Exhibit
10.1
E XECUTION V ERSION
$600,000,000 COMPETITIVE ADVANCE
AND REVOLVING CREDIT FACILITY
AGREEMENT
among
SOUTHWEST AIRLINES
CO.,
THE BANKS PARTY
HERETO,
CITIBANK, N.A.,
as Syndication Agent,
BARCLAYS BANK PLC,
DEUTSCHE BANK SECURITIES
INC.,
GOLDMAN SACHS BANK
USA
and
MORGAN STANLEY BANK,
N.A.,
as Documentation Agents,
and
JPMORGAN CHASE BANK,
N.A.,
as Administrative Agent
As of September 29,
2009
J.P. MORGAN SECURITIES
INC.
and
CITIGROUP GLOBAL MARKETS
INC.,
as Co-Lead Arrangers and Joint
Bookrunners
Table of Contents
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Page
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ARTICLE I
DEFINITIONS AND ACCOUNTING TERMS
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1
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Section 1.1
Certain Defined Terms
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1
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Section 1.2
Computation of Time Periods
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14
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ARTICLE II
LOANS
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14
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Section 2.1
Commitments
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14
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Section 2.2
Competitive Bid Procedure
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14
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Section 2.3
Committed Borrowing Procedure
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16
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Section 2.4
Refinancings; Conversions
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17
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Section 2.5
Fees
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18
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Section 2.6
Termination and Reduction of Commitments
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18
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Section 2.7
Loans
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18
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Section 2.8
Loan Accounts
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19
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Section 2.9
Interest on Loans
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20
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Section 2.10
Interest on Overdue Amounts
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20
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Section 2.11
Alternate Rate of Interest
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21
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Section 2.12
Prepayment of Loans
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21
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Section 2.13
Reserve Requirements; Change in Circumstances
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21
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Section 2.14
Change in Legality
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23
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Section 2.15
Indemnity
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24
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Section 2.16
Pro Rata Treatment
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24
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Section 2.17
Sharing of Setoffs
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25
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Section 2.18
Payments
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25
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Section 2.19
Tax Forms
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27
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Section 2.20
Calculation of LIBO Rates
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28
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Section 2.21
Booking Loans
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28
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Section 2.22
Quotation of Rates
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28
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Section 2.23
Defaulting Banks
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28
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Section 2.24
Mitigation Obligations; Replacement of Banks
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30
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ARTICLE III
LETTERS OF CREDIT
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31
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Section 3.1 L/C
Commitment
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31
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Section 3.2
Procedure for Issuance of Letter of Credit
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31
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Section 3.3
Fees and Other Charges
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32
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Section 3.4 L/C
Participations
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32
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Section 3.5
Reimbursement Obligation of the Company
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33
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Section 3.6
Obligations Absolute
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33
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Section 3.7
Letter of Credit Payments
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33
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Section 3.8
Applications
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34
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ARTICLE IV
CONDITIONS OF LENDING
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34
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Section 4.1
Conditions Precedent
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34
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Section 4.2
Conditions Precedent to Each Committed Borrowing
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35
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Section 4.3
Conditions Precedent to Each Competitive Borrowing
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35
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Section 4.4
Conditions Precedent to Each Letter of Credit Issuance
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35
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Section 4.5
Legal Details
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36
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i
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ARTICLE V REPRESENTATIONS AND
WARRANTIES
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36
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Section 5.1
Organization, Authority and Qualifications
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36
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Section 5.2
Financial Statements
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37
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Section 5.3
Compliance with Agreement and Laws
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37
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Section 5.4
Authorization; No Breach; and Valid Agreements
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37
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Section 5.5
Litigation and Judgments
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37
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Section 5.6
Ownership of Properties
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37
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Section 5.7
Taxes
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37
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Section 5.8
Approvals Required
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37
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Section 5.9
Business; Status as Air Carrier
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38
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Section 5.10
ERISA Compliance
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38
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Section 5.11
Insurance
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38
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Section 5.12
Purpose of Loan
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38
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Section 5.13
Investment Company Act
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38
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Section 5.14
General
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38
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ARTICLE VI
COVENANTS
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38
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Section 6.1
Performance of Obligations
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38
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Section 6.2
Compliance with Laws
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38
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Section 6.3
Maintenance of Existence, Licenses and Franchises: Compliance With
Agreements
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39
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Section 6.4
Maintenance of Properties
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39
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Section 6.5
Maintenance of Books and Records
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39
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Section 6.6
Inspection
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39
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Section 6.7
Insurance
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40
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Section 6.8
Appraisals
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40
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Section 6.9
Coverage Ratio
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40
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Section 6.10
Reporting Requirements
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40
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Section 6.11
Use of Proceeds
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41
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Section 6.12
Pool Assets
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41
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Section 6.13
Restrictions on Liens
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42
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Section 6.14
Mergers and Dissolutions
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43
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Section 6.15
Assignment
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43
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ARTICLE VII
EVENTS OF DEFAULT; REMEDIES
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43
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Section 7.1
Events of Default
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43
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Section 7.2
Remedies Upon Default
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45
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Section 7.3
Remedies in General
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45
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ARTICLE VIII
THE AGENTS
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45
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Section 8.1
Authorization and Action
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45
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Section 8.2
Agents’ Reliance, Etc.
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46
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Section 8.3
Rights of Agents as Banks
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46
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Section 8.4
Bank Credit Decision
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46
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Section 8.5
Agents’ Indemnity
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47
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Section 8.6
Successor Administrative Agent
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47
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Section 8.7
Notice of Default
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48
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Section 8.8
Documentation Agents and Syndication Agent
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48
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ARTICLE IX
MISCELLANEOUS
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48
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Section 9.1
Amendments, Etc.
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48
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Section 9.2
Notices, Etc.
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48
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Section 9.3 No
Waiver; Remedies
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49
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ii
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Section 9.4
Costs, Expenses and Taxes
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49
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Section 9.5 Indemnity
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50
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Section 9.6 Right of Setoff
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50
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SECTION 9.7
GOVERNING LAW
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51
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Section 9.8 Submission To Jurisdiction;
Waivers
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51
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Section 9.9 Survival of Representations and
Warranties
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51
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Section 9.10 Binding Effect
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51
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Section 9.11 Successors and Assigns;
Participations
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51
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Section 9.12 Independence of
Covenants
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54
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Section 9.13 Severability
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54
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Section 9.14 Integration
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54
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Section 9.15 Descriptive
Headings
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54
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Section 9.16 Execution in
Counterparts
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54
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Section 9.17 WAIVERS OF JURY
TRIAL
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54
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Section 9.18 No Fiduciary Duty
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55
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Section 9.19 USA Patriot Act
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55
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SCHEDULES
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Location of
Lending Office; Notice Information
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Schedule
I
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Pool
Assets
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Schedule
II
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EXHIBITS
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Form of
Competitive Bid Request
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Exhibit
A-1
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Form of Notice
of Committed Borrowing
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Exhibit
A-2
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Form of Notice
to Banks of Competitive Bid Request
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Exhibit
B
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Form of
Competitive Bid
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Exhibit
C
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Form of
Competitive Note
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Exhibit
D-1
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Form of
Committed Note
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Exhibit
D-2
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Form of
Company’s Internal Counsel Opinion
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Exhibit
E-1
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Form of
Company’s Outside Counsel Opinion
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Exhibit
E-2
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Form of
Agents’ Counsel Opinion
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Exhibit
E-3
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Form of
Financial Report Certificate
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Exhibit
F
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Form of
Assignment and Acceptance
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Exhibit
G
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Form of
Appraisal
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Exhibit
H
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Form of U.S.
Tax Compliance Certificate
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Exhibit
I
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iii
COMPETITIVE ADVANCE
AND
REVOLVING CREDIT FACILITY
AGREEMENT
COMPETITIVE ADVANCE AND REVOLVING
CREDIT FACILITY AGREEMENT, dated as of September 29, 2009,
among SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO. (the “ Company ”),
the Banks, JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., as administrative agent for
the Banks (in such capacity, the “ Administrative
Agent ”), CITIBANK, N.A., as syndication agent for the
Banks (in such capacity, the “ Syndication Agent
”), and Barclays Bank PLC, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.,
Goldman Sachs Bank USA and Morgan Stanley Bank, N.A., as
documentation agents for the Banks (collectively, in such capacity,
the “ Documentation Agents ”).
The Company has requested the Banks
to extend credit to the Company in order to enable it to borrow on
a revolving credit basis and to obtain letters of credit on and
after the Effective Date and at any time and from time to time
prior to the Termination Date (each as herein defined) in an
aggregate principal amount not in excess of $600,000,000 at any
time outstanding. The Company has also requested the Banks to
provide a procedure pursuant to which the Company may designate
that all of the Banks be invited to bid on an uncommitted basis on
borrowings by the Company scheduled to mature on or prior to the
Termination Date. The Banks are willing to extend such credit to
the Company on the terms and conditions herein set forth.
Accordingly, the Company, the Agents, and the Banks agree as
follows:
ARTICLE I
DEFINITIONS AND ACCOUNTING
TERMS
Section 1.1 Certain Defined
Terms . As used in this Agreement, the following terms shall
have the following meanings (such meanings to be equally applicable
to both the singular and plural forms of the terms
defined):
“ Adjusted Pre-Tax
Income ” of any Person means, with respect to any period,
income before taxes of such Person for such period, but excluding
(i) any gain or loss arising from the sale of capital assets
other than capital assets consisting of Aircraft, (ii) any
gain or loss arising from any write-up or write-down of assets,
(iii) income or loss of any other Person, substantially all of
the assets of which have been acquired by such Person in any
manner, to the extent that such income or loss was realized by such
other Person prior to the date of such acquisition,
(iv) income or loss of any other Person (other than a
Subsidiary) in which such Person has an ownership interest,
(v) the income or loss of any other Person to which assets of
such Person shall have been sold, transferred, or disposed of, or
into which such Person shall have merged, to the extent that such
income or loss arises prior to the date of such transaction,
(vi) any gain or loss arising from the acquisition of any
securities of such Person, (vii) gains or losses reported as
extraordinary in accordance with GAAP not previously excluded in
clauses (i) through (vi), and (viii) the cumulative
effect of changes in accounting methods permitted by GAAP during
such period. Notwithstanding the foregoing, for the purposes of
determining income before taxes for any period, the component of
Operating expenses consisting of GAAP Fuel and oil expense and the
component of Other expenses (income) consisting of GAAP Other
(gains) losses, shall be adjusted by the amount specified for the
relevant period as “Add/(Deduct) : Net Impact from Fuel
Contracts” in the Company’s quarterly earnings report
“Note regarding use of non-GAAP financial measures”
contained in “RECONCILIATION OF REPORTED AMOUNTS TO NON-GAAP
ITEMS” as filed on the Company’s Form 8-K; which
adjustment excludes from economic results certain gains or losses
associated with derivatives that settled in a prior period or will
settle in a future period (i.e, the impact of
ineffectiveness
2
for future period instruments, and changes in
market value for future period derivatives that no longer qualify
for special hedge accounting, such terms as defined in SFAS 133 ,
“Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging
Activities,” as amended).
“ Administrative Agent
” is defined in the introduction to this
Agreement.
“ Administrative
Questionnaire ” means an Administrative Questionnaire in
a form satisfactory to the Administrative Agent, which each Bank
shall complete and provide to the Administrative Agent.
“ Affiliate ”
means a Person that directly, or indirectly through one or more
intermediaries, controls or is controlled by or is under common
control with another Person.
“ Agents ” means
the Administrative Agent, the Syndication Agent and the
Documentation Agents.
“ Agreed Maximum Rate
” means, for any date, 2% per annum above the interest
rate then applicable to Alternate Base Loans.
“ Agreement ”
means this Competitive Advance and Revolving Credit Facility
Agreement, as the same may be amended, supplemented, or modified
from time to time.
“ Aircraft ”
means, collectively, airframes and aircraft engines now owned or
hereafter acquired by the Company, together with all appliances,
equipment, instruments, and accessories (including radio and radar)
from time to time belonging to, installed in, or appurtenant to
such airframes and aircraft engines; provided, however , the
term “Aircraft” shall not include airframes and engines
leased by the Company.
“ Aircraft Rentals
” means the operating expense attributable to rental of
aircraft, calculated in accordance with the line item described as
such in the Current Financials.
“ Alternate Base Loan
” means any Committed Loan with respect to which the Company
shall have selected an interest rate based on the Alternate Base
Rate in accordance with the provisions of Article II
.
“ Alternate Base Rate
” means, for any day, a rate per annum (rounded upwards, if
necessary, to the next 1/16 of 1%) equal to the greater of
(a) the Prime Rate in effect on such day, (b) the LIBO
Rate for a one-month Interest Period on such day (or if such day is
not a Business Day, the immediately preceding Business Day) plus
1%, and (c) the Federal Funds Effective Rate in effect on such
day plus 1 / 2
of 1%. For purposes hereof: “
Prime Rate ” shall mean the rate of interest per annum
publicly announced from time to time by JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.
as its prime rate in effect at its principal office in New York
City (the Prime Rate not being intended to be the lowest rate of
interest charged by JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. in connection with
extensions of credit to debtors). Any change in the Alternate Base
Rate due to a change in the Prime Rate, the LIBO Rate or the
Federal Funds Effective Rate shall be effective as of the opening
of business on the effective day of such change in the Prime Rate,
the LIBO Rate or the Federal Funds Effective Rate,
respectively.
“ Applicable Lending
Office ” means, with respect to each Bank, such
Bank’s Domestic Lending Office in the case of an Alternate
Base Loan or a Fixed Rate Loan and such Bank’s Eurodollar
Lending Office in the case of a Eurodollar Loan.
