Exhibit 4.6
INTERCREDITOR AGREEMENT
INTERCREDITOR AGREEMENT, dated as of March 28, 2005,
among WELLS FARGO FOOTHILL, INC., as Credit Agent, U.S.
BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, as Trustee, and SMART MODULAR
TECHNOLOGIES (WWH), INC., an exempted company organized under the
laws of the Cayman Islands (“Holdings”).
W
I T N E S S E T H :
WHEREAS, Holdings, the
Companies (such term and each other capitalized term used herein
having the meanings set forth in Section 1 below),
certain lenders and Wells Fargo Foothill, Inc., as administrative
agent and arranger, are parties to that certain Amended and
Restated Loan and Security Agreement, dated as of the date hereof
(as further amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise modified
from time to time, the “Credit Agreement” )
, pursuant to which such lenders have agreed to make loans
and extend other financial accommodations to certain of the
Companies and that, among other things, permits, subject to certain
terms and conditions, (a) the issuance of the Notes by
Holdings and the guarantee thereof by the Companies and (b) a
second priority Lien on the Common Collateral to secure the
Noteholder Claims;
WHEREAS, the Obligations of
the Companies under the Loan Documents are secured (together with
certain other obligations) by various assets of the
Companies;
WHEREAS, Holdings, the
Companies and the Trustee have entered into that certain Indenture
dated as of March 28, 2005 (as amended, restated, supplemented
or otherwise modified from time to time, the
“Indenture” ) , pursuant to which
Holdings intends to issue the Notes; and
WHEREAS, it is a condition
precedent to the effectiveness of the Credit Agreement that the
parties hereto enter into this Agreement;
NOW, THEREFORE, in
consideration of the foregoing, the mutual covenants and
obligations herein set forth and for other good and valuable
consideration, the sufficiency and receipt of which are hereby
acknowledged, the parties hereto, intending to be legally bound,
hereby agree as follows:
SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS .
(a) As used in this Agreement, the following terms
have the meanings specified below:
“Agreement” means
this Agreement, as amended, restated, renewed, extended,
supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time in accordance
with the terms hereof.
“Bank
Indebtedness” means any and all amounts payable under or
in respect of the Credit Facilities, including principal, premium
(if any), interest (including interest accruing on or after the
filing of any petition in bankruptcy or for reorganization relating
to any Company whether or not a claim for post-filing interest is
allowed in such proceedings), fees, charges,
expenses, reimbursement obligations, guarantees and all other
amounts payable thereunder or in respect thereof.
“Bankruptcy Law”
means Title 11 of the United States Code and any similar Federal,
state or foreign law for the relief of debtors, as amended from
time to time.
“Business Day”
means any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday or a day that is a
legal holiday under the laws of the State of New York or on which
banking institutions in the State of New York are required or
authorized by law or other governmental action to close.
“Cash Management
Obligations” means, with respect to any Person, all
obligations of such Person in respect of overdrafts and other
liabilities owed to any other Person that arise from treasury,
depositary, cash management or related services, including
processing of electronic funds through clearing houses, and credit
card, credit card processing, debit card and purchase card
services.
“Commodity Hedge
Obligations” means, with respect to any Person, all
obligations of such Person in respect of any commodity price
protection agreement or other commodity price hedging arrangement
or other similar agreement or arrangement.
“Common
Collateral” means all of the assets of any Grantor,
whether real, personal or mixed, constituting both Senior Lender
Collateral and Noteholder Collateral.
“Companies”
means, collectively, the entities set forth on Schedule I
hereto ( each, a “Company”) .
“Comparable Noteholder
Collateral Document” means, in relation to any Common
Collateral subject to any Lien created under any Senior Collateral
Document, that Noteholder Collateral Document which creates a Lien
on the same Common Collateral, granted by the same Grantor.
