Exhibit 10.4
AMENDED AND RESTATED EQUITY
CONTRIBUTION AGREEMENT (this “ Agreement ”),
dated as of October 4, 2006, among EXCO RESOURCES, INC., a Texas
corporation (the “ Equity Contributor ”), EXCO
PARTNERS OPERATING PARTNERSHIP, LP, a Delaware limited partnership
(the “ Borrower ”), and JPMORGAN CHASE BANK,
N.A., as Administrative Agent (in such capacity, the “
Administrative Agent ”) for the banks and other
financial institutions or entities (the “ Lenders
”) from time to time parties to the Senior Term Credit
Agreement, dated as of October 2, 2006 (as amended, supplemented or
otherwise modified from time to time, the “ Credit
Agreement ”), among the Borrower, the Guarantors party
thereto, the Lenders, certain other entities and the Administrative
Agent.
W I T N E S S E T H
:
WHEREAS, the Equity Contributor
owns, indirectly, 100% of the partners equity of the
Borrower;
WHEREAS, pursuant to the Credit
Agreement, the Lenders have severally agreed to make extensions of
credit to the Borrower upon the terms and subject to the conditions
set forth therein;
WHEREAS, the Equity Contributor will
derive substantial benefit from the making of the extensions of
credit under the Credit Agreement; and
WHEREAS, the parties hereto entered
into an Equity Contribution Agreement dated as of October 2, 2006,
and wish to amend and restate such Agreement pursuant to this
Agreement;
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of
the premises set forth above and for other good and valuable
consideration, the receipt and adequacy of which are hereby
acknowledged, the parties hereto hereby agree as
follows:
SECTION
1. DEFINITIONS
1.1
Defined Terms and Principles of Construction .
(a) Capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined
herein shall have the meanings assigned to them in the Credit
Agreement (such definitions to be equally applicable to both the
singular and plural forms of the terms defined), and the following
terms shall have the following meanings:
“ Administrative Agent
”: as defined in the preamble hereto.
“ Agreement
”: as defined in the preamble hereto.
“ Credit Agreement
”: as defined in the preamble hereto.
“ Debt Incurrence
Amount ”: as defined in Section 2.1(a)
hereof.
“ Equity Contribution
”: as defined in Section 2.1 hereof.
“ Equity Contributor
”: as defined in the preamble hereto.
“ Equity Contribution
Date ”: the date that is eighteen months after the
Effective Date.
“ Limitation Sentence
”: as defined in Section 2.1(a) hereof.
“ Measurement Date
”: as defined in Section 2.1(a) hereof.
“ Option ”:
as defined in Section 2.1(b) hereof.
“ RP Baskets
”: the baskets described in Section 4.05(a) or
4.05(b)(1) of the Senior Note Indenture, in each case as in effect
on the date hereof.
“ Senior Credit
Agreement ”: the Credit Agreement dated as of March
17, 2006 among the Equity Contributor, certain of its Subsidiaries,
the Lenders party thereto and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as
Administrative Agent, as amended by the First Amendment thereto
dated as of October 2, 2006.
“ Senior Note Indenture
: the Senior Note Indenture dated as of January 20, 2004
among the Equity Contributor, certain of its Subsidiaries and
Wilmington Trust Company, as trustee, as supplemented by the First
Supplemental Indenture thereto dated as of January 27, 2004,
pursuant to which the Senior Notes were issued.
“ Senior Notes
”: the Equity Contributor’s 7-1/4% Senior Notes
due 2011.
(b)
The words “hereof”, “herein”, and
“hereunder” and words of similar import when used in
this Agreement shall refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to
any particular provision of this Agreement.