“ Applicable Rate
” means, as of any date, with respect to (a) any
Eurodollar Loan that is a Committed Loan, a rate per annum equal to
the Credit Default Swap Spread in effect for Eurodollar
3
Loans on such day, (b) any Alternate Base
Loan that is a Committed Loan, a rate per annum equal to the Credit
Default Swap Spread in effect for Alternate Base Loans on such day
less 1.0% or (c) commitment fees payable hereunder, the
applicable rate per annum set forth below under the caption
“Commitment Fee Rate” determined by reference to the
Index Debt Rating in effect on such date as set forth below.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Applicable Rate for Eurodollar
Loans and Alternate Base Loans in effect at any time shall not be
less than the “Minimum Applicable Rate” (less 1.0% in
the case of Alternate Base Loans), and shall not exceed the
“Maximum Applicable Rate” (less 1.0% in the case of
Alternate Base Loans), determined by reference to the Index Debt
Rating in effect on such date as set forth below.
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Index Debt Ratings
S&P/Moody’s
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Commitment Fee
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A/A2 or better
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1.50
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%
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3.50
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%
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0.25
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%
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A-/A3
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1.50
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%
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3.50
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%
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0.35
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%
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BBB+/Baa1
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2.00
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%
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4.50
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%
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0.45
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%
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BBB/Baa2
|
|
2.00
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%
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|
4.50
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%
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0.55
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%
|
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|
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BBB-/Baa3
|
|
3.00
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%
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|
5.50
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%
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|
0.65
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%
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BB+/Ba1 or below
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|
3.00
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%
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|
5.50
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%
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|
0.75
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%
|
Each change in the Applicable Rate
shall apply during the period commencing on the effective date of
such change and ending on the date immediately preceding the
effective date of the next such change. If the rating system of
Moody’s or S&P shall change, the Company and the Banks
shall negotiate in good faith to amend this definition to reflect
such changed rating system and, pending the effectiveness of any
such amendment, the Applicable Rate shall be determined by
reference to the rating most recently in effect prior to such
change.
“ Application ”
means an application, in such form as the Issuing Bank may specify
from time to time, requesting the Issuing Bank to open a Letter of
Credit. Each Issuing Bank shall furnish to the Company a form of
Application satisfactory to it promptly following the request
therefor by the Company.
“ Appraisal ”
means a “desk-top” appraisal report addressed to the
Administrative Agent and substantially in the form of Exhibit
H , which will not include physical inspection of aircraft,
engines or maintenance records and will assume the equipment is
half life in its maintenance cycle, dated the date of delivery
thereof to the Banks pursuant to the terms of this Agreement, by
one or more independent appraisal firms of recognized national
standing selected by the Company (such firm to be reasonably
satisfactory, at the time of such Appraisal, to the Administrative
Agent) setting forth the fair market value, as determined in
accordance with the definition of “current market
value” promulgated by the International Society of Transport
Aircraft Trading, as of the date of such appraisal, of each Pool
Asset or a proposed Pool Asset, as the case may be.
4
“ Appraisal Delivery
Date ” means (a) the Effective Date, (b) each
anniversary of the Effective Date (other than such date falling in
2012) and (c) each date of replacement, removal or addition of
any Pool Asset if such Pool Asset is an airframe or an airframe and
one or more engines installed thereon.
“ Appraised Value
” means, as of any date of determination, the aggregate
current market value as of such date of each Pool Asset or proposed
Pool Asset, as the case may be, as provided in the most recently
delivered Appraisal.
“ Assignment and
Acceptance ” is defined in Section 9.11(c)
.
“ Auditors ”
means independent certified public accountants of recognized
national standing selected by the Company.
“ Available Revolving
Commitment ” means, as to any Bank at any time, an amount
equal to the excess, if any, of (a) such Bank’s
Commitment then in effect over (b) such Bank’s
Revolving Credit Exposure then outstanding; provided that
any Competitive Loans shall not be included in the calculation of
such Bank’s Available Revolving Commitment for the purposes
of Section 2.5.
“ Banks ” means
those banks and other financial institutions signatory hereto and
other banks or financial institutions which from time to time
become party hereto pursuant to the provisions of this
Agreement.
“ Board ” means
the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System of the United
States.
“ Borrowing ”
means a Competitive Borrowing or a Committed Borrowing.
“ Borrowing Date
” means the Business Day on which the proceeds of any
Borrowing are to be made available to the Company.
“ Business Day ”
means a day other than a Saturday, Sunday or other day on which
commercial banks in New York City are authorized or required by law
to close, provided , that with respect to notices and
determinations in connection with, and payments of principal and
interest on, Eurodollar Loans, such day is also a day for trading
in London, England by and between banks in dollar deposits in the
Eurodollar Interbank Market.
“ CDS Determination
Date ” means (a) as to any Eurodollar Loan, the
second Business Day prior to the Business Day such Eurodollar Loan
is borrowed and, if applicable, the last Business Day prior to the
continuation of such Eurodollar Loan, provided , that, in
the case of any Eurodollar Loan having an Interest Period of
greater than three months, the last Business Day prior to each
three-month period succeeding such initial three-month period shall
also be a CDS Determination Date with respect to any such
Eurodollar Loan, with the applicable Credit Default Swap Spread, as
so determined, to be in effect as to such Eurodollar Loan for each
day commencing with the first day of the applicable Interest Period
until subsequently re-determined in accordance with the foregoing,
and (b) as to Alternate Base Loans, initially on the Effective
Date and thereafter on the first Business Day of each succeeding
calendar quarter.
“ Collateral Coverage
Test ” means, on any date, the requirement that the
Appraised Value of the Pool Assets on such date shall not be less
than an amount equal to 1.5 times the Total Commitment on
such date (or, after termination of the Commitments, the sum of the
aggregate outstanding amount of Loans and L/C
Obligations).
5
“ Commitment ”
means, with respect to each Bank, the obligation of such Bank to
make Loans and to issue or participate in Letters of Credit in the
aggregate principal and/or face amount set forth opposite the name
of such Bank on the signature pages hereof, and, if applicable,
amendments hereto, as such amount may be permanently terminated or
reduced from time to time pursuant to Section 2.6,
Section 2.13(d) and Section 7.2 , and as such
amount may be increased or reduced from time to time by assignment
or assumption pursuant to Section 2.13(d ) and
Section 9.11(c) . The Commitments shall automatically
and permanently terminate on the Termination Date.
“ Commitment Fee
” is defined in Section 2.5 .
“ Committed Borrowing
” means a borrowing consisting of simultaneous Committed
Loans from each of the Banks distributed ratably among the Banks in
accordance with their respective Commitments.
“ Committed Loan
” means a loan by a Bank to the Company pursuant to
Section 2.1 , and shall be either a Eurodollar Loan or
an Alternate Base Loan.
“ Committed Note
” means a promissory note which a Bank may require the
Company to execute in accordance with Section 2.8(b) ,
payable to the order of such Bank, in substantially the form of
Exhibit D-2 hereto, with the blanks appropriately completed,
to evidence the aggregate indebtedness of the Company to such Bank
resulting from the Committed Loans made by such Bank to the
Company, together with all modifications, extensions, renewals, and
rearrangements thereof.
“ Communications
” is defined in Section 9.2 .
“ Company ” is
defined in the introduction to this Agreement.
“ Competitive Bid
” means an offer by a Bank to make a Competitive Loan
pursuant to Section 2.2 .
“ Competitive Bid Rate
” means, as to any Competitive Bid made by a Bank pursuant to
Section 2.2(b) , (i) in the case of a Eurodollar
Loan, the Margin (which will be added to or subtracted from the
LIBO Rate), and (ii) in the case of a Fixed Rate Loan, the
fixed rate of interest, in each case, offered by the Bank making
such Competitive Bid.
“ Competitive Bid
Request ” means a request for Competitive Bids made
pursuant to Section 2.2(a ) substantially in the form
of Exhibit A-l .
“ Competitive Borrowing
” means a borrowing consisting of a single Competitive Loan
from a Bank or simultaneous Competitive Loans from one or more of
the Banks, in each case, whose Competitive Bid as all or as a part
of such Borrowing, as the case may be, has been accepted by the
Company under the bidding procedure described in
Section 2.2 .
“ Competitive Loan
” means a loan from a Bank to the Company pursuant to the
bidding procedure described in Section 2.2 , and shall
be either a Eurodollar Loan or a Fixed Rate Loan.
“ Competitive Note
” means a promissory note which a Bank may require the
Company to execute in accordance with Section 2.8(b) ,
payable to the order of such Bank, in substantially the form of
Exhibit D-l hereto, with the blanks appropriately completed,
to evidence the aggregate indebtedness of the Company to such Bank
resulting from the Competitive Loans made by such Bank to the
Company, together with all modifications, extensions, renewals, and
rearrangements thereof.
6
“ Competitive Reduction
” is defined in Section 2.1 .
“ Consolidated Long-Term
Debt ” means, as of any date, all consolidated Debt of
the Company and its Subsidiaries which is classified as “long
term” in accordance with GAAP, together with the aggregate of
all portions of Consolidated Long-Term Debt classified as
“current maturities” in accordance with
GAAP.
“ Coverage Ratio
” means, as of any date, the ratio of (i) for the four
fiscal quarter period for which the Company’s annual or
quarterly Financial Statements have been most recently required to
have been delivered pursuant to Section 6.10(a ) and
Section 6.10(b) (and after taking into account any Form
8-K of the Company that provides for the adjustment to such
Financial Statements as provided in the definition of
“Adjusted Pre-Tax Income”), the Company’s and its
Subsidiaries’ consolidated Adjusted Pre-Tax Income, plus
Aircraft Rentals, plus consolidated Net Interest Expense,
depreciation, and amortization, and minus cash dividends paid by
the Company, to (ii) consolidated Net Interest Expense and
Aircraft Rentals paid within such four-quarter period.
“ Credit Default Swap
Spread ” means, at any CDS Determination Date, the credit
default swap spread applicable to Index Debt of the Company
interpolated for a period to the Original Termination Date,
determined as of the close of business on the Business Day
immediately preceding such CDS Determination Date, as reported and
interpolated by Markit Group Limited or any successor thereto;
provided , that if such period is for less than one year,
the spread shall be that shown for one year. If at any time the
Credit Default Swap Spread is unavailable, the Company and the
Banks shall negotiate in good faith (for a period of up to thirty
days after the Credit Default Swap Spread becomes unavailable (such
thirty-day period, the “ Negotiation Period ”))
to agree on an alternative method for establishing the Applicable
Rate for Eurodollar Loans and Alternate Base Loans. The Applicable
Rate for Eurodollar Loans and Alternate Base Loans for any day
which falls during the Negotiation Period shall be based upon the
Credit Default Swap Spread determined as of the close of business
on the Business Day immediately preceding the last CDS
Determination Date falling prior to the Negotiation Period. If no
such alternative method is agreed upon during the Negotiation
Period, the Applicable Rate for Eurodollar Loans and Alternate Base
Loans for any day subsequent to the end of the Negotiation Period
shall be a rate per annum equal to the “Maximum Applicable
Rate” set forth in the definition of “Applicable
Rate” based upon the ratings by Moody’s and S&P,
respectively, applicable on such date to the Index Debt.
“ Current Financials
” means the Financial Statements of the Company and its
Subsidiaries for the fiscal year ended December 31,
2008.
“ Debt ” means,
without duplication, (a) any indebtedness for borrowed money
or incurred in connection with the acquisition or construction of
any Property, (b) any obligation under any lease of any
Property entered into after the date of this Agreement which is
required under GAAP to be capitalized on the lessee’s balance
sheet, and (c) any direct or indirect guarantee or assumption
of indebtedness or obligations described in clause (a) or (b),
including without limitation any agreement to provide funds to or
otherwise assure the ability of an obligor to repay indebtedness or
meet its obligations.
“ Debtor Relief Laws
” means the Bankruptcy Code of the United States of America
and all other applicable liquidation, conservatorship, bankruptcy,
moratorium, rearrangement, receivership, insolvency,
reorganization, fraudulent transfer or conveyance, suspension of
payments, or similar Laws from time to time in effect affecting the
Rights of creditors generally.
“ Default ” means
the occurrence of any event which with the giving of notice or the
passage of time or both would become an Event of
Default.
7
“ Defaulting Bank
” means any Bank, as determined by the Administrative Agent,
that has (a) failed, in the determination of the
Administrative Agent, which determination shall be conclusive
subject to manifest error, to fund any portion of its Loans or
participations in Letters of Credit within three Business Days of
the date required to be funded by it hereunder, (b) notified
the Company, the Administrative Agent, the Issuing Bank or any Bank
in writing that it does not intend to comply with any of its
funding obligations under this Agreement or has made a public
statement to the effect that it does not intend to comply with its
funding obligations under this Agreement or generally under
agreements in which it has committed to extend credit,
(c) failed, within three Business Days after written request
by the Administrative Agent (whether acting on its own behalf or at
the reasonable request of the Company (it being understood that the
Administrative Agent shall comply with any such reasonable
request)), to confirm that it will comply with the terms of this
Agreement relating to its obligations to fund prospective Loans and
participations in then outstanding Letters of Credit;
provided that any such Bank shall cease to be a Defaulting
Bank under this clause (c) upon receipt of such confirmation
by the Administrative Agent, (d) otherwise failed to pay over
to the Administrative Agent or any other Bank any other amount
required to be paid by it hereunder within three Business Days of
the date when due, unless the subject of a good faith dispute, or
(e) become the subject of a bankruptcy or insolvency
proceeding, or has had a receiver, conservator, trustee or
custodian appointed for it, or has a parent company that has become
the subject of a bankruptcy or insolvency proceeding, or has had a
receiver, conservator, trustee or custodian appointed for it. No
Bank shall be a Defaulting Bank solely by virtue of the ownership
or acquisition of any equity interest in such Bank or a parent
company thereof by a Governmental Authority or an instrumentality
thereof.