“Credit Agent”
means Wells Fargo Foothill, Inc. in its capacity as administrative
agent and security trustee for the Senior Lenders under the Credit
Agreement and the other Loan Documents (as defined therein) and
also includes its successors hereunder as administrative agent and
security trustee for the Senior Lenders (or if there is more than
one administrative agent, a majority of them) under the Senior
Lender Documents exercising substantially the same rights and
powers, or if there is no acting Credit Agent under the Senior
Credit Agreement, the Required Lenders.
“Credit
Agreement” has the meaning set forth in the recitals
hereto.
“Credit
Facilities” means one or more debt facilities (including
the Loan Documents) or commercial paper facilities providing for
revolving credit loans, term loans, receivables financing
(including through the sale of receivables to lenders or to special
purpose entities formed to borrow from lenders against such
receivables) or letters of credit, or any debt securities or other
form of debt financing or financial accommodation (including
convertible or exchangeable debt instruments), in each case, as
amended, supplemented, modified, extended, renewed, restated or
refunded in whole or in part from time to time.
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“Currency
Agreement” means with respect to any Person any foreign
exchange contract, currency swap agreements or other similar
agreement or arrangement to which such Person is a party.
“Discharge of Senior Lender
Claims” means, except to the extent otherwise provided in
Section 5.6 , payment in full in cash of (a) the
principal of and interest and premium, if any, on all Indebtedness
outstanding under the First-Lien Credit Facilities or, with respect
to Cash Management Obligations, Hedging Obligations, Commodity
Hedge Obligation or letters of credit outstanding thereunder,
delivery of cash collateral or backstop letters of credit in
respect thereof in compliance with such First-Lien Credit
Facilities, as applicable, in each case after or concurrently with
termination of all commitments to extend credit thereunder and
(b) any other Senior Lender Claims that are due and payable or
otherwise accrued and owing at or prior to the time such principal,
interest and premium, if any, are paid.
“First-Lien Credit
Facilities” means (a) the Credit Facilities provided
pursuant to the Loan Documents and (b) any other Credit
Facility, that, in the case of both clauses (a) and (b), is
secured by a Permitted Lien (as defined in the Indenture) described
in clause (1) of the definition thereof and (except for the
Credit Facilities provided pursuant to the Credit Agreement) is
designated by Holdings as a “First-Lien Credit
Facility” for purposes of the Indenture.
“Future Other First-Lien
Obligations” means all obligations of each Company or any
other Grantor in respect of Cash Management Obligations or Hedging
Obligations that are designated by Holdings as “Credit
Agreement Obligations” for purposes of the Indenture (other
than any Senior Lender Cash Management Obligations and Senior
Lender Hedging Obligations).
“Grantors” means
each of Holdings, the Companies and any other Person that has
executed and delivered a Noteholder Collateral Document or a Senior
Collateral Document.
“Hedging
Obligations” means, with respect to any Person, the
obligations of such Person in respect of (a) any Interest Rate
Agreement, (b) Currency Agreement or (c) Commodity Hedge
Obligations.
“Holdings” has
the meaning set forth in the preamble hereto.
“Indebtedness”
means and includes all Obligations that constitute
“Indebtedness” within the meaning of the Indenture or
the Senior Credit Agreement.
“Indenture” has
the meaning set forth in the recitals hereto.
“Insolvency or Liquidation
Proceeding” means (a) any voluntary or involuntary
case or proceeding under any Bankruptcy Law with respect to any
Grantor, (b) any other voluntary or involuntary insolvency,
reorganization or bankruptcy case or proceeding, or any
receivership, liquidation, reorganization or other similar case or
proceeding with respect to any Grantor or with respect to any of
their respective assets, (c) any liquidation, dissolution,
reorganization or winding up of any Grantor whether voluntary or
involuntary and whether or not involving insolvency or bankruptcy
or (d) any assignment for the benefit of creditors or any
other marshalling of assets and liabilities of any Grantor.
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“Interest Rate
Agreement” means with respect to any Person any interest
rate protection agreement, interest rate future agreement, interest
rate option agreement, interest rate swap agreement, interest rate
cap agreement, interest rate collar agreement, interest rate hedge
agreement or other similar agreement or arrangement as to which
such Person is party.
