a Business
Day;
(C)
the Type of Loans comprising such Borrowing; and
(D)
in the case of Offshore Rate Loans, the duration of the initial
Interest Period applicable to such Loans.
(b) The
Agent will promptly notify each Lender of its receipt of any Notice
of Borrowing and of the amount of such Lender’s Pro Rata
Share of such Borrowing.
(c) Each
Lender will make the amount of its Pro Rata Share of each Borrowing
available to the Agent for the account of the Borrower at the
Agent’s Payment Office by 1:00 p.m. Charlotte time on the
Borrowing Date requested by the Borrower in funds immediately
available to the Agent. The proceeds of all such Loans will then be
made available to the Borrower by the Agent by wire transfer in
accordance with written instructions provided to the Agent by the
Borrower of like funds as received by the Agent.
(d) After
giving effect to any Borrowing, unless the Agent otherwise
consents, there may not be more than eight different Interest
Periods in effect for all Borrowings.
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2.4 Conversion
and Continuation Elections for Borrowings . (a) The
Borrower may, upon irrevocable written notice to the Agent in
accordance with subsection 2.4(b) :
(i)
elect, as of any Business Day, in the case of U.S. Base Rate Loans,
or as of the last day of the applicable Interest Period, in the
case of Offshore Rate Loans, to convert such Loans (or any part
thereof in an aggregate amount of U.S.$1,000,000 or a higher
integral multiple of U.S.$500,000) into Loans of the other Type;
or
(ii)
elect, as of the last day of the applicable Interest Period, to
continue any Offshore Rate Loans having Interest Periods expiring
on such day (or any part thereof in an aggregate amount of
U.S.$1,000,000 or a higher integral multiple of U.S.$500,000) for
another Interest Period;
provided that if at any time the aggregate amount of
Offshore Rate Loans in respect of any Borrowing is reduced, by
payment, prepayment, or conversion of any part thereof, to be less
than U.S.$1,000,000, such Offshore Rate Loans shall automatically
convert into U.S. Base Rate Loans.
(b) The
Borrower shall deliver a Notice of Conversion/Continuation to be
received by the Agent not later than 11:00 a.m. Charlotte time
at least (i) two Business Days in advance of the
Conversion/Continuation Date, if the Loans are to be converted into
or continued as Offshore Rate Loans; and (ii) on the
Conversion/Continuation Date, if the Loans are to be converted into
U.S. Base Rate Loans, specifying:
(A)
the proposed Conversion/Continuation Date;
(B)
the aggregate amount of Loans to be converted or
continued;
(C)
the Type of Loans resulting from the proposed conversion or
continuation; and
(D)
in the case of conversion into or continuation of Offshore Rate
Loans, the duration of the requested Interest Period.
(c) If
upon the expiration of any Interest Period applicable to Offshore
Rate Loans, the Borrower has failed to select timely a new Interest
Period to be applicable to such Offshore Rate Loans, the Borrower
shall be deemed to have elected to convert such Offshore Rate Loans
into U.S. Base Rate Loans effective as of the expiration date of
such Interest Period.
(d) The
Agent will promptly notify each Lender of its receipt of a Notice
of Conversion/Continuation, or, if no timely notice is provided by
the Borrower, the Agent will promptly notify each Lender of the
details of any automatic conversion. All conversions and
continuations shall be made ratably among the Lenders according to
the respective outstanding principal amounts of the Loans with
respect to which the notice was given.
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(e) Unless
the Required Lenders otherwise consent, the Borrower may not elect
to have a Loan converted into or continued as an Offshore Rate Loan
during the existence of an Event of Default or Unmatured Event of
Default.
(f) After
giving effect to any conversion or continuation of Loans, unless
the Agent shall otherwise consent, there may not be more than eight
different Interest Periods in effect for all Borrowings.
2.5 Termination
or Reduction of Commitments . (a) The Borrower may, upon
not less than five Business Days’ prior notice to the Agent,
terminate the Commitments, or permanently reduce the Commitments by
a minimum amount of U.S.$1,000,000 or a higher integral multiple of
U.S.$500,000; unless , after giving effect thereto and to
any prepayments of Loans made on the effective date thereof, the
Total Outstandings would exceed the amount of the combined
Commitments then in effect.
(b) Concurrently
with the receipt by the Borrower of any Net Cash Proceeds, the
Aggregate Commitment shall be reduced by an amount equal to the
amount of such Net Cash Proceeds.
(c) Once
reduced in accordance with this Section, the Commitments may not be
increased. Any reduction of the Commitments shall be applied to
reduce the Commitment of each Lender according to its Pro Rata
Share. If the Borrower terminates the Commitments or reduces the
Commitments to zero, the Borrower shall pay all accrued and unpaid
interest, fees and other amounts payable hereunder on the date of
such termination.
