Exhibit 10.12
August 19, 2004
IRREVOCABLE LETTER OF CREDIT NUMBER SB/IRB
314
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BENEFICIARY
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APPLICANT
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Wells Fargo
Bank, National Association
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Lifecore
Biomedical, Inc.
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Sixth Street
and Marquette Avenue
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3515 Lyman
Boulevard
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Minneapolis,
Minnesota 55479
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Chaska,
Minnesota 55318
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AMOUNT
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USD
$5,699,411.00
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EXPIRY DATE
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September 15, 2007
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Wells Fargo Bank,
National Association, as Trustee (the “Trustee”) under
the Indenture of Trust, dated as of August 1, 2004 (the
“Indenture”) between the City of Chaska, Minnesota (the
“Issuer”), and the Trustee, pursuant to which
$5,630,000.00 in aggregate principal amount of the Issuer’s
Variable Rate Demand Purchase Revenue Bonds (Lifecore Biomedical,
Inc. Project), Series 2004 (the “Bonds”) are being
issued on behalf of Lifecore Biomedical, Inc., a Minnesota
corporation (the “Borrower”), to finance the
refinancing of certain indebtedness for the Borrower is hereby
irrevocably authorized to draw on M&I Marshall & Ilsley
Bank, Irrevocable Letter of Credit Number SB/IRB 314 for account of
the Borrower pursuant to a Reimbursement Agreement dated as of
August 1, 2004 (as amended or extended, the “Credit
Agreement”) between us and the Borrower, available by your
drawing upon the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth, an
aggregate amount not exceeding USD $5,699,411.00 hereinafter, as
reduced from time to time in accordance with the provisions hereof,
the “Stated Amount”).
Of
the Stated Amount (a) up to $5,630,000.00 (the
“Principal Portion”) may be drawn at any time and from
time to time with respect to (i) payment of the purchase price
of Bonds or beneficial ownership interests tendered for purchase or
(ii) amounts due as principal of the Bonds, whether at
maturity or upon acceleration, demand or prepayment or call for
redemption; and (b) up to $69,411.00 (the “Interest
Portion”) may be drawn at any time and from time to time with
respect to payment of up to 45 days’ accrued interest on
the Bonds (up to a maximum rate of 10% per annum) whether at
interest payment dates, maturity or upon acceleration, demand or
prepayment or call for redemption or the interest component of the
purchase price of Bonds or
PAGE 2 WHICH FORMS AN INTEGRAL
PART OF IRREVOCABLE LETTER OF CREDIT NO. SB/IRB 314 ISSUED IN FAVOR
OF: WELLS FARGO BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE.
beneficial ownership interests
tendered for purchase on or prior to the stated maturity of the
Bonds (provided, however, that any amount drawn with respect to
interest may not exceed the amount of unpaid interest accrued and
to accrue on the Bonds to the applicable interest payment date or
the date fixed for redemption or the purchase date, as determined
by you pursuant to the Indenture and herein).
All
interest shall be calculated on the basis of actual number of days
over a 365-day or 366-day, as the case may be, year.
This Letter of
Credit shall expire at 4:00 p.m., Milwaukee, Wisconsin time, on
September 15, 2007 (the “Expiry Date”).
Notwithstanding the foregoing, this Letter of Credit shall expire
earlier than such date upon the first to occur of (a) the date
of receipt by us of notice from you as Trustee that a Substitute
Letter of Credit (as defined in the Indenture) has been issued in
substitution for this Letter of Credit and such Substitute Letter
of Credit is then effective, which notice shall be in the form of
Exhibit F hereto; (b) the date on which we honor a final
drawing or drawings available to be made under this Letter of
Credit, in which event this Letter of Credit shall expire
immediately after we honor such drawing or drawings; (c) the
date of receipt by us of notice from you as Trustee of a
certificate stating that no Bonds remain outstanding under the
Indenture and the Indenture has been discharged, which notice shall
be in the form of Exhibit G hereto; (d) fourteen
(14) calendar days after the earlier of (i) the date of
the acceleration of the Bonds under the Indenture because of the
occurrence of an Event of Default or (ii) the date you have
received written notice from us to accelerate the Bonds because of
the occurrence of an Event of Default under the Credit Agreement,
as the case may be; or (e) a Conversion Date for the Bonds of
which you have provided us notice in the form of Exhibit I
hereto.