“Lien” means,
with respect to any asset, (a) any mortgage, deed of trust,
lien, pledge, hypothecation, encumbrance, charge or security
interest in, on or of such asset, (b) the interest of a vendor
or a lessor under any conditional sale agreement, capital lease or
title retention agreement (or any financing lease having
substantially the same economic effect as any of the foregoing)
relating to such asset and (c) in the case of securities, any
purchase option, call or similar right of a third party with
respect to such securities.
“Loan Documents”
means the Credit Agreement and all other Loan Documents (as defined
therein) and any amendments, supplements, modifications,
extensions, renewals, restatements or refundings thereof and any
indentures or credit facilities or commercial paper facilities or
other agreement or instrument evidencing or governing the terms of
any indebtedness or other financial accommodation that replace,
refund or refinance any part of the loans, notes, other credit
facilities, commitments or other obligations thereunder (including
any such replacement, refunding or refinancing facility or
indenture that increases the amount borrowable thereunder or alters
the maturity thereof), unless such agreement or instrument
expressly provides that it is not intended to be and is not a Loan
Document hereunder.
“Noteholder
Claims” means all Obligations in respect of the Notes or
arising under the Noteholder Documents or any of them.
“Noteholder
Collateral” means all of the assets of any Grantor,
whether real, personal or mixed, with respect to which a Lien is
granted as security for any Noteholder Claim.
“Noteholder Collateral
Documents” means the documents set forth in
Schedule II and any other document or instrument pursuant to
which a Lien is granted by any Grantor to secure any Noteholder
Claims or under which rights or remedies with respect to any such
Lien are governed.
“Noteholder
Documents” means (a) the Indenture, the Notes, the
Note Guarantees, the Noteholder Collateral Documents and any
document or instrument evidencing or governing any Obligations with
respect to the Notes and any (b) other related document or
instrument executed and delivered pursuant to any Noteholder
Document described in clause (a) above evidencing or governing
any Obligations thereunder.
“Noteholder
Mortgages” means a collective reference to each mortgage,
deed of trust and any other document or instrument under which any
Lien on real property owned by any Grantor is granted to secure any
Noteholder Claims or under which rights or remedies with respect to
any such Liens are governed.
“Noteholder Pledge
Agreements” means the documents set forth on
Schedule III.
“Noteholder Security
Agreement” means that certain Security Agreement, dated
as of March 28, 2005, among Holdings, the other Grantors party
thereto and the Trustee.
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“Noteholders”
means the Persons holding Noteholder Claims.
“Note Guarantee”
means “Note Guarantee” as defined in the
Indenture.
“Notes” means
(a) the Senior Secured Floating Rate Notes due 2012 to be
issued by Holdings, and (b) any additional notes issued under
the Indenture by Holdings, to the extent permitted by the Indenture
and the Senior Credit Agreement.
“Obligations”
means any and all obligations with respect to the payment of
(a) any principal of or interest (including interest accruing
on or after the commencement of any Insolvency or Liquidation
Proceeding, whether or not a claim for post-filing interest is
allowed in such proceeding) or premium on any Indebtedness,
including any reimbursement obligation in respect of any letter of
credit, (b) any fees, indemnification obligations, expense
reimbursement obligations or other liabilities payable under the
documentation governing any Indebtedness, (c) any obligation
to post cash collateral in respect of letters of credit and any
other obligations or (d) any Cash Management Obligations or
Hedging Obligations.
“Person” means
any natural person, corporation, limited liability company, trust,
joint venture, association, company, partnership, entity or other
party, including any government and any political subdivision,
agency or instrumentality thereof.
“Pledged
Collateral” means (a) the securities and other
property pledged pursuant to the Noteholder Pledge Agreements, and
(b) any other Common Collateral in the possession of or under
the “control” (as defined in the Uniform Commercial
Code) of the Credit Agent (or its agents or bailees), to the extent
that possession or control thereof is necessary to perfect a Lien
thereon under the Uniform Commercial Code.