“ Documentation Agents
” is defined in the introduction to this
Agreement.
“ dollars ” and
the symbol “ $ ” mean the lawful currency of the
United States of America.
“ Domestic Lending
Office ” means, with respect to any Bank, the office of
such Bank specified as its “Domestic Lending Office” on
Schedule I to this Agreement or such other office of such
Bank as such Bank may from time to time specify to the Company and
the Administrative Agent.
“ Effective Date
” means the date on which the conditions set forth in
Section 4.1 are first met, which date is
September 29, 2009.
“ Eligible Affiliate
Assignee ” means, with respect to any Bank, an Affiliate
thereof that is: (i) a commercial bank organized under the
Laws of the United States, or any state thereof, and having total
assets in excess of $1,000,000,000; (ii) a commercial bank
organized under the Laws of France, Germany, the Netherlands or the
United Kingdom, or under the Laws of a political subdivision of any
such country, and having total assets in excess of $1,000,000,000;
provided that such bank is acting through a branch or agency
located in such country or the United States; or (iii) a
commercial bank organized under the Laws of any other country which
is a member of the OECD, or under the Laws of a political
subdivision of any such country, and having total assets in excess
of $1,000,000,000; provided that such bank is acting through
a branch or agency located in the United States.
“ ERISA ” means
the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended
from time to time, and the regulations promulgated
thereunder.
“ Eurocurrency
Liabilities ” is defined in Regulation D.
“ Eurodollar Interbank
Market ” means the London eurodollar interbank
market.
8
“ Eurodollar Lending
Office ” means, with respect to each Bank, the branches
or affiliates of such Bank which such Bank has designated on
Schedule I as its “Eurodollar Lending Office” or
may hereafter designate from time to time as its “Eurodollar
Lending Office” by notice to the Company and the
Administrative Agent.
“ Eurodollar Loan
” means any loan with respect to which the Company shall have
selected an interest rate based on the LIBO Rate in accordance with
the provisions of Article II .
“ Event of Default
” means any of the events described in Article VII ,
provided there has been satisfied any requirement in
connection therewith for the giving of notice, lapse of time, or
happening of any further condition, event, or act.
“ Existing Credit
Agreement ” means the Competitive Advance and Revolving
Credit Facility Agreement, dated as of April 20, 2004, as
amended, among the Company, the banks party thereto and the agents
referred to therein.
“ Federal Funds Effective
Rate ” means, for any day, the weighted average of the
rates on overnight federal funds transactions with members of the
Federal Reserve System arranged by federal funds brokers, as
published on the next succeeding Business Day by the Federal
Reserve Bank of New York, or, if such rate is not so published
for any day that is a Business Day, the average of the quotations
for the day of such transactions received by JPMorgan Chase Bank,
N.A. from three federal funds brokers of recognized standing
selected by it.
“ Financial Report
Certificate ” means a certificate substantially in the
form of Exhibit F .
“ Financial Statements
” means balance sheets, income and loss statements,
statements of stockholders’ equity, and statements of cash
flow prepared in accordance with GAAP and in comparative form to
the corresponding period of the preceding fiscal year.
“ Fixed Rate Loan
” means any Competitive Loan made by a Bank pursuant to
Section 2.2 based upon an actual percentage rate per
annum offered by such Bank, expressed as a decimal (to no more than
four decimal places), and accepted by the Company.
“ Foreign Bank ”
is defined in Section 2.19 .
“ GAAP ” means
generally accepted accounting principles of the Accounting
Principles Board of the American Institute of Certified Public
Accountants and the Financial Accounting Standards Board which are
applicable as of the date in question for the purpose of the
definition of “ Financial Statements
.”
“ Governmental
Authority ” means the government of the United States of
America, any other nation or any political subdivision thereof,
whether state or local, and any agency, authority, instrumentality,
regulatory body, court, central bank or other entity exercising
executive, legislative, judicial, taxing, regulatory or
administrative powers or functions of or pertaining to
government.
“ Index Debt ”
means senior, unsecured, non-credit enhanced debt with an original
term of longer than one year issued by the Company.
“ Index Debt Rating
” means, as of any date, the rating that has been most
recently announced by S&P and Moody’s for the Index Debt
of the Company. For purposes of the foregoing, (a) if only one
of S&P and Moody’s shall have in effect an Index Debt
Rating, the Applicable Rate shall be determined by reference to the
available rating; (b) if the Index Debt Ratings established by
S&P and Moody’s shall fall
9
within different levels, the Applicable Rate
shall be based upon the higher rating, except that if the
difference is two or more levels, the Applicable Rate shall be
based on the rating that is one level below the higher rating;
(c) if any Index Debt Rating established by S&P or
Moody’s shall be changed, such change shall be effective as
of the date on which such change is first announced publicly by the
rating agency making such change; (d) if S&P or
Moody’s shall change the basis on which ratings are
established, each reference to the rating for the Index Debt
announced by S&P or Moody’s, as the case may be, shall
refer to the then equivalent rating by S&P or Moody’s, as
the case may be; and (e) if neither S&P nor Moody’s
shall have in effect an Index Debt Rating, the Applicable Rate
shall be set in accordance with the lowest level rating and highest
percentage rate set forth in the table in the definition of “
Applicable Rate ”.
“ Interest Payment Date
” means (i) with respect to any Alternate Base Loan,
each Quarterly Payment Date, or if earlier the Termination Date or
the date of prepayment of such Loan or conversion of such Loan to a
Eurodollar Loan, (ii) with respect to any Eurodollar Loan, the
last day of the Interest Period applicable thereto and, in addition
in the case of a Eurodollar Loan with an Interest Period longer
than three months each day that would have been the Interest
Payment Date for such Loan had successive Interest Periods of three
months been applicable to such Loan, and (iii) in the case of
a Fixed Rate Loan, the last day of the Interest Period applicable
thereto and, in the case of a Fixed Rate Loan with an Interest
Period of more than 90 days, on the numerically corresponding day
which occurs during such Interest Period every three months from
the first day of such Interest Period (or, if there is no such
corresponding day in any such month, the last day of such
month).
“ Interest Period
” means:
(i) as to any Eurodollar Loan, the
period commencing on the date of such Loan and ending on the
numerically corresponding day (or if there is no corresponding day,
the last day) in the calendar month that is one, two, three or six,
or, if agreed to by all Banks, nine or twelve, months thereafter,
as the Company may elect; and
(ii) as to any Fixed Rate Loan, the
period commencing on the date of such Loan and ending on the date
specified in the Competitive Bid in which the offer to make the
Fixed Rate Loan was extended; provided , however ,
that each such period shall have a duration of not less than seven
calendar days nor more than 360 calendar days;
provided, further
, that (x) if any Interest
Period would end on a day which shall not be a Business Day, such
Interest Period shall be extended to the next succeeding Business
Day unless, with respect to Eurodollar Loans only, such next
succeeding Business Day would fall in the next calendar month, in
which case such Interest Period shall end on the next preceding
Business Day, and (y) no Interest Period may be selected that
ends later than the Termination Date. Interest shall accrue from
and including the first day of an Interest Period to but excluding
the last day of such Interest Period.
“ Issuing Bank ”
means JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., Citibank, N.A. and any other Bank
that has agreed in writing to act as an “Issuing Bank”
hereunder. Each reference herein to “the Issuing Bank”
shall be deemed to be a reference to the relevant Issuing
Bank.
“ Laws ” means
all applicable statutes, laws, treaties, ordinances, rules,
regulations, orders, writs, injunctions, decrees, judgments, or
opinions of any Tribunal.
“ L/C Commitment
” means $150,000,000.
10
“ L/C Obligations
” means at any time, an amount equal to the sum of
(a) the aggregate then undrawn and unexpired amount of the
then outstanding Letters of Credit, if any, and (b) the
aggregate amount of drawings under Letters of Credit that have not
then been reimbursed pursuant to Section 3.5
.
“ L/C Participants
” means the collective reference to all the Banks other than
the Issuing Bank.
“ Letters of Credit
” is defined in Section 3.1(a) .
“ LIBO Rate ”
means, for any Eurodollar Loan for any Interest Period therefor,
the rate appearing on the LIBOR Reuters Screen LIBOR01 page (or on
any successor or substitute page or any successor to or substitute
therefor, providing rate quotations comparable to those currently
provided on such page, as determined by the Administrative Agent
from time to time for purposes of providing quotations of interest
rates applicable to dollar deposits in the London interbank market)
at approximately 11:00 a.m., London time (or as soon thereafter as
practicable), two Business Days before the first day of such
Interest Period, as the rate for dollar deposits with a maturity
comparable to such Interest Period. In the event that such rate is
not available at such time for any reason, then the “ LIBO
Rate ” with respect to such Eurodollar Loan for such
Interest Period shall be the annual rate of interest at which
dollar deposits approximately equal in principal amount to JPMorgan
Chase Bank, N.A.’s portion of the Committed Borrowing of
which such Eurodollar Loan forms a part (or, in the case of a
Competitive Loan, a principal amount which would have been JPMorgan
Chase Bank, N.A.’s portion of the Committed Borrowing of
which such Eurodollar Loan would have formed a part had such
Competitive Borrowing been a Committed Borrowing) and with a
maturity equal to the applicable Interest Period are offered in
immediately available funds to the principal office of JPMorgan
Chase Bank, N.A. in London, England (or if JPMorgan Chase Bank,
N.A. does not at the time any such determination is to be made
maintain an office in London, England, the principal office of any
Affiliate of JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. in London, England), in the
Eurodollar Interbank Market, at approximately 11:00a.m., London
time (or as soon thereafter as practicable), two Business Days
before the first day of such Interest Period. The LIBO Rate for the
Interest Period for each Eurodollar Loan comprising part of the
same Borrowing shall be determined by the Administrative
Agent.
“ Lien ” means
any mortgage, lien, pledge, adverse claim, charge, security
interest or other encumbrance in or on, or any interest or title of
any vendor, lessor, lender or other secured party to or of any
Person under, any conditional sale or other title retention
agreement or lease with respect to, any Property or asset of such
Person. For avoidance of doubt, the filing of a Uniform Commercial
Code financing statement by a Person that is not entitled or
authorized in accordance with the applicable Uniform Commercial
Code to file such financing statement shall not, in and of itself,
constitute a Lien.
“ Litigation ”
means any action conducted, pending, or threatened by or before any
Tribunal.
“ Loan ” means a
Competitive Loan, a Committed Loan, a Eurodollar Loan, a Fixed Rate
Loan, or an Alternate Base Loan.
“ Loan Papers ”
means (i) this Agreement, certificates delivered pursuant to
this Agreement and exhibits and schedules hereto, (ii) any
notes, security documents, guaranties, and other agreements in
favor of the Agents and Banks, or any or some of them, ever
delivered in connection with this Agreement, and (iii) all
renewals, extensions, or restatements of, or amendments or
supplements to, any of the foregoing.
“ Majority Banks
” means, at any time, Banks having Revolving Credit Exposures
(excluding Competitive Loans) and unused Commitments representing
more than 50% of the sum of the total Revolving Credit Exposures
(excluding Competitive Loans) and unused Commitments at such
time;
11
provided that, for purposes of declaring the Loans to be
due and payable pursuant to Article VII, and for all purposes after
the Loans become due and payable pursuant to Article VII or
the Commitments expire or terminate, the outstanding Competitive
Loans of the Banks shall be included in their respective Revolving
Credit Exposures in determining the Majority Banks.
“ Margin ” means,
as to any Competitive Bid made by a Bank relating to a Eurodollar
Loan, the margin (expressed as a percentage rate per annum in the
form of a decimal to no more than four decimal places) to be added
to or subtracted from the LIBO Rate for any such Loan in order to
determine the interest rate acceptable to such Bank with respect to
such Eurodollar Loan.
“ Margin Stock ”
means “margin stock” within the meaning of Regulation
T, U, or X of the Board.
“ Material Adverse
Change ” or “ Material Adverse Effect
” means an act, event or circumstance which materially and
adversely affects the business, financial condition or results of
operations of the Company and its Subsidiaries on a consolidated
basis or the ability of the Company to perform its obligations
under this Agreement or any Loan Paper.
“ Material Subsidiary
” means, at any time, any Subsidiary of the Company having at
such time either (i) total assets, as of the last day of the
preceding fiscal quarter, having a net book value greater than or
equal to 10% of the total assets of the Company and all of its
Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis or (ii) Adjusted Pre-Tax
Income, as of the last day of the preceding fiscal quarter, greater
than or equal to 10% of the total Adjusted Pre-Tax Income of the
Company and all of its Subsidiaries on a consolidated
basis.
“ Moody’s ”
means Moody’s Investors Service, Inc.
“ Net Interest Expense
” means interest expense minus interest income, excluding in
either case capitalized interest, but including payments in the
nature of interest under capital leases if and to the extent
characterized as such in accordance with GAAP.
“ Note ” means a
Competitive Note or a Committed Note.
“ Notice of Committed
Borrowing ” is defined in Section 2.3
.
“ Obligation ”
means all present and future indebtedness, obligations, and
liabilities, and all renewals, extensions, and modifications
thereof, owed to the Agents and Banks, or any or some of them, by
the Company, arising pursuant to any Loan Paper, together with all
interest thereon and costs, expenses, and reasonable
attorneys’ fees incurred in the enforcement or collection
thereof.
“ OECD ” means
the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development as
constituted on the date hereof (excluding Mexico, Poland and the
Czech Republic).
“ Officer’s
Certificate ” means a certificate signed in the name of
the Company by either its Chairman, its Chief Executive Officer,
its Chief Financial Officer, its President, one of its Vice
Presidents, its Treasurer, or its Assistant Treasurer, in each case
without personal liability.
“ Original Termination
Date ” means October 5, 2012.