In
the event that any Expiry Date of this Letter of Credit as
specified in the preceding paragraph is not a Business Day (as
hereinafter defined), this Letter of Credit shall expire at 4:00
p.m., Milwaukee, Wisconsin time, on the next following Business
Day.
Upon its
expiration, the Letter of Credit and all amendments related thereto
shall be returned by you to us.
Funds under this
Letter of Credit are available to you against your written
certificate(s) presented to us, signed by an individual purporting
to be an authorized officer, appropriately completed, in the form
of Exhibit A, B or C hereto as indicated below. Presentation
of such certificates shall be made at the offices of M&I
Marshall & Ilsley Bank, 770 North Water Street, Milwaukee,
Wisconsin 53202, Attention: Trade Services-IRB LC, 10th Floor, or
at any other office which may be designated by us by written notice
delivered to you.
PAGE 3 WHICH FORMS AN INTEGRAL
PART OF IRREVOCABLE LETTER OF CREDIT NO. SB/IRB 314 ISSUED IN FAVOR
OF: WELLS FARGO BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE.
If
a drawing in respect of payment for interest on the Bonds or for
amounts due at maturity or upon acceleration, demand or prepayment
or call for redemption is made by you hereunder at or prior to 1:30
p.m., Milwaukee, Wisconsin time, on a Business Day and provided
that such drawing and the documents presented in connection
therewith conform to the terms and conditions hereof, we shall
initiate a wire to you of the amount specified by 11:00 a.m.,
Milwaukee, Wisconsin time, on the next Business Day. If such a
drawing is made after 1:30 p.m., Milwaukee, Wisconsin time, on a
Business Day and provided that such drawing and the documents
presented conform to the terms and conditions hereof, we will
initiate a wire to you of the amount specified by 11:00 a.m.,
Milwaukee, Wisconsin time, on the second following Business
Day.
If
a drawing in respect of payment of the purchase price of tendered
Bonds is made by you hereunder at or prior to 10:30 a.m.,
Milwaukee, Wisconsin time, on a Business Day and provided that such
drawing and the documents presented in connection therewith conform
to the terms and conditions hereof, we shall initiate a wire to you
of the amount specified by 2:00 p.m., Milwaukee, Wisconsin time, on
the same Business Day. If such a drawing is made after
10:30 a.m., Milwaukee, Wisconsin time, on a Business Day and
provided that such drawing and the documents presented conform to
the terms and conditions hereof, we shall initiate a wire to you of
the amount specified by 11:00 a.m., Milwaukee, Wisconsin time,
on the next Business Day.
For
purposes of this Letter of Credit, presentation of a certificate
shall be made in person, by mail or by telecopy (or other
electronic telecommunication) without further need of
documentation, it being understood that appropriate certificates
submitted via such telecopy (or other electronic telecommunication)
are to be the sole operative instruments of drawing; provided,
however, that with respect to any drawing which reduces the Stated
Amount hereunder to zero (a) if such drawing is made in person
or mail, the drawing certificate shall be accompanied by the
original of this Letter of Credit and all amendments hereto, and
(b) if such drawing is made by facsimile or other electronic
means, the original of this Letter of Credit and all amendments
hereto shall be sent on the day of such draw by overnight delivery
to us at the address set forth below. No sight drafts are required
to be presented hereunder. Drawings shall be presented to us at our
office located at 770 North Water Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
53202, Attention: Trade Services-IRB LC, telecopy number
(414) 765-7788 (or such other place or electronic address as
we may from time to time specify).
This Letter of
Credit is not negotiable by any financial institution other than
M&I Marshall & Ilsley Bank. As used herein “Business
Day” shall mean a day in which each of the cities where the
principal corporate trust offices of the Trustee and the principal
offices of M&I
PAGE 4 WHICH FORMS AN INTEGRAL
PART OF IRREVOCABLE LETTER OF CREDIT NO. SB/IRB 314 ISSUED IN FAVOR
OF: WELLS FARGO BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE.
