CREDIT AGREEMENT

E XHIBIT 4.1

Published CUSIP Number: ________________

$400,000,000

C REDIT A GREEMENT

Dated as of June 30, 2009

among

T ELEPHONE AND D ATA S YSTEMS , I NC .
as the Borrower,

B ANK OF A MERICA , N.A. ,
as Administrative Agent, Swing Line Lender and L/C Issuer,

and

T HE O THER L ENDERS P ARTY H ERETO

B ANC OF A MERICA S ECURITIES LLC ,
S UN T RUST B ANK
U.S. B ANK N ATIONAL A SSOCIATION
as Co-Lead Arrangers and Joint Book Managers

S UN T RUST B ANK ,
as Syndication Agent

T ORONTO D OMINION (T EXAS ) LLC
W ELLS F ARGO B ANK , N.A.
U.S. B ANK N ATIONAL A SSOCIATION
as Co-Documentation Agents

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

$400,000,000

TELEPHONE AND DATA SYSTEMS, INC.
CREDIT AGREEMENT

This CREDIT AGREEMENT (" Agreement ") is entered into as of June 30, 2009, among TELEPHONE AND DATA SYSTEMS, INC., a Delaware corporation (the " Borrower "), each lender from time to time party hereto (collectively, the " Lenders " and individually, a " Lender "), and BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., as Administrative Agent, Swing Line Lender and L/C Issuer.

The Borrower has requested that the Lenders provide a revolving credit facility, and the Lenders are willing to do so on the terms and conditions set forth herein.

In consideration of the mutual covenants and agreements herein contained, the parties hereto covenant and agree as follows:

ARTICLE I.
DEFINITIONS AND ACCOUNTING TERMS

1.01     Defined Terms . As used in this Agreement, the following terms shall have the meanings set forth below:

" Administrative Agent " means Bank of America in its capacity as administrative agent under any of the Loan Documents, or any successor administrative agent.

" Administrative Agent's Office " means the Administrative Agent's address and, as appropriate, account as set forth on Schedule 10.02 , or such other address or account as the Administrative Agent may from time to time notify to the Borrower and the Lenders.

" Administrative Questionnaire " means an Administrative Questionnaire in substantially the form of Exhibit E-2 or any other form approved by the Administrative Agent.

" Affiliate " means, in relation to the Borrower, any of its Subsidiaries, any Person that would be considered to be an affiliate of the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries under Rule 144(a) of the Rules and Regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission, as in effect on the date hereof, if the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries were issuing securities; and, in relation to any Lender or any other Person, any Person directly or indirectly Controlling, Controlled by or under direct or indirect common Control with the Lender or such other Person.

" Aggregate Commitments " means the Commitments of all the Lenders.

" Agreement " means this Credit Agreement.

" Applicable Percentage " means with respect to any Lender at any time, the percentage (carried out to the ninth decimal place) of the Aggregate Commitments represented by such Lender's Commitment at such time provided that, in the case of Section 2.12 with respect to payments to be distributed by the Administrative Agent to Lenders, when a Defaulting Lender shall exist, “Applicable Percentage” shall mean the percentage of the Aggregate Commitment

 

CREDIT AGREEMENT – Page 1

(disregarding any Defaulting Lender’s Commitment) represented by such Lender's Commitment at such time. If the commitment of each Lender to make Loans and the obligation of the L/C Issuer to make L/C Credit Extensions have been terminated pursuant to Section 8.02 or if the Aggregate Commitments have expired, then the Applicable Percentage of each Lender shall be determined based on the Applicable Percentage of such Lender most recently in effect, giving effect to any subsequent assignments. The initial Applicable Percentage of each Lender is set forth opposite the name of such Lender on Schedule 2.01 or in the Assignment and Assumption pursuant to which such Lender becomes a party hereto, as applicable.