“ Permitted Liens
” means: (a) Liens for taxes, assessments and
governmental charges or levies which either are not yet due and
payable or are being contested in good faith by appropriate
proceedings and for which adequate reserves are established in
accordance with GAAP; (b) Liens securing judgments,
12
but only to the extent, for an amount and for a
period not resulting in an Event of Default under
Section 7.1(d ); (c) Liens arising under this
Agreement; (d) Liens constituting normal operational usage of
the affected Property, including charter, third party maintenance,
storage, leasing, pooling or interchange thereof; and
(e) Liens imposed by law such as materialmen’s,
mechanics’, carriers’, workmen’s and
repairmen’s Liens and other similar Liens arising in the
ordinary course of business securing obligations that (i) are
not overdue for a period of more than 30 days, provided that
no enforcement, collection, execution, levy or foreclosure
proceeding shall have been commenced with respect thereto, or
(ii) are being contested in good faith and for which adequate
reserves are established in accordance with GAAP.
“ Person ” means
and includes an individual, partnership, joint venture,
corporation, trust, limited liability company or other entity,
Tribunal, unincorporated organization, or government, or any
department, agency, or political subdivision thereof.
“ Plan ” means
any plan defined in Section 4021(a) of ERISA in respect of
which the Company is an “employer” or a
“substantial employer” as such terms are defined in
ERISA.
“ Pool Assets ”
means assets of the Company listed on Schedule II , to the
extent modified pursuant to Section 6.12 and shall
include only Stage 3 Equipment owned legally by the
Company.
“ Prime Rate ” is
defined in the definition of the term Alternate Base
Rate.
“ Principal Office
” of the Administrative Agent means 270 Park Avenue, New
York, New York, 10017, or such other office as the Administrative
Agent may hereafter designate from time to time as its
“Principal Office” by notice to the Company and the
Banks.
“ Property ”
means all types of real, personal, tangible, intangible, or mixed
property.
“ Quarterly Payment
Date ” means the 15th day of each March, June, September
and December of each year, the first of which shall be the first
such day after the Effective Date.
“ Register ” is
defined in Section 9.11(e) .
“ Regulation D ”
means Regulation D of the Board, as the same is from time to time
in effect, and all official rulings and interpretations thereunder
or thereof.
“ Regulatory Change
” means, with respect to any Bank, (a) any adoption or
change after the Effective Date of or in United States federal,
state or foreign laws, rules, regulations (including Regulation D)
or guidelines applying to a class of banks including such Bank,
(b) the adoption or making after the Effective Date of any
interpretations, directives or requests applying to a class of
banks including such Bank of or under any United States federal,
state or foreign laws, rules, regulations or guidelines (whether or
not having the force of law) by any Tribunal, monetary authority,
central bank, or comparable agency charged with the interpretation
or administration thereof, or (c) any change in the
interpretation or administration of any United States federal,
state or foreign laws, rules, regulations or guidelines applying to
a class of banks including such Bank by any Tribunal, monetary
authority, central bank, or comparable agency charged with the
interpretation or administration thereof.
“ Reimbursement
Obligation ” means the obligation of the Company to
reimburse the Issuing Bank pursuant to Section 3.5 for
amounts drawn under Letters of Credit.
“ Reserve Percentage
” of any Bank for the Interest Period for any Eurodollar Loan
means the reserve percentage applicable during such Interest Period
under regulations issued from time to time by
13
the Board (or if more than one such percentage
shall be so applicable, the daily average of such percentages for
those days in such Interest Period during which any such percentage
shall be so applicable) for determining the maximum reserve
requirement (including, without limitation, any marginal reserve
requirement) for such Bank with respect to liabilities or assets
consisting of or including Eurocurrency Liabilities having a term
equal to such Interest Period.
“ Revolving Credit
Exposure ” means, with respect to any Bank at any time,
the sum of the outstanding principal amount of such Bank’s
Loans and its L/C Obligations at such time. For the purposes of
this definition each Bank shall be deemed to hold a pro rata
share of the total L/C Obligations based on the percentage which
its Commitment represents of the aggregate Commitments.
“ Rights ” means
rights, remedies, powers, and privileges.
“ S&P ” means
Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, a division of
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
“ Stage 3 Airframes
” and “ Stage 3 Engines ” mean airframes
or engines, respectively, owned by the Company and, when taken
together (i.e., one airframe and two engines), qualifying as Stage
3 airplanes, as set forth in Federal Aviation Regulation
36.1(f)(6), 14 C.F.R. §36.1(f)(6) or any successor regulation,
as amended; and “ Stage 3 Engines ” also include
spare engines which are suitable for use on Stage 3 Airframes and
are being maintained according to the Company’s normal and
customary standards.
“ Stage 3 Equipment
” means Stage 3 Airframes and not less than two nor more than
four Stage 3 Engines per Stage 3 Airframe.
“ Stated Rate ”
is defined in Section 9.8 .
“ Subsidiary ” of
a Person means any entity of which an aggregate of more than 50%
(in number of votes) of the stock (or equivalent interests) is
owned of record or beneficially, directly or indirectly, by such
Person.
“ Syndication Agent
” is defined in the introduction to this
Agreement.
“ Taxes ” means
all taxes, assessments, fees, or other similar charges at any time
imposed by any Laws or Tribunal, including any interest, additions
to tax or penalties applicable thereto.
“ Termination Date
” means, at any time, the Original Termination Date or the
earlier date of termination in whole of the Total Commitment
pursuant to Section 2.6 or Section 7.2
.
“ Total Commitment
” means at any time the aggregate amount of the Banks’
Commitments, as in effect at such time.
“ Tribunal ”
means any municipal, state, commonwealth, federal, foreign,
territorial, or other court, governmental body, subdivision,
agency, department, commission, board, bureau, or
instrumentality.
“ Type ” refers
to the distinction between Committed Loans that are Alternate Base
Loans and Committed Loans that are Eurodollar Loans.
“ United States ”
and “ U.S. ” each means United States of
America.
14
“ U.S. Tax Compliance
Certificate ” is defined in Section 2.19
.
Section 1.2 Computation of
Time Periods . In this Agreement in the computation of periods
of time from a specified date to a later specified date, the word
“from” means “from and including” and the
words “to” and “until” each means “to
but excluding.”
ARTICLE II
LOANS
Section 2.1 Commitments
. Subject to the terms and conditions and relying upon the
representations and warranties herein set forth, each Bank,
severally and not jointly, agrees to make revolving credit loans to
the Company, at any time and from time to time on and after the
Effective Date and until the earlier of the Termination Date and
the termination of the Commitment of such Bank in accordance with
the terms hereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing, (a) the
aggregate principal amount at any time outstanding of all Committed
Loans of a Bank shall not exceed such Bank’s Commitment and
(b) the Total Commitment shall be deemed used from time to
time to the extent of the aggregate principal amount of the
Competitive Loans then outstanding, and such deemed use of the
Total Commitment shall be applied to the Banks ratably according to
their respective Commitments (such deemed use of the Total
Commitment being a “ Competitive Reduction ”)
and (c) the Total Commitment shall be deemed further used from
time to time to the extent of the L/C Obligations, and such deemed
use of the Total Commitment shall be applied to the Banks ratably
according to their respective Commitments, subject, however, to the
conditions that (i) at no time shall (A) the sum of
(x) the outstanding aggregate principal amount of all
Committed Loans made by all Banks, (y) the outstanding
aggregate principal amount of all Competitive Loans made by all
Banks and (z) the L/C Obligations exceed (B) the Total
Commitment, and (ii) at all times the outstanding aggregate
principal amount of all Committed Loans made by a Bank shall equal
the product of (x) the percentage which its Commitment
represents of the Total Commitment times (y) the outstanding
aggregate principal amount of all Committed Loans obligated to have
been made by all Banks.
Within the foregoing limits, the
Company may borrow, repay, prepay, and reborrow hereunder, on and
after the Effective Date and prior to the Termination Date, subject
to the terms, provisions, and limitations set forth
herein.
Section 2.2 Competitive Bid
Procedure
(a) In order to request Competitive
Bids, the Company shall hand deliver or telecopy to the
Administrative Agent a duly completed Competitive Bid Request, to
be received by the Administrative Agent (i) in the case of
Eurodollar Loans, not later than 10:00 a.m., New York City time,
four Business Days before the Borrowing Date specified for a
proposed Competitive Borrowing and (ii) in the case of Fixed
Rate Loans, not later than 10:00 a.m., New York City time, one
Business Day before the Borrowing Date specified for a proposed
Competitive Borrowing. No Alternate Base Loan shall be requested
in, or, except pursuant to Section 2.14 , made pursuant
to, a Competitive Bid Request. A Competitive Bid Request that does
not conform substantially to the format of Exhibit A-1
may be rejected at the Administrative Agent’s sole
discretion, and the Administrative Agent shall promptly notify the
Company of such rejection by telecopier. Each Competitive Bid
Request shall in each case refer to this Agreement and specify
(x) whether the Competitive Loans then being requested are to
be Eurodollar Loans or Fixed Rate Loans, (y) the Borrowing
Date of such Competitive Loans (which shall be a Business Day) and
the aggregate principal amount thereof (which shall not be less
than $10,000,000 or greater than the unused Total Commitment on
such Borrowing Date and shall be an integral multiple of
15
$1,000,000), and (z) the
Interest Period with respect thereto (which may not end after the
Termination Date). Promptly after its receipt of a Competitive Bid
Request that is not rejected as aforesaid, the Administrative Agent
shall invite by telecopier (substantially in the form set forth in
Exhibit B hereto) the Banks to bid, on the terms and
conditions of this Agreement, to make Competitive Loans pursuant to
such Competitive Bid Request.
(b) Each Bank may, in its sole
discretion, make one or more Competitive Bids to the Company
responsive to each Competitive Bid Request. Each Competitive Bid by
a Bank must be received by the Administrative Agent via telecopier,
substantially in the form of Exhibit C hereto,
(i) in the case of Eurodollar Loans, not later than 10:00
a.m., New York City time, three Business Days before the Borrowing
Date specified for a proposed Competitive Borrowing and
(ii) in the case of Fixed Rate Loans, not later than 9:30
a.m., New York City time, on the day of a proposed Competitive
Borrowing. Competitive Bids that do not conform substantially to
the format of Exhibit C may be rejected by the
Administrative Agent after conferring with, and upon the
instruction of, the Company, and the Administrative Agent shall
notify the non-conforming Bank of such rejection as soon as
practicable. Each Competitive Bid shall refer to this Agreement and
(x) specify the principal amount (which shall be in a minimum
principal amount of $5,000,000 and in an integral multiple of
$1,000,000 and which may equal the entire principal amount of the
Competitive Borrowing requested by the Company) of the Competitive
Loan the Bank is willing to make to the Company, (y) specify
the Competitive Bid Rate(s) at which the Bank is prepared to make
the Competitive Loan and (z) confirm the Interest Period with
respect thereto specified by the Company in its Competitive Bid
Request. A Competitive Bid submitted by a Bank pursuant to this
paragraph (b) shall be irrevocable.
(c) The Administrative Agent shall
promptly notify the Company by telecopier of all the Competitive
Bids made, the Competitive Bid Rate and the principal amount of
each Competitive Loan in respect of which a Competitive Bid was
made and the identity of the Bank that made each bid. The
Administrative Agent shall send a copy of all Competitive Bids to
the Company for its records as soon as practicable after completion
of the bidding process set forth in this Section 2.2
.
(d) The Company may in its sole and
absolute discretion, subject only to the provisions of this
Section 2.2(d) , accept or reject any or all of the
Competitive Bids referred to in paragraph (c) above;
provided , however , that the aggregate amount of the
Competitive Bids so accepted by the Company may not exceed the
principal amount of the Competitive Borrowing requested by the
Company. The Company shall notify the Administrative Agent by
telecopier whether and to what extent it has decided to accept or
reject any or all of the bids referred to in paragraph
(c) above, (i) in the case of Eurodollar Loans, not later
than 12:00 noon, New York City time, three Business Days before the
Borrowing Date specified for a proposed Competitive Borrowing and
(ii) in the case of Fixed Rate Loans, not later than 10:30
a.m., New York City time, on the day specified for a proposed
Competitive Borrowing; provided , however , that
(w) the failure by the Company to give such notice shall be
deemed to be a rejection of all the bids referred to in paragraph
(c) above, (x) the Company shall not accept a bid made at
a particular Competitive Bid Rate if the Company has decided to
reject a bid made at a lower Competitive Bid Rate, (y) if the
Company shall accept bids made at a particular Competitive Bid Rate
but shall be restricted by other conditions hereof from borrowing
the full principal amount of Competitive Loans in respect of which
bids at such Competitive Bid Rate have been made or shall not
require the full amount offered thereby, then the Company shall
accept a pro rata portion of each bid made at such Competitive Bid
Rate based as nearly as possible on the respective principal
amounts of Competitive Loans for which such bids were made and
(z) no bid shall be accepted for a Competitive Loan unless
such Competitive Loan is in a minimum principal amount
16
of $5,000,000 and an integral
multiple of $1,000,000. Notwithstanding the foregoing clause (z),
if it is necessary for the Company to accept a pro rata allocation
of the bids made in response to a Competitive Bid Request (whether
pursuant to the events specified in clause (y) above or
otherwise) and the available principal amount of Competitive Loans
to be allocated among the Banks is not sufficient to enable
Competitive Loans to be allocated to each Bank in a minimum
principal amount of $5,000,000 and in integral multiples of
$1,000,000, then the Company shall select the Banks to be allocated
such Competitive Loans and shall round allocations up or down to
the next higher or lower multiple of $500,000 as it shall deem
appropriate. A notice given by the Company pursuant to this
paragraph (d) shall be irrevocable.