“Recovery” has
the meaning set forth in Section 6.5 hereof.
“Required
Lenders” means, with respect to any amendment or
modification of the Senior Credit Agreement, or any termination or
waiver of any provision of the Senior Credit Agreement, or any
consent or departure by any Company or any of its Subsidiaries
therefrom, those Senior Lenders the approval of which is required
to approve such amendment or modification, termination or waiver or
consent or departure.
“Senior Collateral
Documents” means the Loan Documents (as defined in the
Senior Credit Agreement) and any other agreement, document or
instrument pursuant to which a Lien is granted securing any Senior
Lender Claims or under which rights or remedies with respect to
such Liens are governed.
“Senior Credit
Agreement” means the Credit Agreement; provided
that if at any time a Discharge of Senior Lender Claims occurs with
respect to the Credit Agreement (without giving effect to
Section 5.6 ), then, to the extent provided in
Section 5.6, the term “Senior Credit
Agreement” means the Future First-Lien Credit Facility
designated by the Companies as the “Senior Credit
Agreement” in accordance with such Section.
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“Senior Lender Cash
Management Obligations” means any Cash Management
Obligations secured by any Common Collateral under the same Senior
Collateral Documents that secure Obligations under the Senior
Credit Agreement.
“Senior Lender
Claims” means (a) all Bank Indebtedness and all
other Indebtedness outstanding under one or more of First-Lien
Credit Facilities, the Indebtedness under each of which (i)
constitutes Permitted Debt (as defined in the Indenture) or is
otherwise permitted by the Indenture and (ii) is secured by a
Permitted Lien (as defined in the Indenture) described in clause
(1) of the definition thereof, (b) all other obligations
(not constituting Indebtedness) of each Company or any Grantor
under the Loan Documents or any such other First-Lien Credit
Facility, (c) all obligations of each Company or any Grantor
in respect of Senior Lender Hedging Obligations and Senior Lender
Cash Management Obligations and (d) all Future Other
First-Lien Obligations. Senior Lender Claims shall include all
interest accrued or accruing (or which would, absent the
commencement of an Insolvency or Liquidation Proceeding, accrue)
after the commencement of an Insolvency or Liquidation Proceeding
in accordance with and at the rate specified in the relevant Senior
Lender Document whether or not the claim for such interest is
allowed as a claim in such Insolvency or Liquidation Proceeding. To
the extent any payment with respect to the Senior Lender Claims
(whether by or on behalf of any Grantor, as proceeds of security,
enforcement of any right of set-off or otherwise) is declared to be
fraudulent or preferential in any respect, set aside or required to
be paid to a debtor in possession, trustee, receiver or similar
Person, then the obligation or part thereof originally intended to
be satisfied shall be deemed to be reinstated and outstanding as if
such payment had not occurred. Notwithstanding anything to the
contrary contained in the first sentence of this definition, any
Obligation under the Senior Lender Documents (including any Cash
Management Obligations or Hedging Obligations) shall constitute a
“Senior Lender Claim” if the Credit Agent or the
relevant Senior Lender or Senior Lenders shall have received a
written representation from any Company in or in connection with
the Senior Lender Documents evidencing such Obligation that such
Obligation constitutes a “Credit Agreement Obligation”
under and as defined in the Indenture (whether or not such
Obligation is at any time determined not to have been permitted to
be incurred under the Indenture).
“Senior Lender
Collateral” means all of the assets of any Grantor,
whether real, personal or mixed, whether now owned or hereafter
acquired by such Grantor, with respect to which a Lien is granted,
or purported to be granted, as security for any Senior Lender
Claim.
“Senior Lender
Documents” means the Senior Credit Agreement, the Senior
Collateral Documents, and each of the other agreements, documents
and instruments providing for or evidencing any other Obligation
under the Loan Documents, any First-Lien Credit Facility, any
Senior Lender Hedging Obligation, any Senior Lender Cash Management
Obligations or any Future Other First-Lien Obligations, and any
other related document or instrument executed or delivered pursuant
to any Senior Lender Document at any time or otherwise evidencing
any Senior Lender Claims.
