Exhibit 10.3
EXECUTION COPY
CONSULTING
AGREEMENT
This CONSULTING AGREEMENT (this
“ Agreement ”), dated as of February 4,
2009 (the “ Effective Date ”), is entered into
by and between Accuride Corporation, a Delaware corporation (the
“ Company ”) and Sun Capital Partners Management
V, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “
Consultant ”). The Company and Consultant are
referred to herein as the “ Parties
”.
W I T N E S
S E T H :
WHEREAS, the Company desires to
receive consulting services from the Consultant and to obtain the
benefit of the experience of the Consultant in business and
financial management;
WHEREAS, the Consultant desires to
provide consulting services to the Company pursuant to the terms of
this Agreement; and
WHEREAS, the compensation
arrangements set forth in this Agreement are designed to compensate
the Consultant for providing such financial and management
consulting services to the Company.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of
the mutual agreements hereinafter set forth, the Company and the
Consultant hereby agree as follows:
1.
Agreement; Term
.
(a)
The Company and
its direct and indirect subsidiaries (the “
Subsidiaries ”) have requested that the Consultant
perform certain consulting services for the Company and/or the
Subsidiaries, including those described in Schedule 1(a)
attached hereto (any services that the Consultant shall
provide from time to time, whether or not on Schedule 1(a) ,
the “ Services ”). To the extent the
Consultant performs the Services, unless otherwise specified in
writing, the terms and conditions by which the Consultant will
provide the Services are specified herein. The Parties agree
and acknowledge that the Consultant shall have no obligation to
perform any services except as agreed to by the Consultant from
time to time.
(b)
It is expressly
understood and agreed that the Consultant shall devote only so much
time, and shall consult with and advise the officers and directors
of the Company and/or any Subsidiary only to such extent and at
such times and places as may be mutually agreed by the Company
and/or such Subsidiary and the Consultant. The Consultant
shall be free to provide services similar to the Services to such
other business enterprises or activities as the Consultant may deem
fit without any limitation or restriction whatsoever.
(c)
The term of this
Agreement shall commence as of the Effective Date and shall
terminate on the fifth (5 th ) anniversary of the
Effective Date, and shall be extended automatically thereafter on a
year-to-year basis; provided , that either of the Parties
may (in such Party’s sole discretion) elect in writing to
terminate this Agreement at anytime. Notwithstanding any
other provisions hereof, (A) the Company’s obligation to
pay amounts due with respect to periods prior to the termination
hereof and (B) the provisions of Sections 3
through 21 hereof, in each case shall survive any
termination of this Agreement.
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2.
Compensation and
Expenses .
(a)
Except as
contemplated hereby or as approved by a majority of the
Company’s Unaffiliated Directors (as defined below), the
Company shall have no obligation to pay the Consultant and/or any
of its affiliates (each, a “ Consultant Affiliate
”) any fees for the services rendered hereunder and all
matters related thereto (the “ Consulting Fees
”). As used herein, the term “ Unaffiliated
Directors ” shall mean the Company’s directors who
are not employees of the Consultant and/or any Consultant
Affiliate, and who are not directly elected by the Consultant or
any Consultant Affiliate. For the avoidance of doubt, the
Independent Director (as defined in the Last Out Debt Agreement
dated as of February 4, 2009 by and between the Company and
Sun Accuride Debt Investments, LLC) is an Unaffiliated
Director.
(b)
The Company shall
reimburse the Consultant and/or any Consultant Affiliate from time
to time at the request of the Consultant and/or any Consultant
Affiliate for the cost of all reasonable and documented
out-of-pocket fees and expenses incurred by the Consultant and/or
any Consultant Affiliate in the performance of the Services
rendered hereunder and all matters related thereto (the “
Consultant Expenses ”). Such out-of-pocket costs
shall include, without limitation, the costs of any service
providers, attorneys, accountants, investment bankers, management,
restructuring, real estate or other consultants, or other similar
agents, advisors, or representatives engaged by the Consultant or
Consultant Affiliate for the Company’s or any
Subsidiary’s benefit. For the avoidance of doubt,
reimbursement of such Consultant Expenses shall not be conditioned
on the approval of the Unaffiliated Directors, and shall be in
addition to any Consulting Fees payable hereunder.
(c)
The
aforementioned Consulting Fees and Consultant Expenses (together,
the “ Fees ”) will be payable promptly, but in
no event more than thirty (30) calendar days following the date
which Consultant or any Consultant Affiliate submits to the Company
an invoice for such Fees (which may be more than once per
month).
(d)
All services
provided by a Consultant Affiliate to the Company shall be covered
by the terms hereof and the Consultant and each Consultant
Affiliate shall be considered a Consultant Indemnitee (as defined
in Section 5 below) with respect to such services
provided. The Company agrees that each Consultant Affiliate
shall also be a third party beneficiary hereunder. For
avoidance of doubt, when used herein, the term affiliate includes,
without limitation, Sun Capital Advisors, Inc. and any similar
entities (it being understood and agreed that the failure to list
any entity as an affiliate shall in no way suggest any entity is
not an affiliate).