(e) The Administrative Agent shall
promptly notify each bidding Bank whether or not its Competitive
Bid has been accepted (and if so, in what amount and at what
Competitive Bid Rate) by telecopier, and each successful bidder
will thereupon become bound, subject to the other applicable
conditions hereof, to make the Competitive Loan in respect of which
its bid has been accepted. After completing the notifications
referred to in the immediately preceding sentence, the
Administrative Agent shall notify each Bank of the aggregate
principal amount of all Competitive Bids accepted.
(f) Upon receipt from the
Administrative Agent of the LIBO Rate applicable to any Eurodollar
Loan to be made by any Bank pursuant to a Competitive Bid that has
been accepted by the Company pursuant to Section 2.2(d)
, the Administrative Agent shall notify such Bank of (i) the
applicable LIBO Rate and (ii) the sum of the applicable LIBO
Rate plus the Margin bid by such Bank.
(g) No Competitive Bid Request shall
be made within five Business Days of the date of any other
Competitive Bid Request, unless the Company and the Administrative
Agent shall mutually agree otherwise.
(h) If the Administrative Agent
shall at any time have a Commitment hereunder and shall elect to
submit a Competitive Bid in its capacity as a Bank, it shall submit
such bid directly to the Company one quarter of an hour earlier
than the latest time at which the other Banks are required to
submit their bids to the Administrative Agent pursuant to paragraph
(b) above.
(i) All notices required by this
Section 2.2 shall be made in accordance with
Section 9.2 .
Section 2.3 Committed
Borrowing Procedure . In order to effect a Committed Borrowing,
the Company shall hand deliver or telecopy to the Administrative
Agent a duly completed request for Committed Borrowing,
substantially in the form of Exhibit A-2 hereto (a “
Notice of Committed Borrowing ”), (i) in the case
of Eurodollar Loans, not later than 11:00 a.m., New York City time,
three Business Days before the Borrowing Date specified for a
proposed Committed Borrowing, and (ii) in the case of
Alternate Base Loans, not later than 11:00 a.m., New York City
time, on the Business Day which is the Borrowing Date specified for
a proposed Committed Borrowing. No Fixed Rate Loan shall be
requested or made pursuant to a Notice of Committed Borrowing. Such
notice shall be irrevocable and shall in each case refer to this
Agreement and specify (x) whether the Loans then being
requested are to be Eurodollar Loans, or Alternate Base Loans,
(y) the Borrowing Date of such Loans (which shall be a
Business Day) and the aggregate amount thereof (which shall not be
less than $10,000,000 and shall be an integral multiple of
$1,000,000) and (z) in the case of a Eurodollar Loan, the
Interest Period with respect thereto (which shall not end later
than the Termination Date). If no Interest Period with respect to
any Eurodollar Loan is specified in any such Notice of Committed
Borrowing, then the Company shall be deemed to have selected an
Interest Period of one month’s duration. Promptly,
and
17
in any event on the same day the Administrative
Agent receives a Notice of Committed Borrowing pursuant to this
Section 2.3 if such notice is received by 11:00 a.m.,
New York City time on a Business Day and otherwise on the next
succeeding Business Day, the Administrative Agent shall advise the
other Banks of such Notice of Committed Borrowing and of each
Bank’s portion of the requested Committed Borrowing by
telecopier. Each Committed Borrowing shall consist of Loans of the
same Type made on the same day and having the same Interest
Period.
Section 2.4 Refinancings;
Conversions
(a) The Company may refinance all or
any part of any Loan with a Loan of the same or a different type
made pursuant to Section 2.2 or Section 2.3
, subject to the conditions and limitations set forth herein and
elsewhere in this Agreement, including, without limitation,
refinancings of Competitive Loans with Committed Loans and
Committed Loans with Competitive Loans. Any Loan or part thereof so
refinanced shall be deemed to be repaid in accordance with
Section 2.18 with the proceeds of a new Borrowing
hereunder and the proceeds of the new Loan, to the extent they do
not exceed the principal amount of the Loan being refinanced, shall
not be paid by the Banks to the Administrative Agent or by the
Administrative Agent to the Company pursuant to
Section 2.7(c) ; provided , however ,
that (i) if the principal amount extended by a Bank in a
refinancing is greater than the principal amount extended by such
Bank in the Borrowing being refinanced, then such Bank shall pay
such difference to the Administrative Agent for distribution to the
Banks described in (ii) below, (ii) if the principal
amount extended by a Bank in the Borrowing being refinanced is
greater than the principal amount being extended by such Bank in
the refinancing, the Administrative Agent shall return the
difference to such Bank out of amounts received pursuant to
(i) above, (iii) to the extent any Bank fails to pay the
Administrative Agent amounts due from it pursuant to
(i) above, any Loan or portion thereof being refinanced shall
not be deemed repaid in accordance with Section 2.18 to
the extent of such failure and the Company shall pay such amount to
the Administrative Agent pursuant to Section 2.18 and
(iv) to the extent the Company fails to pay to the
Administrative Agent any amounts due in accordance with
Section 2.18 as a result of the failure of a Bank to
pay the Administrative Agent any amounts due as described in
(iii) above, the portion of any refinanced Loan deemed not
repaid shall be deemed to be outstanding solely to the Bank which
has failed to pay the Administrative Agent amounts due from it
pursuant to (i) above to the full extent of such Bank’s
portion of such refinanced Loan.
(b) Subject to the conditions and
limitations set forth in this Agreement, the Company shall have the
right from time to time to convert all or part of one Type of
Committed Loan into another Type of Committed Loan or to continue
all or a part of any Committed Loan that is a Eurodollar Loan from
one Interest Period to another Interest Period by giving the
Administrative Agent written notice (by means of a Notice of
Committed Borrowing) (i) in the case of Eurodollar Loans, not
later than 11:00 a.m., New York City time, three Business Days
before the date specified for such proposed conversion or
continuation, and (ii) in the case of Alternate Base Loans,
not later than 11:00 a.m., New York City time, on the Business Day
which is the date specified for such proposed conversion or
continuation. Such notice shall specify (A) the proposed date
for conversion or continuation, (B) the amount of the
Committed Loan to be converted or continued, (C) in the case
of conversions, the Type of Committed Loan to be converted into,
and (D) in the case of a continuation of or conversion into a
Eurodollar Loan, the duration of the Interest Period applicable
thereto; provided that (1) Eurodollar Loans may be
converted only on the last day of the applicable Interest Period,
(2) except for conversions to Alternate Base Loans, no
conversion shall be made while a Default or Event of Default has
occurred and is continuing and no continuations of any Eurodollar
Loan from one Interest Period to another Interest Period shall be
made while a Default or Event of Default has occurred and
is
18
continuing, unless such conversion
or continuation has been approved by Majority Banks, and
(3) each such conversion or continuation shall be in an amount
not less than $10,000,000 and shall be an integral multiple of
$1,000,000. All notices given under this Section shall be
irrevocable. If the Company shall fail to give the Administrative
Agent the notice as specified above for continuation or conversion
of a Eurodollar Loan prior to the end of the Interest Period with
respect thereto, such Eurodollar Loan shall automatically be
converted into an Alternate Base Loan on the last day of the
Interest Period for such Eurodollar Loan.
Section 2.5 Fees . The
Company agrees to pay to each Bank, through the Administrative
Agent, on each Quarterly Payment Date and on the Termination Date
in arrears, in immediately available funds, a commitment fee (a
“ Commitment Fee ”) calculated by multiplying
the Applicable Rate by the amount of the average daily Available
Revolving Commitment of such Bank during the preceding three-month
period (or shorter period commencing with the Effective Date and/or
ending with the Termination Date). All Commitment Fees shall be
computed by the Administrative Agent on the basis of the actual
number of days elapsed in a year of 360 days, and shall be
conclusive and binding for all purposes, absent manifest error. The
Commitment Fee due to each Bank shall commence to accrue on the
Effective Date and shall cease to accrue on the Termination Date
or, if earlier, the date of the termination of the Commitment of
such Bank as provided herein.
Section 2.6 Termination and
Reduction of Commitments
(a) Subject to
Section 2.12(b) , the Company may permanently
terminate, or from time to time in part permanently reduce, the
Total Commitment, in each case upon at least three Business
Days’ prior (or, in the case of a refinancing or new facility
with one or more of the Agents, on a same-day basis with) written
notice to the Administrative Agent (who shall promptly forward a
copy thereof to each Bank). Such notice shall specify the date and
the amount of the termination or reduction of the Total Commitment.
Each such partial reduction of the Total Commitment shall be in a
minimum aggregate principal amount of $10,000,000 and in an
integral multiple of $1,000,000.
(b) On the Termination Date the
Total Commitment shall be zero.
(c) Each reduction in the Total
Commitment pursuant to this Section 2.6 shall be made
ratably among the Banks in accordance with their respective
Commitments. Simultaneously with any termination of Commitments
pursuant to this Section, the Company shall pay to the
Administrative Agent for account of the Banks the Commitment Fees
on the amount of the Total Commitment so terminated, accrued
through the date of such termination.
Section 2.7
Loans
(a) Each Borrowing made by the
Company on any date shall be (i) in the case of Competitive
Loans, in an integral multiple of $1,000,000 and in a minimum
aggregate principal amount of $5,000,000 and (ii) in the case
of Committed Loans, in an integral multiple of $1,000,000 and in a
minimum aggregate principal amount of $10,000,000. Competitive
Loans shall be made by the Banks in accordance with
Section 2.2(d) , and Committed Loans shall be made by
the Banks ratably in accordance with their respective Commitments
on the Borrowing Date of the Committed Borrowing; provided ,
however , that the failure of any Bank to make any Loan
shall not in itself relieve any other Bank of its obligation to
lend hereunder.
(b) Each Competitive Loan shall be a
Eurodollar Loan or a Fixed Rate Loan, and each Committed Loan shall
be a Eurodollar Loan or an Alternate Base Loan, as the
Company
19
may request subject to and in
accordance with Section 2.2 , Section 2.3
or Section 2.4(b) , as applicable. Each Bank may at its
option make any Eurodollar Loan by causing a foreign branch or
Affiliate of such Bank to make such Loan; provided ,
however , that any exercise of such option shall not affect
the obligation of the Company to repay such Loan in accordance with
the terms of this Agreement or increase the Company’s
obligations to such Bank hereunder. Loans of more than one interest
rate option may be outstanding at the same time; provided ,
however , that the Company shall not be entitled to request
any Loan which, if made, would result in an aggregate of more than
ten separate Interest Periods being outstanding hereunder at any
one time. For purposes of the foregoing, Loans having different
Interest Periods, regardless of whether they commence on the same
date, shall be considered separate Loans.
(c) Subject to
Section 2.4 , each Bank shall make its portion of each
Competitive Borrowing and each Committed Borrowing on the proposed
Borrowing Date thereof by paying the amount required to the
Administrative Agent at the Principal Office in immediately
available funds not later than 1:00 p.m., New York City time, and
the Administrative Agent shall by 2:00 p.m., New York City time,
credit the amounts so received to the general deposit account of
the Company with the Administrative Agent or, if Loans are not made
on such date because any condition precedent to a Borrowing herein
specified shall not have been met, return the amounts so received
to the respective Banks as soon as practicable; provided ,
however , if and to the extent the Administrative Agent
fails to return any such amounts to a Bank on the Borrowing Date
for such Borrowing, the Administrative Agent shall pay interest on
such unreturned amounts, for each day from such Borrowing Date to
the date such amounts are returned to such Bank, at the Federal
Funds Effective Rate.
(d) The outstanding principal amount
of each Competitive Loan shall be due and payable on the last day
of the Interest Period applicable to such Competitive Loan, and the
outstanding principal balance of each Committed Loan shall be due
and payable on the Termination Date.
Section 2.8 Loan
Accounts
(a) The Loans made by each Bank
shall be evidenced by one or more loan accounts or records
maintained by such Bank in the ordinary course of business. Absent
manifest error, the loan accounts or records maintained by the
Administrative Agent and each Bank shall be prima facie evidence of
the amount of the Loans made by the Banks to the Company and the
interest and payments thereon. Any failure so to record or any
error in doing so shall not, however, limit or otherwise affect the
obligation of the Company hereunder to pay any amount owing with
respect to the Loans.
(b) Upon the request of any Bank
made through the Administrative Agent, the Loans made by such Bank
may be evidenced by one or more Notes, instead of or in addition to
loan accounts, and upon any such request the Company shall execute
and deliver such Notes to such Bank. Each such Bank shall, and is
hereby authorized by the Company to, endorse on the schedule
attached to the relevant Note held by such Bank (or on a
continuation of such schedule attached to each such Note and made a
part thereof) or in its records relating to such Note an
appropriate notation evidencing the date and amount of each
Competitive Loan or Committed Loan, as applicable, of such Bank,
each payment or prepayment of principal of any Competitive Loan or
Committed Loan, as applicable, and the other information provided
for on such schedule. The failure of any Bank to make such a
notation or any error therein shall not in any manner affect the
obligation of the Company to repay the Competitive Loans or
Committed Loans, as applicable, made by such Bank in accordance
with the terms of the relevant Note.
20
Section 2.9 Interest on
Loans
(a) Subject to the provisions of
Section 2.10 , each Eurodollar Loan shall bear interest
at a rate per annum (computed on the basis of the actual number of
days elapsed over a year of 360 days) equal to the LIBO Rate for
the Interest Period in effect for such Loan (A) plus
or minus , as the case may be, in the case of each
Competitive Loan, the Margin specified by a Bank with respect to
such Loan in its Competitive Bid submitted pursuant to
Section 2.2(b ) or (B) plus in the case of
each Committed Loan, the Applicable Rate. Interest on each
Eurodollar Loan shall be payable on each Interest Payment Date
applicable thereto. The applicable LIBO Rate for each Interest
Period shall be determined by the Administrative Agent, and such
determination shall be conclusive absent manifest error.