“Senior Lender Hedging
Obligations” means any Hedging Obligations secured by any
Common Collateral under the same Senior Collateral Documents that
secure Obligations under the Senior Credit Agreement.
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“Senior Lenders”
means the Persons holding Senior Lender Claims, including the
Credit Agent.
“Subsidiary”
means any “Subsidiary” of Holdings or any Company, as
defined in the Indenture or the Senior Credit Agreement.
“Trustee” means
U.S. Bank National Association, in its capacity as trustee under
the Indenture and collateral agent under the Noteholder Collateral
Documents, and also includes its successors hereunder as collateral
agent for the Noteholders under the Noteholder Collateral
Documents.
“Uniform Commercial
Code” or “UCC” means the Uniform
Commercial Code as from time to time in effect in the State of New
York.
(b) Terms Generally. The definitions of terms herein
shall apply equally to the singular and plural forms of the terms
defined. Whenever the context may require, any pronoun shall
include the corresponding masculine, feminine and neuter forms. The
words “include”, “includes” and
“including” shall be deemed to be followed by the
phrase “without limitation”. The word
“will” shall be construed to have the same meaning and
effect as the word “shall”. Unless the context requires
otherwise (a) any definition of or reference to any agreement,
instrument or other document herein shall be construed as referring
to such agreement, instrument or other document as from time to
time amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise modified,
(b) any reference herein to any Person shall be construed to
include such Person’s successors and assigns, (c) the
words “herein”, “hereof’ and
“hereunder”, and words of similar import, shall be
construed to refer to this Agreement in its entirety and not to any
particular provision hereof, (d) all references herein to
Sections shall be construed to refer to Sections of this Agreement
and (e) the words “asset” and
“property” shall be construed to have the same meaning
and effect and to refer to any and all tangible and intangible
assets and properties, including cash, securities, accounts and
contract rights.
SECTION 2. LIEN PRIORITIES .
2.1 Subordination
. Notwithstanding the date, manner or order of grant,
attachment or perfection of any Liens granted to the Trustee or the
Noteholders on the Common Collateral or of any Liens granted to the
Credit Agent or the Senior Lenders on the Common Collateral and
notwithstanding any provision of the UCC, or any applicable law or
the Noteholder Documents or the Senior Lender Documents or any
other circumstance whatsoever, the Trustee, on behalf of itself and
the Noteholders, hereby agrees that: (a) any Lien on the
Common Collateral securing any Senior Lender Claims now or
hereafter held by or on behalf of the Credit Agent or any Senior
Lenders or any agent or trustee therefor shall be senior in all
respects and prior to any Lien on the Common Collateral securing
any of the Noteholder Claims; and (b) any Lien on the Common
Collateral now or hereafter held by or on behalf of the Trustee or
any Noteholders or any agent or trustee therefor regardless of how
acquired, whether by grant, statute, operation of law, subrogation
or otherwise, shall be junior and subordinate in all respects to
all Liens on the Common Collateral securing any Senior Lender
Claims. All Liens on the Common Collateral securing any Senior
Lender Claims shall be and remain senior in all respects and prior
to all Liens on the Common Collateral securing any Noteholder
Claims for all purposes, whether or
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not such
Liens securing any Senior Lender Claims are subordinated to any
Lien securing any other obligation of any Company, any other
Grantor or any other Person.
2.2 Prohibition on
Contesting Liens. Each of the Trustee, for itself and on
behalf of each Noteholder, and the Credit Agent, for itself and on
behalf of each Senior Lender, agrees that it shall not (and hereby
waives any right to) contest or support any other Person in
contesting, in any proceeding (including any Insolvency or
Liquidation Proceeding), the priority, validity or enforceability
of a Lien held by or on behalf of any of the Senior Lenders in the
Senior Lender Collateral or by or on behalf of any of the
Noteholders in the Common Collateral, as the case may be;
provided that nothing in this Agreement shall be construed
to prevent or impair the rights of the Credit Agent or any Senior
Lender to enforce this Agreement, including the priority of the
Liens securing the Senior Lender Claims as provided in
Section 2.1 .