3.
Relationship of the
Parties . The
Consultant is providing services hereunder as an independent
contractor. Nothing in this Agreement shall be deemed to
constitute the Parties hereto as joint venturers, alter egos,
partners or participants in an unincorporated business or other
separate entity, nor in any manner create any employer-employee or
principal-agent relationship between the Company and/or any of the
Subsidiaries on the one hand, and the Consultant or any of the
Consultant’s members, managers, agents, sub-contractors,
officers or employees on the other hand (notwithstanding the fact
that the Company and the Consultant may have in common any
officers, directors, stockholders, members, managers, employees, or
other personnel).
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4.
Directors and Officers
. Nothing in this Agreement
shall be construed to relieve the directors or officers of the
Company or any of the Subsidiaries from the performance of their
respective duties or limit the exercise of their powers in
accordance with the Company’s or such Subsidiary’s, as
applicable, charter, bylaws, operating agreement, other constituent
documents, applicable law, or otherwise. The activities of
the Company and each of the Subsidiaries shall at all times be
subject to the control and direction of their respective directors,
managers and officers. The Company and the Subsidiaries
reserve the right to make all decisions with regard to any matter
upon which the Consultant or any Consultant Affiliate has rendered
its advice and consultation. The Parties expressly
acknowledge and agree that the Consultant is being engaged by the
Company to provide consulting services to the Company and the
Subsidiaries, for which the Consultant will be compensated pursuant
to the terms of this Agreement. The Consultant shall not, and
shall have no authority to, control the Company or any of the
Subsidiaries or the Company’s or any of the
Subsidiaries’ day-to-day operations, whether through the
performance of the Consultant’s duties hereunder or
otherwise. Moreover, although the Company and/or any of the
Subsidiaries may grant to the Consultant authority to sign, review
or approve the Company’s and/or such Subsidiary’s
checks, payments, expenditures, transfers and/or conveyances, any
such grant of authority shall be made by the Company or such
Subsidiary, as applicable, and accepted by the Consultant with the
express understanding and limitation that the Consultant shall
possess and exercise such authority solely in its capacity as a
provider of consulting services pursuant to the terms of this
Agreement and in no other capacity, and that no inference shall be
drawn therefrom as to any ability of the Consultant to control the
Company or such Subsidiary or the Company’s or such
Subsidiary’s day-to-day operations or as to any liability or
responsibility therefor. The Company’s and each of the
Subsidiaries’ directors, managers, officers and employees
shall retain all responsibility for the Company or such Subsidiary,
as applicable, and its operations as and to the extent required by
the Company’s or such Subsidiary’s charter, bylaws,
operating agreement, other constituent documents, and applicable
law.
5.
Limitation of
Liability . Neither
the Consultant nor any of its affiliates, nor any of their
respective members, managers, partners, directors, officers,
employees, agents retained in connection with the services
contemplated by this Agreement and/or controlling persons, nor any
successor by operation of law (including by merger) of any such
person, nor any entity that acquires all or substantially all of
the assets of any such person in a single transaction or series of
related transactions (all of the foregoing, collectively, the
“ Consultant Indemnitees ”) shall be liable to
the Company or any of the Subsidiaries or affiliates or any of the
security holders or creditors of the Company or any of its
affiliates for (a) any damage, loss, liability, deficiency,
diminution in value, action, suit, claim, proceeding,
investigation, audit, demand, assessment, fine, judgment, cost or
other expense (including, without limitation, legal fees and
expenses) (collectively “ Liabilities ”)
directly or indirectly (whether direct or indirect, in contract or
tort or otherwise) arising out of, related to, caused by, based
upon or in connection with the performance of services contemplated
by this Agreement unless such Liability shall be judicially
determined in a final non-appealable order to result directly and
primarily from the willful misconduct of such person or
(b) any Outside Activities (as defined in
Section 19 below). The Consultant makes no
representations or warranties, express or implied, in respect of
the services provided by any Consultant Indemnitee. In no
event will any Consultant Indemnitee be liable to the Company or
any of the Subsidiaries or affiliates or any of the security
holders or creditors of the Company or any of its affiliates
(i) for any special, indirect, punitive, incidental
or
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consequential damages, including, without
limitation, loss of profits or savings or lost business, whether or
not such damages are foreseeable or such Consultant Indemnitee has
been advised of the possibility of such damages or (ii) in
respect of any Liabilities relating to any third party claims
(whether based in contract, tort or otherwise), except as set forth
in Section 6 below. Under no circumstances will
the aggregate of any and all Liabilities of the Consultant
Indemnitees exceed the aggregate of the Fees actually paid to the
Consultant hereunder.
6.
Indemnification
. The Company and the
Subsidiaries sha
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