(b) Subject to the provisions of
Section 2.10 , each Alternate Base Loan shall bear
interest at the rate per annum equal to the Alternate Base Rate
plus the Applicable Rate (if the Alternate Base Rate is based on
the Prime Rate, computed on the basis of the actual number of days
elapsed over a year of 365 or 366 days, as the case may be; if the
Alternate Base Rate is based on the LIBO Rate or the Federal Funds
Effective Rate, computed on the basis of the actual number of days
elapsed over a year of 360 days). Interest on each Alternate Base
Loan shall be payable on each Interest Payment Date applicable
thereto. The applicable Alternate Base Rate shall be determined by
the Administrative Agent, and such determination shall be
conclusive absent manifest error.
(c) Subject to the provisions of
Section 2.10 , each Fixed Rate Loan shall bear interest
at a rate per annum (computed on the basis of the actual number of
days elapsed over a year of 360 days) equal to the fixed rate of
interest offered by the Bank making such Loan and accepted by the
Company pursuant to Section 2.2 . Interest on each
Fixed Rate Loan shall be payable on each Interest Payment Date
applicable thereto.
(d) The Company shall pay to the
Administrative Agent for the account of each Bank that has made a
Eurodollar Loan to the Company, so long as such Bank shall be
required under regulations of the Board to maintain reserves with
respect to liabilities or assets consisting of or including
Eurocurrency Liabilities, additional interest on the unpaid
principal amount of each such Eurodollar Loan of such Bank, from
the date of such Loan until such principal amount is paid in full,
at an interest rate per annum for such number of days during the
Interest Period for such Loan as shall be pertinent equal to the
remainder obtained by subtracting (i) the LIBO Rate for such
Interest Period from (ii) the rate obtained by dividing such
LIBO Rate referred to in clause (i) above by that percentage
equal to 100% minus the Reserve Percentage of such Bank for such
Interest Period, payable on the next Interest Payment Date
applicable to such Loan. Such additional interest shall be
determined by such Bank as, if and to the extent incurred, and
shall be payable as aforesaid upon notification thereof by such
Bank to the Company through the Administrative Agent. Each
determination by a Bank of additional interest under this
Section 2.9(d ) shall be conclusive and binding for all
purposes in the absence of manifest error.
Section 2.10 Interest on
Overdue Amounts . If the Company shall default in the payment
of the principal of or interest on any Loan or any other amount
becoming due hereunder, the Company shall on demand from time to
time pay interest, to the extent permitted by Law, on such
defaulted amount up to (but not including) the date of actual
payment (after as well as before judgment) at a rate per annum
equal to (i) in the case of the principal amount of any
Eurodollar Loan or any Competitive Loan, 2% above the rate
otherwise applicable thereto and (ii) in all other cases, the
Agreed Maximum Rate (if the Alternate Base Rate is based on the
Prime Rate, computed on the basis of the actual number of days
elapsed over a year of 365 or 366 days, as the case may be; if the
Alternate Base Rate is based on the LIBO Rate or the Federal Funds
Effective Rate, computed on the basis of the actual number of days
elapsed over a year of 360 days).
21
Section 2.11 Alternate Rate
of Interest . In the event, and on each occasion, that on the
day two Business Days prior to the commencement of any Interest
Period for a Eurodollar Loan that is a Committed Loan, the
Administrative Agent shall have determined that dollar deposits in
the amount of the requested principal amount of such Eurodollar
Loan are not generally available in the Eurodollar Interbank
Market, or that dollar deposits are not generally available in the
Eurodollar Interbank Market for the requested Interest Period, or
that the rate at which such dollar deposits are being offered will
not adequately and fairly reflect the cost to the Majority Banks of
making or maintaining such Eurodollar Loan during such Interest
Period, or that reasonable means do not exist for ascertaining the
LIBO Rate, the Administrative Agent shall, as soon as practicable
thereafter, give telecopy notice of such determination to the
Company and the Banks. In the event of any such determination, any
request by the Company for a Eurodollar Loan that is a Committed
Loan shall, until the circumstances giving rise to such notice no
longer exist, be deemed to be a request for an Alternate Base Loan.
Each determination by the Administrative Agent hereunder shall be
conclusive absent manifest error.
Section 2.12 Prepayment of
Loans
(a) Prior to the Termination Date,
the Company shall have the right at any time to prepay any
Committed Borrowing, in whole or in part, subject to the
requirements of Section 2.15 or
Section 2.16 but otherwise without premium or penalty,
upon at least five Business Days prior written notice to the
Administrative Agent; provided , however , that each
such partial prepayment shall be in an integral multiple of
$1,000,000 and in a minimum aggregate principal amount of
$5,000,000. Each notice of prepayment shall specify the prepayment
date and the aggregate principal amount of each Borrowing to be
prepaid, shall be irrevocable and shall commit the Company to
prepay such Borrowing by the amount stated therein. The Company
shall not have the right to prepay any Competitive
Borrowing.
(b) On the date of any termination
or reduction of the Total Commitment pursuant to
Section 2.6(a) , the Company shall pay or prepay so
much of the Loans as shall be necessary in order that the sum of
(x) the aggregate principal amount of the Loans outstanding
and (y) the L/C Obligations will not exceed the Total
Commitment following such termination or reduction. Subject to the
foregoing, any such payment or prepayment shall be applied to such
Borrowing or Borrowings as the Company shall select. All
prepayments under this paragraph shall be subject to
Section 2.15 and Section 2.16 .
(c) All prepayments under this
Section 2.12 shall be accompanied by accrued interest
on the principal amount being prepaid to the date of
prepayment.
Section 2.13 Reserve
Requirements; Change in Circumstances
(a) Notwithstanding any other
provision herein, if after the date of this Agreement any
Regulatory Change (i) shall change the basis of taxation of
payments to any Bank of the principal of or interest on any
Eurodollar Loan or Fixed Rate Loan made by such Bank or any other
fees or amounts payable hereunder (other than (x) Taxes
imposed on or measured by the capital, receipts or franchises of
such Bank or the overall gross or net income of such Bank by the
jurisdiction in which such Bank has its principal office or by any
political subdivision or taxing authority therein (or any Tax which
is enacted or adopted by such jurisdiction, political subdivision,
or taxing authority as a direct substitute for any such Taxes) or
(y) any Tax, assessment, or other governmental charge that
would not have been imposed but for the failure of
22
any Bank to comply with any
certification, information, documentation, or other reporting
requirement), (ii) shall impose, modify, or deem applicable
any reserve, special deposit, or similar requirement with respect
to any Eurodollar Loan against assets of, deposits with or for the
account of, or credit extended by, such Bank under this Agreement
(without duplication of any amounts paid pursuant to
Section 2.9(d) ), or (iii) with respect to any
Eurodollar Loan, shall impose on such Bank or the Eurodollar
Interbank Market any other condition affecting this Agreement or
any Eurodollar Loan made by such Bank, and the result of any of the
foregoing shall be to materially increase the actual cost to such
Bank of maintaining its Commitment or of making or maintaining any
Eurodollar Loan or Fixed Rate Loan or to materially reduce the
amount of any sum received or receivable by such Bank hereunder
(whether of principal, interest, or otherwise) in respect thereof,
then the Company shall pay to the Administrative Agent for the
account of such Bank, within ten days following delivery to the
Company of the certificate specified in paragraph (c) below by
such Bank, such additional amount or amounts as will reimburse such
Bank for such increase or reduction to such Bank to the extent
reasonably allocable to this Agreement.
(b) If any Bank shall have
determined in good faith that any Regulatory Change regarding
capital adequacy or compliance by any Bank (or its parent or any
lending office of such Bank) with any request or directive issued
subsequent to the Effective Date regarding capital adequacy
(whether or not having the force of Law) of any Tribunal, monetary
authority, central bank, or comparable agency, has or would have
the effect of reducing the rate of return on such Bank’s (or
its parent’s) capital as a consequence of its obligations
hereunder to a level below that which such Bank (or its parent)
could have achieved but for such Regulatory Change, or compliance
(taking into consideration such Bank’s policies with respect
to capital adequacy) by an amount deemed by such Bank to be
material, then from time to time, the Company shall pay to the
Administrative Agent for the account of such Bank, within ten days
following delivery to the Company of the certificate specified in
paragraph (c) below by such Bank, such additional amount or
amounts as will reimburse such Bank (or its parent) for such
reduction.
(c) Each Bank shall notify the
Company of any event occurring after the date hereof entitling such
Bank to compensation under paragraph (a) or (b) of this
Section 2.13 (together with a good faith estimate of
the amounts it would be entitled to claim in respect of such event)
as promptly as practicable, but in any event on or before the date
which is 60 days after the related Regulatory Change or other
event; provided that (i) if such Bank fails to give
such notice by such date, such Bank shall, with respect to
compensation payable pursuant to paragraph (a) or (b) of
this Section 2.13 in respect of any costs resulting
from such Regulatory Change or other event, only be entitled to
payment under paragraph (a) or (b) of this
Section 2.13 for costs incurred from and after the date
of such notice and (ii) such Bank will take such reasonable
actions, if any (including the designation of a different
Applicable Lending Office for the Loans of such Bank affected by
such event) to avoid the need for, or reduce the amount of, such
compensation so long as such actions will not, in the reasonable
opinion of such Bank, be materially disadvantageous to such Bank. A
certificate of a Bank setting forth in reasonable detail
(i) the Regulatory Change or other event giving rise to any
costs, (ii) such amount or amounts as shall be necessary to
reimburse such Bank (or participating banks or other entities
pursuant to Section 9.11 ) as specified in paragraph
(a) or (b) of this Section 2.13 , as the case
may be, and (iii) the calculation of such amount or amounts,
shall be delivered to the Company (with a copy to the
Administrative Agent) promptly after such Bank determines it is
entitled to payment under this Section 2.13 , and shall
be conclusive and binding absent manifest error. In preparing such
certificate, such Bank may employ such assumptions and allocations
of costs and expenses as it shall in good faith deem reasonable and
may use any reasonable averaging and attribution method.
23
(d) In the event any Bank shall seek
payment pursuant to this Section 2.13 or the events
contemplated under Section 2.11 or
Section 2.14 shall have occurred with respect to any
Bank, the Company may, provided no Event of Default has
occurred and is continuing, give notice to such Bank (with copies
to the Agents) that it wishes to seek one or more assignees (which
may be one or more of the Banks, but which may not be a Person who
would be entitled at such time to claim payment pursuant to this
Section 2.13 or with respect to which any of the events
contemplated under Section 2.11 or
Section 2.14 would exist at such time if such Person
were a Bank under this Agreement) to assume the Commitment of such
Bank and to purchase its outstanding Loans and Notes (if any). Each
Bank requesting payment pursuant to this Section 2.13 ,
or with respect to which any of the events contemplated under
Section 2.11 or Section 2.14 have occurred,
agrees to sell its Commitment, Loans, Notes (if any), and interest
in this Agreement and the other Loan Papers pursuant to
Section 9.11(c ) to any such assignee approved by the
Company and the Administrative Agent for an amount equal to the sum
of the outstanding unpaid principal of and accrued interest on such
Loans and Notes (if any) plus all other fees and amounts
(including, without limitation, any payment claimed by such Bank
under this Section, 2.13 and as to which such Bank has
delivered the certificate required by Section 2.13(c )
on or before the date such Commitment, Loans, and Notes (if any)
are purchased) due such Bank hereunder calculated, in each case, to
the date such Commitment, Loans, Notes (if any) and interest are
purchased, whereupon such Bank shall have no further Commitment or
other obligation to the Company hereunder or under any other Loan
Paper.
(e) Notwithstanding anything herein
to the contrary, no Bank or participant shall be entitled to any
payment under this Section 2.13 with respect to any
Competitive Loan.
(f) Without prejudice to the
survival of any other obligations of the Company hereunder, the
obligations of the Company under this Section 2.13
shall survive for one year after the termination of this Agreement
and/or the payment or assignment of any of the Loans or
Notes.
Section 2.14 Change in
Legality
(a) Notwithstanding anything to the
contrary herein contained, if any Regulatory Change shall make it
unlawful for any Bank to make or maintain any Eurodollar Loan or to
give effect to its obligations in respect of Eurodollar Loans as
contemplated hereby, then, by prompt written notice to the Company
and to the Administrative Agent, such Bank may:
(i) declare that Eurodollar Loans
will not thereafter be made by such Bank hereunder, whereupon the
Company shall be prohibited from requesting Eurodollar Loans from
such Bank hereunder unless such declaration is subsequently
withdrawn; and
(ii) if such unlawfulness shall be
effective prior to the end of any Interest Period of an outstanding
Eurodollar Loan, require that all outstanding Eurodollar Loans with
such Interest Periods made by it be converted to Alternate Base
Loans, in which event (A) all such Eurodollar Loans shall be
automatically converted to Alternate Base Loans as of the effective
date of such notice as provided in paragraph (b) below and
(B) all payments and prepayments of principal which would
otherwise have been applied to repay the converted Eurodollar Loans
shall instead be applied to repay the Alternate Base Loans
resulting from the conversion of such Eurodollar Loans.
(b) For purposes of this
Section 2.14 , a notice to the Company (with a copy to
the Administrative Agent) by any Bank pursuant to paragraph
(a) above shall be effective on the date
24
of receipt thereof by the Company.
Any Bank having furnished such a notice agrees to withdraw the same
promptly following any Regulatory Change that makes it lawful for
such Bank to make and maintain Eurodollar Loans.
(c) If, with respect to any Bank, a
condition arises or an event occurs which would, or would upon the
giving of notice, result in the payment of amounts pursuant to
Section 2.13 or permit such Bank, pursuant to this
Section 2.14 , to suspend its obligation to make
Eurodollar Loans, such Bank, promptly upon becoming aware of the
same, shall notify the Company thereof and shall take such steps as
may reasonably be available to it (including, without limitation,
changing its Applicable Lending Office) to mitigate the effects of
such condition or event, provided that such Bank shall be
under no obligation to take any step that, in its good faith
opinion, would (a) result in its incurring any additional
costs in performing its obligations hereunder and under any
outstanding Loan (unless the Company has notified such Bank of the
Company’s agreement to reimburse it for the same) or
(b) be otherwise adverse to such Bank in a material
respect.