Marshall & Ilsley Bank are
located is not a Saturday, a Sunday or a day on which banking
institutions are authorized or required by law to close.
Payment of all
drawings under this Letter of Credit will be made in immediately
available funds and from moneys of M&I Marshall & Ilsley
Bank and not from funds of any Borrower under the Credit
Agreement.
No
drawing may be made hereunder to pay principal of, or interest on,
or the purchase price of, or premium on, any Pledged Bonds (as
defined in the Indenture)
Principal Portion
Drawings. Drawings under the Principal Portion to pay principal of
the Bonds due to redemption, acceleration, prepayment or maturity
(an “A Drawing”) must be made by presentation to us of
your appropriately completed written certificate, signed by an
individual purporting to be an authorized officer, in the form of
Exhibit A hereto. Drawings under the Principal Portion to
purchase tendered Bonds or beneficial ownership interests of
tendered Bonds (a “B Drawing”) must be made by
presentation to us of your appropriately completed written
certificate signed by an individual purporting to be an authorized
officer in the form of Exhibit B hereto.
Interest Portion
Drawings. Drawings under the Interest Portion to pay interest due
and payable on the Bonds (a “C Drawing”) must be made
by presentation to us of your appropriately completed written
certificate signed by an individual purporting to be an authorized
officer in the form of Exhibit C hereto.
In
the case of any A Drawing or B Drawing, the Stated Amount shall
automatically be reduced (subject to the provisions below regarding
reinstatement with respect to a B Drawing) by (a) an amount of
the Principal Portion equal to 100% of the amount of such drawing
and (b) unless the Interest Portion has already been reduced
pursuant to a C Drawing which has not been reinstated, an amount of
the Interest Portion equal to 45 days’ interest on the
amount of the Principal Portion drawing calculated at an assumed
rate of 10% per annum. In the case of any C Drawing, the Interest
Portion shall automatically be reduced by the amount of such
drawing except to the extent the Interest Portion has already been
reduced because of a concurrent A Drawing.
Reinstatement of A
Drawings and B Drawings. A Drawings shall not be reinstated.
Reductions in the Principal Portion and Interest Portion resulting
from a B Drawing shall be reinstated upon the resale of all or any
portion of the Bonds or beneficial ownership interests purchased
with the proceeds of such B Drawing and the receipt by us of
(a) such resale proceeds in the amount by which the Principal
Portion and Interest Portion of the Stated Amount is to
be
PAGE 5 WHICH FORMS AN INTEGRAL
PART OF IRREVOCABLE LETTER OF CREDIT NO. SB/IRB 314 ISSUED IN FAVOR
OF: WELLS FARGO BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE.
reinstated plus interest due us
on such drawing as set forth in the Credit Agreement and (b) a
notice from you as Trustee as to the amount by which the Principal
Portion and Interest Portion of the Stated Amount is to be
reinstated, which notice shall be in the form of Exhibit H
hereto.
Reinstatement of C
Drawings. The Interest Portion shall be automatically reinstated in
an amount equal to the amount of any reduction resulting from a C
Drawing upon the earlier of (a) our receipt from the Borrower,
in accordance with the terms of the Credit Agreement, of an amount
equal to such C Drawing or (b) the seventh Business Day
following the honoring of such drawing. Notwithstanding the
foregoing, such amount shall not be reinstated if we shall have
delivered written notice to you, as Trustee, which notice shall be
given on or before the close of business on the seventh Business
Day following the honoring of such C Drawing, that such amount
available to be drawn under the Letter of Credit to pay interest on
the Bonds has not been reinstated and such notice directs
acceleration of the Bonds.
Likewise, the
Principal Portion shall be reduced automatically upon the date
notice is received from you in the form of Exhibit E attached
hereto appropriately completed that prepayment of the Bonds
(whether by optional or mandatory redemption or otherwise) under
the Indenture (other than Letter of Credit proceeds) has taken
place. The Interest Portion (unless it has already been reduced
because of a C Drawing that has not been reinstated) and the Stated
Amount shall be reduced proportionately to the reduction in the
Principal Portion.