2.6
Prepayments . (a) Subject to the proviso to
subsection 2.4(a) and to Section 3.4 , the
Borrower may, from time to time, upon irrevocable notice to the
Agent, which notice must be received by the Agent prior to
11:00 a.m. Charlotte time (i) two Business Days prior to
the date of prepayment, in the case of Offshore Rate Loans, and
(ii) on the date of prepayment, in the case of U.S. Base Rate
Loans, ratably prepay Loans in whole or in part, in an aggregate
amount of U.S.$1,000,000 or a higher integral multiple of
U.S.$500,000. Such notice of prepayment shall specify the date and
amount of such prepayment and the Loans to be prepaid. If such
notice is given by the Borrower, the Borrower shall make such
prepayment and the payment amount specified in such notice shall be
due and payable on the date specified therein.
(b) Concurrently
with the receipt by the Borrower of any Net Cash Proceeds, the
Borrower shall make a prepayment of the Loans in an amount equal to
the excess of the Total Outstandings over the Aggregate Commitment
as reduced pursuant to Section 2.5(b) by the amount of
such Net Cash Proceeds.
(c) The
Agent will promptly notify each Lender (i) of its receipt of
any notice of prepayment pursuant to clause (a) above and
(ii) upon receipt of notice of any mandatory prepayment
pursuant to clause (b) above. All prepayments shall be
applied ratably to the Loans of the Lenders in accordance with
their respective Pro Rata Shares. Concurrently with any prepayment,
in the case of Offshore Rate Loans, the Borrower shall pay accrued
interest on the amount prepaid and all amounts required pursuant to
Section 3.4 .
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2.7
Repayment . The Borrower shall repay all Loans on the
Termination Date.
2.8
Interest . (a) Each Loan shall bear interest on the
outstanding principal amount thereof from the applicable Borrowing
Date at a rate per annum equal to (i) the Offshore Rate plus
the Applicable Margin or (ii) the U.S. Base Rate, as the case
may be (and subject to the Borrower’s right to convert to the
other Type of Loan under Section 2.4 ).
(b) Interest
on each Loan shall be paid in arrears on each Interest Payment
Date. Interest also shall be paid on the date of any conversion of
Fixed Rate Loans under Section 2.4 and prepayment of
Fixed Rate Loans under Section 2.6 , in each case for
the portion of the Loans so converted or prepaid.
(c) Notwithstanding
the foregoing provisions of this Section, upon notice to the
Borrower from the Agent (acting at the request or with the consent
of the Required Lenders) during the existence of any Event of
Default, and for so long as such Event of Default continues, the
Borrower shall pay interest (after as well as before entry of
judgment thereon to the extent permitted by law) on the principal
amount of all outstanding Loans and, to the extent permitted by
Applicable Law, on any other amount payable hereunder or under any
other Loan Document, at a rate per annum which is determined by
adding 2% per annum to the rate otherwise applicable thereto
pursuant to the terms hereof or such other Loan Document (or, if no
such rate is specified, the U.S. Base Rate. All such interest shall
be payable on demand.
(d) Anything
herein to the contrary notwithstanding, the obligations of the
Borrower to any Lender hereunder shall be subject to the limitation
that payments of interest shall not be required for any period for
which interest is computed hereunder, to the extent (but only to
the extent) that contracting for or receiving such payment by such
Lender would be contrary to the provisions of any law applicable to
such Lender limiting the highest rate of interest that may be
lawfully contracted for, charged or received by such Lender, and in
such event the Borrower shall pay such Lender interest at the
highest rate permitted by Applicable Law.
2.9 Facility
Fees . The Borrower shall pay to the Agent for the account of
each Lender a facility fee computed at the Facility Fee Rate per
annum on the amount of such Lender’s Commitment as in effect
from time to time (whether used or unused) or, if the Commitments
have terminated, on the sum (without duplication) of the principal
amount of such Lender’s Loans. Such facility fees shall
accrue from the Effective Date to the Termination Date, and
thereafter until all Loans are paid in full and shall be due and
payable quarterly in arrears on the last Business Day of each
calendar quarter, with the final payment to be made on the
Termination Date (or, if later, on the date all Loans are paid in
full).
2.10
Computation of Fees and Interest . (a) All computations
of interest on U.S. Base Rate Loans when the U.S. Base Rate is
determined by Bank of America’s “prime rate”
shall in each case be made on the basis of a year of 365 or
366 days, as the case may be, and actual days elapsed. All
other computations of interest and fees shall be made on the basis
of a 360-day year and actual days elapsed. Interest and fees shall
accrue during each period during which such interest or such fees
are computed from the first day thereof to the last day
thereof.
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(b) Each
determination of an interest rate by the Agent shall be conclusive
and binding on the Borrower and the Lenders in the absence of
manifest error. The Agent will, at the request of the Borrower or
any Lender, deliver to the Borrower or such Lender, as the case may
be, a statement showing the quotations used by the the Agent in
determining any interest rate and the resulting interest
rate.
2.11 Payments
by the Borrower . (a) All payments to be made by the
Borrower shall be made without set-off, recoupment or counterclaim.
Except as otherwise expressly provided herein, all payments by the
Borrower shall be made to the Agent for the account of the Lenders
at the Agent’s Payment Office, and shall be made in U.S.
Dollars and in immediately available funds, no later than 2:00 p.m.