SECTION
2. OBLIGATIONS OF THE EQUITY CONTRIBUTOR
2.1
Equity Contribution . (a) Subject in all
respects to the next sentence hereof (the “ Limitation
Sentence ”), if any Loans shall remain outstanding on the
Equity Contribution Date, the Equity Contributor hereby agrees, for
the benefit of the Borrower and the Secured Parties, to make a cash
common equity contribution to the Borrower on the Equity
Contribution Date in an amount equal to the lesser of (i)
$150,000,000 and (ii) the aggregate principal amount of the Loans
then outstanding (the “ Equity Contribution
”). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the agreement of the
Equity Contributor in this Section 2.1(a) shall be of no force or
effect, and shall not constitute an obligation of any nature, in an
amount that exceeds, on each day from and after the date hereof
(each, a “ Computation Day ”), the highest
Interim Contribution Amount computed on any day during the period
from the date hereof to such Computation Day. As used herein,
“ Interim Contribution Amount ” means, on each
Computation Day, the lesser of (i) the amount available under the
RP Baskets on such Computation Day and (ii) the amount of
Indebtedness that may be incurred under Section 4.04(a) of the
Senior Note Indenture as of the most recent Measurement Date (as
defined below) occurring on or prior to such Computation Day (the
“ Debt Incurrence Amount ”). The Debt
Incurrence Amount shall be calculated on the date hereof, on the
Equity Contribution Date and, whether before or after the Equity
Contribution Date, on each date on which quarterly or annual
financial statements of the Equity Contributor become available and
on each date on which any amount becomes available under any RP
Basket (each such calculation date, a “ Measurement
Date ”). On the Equity Contribution Date, the
amount of the Equity Contribution required to be made shall equal
the lesser of (i) the full amount of the Equity Contribution and
(ii) the highest Interim Computation Amount as of any Computation
Day occurring on or prior to the Equity Contribution Date.
If, due to the Limitation Sentence, the full amount of
the Equity Contribution cannot be made on the Equity Contribution
Date, then, on each subsequent Measurement Date, the Equity
Contributor shall make an additional portion of the Equity
Contribution in an amount equal the lesser of (i) the theretofore
unfunded portion of the Equity Contribution, (ii) the amount
available under the RP Baskets on such Measurement Date and (iii)
the Debt Incurrence Amount as of such Measurement Date. The
Limitation Sentence shall cease to be applicable if the Senior
Notes are redeemed or defeased. For avoidance of
doubt, it is understood that, if (i)
the Senior Note Indenture does not permit the funding of the full
amount of the Equity Contribution on the Equity Contribution
Date and (ii) the Equity Contributor has not redeemed or
defeased all of the Senior Notes on or prior to the Equity
Contribution Date, then the Equity Contributor will be in
violation of Section 4.2(e) hereof. Notwithstanding
anything to the contrary in this Section 2.1(a), all or a portion
of the Equity Contribution may be funded by the Borrower’s
parent, EXCO Partners, LP (the “Parent”) so long as (i)
the proceeds thereof are contributed to the Borrower in the form of
common equity and (ii) no more than 25% of the direct or indirect
voting or economic interest in the Parent may be issued or sold in
connection therewith.
(b)
If the Required Lenders so determine (the “ Option
”), then, in lieu of complying with Section 2.1(a) hereof, on
the Equity Contribution Date, (i) the Equity Contributor shall be
required to add the Borrower and its Subsidiaries as
“Restricted Subsidiaries” under as defined in the
Senior Credit Agreement and the Senior Note Indenture and (ii) the
Equity Contributor shall provide, and cause the Restricted
Subsidiaries as so defined to provide, guarantees and collateral in
respect of the Loans on terms substantially consistent with the
guarantees and collateral provided under the Credit Agreement, in
each case pursuant to documentation reasonably satisfactory to the
Administrative Agent. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the
Option shall be available only if compliance with this Section
2.1(b) is permitted by the Senior Credit Agreement (if still in
effect). The Equity Contributor agrees to use commercially
reasonable efforts, promptly after the date hereof, to seek the
requisite consent of lenders under the Senior Credit Agreement to
the exercise of the Option. If the Option is exercised, then
any provision of this Agreement specifically relating to the Equity
Contribution shall cease to be effective.