     " Applicable Rate " means, from time to time, the following percentages per annum, based upon the Debt Rating as set forth below:

 

In the event that the Debt Ratings of any two ratings agencies are at the same Level, pricing shall be based upon such Level, and in the event that each of the three Debt Ratings are at different Levels, pricing shall be based upon the middle rating (i.e., the highest and lowest ratings shall be disregarded); provided that , notwithstanding the preceding,

     (a)     If any rating agency shall change the basis on which ratings are established, each reference to Moody's Rating, S&P Rating or Fitch Rating shall refer to the then equivalent rating by the applicable rating agency;

     (b)     in the event that the Borrower has ratings from only two rating agencies and (i) they are split-rated by no more than one level, the Moody's Rating or the S&P Rating level will apply (and if both the Moody's Rating and the S&P Rating are the surviving ratings, then the level applicable to the higher of the two shall apply) or (ii) they are split-rated by more than one level, the level one level higher than the lowest rating will apply;

     (c)     If the Borrower has ratings from only one rating agency, then pricing will be based on the next lower Level from that rating;

     (d)     If the rating system of S&P, Moody's or Fitch shall change, or if each of such rating agencies shall cease to be in the business of rating corporate debt obligations generally, then the most recently applicable Level shall apply for the next 30 days so long

 

CREDIT AGREEMENT – Page 2

as the Borrower is negotiating in good faith to reach an amendment to the pricing provisions with the Lenders and after the expiration of such 30 day period, pricing shall be based on Level V; and

     (e)     If the Borrower has no S &P Rating, Moody's Rating or Fitch Rating, for any reason other than such agency's ceasing to be in the business of rating corporate debt obligations generally, then pricing will be based on Level V.

Initially, the Applicable Rate shall be determined based upon the Debt Rating specified in the certificate delivered pursuant to Section 4.01(a)(vii) . Thereafter, each change in the Applicable Rate resulting from a publicly announced change in the Debt Rating shall be effective, during the period commencing on the date of the public announcement thereof and ending on the date immediately preceding the effective date of the next such change.

" Approved Fund " means any Fund that is administered or managed by (a) a Lender, (b) an Affiliate of a Lender or (c) an entity or an Affiliate of an entity that administers or manages a Lender.

" Arrangers " means Banc of America Securities LLC, SunTrust Bank and U.S. Bank, National Association, in their capacity as co-lead arrangers and joint book managers.

" Assignee Group " means two or more Eligible Assignees that are Affiliates of one another or two or more Approved Funds managed by the same investment advisor.

" Assignment and Assumption " means an assignment and assumption entered into by a Lender and an assignee (with the consent of any party whose consent is required by Section 10.06(b) ), and accepted by the Administrative Agent, in substantially the form of Exhibit E-1 or any other form approved by the Administrative Agent.

" Attributable Indebtedness " means, on any date, (a) in respect of any capital lease of any Person, the capitalized amount thereof that would appear on a balance sheet of such Person prepared as of such date in accordance with GAAP, and (b) in respect of any Synthetic Lease Obligation, the capitalized amount of the remaining lease payments under the relevant lease that would appear on a balance sheet of such Person prepared as of such date in accordance with GAAP if such lease were accounted for as a capital lease.

" Audited Financial Statements " means the audited consolidated balance sheet of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008, and the related consolidated statements of operations, common stockholders' equity and cash flows for such fiscal year of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries, including the notes thereto.

" Auto-Extension Letter of Credit " has the meaning specified in Section 2.03(b)(iii) .

" Availability Period " means the period from and including the Closing Date to the earliest of (a) the Maturity Date, (b) the date of termination of the Aggregate Commitments pursuant to Section 2.06 , and (c) the date of termination of the commitment of each Lender to make Loans and of the obligation of the L/C Issuer to make L/C Credit Extensions pursuant to Section 8.02 .

 

CREDIT AGREEMENT – Page 3

" Bank of America " means Bank of America, N.A. and its successors.

" Base Rate " means for any day a fluctuating rate per annum equal to the highest of (a) the sum of 1/2 of 1% plus the Federal Funds Rate for such day, (b) the Prime Rate for such day and (c) the sum of (i) 1.00% plus (ii) the Eurodollar Rate (for an Interest Period of one month, determined in accordance with subsection (b) of the definition of Eurodollar Rate).

" Base Rate Committed Loan " means a Committed Loan that is a Base Rate Loan.

" Base Rate Loan " means a Loan that bears interest based on the Base Rate.

" Borrower " has the meaning specified in the introductory paragraph hereto.

" Borrower Materials " has the meaning specified in Section 6.02 .

" Borrowing " means a Committed Borrowing or a Swing Line Borrowing, as the context may require.