Charlotte time on the date specified herein. The Agent will
promptly distribute to each Lender its Pro Rata Share (or other
applicable share as expressly provided herein) of such payment in
like funds as received. Any payment received by the Agent later
than 2:00 p.m. Charlotte time shall be deemed to have been received
on the following Business Day and any applicable interest or fee
shall continue to accrue.
(b) Whenever
any payment is due on a day other than a Business Day, such payment
shall be made on the following Business Day (unless, in the case of
a payment with respect to an Offshore Rate Loan, the following
Business Day is in another calendar month, in which case such
payment shall be made on the preceding Business Day), and such
extension of time shall in such case be included in the computation
of interest or fees, as the case may be.
(c) Unless
the Agent receives notice from the Borrower prior to the date on
which any payment is due to the Lenders that the Borrower will not
make such payment in full as and when required, the Agent may
assume that the Borrower has made such payment in full to the Agent
on such date in immediately available funds and the Agent may (but
shall not be so required), in reliance upon such assumption,
distribute to each Lender on such due date an amount equal to the
amount then due such Lender. If and to the extent the Borrower has
not made such payment in full to the Agent, each Lender shall repay
to the Agent on demand such amount distributed to such Lender,
together with interest thereon at (in the case of amounts in U.S.
Dollars) the Federal Funds Rate for each day from the date such
amount is distributed to such Lender until the date
repaid.
2.12 Payments
by the Lenders to the Agent . (a) Unless the Agent
receives notice from a Lender (i) at least one Business Day
prior to the date of a Borrowing of Fixed Rate Loans, or
(ii) by 12:00 noon Charlotte time on the day of any Borrowing
of U.S. Base Rate Loans, that such Lender will not make available
as and when required hereunder to the Agent for the account of the
Borrower the amount of such Lender’s applicable pro rata
share of such Credit Extension, the Agent may assume that such
Lender has made such amount available to the Agent in immediately
available funds on the Borrowing Date and the Agent may (but shall
not be so required), in reliance upon such assumption, make
available to the Borrower on such date a corresponding
amount.
(b) If
and to the extent any Lender shall not have made its full amount of
any Loan available to the Agent in immediately available funds and
the Agent in such circumstances has made available to the Borrower
such amount, such Lender shall on the Business Day
22
following such
Borrowing Date make such amount available to the Agent, together
with interest at (in the case of amounts in U.S. Dollars) the
Federal Funds Rate. If such amount is so made available, such
payment to the Agent shall constitute such Lender’s Loan on
the date of Borrowing for all purposes of this Agreement. If such
amount is not made available to the Agent on the Business Day
following the Borrowing Date, the Agent will notify the Borrower of
such failure to fund and, upon demand by the Agent, the Borrower
shall pay such amount to the Agent for the Agent’s account,
together with interest thereon for each day elapsed since the date
of such Borrowing, at a rate per annum equal to the interest rate
applicable at the time to the Loans comprising such
Borrowing.
(c) A
notice of the Agent submitted to any Lender with respect to amounts
owing under subsection (b) above shall be conclusive absent
manifest error.
(d) The
failure of any Lender to make any Loan on any Borrowing Date shall
not relieve any other Lender of any obligation hereunder to make a
Loan on such Borrowing Date, but no Lender shall be responsible for
the failure of any other Lender to make the Loan to be made by such
other Lender on any Borrowing Date.
2.13 Sharing of
Payments . If, when an Event of Default occurs and is
continuing, any Lender shall obtain any payment or other recovery
(whether voluntary, involuntary, by application of setoff or
otherwise) on account of any Loan (other than pursuant to the terms
of Sections 3.1 , 3.3 and 3.4 ) in excess of
its pro rata share of payments then or therewith
obtained by all Lenders, such Lender shall purchase from the other
Lenders such participations in Loans made by them as shall be
necessary to cause such purchasing Lender to share the excess
payment or other recovery ratably with each of them;
provided , however , that if all or any portion of
the excess payment or other recovery is thereafter recovered from
such purchasing Lender, the purchase shall be rescinded and each
Lender which has sold a participation to the purchasing Lender
shall repay to the purchasing Lender the purchase price to the
ratable extent of such recovery together with an amount equal to
such selling Lender’s ratable share (according to the
proportion of
(a) the amount of
such selling Lender’s required repayment to the purchasing
Lender
(b) the total
amount so recovered from the purchasing Lender)
of any interest
or other amount paid or payable by the purchasing Lender in respect
of the total amount so recovered. The Borrower agrees that any
Lender so purchasing a participation from another Lender pursuant
to this Section may, to the fullest extent permitted by law,
exercise all its rights of payment (including pursuant to
Section 10.10 ) with respect to such participation as
fully as if such Lender were the direct creditor of the Borrower in
the amount of such participation. If under any applicable
bankruptcy, insolvency or other similar law, any Lender receives a
secured claim in lieu of a setoff to which this Section applies,
such Lender shall, to the extent practicable, exercise its rights
in respect of such secured claim in a manner consistent
with
23
the rights of
the Lenders entitled under this Section to share in the benefits of
any recovery on such secured claim. The Lenders may, without the
consent of the Borrower or any other Person, make arrangements
among themselves to amend or otherwise modify this
subsecti
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