2.2
Application of the Cash Equity Contribution . The
proceeds of the Equity Contribution shall be used by the Borrower
to prepay the Loans in accordance with the terms of Section 2.10 of
the Credit Agreement.
2.3
Obligations Unconditional; Waiver of Defenses .
(a)
Except as provided in Section 2.1, the obligations of the Equity
Contributor to make, and the Borrower’s right to receive, the
Equity Contribution pursuant to Section 2.1(a), and, if applicable,
the obligation of the Equity Contributor to comply with Section
2.1(b), are irrevocable, absolute and unconditional. The
Equity Contributor hereby unconditionally waives notice of
acceptance hereof, of any action taken or omitted in reliance
hereon and of any defaults by the Borrower or any other Person in
the payment of any amounts due under any Loan Document, and further
unconditionally waives diligence, protest, presentment, filing of
claims with a court in the event of the bankruptcy of the Borrower
or any other Person, any right to require a proceeding against the
Borrower or any other Person or that the Borrower or any other
Person be joined in any proceeding, any marshaling of assets of the
Borrower or any other Person, the Borrower’s or any other
Person’s providing security for any of the obligations
hereunder or any notice of default with respect thereto, or any
other act or omission or requirement or delay to do any other act
or thing which might in any manner or to any extent operate as a
discharge of any of the obligations of the Equity Contributor
hereunder. The Equity Contributor agrees that this Agreement
shall remain in full force and effect without regard to, and shall
not be affected or impaired by, any invalidity, irregularity or
unenforceability in whole or in part of, or any default under, any
Loan Document which may now or hereafter be caused or imposed in
any manner whatsoever, or the bankruptcy or insolvency of the
Borrower or any other Person.
(b)
The obligations of the Equity Contributor under this Agreement
shall not be subject to (and the Equity Contributor hereby
unconditionally waives) any notice of non-payment, demand,
abatement, reduction, limitation, impairment, termination, set-off,
defense, counterclaim or recoupment whatsoever or any right to any
thereof, and shall not be released, discharged or in any way
affected by any reorganization, arrangement, compromise,
composition or plan affecting the Borrower or any other Person, or
by any compromise, settlement, release, amendment, waiver,
addition, modification,
or termination of
any or all of the obligations, conditions, covenants or agreements
of the Borrower or any other Person under or in respect of any Loan
Document or by the taking or omission of any action referred to in
any Loan Document (including, without limitation, the enforcement,
assertion or exercise of any such right, power or remedy), or by
the exchange, surrender, substitution or modification of any
security for the Obligations, whether or not the undersigned shall
have notice or knowledge of any of the foregoing.
2.4
Overdue Amounts . From the date the Equity
Contribution shall be due and payable under this Agreement until
the date the Equity Contributor shall have paid the Equity
Contribution in full, interest shall accrue on the unpaid amount
thereof at a rate per annum equal to the rate then applicable to
ABR Loans plus 2% and shall be payable by the Equity
Contributor to the Borrower upon demand by the Administrative
Agent.
SECTION
3. SPECIFIC PROVISIONS
3.1
Subrogation . The Borrower will not exercise any
rights which it may have acquired by way of subrogation under this
Agreement, by any payment made hereunder or otherwise, or accept
any payment on account of any such subrogation rights, unless and
until all Obligations shall have been paid in full.
3.2
Reinstatement . This Agreement and the obligations of
the Equity Contributor hereunder shall automatically be reinstated
if and to the extent that for any reason any payment made pursuant
to this Agreement is rescinded or must otherwise be restored to the
Equity Contributor by any beneficiary of this Agreement, whether as
a result of any proceedings in bankruptcy or reorganization or
otherwise with respect to the Borrower or any other Person or as a
result of any settlement or compromise with the Borrower or any
other Pe