" Business Day " means any day other than a Saturday, Sunday or other day on which commercial banks are authorized to close under the Laws of, or are in fact closed in, the state where the Administrative Agent's Office is located and, if such day relates to any Eurodollar Rate Loan, means any such day on which dealings in Dollar deposits are conducted by and between banks in the London interbank eurodollar market.

" Carlson Family Group " means any and all of the following persons: (i) LeRoy T. Carlson or his spouse, Margaret Carlson; (ii) any child, grandchild, great grandchild or other lineal descendant of LeRoy T. Carlson and Margaret Carlson, including any Person with such relationship by adoption, or the spouse of any such Person; (iii) the estate of any of the Persons described in subsections (i) and (ii); (iv) any trust or similar arrangement, provided that Persons described in subsections (i), (ii), or (iii) are the beneficiaries of more than fifty percent (50%) of the beneficial interests in such trust or arrangement; (v) the voting trust which expires on June 30, 2035, as amended from time to time, or any successor to such voting trust, including the trustees of such voting trust; and (vi) any corporation, partnership, limited liability company or other entity in which Persons identified in subsections (i) through (v) own more than fifty percent (50%) of the voting interests in the election of directors or other management of such entity.

" Cash Collateralize " has the meaning specified in Section 2.03(g) .

" Cash Equivalents " means any of the following types of Investments, to the extent owned by the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries free and clear of all Liens:

(a)     readily marketable obligations issued or directly and fully guaranteed or insured by the United States of America or any agency or instrumentality thereof having maturities of not more than 360 days from the date of acquisition thereof; provided that the full faith and credit of the United States of America is pledged in support thereof;

 

CREDIT AGREEMENT – Page 4

(b)     time deposits with, or insured certificates of deposit or bankers’ acceptances of, any commercial bank that is a member of the Federal Reserve System and whose deposits are fully insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation;

(c)     commercial paper in an aggregate amount of no more than $20,000,000 per issuer outstanding at any time issued by any Person organized under the laws of any state of the United States of America and rated at least “Prime-1” (or the then equivalent grade) by Moody’s or at least “A-1” (or the then equivalent grade) by S&P, in each case with maturities of not more than 180 days from the date of acquisition thereof;

(d)     demand deposit accounts maintained in the ordinary course of business;

(e)      money market funds that (i) comply with the criteria set forth in SEC Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended from time to time, (ii) are rated "AAA" by S&P or "Aaa" by Moody’s and (iii) have portfolio assets of at least $1,000,000,000; and

(f)      Investments, classified in accordance with GAAP as current assets of the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries, in money market investment programs registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, which are administered by financial institutions that have the highest rating obtainable from either Moody’s or S&P, and the portfolios of which are limited solely to Investments of the character, quality and maturity described in clauses (a), (b) and (c) of this definition.

" Change in Law " means the occurrence, after the date of this Agreement, of any of the following: (a) the adoption or taking effect of any law, rule, regulation or treaty, (b) any change in any law, rule, regulation or treaty or in the administration, interpretation or application thereof by any Governmental Authority or (c) the making or issuance of any request, guideline or directive (whether or not having the force of law) by any Governmental Authority.

" Change of Control " means the occurrence of any of the following:

(a)     any event or series of related events (including (i) the sale or issuance (or series of sales or issuances) of Equity Interests of the Borrower by the Borrower or by any holder or holders thereof, or (ii) any merger, consolidation, recapitalization, reorganization or other transaction or arrangement) as a result of which the Carlson Family Group shall together cease to be "beneficial owners" (as defined in Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act) of voting interests in the Borrower having the voting power, by class or through a combined total voting power of all classes of Equity Interests of the Borrower, to elect at least a majority of the members of the board of directors of the Borrower;

(b)      any "Change in Control" or any other similar event under and as defined in any of the instruments governing any Indebtedness of the Borrower or of any of its Subsidiaries in an aggregate principal amount exceeding $100,000,000 shall at any time occur; or

(c)      an event or series of events by which during any period of 12 consecutive months, a majority of the members of the board of directors or other equivalent

 