Section 2.15 Indemnity .
The Company shall indemnify each Bank against any loss or
reasonable expense which such Bank may sustain or incur as a
consequence of (a) any failure by the Company to fulfill on
the date of any Borrowing hereunder the applicable conditions set
forth in Article IV, (b) any failure by the Company to borrow
hereunder after a Notice of Committed Borrowing pursuant to Article
II has been given or after Competitive Bids have been accepted,
(c) any payment, prepayment, or conversion of a Eurodollar
Loan or Fixed Rate Loan required by any other provision of this
Agreement or otherwise made on a date other than the last day of
the applicable Interest Period for any reason, including without
limitation the acceleration of outstanding Loans as a result of any
Event of Default or (d) any failure by the Company for any
reason (including without limitation the existence of a Default or
an Event of Default) to pay, prepay or convert a Eurodollar Loan on
the date for such payment, prepayment or conversion, specified in
the relevant notice of payment, prepayment or conversion under this
Agreement. The indemnity of the Company pursuant to the immediately
preceding sentence shall include, but not be limited to, any loss
or reasonable expense sustained or incurred or to be sustained or
incurred in liquidating or employing deposits from third parties
acquired to effect or maintain such Loan or any part thereof as a
Eurodollar Loan or Fixed Rate Loan. Such loss or reasonable expense
shall include, without limitation, an amount equal to the excess,
if any, as reasonably determined by each Bank of (i) its cost
of obtaining the funds for the Loan being paid, prepaid, or
converted or not borrowed, paid, prepaid or converted (based on the
LIBO Rate or, in the case of a Fixed Rate Loan, the fixed rate of
interest applicable thereto) for the period from the date of such
payment, prepayment, or conversion or failure to borrow, pay,
prepay or convert to the last day of the Interest Period for such
Loan (or, in the case of a failure to borrow, pay, prepay or
convert, the Interest Period for the Loan which would have
commenced on the date of such failure to borrow, pay, prepay or
convert) over (ii) the amount of interest (as reasonably
determined by such Bank) that would be realized by such Bank in
reemploying the funds so paid, prepaid, or converted or not
borrowed, paid, prepaid or converted for such period or Interest
Period, as the case may be. A certificate of each Bank setting
forth any amount or amounts and, in reasonable detail, the
computations thereof, which such Bank is entitled to receive
pursuant to this Section 2.15 shall be delivered to the
Company (with a copy to the Administrative Agent) and shall be
conclusive, if made in good faith, absent manifest error. The
Company shall pay to the Administrative Agent for the account of
each Bank the amount shown as due on any certificate within 30 days
after its receipt of the same.
Section 2.16 Pro Rata
Treatment . Except as permitted under
Section 2.9(d) , Section 2.13(c) and
Section 2.15 with respect to interest, (a) each
payment or prepayment of principal and each payment of interest
with respect to a Competitive Borrowing (at a particular
Competitive Bid Rate) or a Committed Borrowing shall be made pro
rata among the Banks in accordance with the respective
25
principal amounts of the Loans extended by each
Bank, if any, with respect to such Competitive Borrowing or
Committed Borrowing, and (b) conversions of Committed Loans to
Committed Loans of another Type, continuations of Committed Loans
that are Eurodollar Loans from one Interest Period to another
Interest Period, refinancings of Competitive Loans with Committed
Loans, and Committed Loans which are not refinancings of other
Loans shall be made pro rata among the Banks in accordance with
their respective Commitments.
Section 2.17 Sharing of
Setoffs . Each Bank agrees that if it shall through the
exercise of a right of banker’s lien, setoff, or counterclaim
against the Company (pursuant to Section 9.6 or
otherwise), including, but not limited to, a secured claim under
Section 506 of Title 11 of the United States Code or other
security or interest arising from, or in lieu of, such secured
claim, received by such Bank under any applicable Debtor Relief Law
or otherwise, obtain payment (voluntary or involuntary) in respect
of the Committed Loans held by it (other than pursuant to
Section 2.9(d) , Section 2.13 , or
Section 2.15 ) as a result of which the unpaid
principal portion of the Committed Loans held by it shall be
proportionately less than the unpaid principal portion of the
Committed Loans held by any other Bank, it shall be deemed to have
simultaneously purchased from such other Bank a participation in
the Committed Loans held by such other Bank, so that the aggregate
unpaid principal amount of the Committed Loans and participations
in Committed Loans pursuant to this Section 2.17 held
by each Bank shall be in the same proportion to the aggregate
unpaid principal amount of all Committed Loans then outstanding as
the principal amount of the Committed Loans held by it prior to
such exercise of banker’s lien, setoff, or counterclaim was
to the principal amount of all Committed Loans outstanding prior to
such exercise of banker’s lien, setoff, or counterclaim;
provided , however , that if any such purchase or
purchases or adjustments shall be made pursuant to this
Section 2.17 and the payment giving rise thereto shall
thereafter be recovered, such purchase or purchases or adjustments
shall be rescinded to the extent of such recovery and the purchase
price or prices or adjustment restored without interest. The
Company expressly consents to the foregoing arrangements and agrees
that any Bank holding a participation in a Committed Loan deemed to
have been so purchased may exercise any and all rights of
banker’s lien, setoff, or counterclaim with respect to any
and all moneys owing by the Company to such Bank as fully as if
such Bank had made a Committed Loan directly to the Company in the
amount of such participation.
Section 2.18
Payments
(a) The Company shall make each
payment hereunder and under any instrument delivered hereunder not
later than 12:00 noon (New York City time) on the day when due in
dollars to the Administrative Agent at its Principal Office for the
account of the Banks, in federal or other immediately available
funds. The Administrative Agent will promptly thereafter cause to
be distributed like funds relating to the payment of principal of
or interest on Committed Loans (other than pursuant to
Section 2.9(d) , Section 2.13 , and
Section 2.15 ) or Commitment Fees ratably to the Banks
and like funds relating to the payment of any other amount
(including, without limitation, payments of principal or interest
on Competitive Loans which are not made ratably to the Banks)
payable to any Bank to such Bank for the account of its Applicable
Lending Office, in each case to be applied in accordance with the
terms of this Agreement.
(b) Whenever any payment hereunder
or under any Note shall be stated to be due on a day other than a
Business Day, such payment shall be made on the next succeeding
Business Day, and such extension of time shall in all such cases be
included in the computation of payment of interest or Commitment
Fee, as the case may be; provided , however , if such
extension would cause payment of interest on or principal of a
Eurodollar Loan to be made in the next following calendar month,
such payment shall be made on the next preceding Business
Day.
26
(c) Unless the Administrative Agent
shall have received notice from the Company prior to the date on
which any payment is due to the Banks hereunder that the Company
will not make such payment in full, the Administrative Agent may
assume that the Company has made or will make such payment in full
to the Administrative Agent on such date and the Administrative
Agent may, in reliance upon such assumption, cause to be
distributed to each Bank on such due date an amount equal to the
amount then due such Bank. If and to the extent the Company shall
not have so made such payment in full to the Administrative Agent,
each Bank shall repay to the Administrative Agent forthwith on
demand such amount distributed to such Bank together with interest
thereon, for each day from the date such amount is distributed to
such Bank until the date such Bank repays such amount to the
Administrative Agent, at the Federal Funds Effective
Rate.
(d) (i) Except as expressly provided
in this Section 2.18 or Section 2.19 , all
payments (whether of principal, interest, fees, reimbursements, or
otherwise) by the Company under this Agreement shall be made
without setoff or counterclaim and shall be made free and clear of
and without deduction for any present or future Tax, levy, impost,
or any other charge, if any, of any nature whatsoever now or
hereafter imposed by any Tribunal. Except as otherwise provided in
this Section 2.18 or Section 2.19 , if the
making of such payments by the Company is prohibited by Law, unless
such a Tax, levy, impost, or other charge is deducted or withheld
therefrom, the Company shall pay to the Administrative Agent, on
the date of each such payment, such additional amounts (without
duplication of any other amounts required to be paid by the Company
pursuant to Section 2.13 ) as may be necessary in order
that the net amounts received by the Banks after such deduction or
withholding shall equal the amounts which would have been received
if such deduction or withholding were not required. The Company
shall confirm that all applicable Taxes, if any, imposed on this
Agreement or transactions hereunder shall have been properly and
legally paid by it to the appropriate taxing authorities by sending
official Tax receipts or notarized copies of such receipts to the
Administrative Agent within 30 days after payment of any applicable
Tax.
(ii) The Company shall indemnify the
Administrative Agent, each Bank and the Issuing Bank, within 30
days after demand therefor, for the full amount of Taxes
(including, without limitation, any Taxes imposed or asserted on or
attributable to amounts payable under this Section 2.18
and Section 2.19 ) payable by the Administrative Agent,
such Bank (or its beneficial owner) or the Issuing Bank, as the
case may be, and any reasonable expenses arising therefrom or with
respect thereto, whether or not such Taxes were correctly or
legally imposed or asserted by the relevant Tribunal. A certificate
as to the amount of such payment or liability delivered to the
Company by a Bank or the Issuing Bank (with a copy to the
Administrative Agent), or by the Administrative Agent on its own
behalf or on behalf of a Bank or the Issuing Bank, shall be
conclusive, if made in good faith, absent manifest
error.
(iii) Each Bank shall indemnify the
Administrative Agent within 10 days after demand therefor, for the
full amount of any Taxes attributable to such Bank that are payable
or paid by the Administrative Agent, and reasonable expenses
arising therefrom or with respect thereto, whether or not such
Taxes were correctly or legally imposed or asserted by the relevant
Governmental Authority. A certificate as to the amount of such
payment or liability delivered to any Bank by the Administrative
Agent shall be conclusive absent manifest error. For the avoidance
of doubt, there shall be no double recovery under this paragraph
where the indemnified party has been indemnified for the same loss
under a separate provision of the agreement.
27
The provisions of this
Section 2.18(d) shall survive the termination of this
Agreement and/or the payment or assignment of any of the Loans or
Notes.
Section 2.19 Tax Forms .
Any Bank that is entitled to an exemption from or reduction of any
applicable withholding Tax with respect to payments hereunder or
under any other Loan Papers shall deliver to the Company (with a
copy to the Administrative Agent), at the time or times requested
by the Company or the Administrative Agent or as otherwise required
by law, such properly completed and executed documentation
prescribed by Law as will permit such payments to be made without
withholding or at a reduced rate of withholding. In addition, any
Bank, if requested by the Company or the Administrative Agent,
shall deliver such other documentation prescribed by Law or
requested by the Company or the Administrative Agent as will enable
the Company or the Administrative Agent to determine whether or not
such Bank is subject to backup withholding or information reporting
requirements. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the
preceding two sentences, in the case of any withholding Tax other
than the U.S. federal withholding Tax, the completion, execution
and submission of such forms shall not be required if in the
Bank’s good faith judgment such completion, execution or
submission would subject such Bank to any material unreimbursed
cost or expense, unless indemnified by the Company in an amount
reasonably satisfactory to such Bank, or would materially prejudice
the legal or commercial position of such Bank.
Without limiting the generality of
the foregoing, any Bank organized under the Laws of a jurisdiction
outside the United States (a “ Foreign Bank ”)
shall, to the extent it is legally entitled to do so, deliver to
the Company and the Administrative Agent (in such number of copies
as shall be requested by the recipient) on or prior to the date on
which such Foreign Bank becomes a lender under this Agreement (and
from time to time thereafter upon the request of the Company or the
Administrative Agent), whichever of the following is
applicable:
(a) duly completed copies of
Internal Revenue Service Form W-8BEN claiming eligibility for
benefits of an income tax treaty to which the United States of
America is a party,
(b) duly completed copies of
Internal Revenue Service Form W-8ECI,
(c) in the case of a Foreign Bank
claiming the benefits of the exemption for portfolio interest under
section 881(c) of the Code, (x) a certificate substantially in
the Form of Exhibit I to the effect that (i) such Foreign Bank
is not (A) a “bank” within the meaning of section
881(c)(3)(A) of the Code, (B) a “10 percent
shareholder” of the Company within the meaning of section
881(c)(3)(B) of the Code, and (C) a “controlled foreign
corporation” described in section 881(c)(3)(C) of the Code,
and (ii) the interest payments in question are not effectively
connected with the United States trade or business conducted by
such Bank (a “ U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate
”) and (y) duly completed copies of Internal Revenue
Service Form W-8BEN,
(d) to the extent a Foreign Bank is
not the beneficial owner (for example, where the Foreign Bank is a
partnership or participating Bank granting a typical
participation), an Internal Revenue Service Form W-8IMY,
accompanied by a Form W-8ECI, W-8BEN, U.S. Tax Compliance
Certificate, Form W-9, and/or other certification documents from
each beneficial owner, as applicable; provided that, if the
Foreign Bank is a partnership (and not a participating Bank) and
one or more beneficial owners of such Foreign Bank are claiming the
portfolio interest exemption, such Foreign Bank may provide a U.S.
Tax Compliance Certificate on behalf of each such beneficial owner,
or
(e) any other form prescribed by Law
as a basis for claiming exemption from or a reduction in U.S.
federal withholding Tax duly completed together with such
supplementary documentation as may be prescribed by applicable law
to permit the Company to determine the withholding or deduction
required to be made.