If
there has been an acceleration of the Bonds under the Indenture
because of the occurrence of an Event of Default under the
Indenture, you must present a drawing hereunder to pay principal
and interest then due on the Bonds within thirteen
(13) calendar days after the date of the acceleration of the
Bonds under the Indenture because of the occurrence of an Event of
Default, and the payment date on the Bonds (the “Acceleration
Payment Date”) shall not be later than fourteen
(14) calendar days from the date of the acceleration of the
Bonds under the Indenture because of the occurrence of an Event of
Default, and the Interest Portion which would otherwise be
available under this Letter of Credit will be reduced to cover
interest to accrue on the Bonds only to such Acceleration Payment
Date (and the Stated Amount will be reduced
correspondingly).
If
we have notified you that an Event of Default has occurred under
the Credit Agreement, that we are terminating this Letter of Credit
and that we are directing you to cause a mandatory tender of the
Bonds, you must present a drawing hereunder to pay principal and
interest due with respect to such tender of the Bonds within
thirteen (13) calendar days after the date which we have given
you such notice and the purchase date for the tender on the Bonds
the (“Mandatory Bond Purchase Date”) shall not be later
than fourteen (14) calendar days from the date of our notice
to you and the Interest Portion which would otherwise be available
under this
PAGE 6 WHICH FORMS AN INTEGRAL
PART OF IRREVOCABLE LETTER OF CREDIT NO. SB/IRB 314 ISSUED IN FAVOR
OF: WELLS FARGO BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE.
Letter of Credit to cover the
interest portion of the tender price will be reduced to cover
interest to accrue on the Bonds only to such Mandatory Bond
Purchase Date (and the Stated Amount will be reduced
correspondingly).
If
a demand for payment made by you hereunder does not, in any
instance, conform to the terms and conditions of this Letter of
Credit, we shall give you prompt notice that the purported demand
for payment was not effected in accordance with the terms and
conditions of this Letter of Credit, stating the reasons therefor
and that we are holding any documents at your disposal or are
returning the same to you, as we may elect. Upon being notified
that the purported demand for payment was not effected in
accordance with this Letter of Credit, you may attempt to correct
any such nonconforming demand for payment if, and to the extent
that, you are entitled (without regard to the provisions of this
sentence) and able to do so.
Only the Trustee
may make a drawing under this Letter of Credit. Upon the payment to
the Trustee or to the Trustee’s account of the amount
specified in a drawing drawn hereunder, we shall be fully
discharged on our obligation under this Letter of Credit with
respect to such drawing and we shall not thereafter be obligated to
make any further payments under this Letter of Credit with respect
to such drawing to the Trustee or any other person who may have
made to the Trustee or makes to the Trustee a demand for payment of
principal of or interest on or purchase price of any
Bond.
We
shall be entitled to conclusively rely upon all certificates for
drawing presented to us and we shall have no duty to investigate
any facts set forth in any certificates.
This Letter of
Credit applies only to the principal amount of the Bonds and the
purchase price of Tendered Bonds or beneficial ownership interests
and an amount equal to up to 45 days’ interest accruing
on the Bonds on or prior to the redemption date or stated maturity
of the Bonds or the tender date with respect to purchased Bonds or
beneficial ownership interests, and does not apply to any interest
that may accrue thereon after such maturity or redemption date or
tender date (unless reinstated as provided above, in the case of
purchase price of tendered bonds or beneficial ownership
interests). This Letter of Credit does not apply to any redemption
premium, if any, or any fees or expenses of the Trustee or the
Issuer and no funds are available under this Letter of Credit for
payment of any such amounts.
Communications
with respect to this Letter of Credit shall be in writing and shall
be addressed to us at 770 North Water Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
53002, Attention: Trade Services-IRB LC, 10th Floor or shall be by
facsimile at (414) 765-7788 or by other electronic
telecommunications, specifically referring thereon to
“M&I Marshall & Ilsley Bank Irrevocable
PAGE 7 WHICH FORMS AN INTEGRAL
PART OF IRREVOCABLE LETTER OF CREDIT NO. SB/IRB 314 ISSUED IN FAVOR
OF: WELLS FARGO BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE.
Letter of Credit Number SB/IRB
314.” We will communicate to you by mail or facsimile or
other electronic telecommu
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