2.3 No New
Liens. So long as the Discharge of Senior Lender Claims has
not occurred, the parties hereto agree that, after the date hereof,
if the Trustee shall hold any Lien on any assets of any Company or
any other Grantor securing any Noteholder Claims that are not also
subject to the first-priority Lien of the Credit Agent under the
Senior Lender Documents (other than any assets that the Credit
Agent shall have released as security for the Senior Lender
Claims), the Trustee, upon demand by the Credit Agent or the
Companies, will either (i) assign such Lien to the Credit
Agent as security for the Senior Lender Claims, in which event the
Companies shall cause a junior Lien on such assets to be granted to
the Trustee or (ii) release such Lien.
SECTION 3. ENFORCEMENT .
3.1 Exercise of
Remedies .
(a) So long as the Discharge of Senior Lender Claims
has not occurred, whether or not any Insolvency or Liquidation
Proceeding has been commenced by or against any Company or any
other Grantor, (i) the Trustee and the Noteholders will not
exercise or seek to exercise any rights or remedies (including
set-off) with respect to any Common Collateral, institute any
action or proceeding with respect to such rights or remedies
(including any action of foreclosure), contest, protest or object
to any foreclosure proceeding or action brought by the Credit Agent
or any Senior Lender, the exercise of any right under any lockbox
agreement, control agreement, landlord waiver or bailee’s
letter or similar agreement or arrangement to which the Trustee or
any Noteholder is a party, or any other exercise by any such party,
of any rights and remedies relating to the Common Collateral under
the Senior Lender Documents or otherwise, or object to the
forbearance by the Senior Lenders from bringing or pursuing any
foreclosure proceeding or action or any other exercise of any
rights or remedies relating to the Common Collateral and
(ii) the Credit Agent and the Senior Lenders shall have the
exclusive right to enforce rights, exercise remedies (including
set-off and the right to credit bid their debt) and make
determinations regarding the release, disposition, or restrictions
with respect to the Common Collateral without any consultation with
or the consent of the Trustee or any Noteholder; provided ,
that (A) in any Insolvency or Liquidation Proceeding commenced
by or against any Company or any Grantor, the Trustee may file a
claim or statement of interest with respect to the Noteholder
Claims, and (B) the Trustee may take any action (not adverse
to the prior Liens on the Common Collateral securing the Senior
Lender Claims, or the rights of the
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Credit
Agent or the Senior Lenders to exercise remedies in respect
thereof) in order to preserve or protect its Lien on the Common
Collateral. In exercising rights and remedies with respect to the
Common Collateral, the Credit Agent and the Senior Lenders may
enforce the provisions of the Senior Lender Documents and exercise
remedies thereunder, all in such order and in such manner as they
may determine in the exercise of their sole discretion. Such
exercise and enforcement shall include the rights of an agent
appointed by them to sell or otherwise dispose of Common Collateral
upon foreclosure, to incur expenses in connection with such sale or
disposition, and to exercise all the rights and remedies of a
secured lender under the Uniform Commercial Code of any applicable
jurisdiction and of a secured creditor under Bankruptcy Laws of any
applicable jurisdiction.
(b) The Trustee, on behalf of itself and the
Noteholders, agrees that it will not take or receive any Common
Collateral or any proceeds of Common Collateral in connection with
the exercise of any right or remedy (including set-off) with
respect to any Common Collateral, unless and until the Discharge of
Senior Lender Claims has occurred. Without limiting the generality
of the foregoing, unless and until the Discharge of Senior Lender
Claims has occurred, except as expressly provided in the proviso in
clause (ii) of Section 3.1(a) above, the sole
right of the Trustee and the Noteholders with respect to the Common
Collateral is to hold a Lien on the Common Collateral pursuant to
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