28
Each Bank agrees that if any form or
certification previously delivered by it expires or becomes
obsolete or inaccurate in any respect, it shall update such form or
certification or promptly notify the Company and the Agent in
writing of its legal inability to do so. Notwithstanding anything
to the contrary in Section 2.18 or this
Section 2.19 , unless the Company and the
Administrative Agent have received such forms or such documents
indicating that payments hereunder are not subject to United States
withholding Tax, the Company or the Administrative Agent (after
notice from the Administrative Agent to such Bank of such
non-receipt) shall withhold Taxes from such payments at the
applicable statutory rate (or any reduced applicable Tax treaty
rate) in the case of payments to or for any Bank organized under
the Laws of a jurisdiction outside the United States;
provided that, should a Foreign Bank which is otherwise
exempt from or subject to a reduced rate of withholding Tax become
subject to Taxes because of its failure to deliver a form required
pursuant to this Section 2.19 , the Company shall take
such steps as such Foreign Bank shall reasonably request to assist
such Foreign Bank to recover such Taxes at the cost and expense of
such Bank.
The provisions of this
Section 2.19 shall survive the termination of this
Agreement and/or the payment or assignment of any of the Loans or
Notes.
Section 2.20 Calculation of
LIBO Rates . The provisions of this Agreement relating to
calculation of the LIBO Rate are included only for the purpose of
determining the rate of interest or other amounts to be paid
hereunder that are based upon such rate, it being understood that
each Bank shall be entitled to fund and maintain its funding of all
or any part of a Eurodollar Loan as it sees fit. All such
determinations hereunder, however, shall be made as if each Bank
had actually funded and maintained funding of each Eurodollar Loan
through the purchase in the Eurodollar InterBank Market of one or
more eurodollar deposits in an amount equal to the principal amount
of such Loan and having a maturity corresponding to the Interest
Period for such Loan.
Section 2.21 Booking
Loans . Subject to Section 2.19 , any Bank may
make, carry, or, transfer Loans at, to, or for the account of any
of its branch offices or the office of any Affiliate.
Section 2.22 Quotation of
Rates . It is hereby acknowledged that the Company may call the
Administrative Agent on or before the date on which notice of a
Borrowing is to be delivered by the Company in order to receive an
indication of the rate or rates then in effect, but that such
projection shall not be binding upon the Administrative Agent or
any Bank nor affect the rate of interest which thereafter is
actually in effect when the election is made.
Section 2.23 Defaulting
Banks . Notwithstanding any provision of this Agreement to the
contrary, if any Bank becomes a Defaulting Bank, the Administrative
Agent shall deliver written notice to such effect, upon the
Administrative Agent’s obtaining knowledge of such event, to
the Company and such Defaulting Bank, and the following provisions
shall apply for so long as such Bank is a Defaulting
Bank:
(a) Commitment Fees shall cease to
accrue with respect to the Commitment of such Defaulting Bank
pursuant to Section 2.5.
(b) The Commitment and Revolving
Credit Exposure of such Defaulting Bank shall not be included in
determining whether all Banks or the Majority Banks have taken or
may take any action hereunder (including any consent to any
amendment or waiver pursuant to Section 9.1), provided
that any waiver, amendment or modification requiring the consent of
all Banks or each affected Bank which affects such Defaulting Bank
differently than other affected Banks shall require the consent of
such Defaulting Bank.
29
(c) If any L/C Obligations exist at
the time a Bank becomes a Defaulting Bank, then:
(i) all or any part of such L/C
Obligations shall be reallocated among the non-Defaulting Banks
ratably in accordance with their respective Commitments but only to
the extent that (x) the sum of all non-Defaulting Banks’
Revolving Credit Exposures does not then exceed the total of all
non-Defaulting Banks’ Commitments and (y) the conditions
set forth in Section 4.4 are satisfied at such
time;
(ii) if the reallocation described
in clause (i) above cannot, or can only partially, be
effected, the Company shall within one Business Day following
notice by the Administrative Agent cash collateralize the
percentage such Defaulting Bank’s Commitment represents of
the Total Commitment of the L/C Obligations (after giving effect to
any partial reallocation pursuant to clause (i) above) in
accordance with the procedures set forth in Section 7.2 for so
long as such L/C Obligations are outstanding;
(iii) if the Company cash
collateralizes any portion of such Defaulting Bank’s L/C
Obligations pursuant to this Section 2.23(c), the Company
shall not be required to pay any fees to such Defaulting Bank
pursuant to Section 3.3 with respect to such Defaulting
Bank’s portion of the L/C Obligations during the period of
such collateralization;
(iv) if the L/C Obligations of the
non-Defaulting Banks are reallocated pursuant to this
Section 2.23(c), then the fees payable to the Banks pursuant
to Section 3.3 shall be adjusted ratably in accordance with
their respective Commitments; and
(v) if any Defaulting Bank’s
L/C Obligations are neither cash collateralized nor reallocated
pursuant to this Section 2.23(c), then, without prejudice to
any rights or remedies of the applicable Issuing Bank or any Bank
hereunder, all Commitment Fees that otherwise would have been
payable to such Defaulting Bank (solely with respect to the portion
of such Defaulting Bank’s Commitment that was utilized by
such L/C Obligations) and letter of credit fees payable under
Section 3.3 with respect to such Defaulting Bank’s L/C
Obligations shall be payable to the applicable Issuing Bank until
such L/C Obligations are cash collateralized and/or
reallocated.
(d) So long as any Bank is a
Defaulting Bank, the Issuing Bank shall not be required to issue,
amend or increase any Letter of Credit, unless it is satisfied that
the related exposure will be 100% covered by the Commitments of the
non-Defaulting Banks and/or cash collateral will be provided by the
Company in accordance with this Section 2.23(c), and
participating interests in any such newly issued or increased
Letter of Credit shall be allocated among non-Defaulting Banks in a
manner consistent with Section 2.23(c)(i) (and Defaulting
Banks shall not participate therein).
(e) Any amount payable to such
Defaulting Bank hereunder (whether on account of principal,
interest, fees or otherwise and including any amount that would
otherwise be payable to such Defaulting Bank pursuant to
Section 2.17, but excluding amounts payable pursuant to
Section 2.24) shall, in lieu of being distributed to such
Defaulting Bank, subject to any applicable requirements of law, be
applied at such time or times as may be determined by the
Administrative Agent (i) first, to the payment of any amounts
owing by such Defaulting Bank to the
30
Administrative Agent hereunder,
(ii) second, pro rata, to the payment of any amounts owing by
such Defaulting Bank to the Issuing Bank hereunder,
(iii) third, if so determined by the Administrative Agent or
requested by an Issuing Bank, held in such account as cash
collateral for future funding obligations of the Defaulting Bank in
respect of any existing or future participating interest in any
Letter of Credit, (iv) fourth, to the funding of any Loan in
respect of which such Defaulting Bank has failed to fund its
portion thereof as required by this Agreement, as determined by the
Administrative Agent, (v) fifth, if so determined by the
Administrative Agent and the Company, held in such account as cash
collateral for future funding obligations of the Defaulting Bank in
respect of any Loans under this Agreement, (vi) sixth, to the
payment of any amounts owing to the Banks or an Issuing Bank as a
result of any judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction
obtained by any Bank or such Issuing Bank against such Defaulting
Bank as a result of such Defaulting Bank’s breach of its
obligations under this Agreement, (vii) seventh, to the
payment of any amounts owing to the Company as a result of any
judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction obtained by the
Company against such Defaulting Bank as a result of such Defaulting
Bank’s breach of its obligations under this Agreement, and
(viii) eighth, to such Defaulting Bank or as otherwise
directed by a court of competent jurisdiction, provided ,
with respect to this clause (viii), that if such payment is
(x) a prepayment of the principal amount of any Loans or
reimbursement obligations in respect of any drafts paid by an
Issuing Bank under any Letters of Credit which a Defaulting Bank
has funded its participation obligations and (y) made at a
time when the conditions set forth in Section 4.4 are
satisfied, such payment shall be applied solely to prepay the Loans
of, and reimbursement obligations owed to, all non-Defaulting Banks
pro rata prior to being applied to the prepayment of any Loans, or
reimbursement obligations owed to, any Defaulting Bank.
In the event that the Administrative
Agent, the Issuing Bank and the Company each agrees that a
Defaulting Bank has adequately remedied all matters that caused
such Bank to be a Defaulting Bank or upon receipt by the
Administrative Agent of the confirmation referred to in clause
(c) of the definition of “Defaulting Bank”, as
applicable, then on such date such Bank shall purchase at par such
portion of the Loans of the other Banks (other than Competitive
Loans) as the Administrative Agent shall determine may be necessary
in order for such Bank to hold such Loans ratably in accordance
with its Commitment.
Section 2.24 Mitigation
Obligations; Replacement of Banks .
(a) If any Bank requests
compensation under Section 2.13 or 2.18(d), or if the Company
is required to pay any additional amount to any Bank or any
Governmental Authority for the account of any Bank pursuant to
Section 2.13 or 2.18(d), then such Bank shall use reasonable
efforts to designate a different lending office for funding or
booking its Loans hereunder or to assign its rights and obligations
hereunder to another of its offices, branches or affiliates, if, in
the judgment of such Bank, such designation or assignment
(i) would eliminate or reduce amounts payable pursuant to
Section 2.13 or 2.18(d) in the future and (ii) would not
subject such Bank to any unreimbursed cost or expense and would not
otherwise be disadvantageous to such Bank. The Company hereby
agrees to pay all reasonable costs and expenses incurred by any
Bank in connection with any such designation or
assignment.
(b) If any Bank requests
compensation under Section 2.13 or 2.18(d), or if the Company
is required to pay any additional amount to any Bank or any
Governmental Authority for the account of any Bank pursuant to
Section 2.13 or 2.18(d), or if any Bank becomes a Defaulting
Bank, then the Company may, at its sole expense and effort, upon
notice to such Bank and the Administrative Agent, require such Bank
to assign and delegate, without recourse (in accordance with and
subject to the restrictions contained in Section 9.10), all
its interests, rights and obligations under this Agreement (other
than any outstanding Competitive Loans held by it)
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to an assignee that shall assume
such obligations (which assignee may be another Bank, if a Bank
accepts such assignment); provided that (i) the Company shall
have received the prior written consent of the Administrative
Agent, which consent shall not unreasonably be withheld,
(ii) such Bank shall have received payment of an amount equal
to the outstanding principal of its Loans (other than Competitive
Loans) and participations in any drafts paid by an Issuing Bank
under any Letters of Credit, accrued interest thereon, accrued fees
and all other amounts payable to it hereunder, from the assignee
(to the extent of such outstanding principal and accrued interest
and fees) or the Company (in the case of all other amounts) and
(iii) in the case of any such assignment resulting from a
claim for compensation under Section 2.13 or 2.18(d) or
payments required to be made pursuant to Section 2.13 or
2.18(d), such assignment will result in a reduction in such
compensation or payments. A Bank shall not be required to make any
such assignment and delegation if, prior thereto, as a result of a
waiver by such Bank or otherwise, the circumstances entitling the
Company to require such assignment and delegation cease to
apply.
ARTICLE III
LETTERS OF CREDIT
Section 3.1 L/C
Commitment
(a) Subject to the terms and
conditions hereof, the Issuing Bank, in reliance on the agreements
of the other Banks set forth in Section 3.4(a) , agrees
to issue letters of credit (“ Letters of Credit
”) for the account of the Company on any Business Day on and
after the Effective Date and until the termination of the
Commitment of the Issuing Bank in accordance with the terms hereof,
in such form as may be approved from time to time by the Issuing
Bank; provided that the Issuing Bank shall not issue any
Letter of Credit if, after giving effect to such issuance,
(i) the L/C Obligations would exceed the L/C Commitment or
(ii) the excess of the Total Commitment over the aggregate
amount of Loans and L/C Obligations then outstanding would be less
than zero. Each Letter of Credit shall (i) be denominated in
dollars and (ii) expire no later than the earlier of
(x) the first anniversary of its date of issuance and
(y) the date that is five Business Days prior to the Original
Termination Date, provided that any Letter of Credit with a
one-year term may provide for the renewal thereof for additional
one-year periods (which shall in no event extend beyond the date
referred to in clause (y) above).
(b) The Issuing Bank shall not at
any time be obligated to issue any Letter of Credit if such
issuance would conflict with, or cause the Issuing Bank or any L/C
Participant to exceed any limits imposed by, any applicable
Laws.
Section 3.2 Procedure for
Issuance of Letter of Credit . The Company may from time to
time request that the Issuing Bank issue a Letter of Credit by
delivering to the Issuing Bank at its address for notices specified
herein an Application therefor, completed to the reasonable
satisfaction of the Issuing Bank, and such other certificates,
documents and other papers and information as the Issuing Bank may
reasonably request. Upon receipt of any Application, the Issuing
Bank will process such Application and the certificates, documents
and other papers and information delivered to it in connection
therewith in accordance with its customary procedures and shall
promptly issue the Letter of Credit requested thereby (but in no
event shall the Issuing Bank be required to issue any Letter of
Credit earlier than three Business Days after its receipt of the
Application therefor and all such other certificates, documents and
other papers and information relating thereto) by issuing the
original of such Letter of Credit to the beneficiary thereof or as
otherwise may be agreed by the Issuing Bank and the Company. The
Issuing Bank shall furnish a copy of such Letter of Credit to the
Company promptly following the
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issuance thereof. The Issuing Bank shall
promptly furnish to the Administrative Agent, which shall in turn
promptly furnish to the Banks, notice of the issuance of each
Letter of Credit (including the amount thereof).
Section 3.3 Fees and Other
Charges
(a) The Company will pay to the
Administrative Agent for the ratable benefit of the Banks on each
Quarterly Payment Date after the issuance date and on the
Termination Date a fee on all outstanding Letters of Credit at a
per annum rate equal to the Applicable Rate then in effect with
respect to Eurodollar Loans. In addition, the Company shall pay to
the Issuing Bank for its own account a fronting fee at a per annum
rate separately agreed upon between the Compan