CREDIT AGREEMENT – Page 5

governing body of the Borrower cease to be composed of individuals (i) who were members of that board or equivalent governing body on the first day of such period, (ii) whose election or nomination to that board or equivalent governing body was approved by individuals referred to in clause (i) above constituting at the time of such election or nomination at least a majority of that board or equivalent governing body or (iii) whose election or nomination to that board or other equivalent governing body was approved by individuals referred to in clauses (i) and (ii) above constituting at the time of such election or nomination at least a majority of that board or equivalent governing body (excluding, in the case of both clause (ii) and clause (iii), any individual whose initial nomination for, or assumption of office as, a member of that board or equivalent governing body occurs as a result of an actual or threatened solicitation of proxies or consents for the election or removal of one or more directors by any person or group other than a solicitation for the election of one or more directors by or on behalf of the board of directors).

" Closing Date " means the first date on which all the conditions precedent in Section 4.01 are satisfied or waived in accordance with Section 10.01 .

" Code " means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the rules and regulations related thereto.

" Commitment " means, as to each Lender, its obligation to (a) make Committed Loans to the Borrower pursuant to Section 2.01 , (b) purchase participations in L/C Obligations, and (c) purchase participations in Swing Line Loans, in an aggregate principal amount at any one time outstanding not to exceed the amount set forth opposite such Lender's name on Schedule 2.01 or in the Assignment and Assumption pursuant to which such Lender becomes a party hereto, as applicable, as such amount may be adjusted from time to time in accordance with this Agreement.

" Committed Borrowing " means a borrowing consisting of simultaneous Committed Loans of the same Type and, in the case of Eurodollar Rate Loans, having the same Interest Period made by each of the Lenders pursuant to Section 2.01 .

" Committed Loan " has the meaning specified in Section 2.01 .

" Committed Loan Notice " means a notice of (a) a Committed Borrowing, (b) a conversion of Committed Loans from one Type to the other, or (c) a continuation of Eurodollar Rate Loans, pursuant to Section 2.02(a) , which, if in writing, shall be substantially in the form of Exhibit A or any other form approved by the Administrative Agent.

" Compliance Certificate " means a certificate substantially in the form of Exhibit D or any other form approved by the Administrative Agent.

" Consolidated EBITDA " means, for any period, an amount equal to the sum of, without duplication, (a) Consolidated Net Income for such period, (b) to the extent received in cash during such period and not already included in the Consolidated Net Income for such period, distributions from unconsolidated entities in which the Borrower directly or indirectly owns an Equity Interest plus (c) the following to the extent each was deducted in calculating such

 

CREDIT AGREEMENT – Page 6

Consolidated Net Income: (i) Consolidated Interest Charges for such period, (ii) the provision for Federal, state, local and foreign income taxes payable by the Borrower and its Subsidiaries for such period (net of any Federal, state, local and foreign income tax credits of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries for such period), (iii) depreciation, amortization and accretion expense and all other non-cash charges deducted from Consolidated Net Income for such period which do not represent a cash item in such period and minus (d) to the extent included in calculating such Consolidated Net Income, all non-cash items increasing Consolidated Net Income for such period; provided that, notwithstanding the foregoing, in no event shall any gain realized by the Borrower or any Subsidiary as a result of the purchase of Indebtedness of the Borrower or any Subsidiary for less than the face value of such Indebtedness be included in Consolidated EBITDA; and provided further that, notwithstanding the foregoing, that (1) when and to the extent that non-cash charges described in clause (c)(iii) above become cash paid items, such amounts shall be deducted from Consolidated EBITDA and (2) when and to the extent that non-cash items described in clause (d) above become cash received items, such amounts shall be added to Consolidated EBITDA.

" Consolidated Funded Indebtedness " means, as of any date of determination, for the Borrower and its Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis and without duplication, the sum of (a) the outstanding principal amount of all obligations, whether current or long-term, for borrowed money (including Obligations hereunder) and all obligations evidenced by bonds, debentures, notes, loan agreements or other similar instruments (including, without limitation, all purchase money Indebtedness and all direct obligations arising under letters of credit (including standby and commercial), bankers' acceptances, bank guaranties, surety bonds and similar instruments), (b) all obligations incurred as the deferred purchase price of property or services (other than (i) trade payables entered into in the ordinary course of business pursuant to ordinary terms and (ii) ordinary course of business purchase price adjustments and earnouts); (c) all reimbursement and other payment obligations with respect to letters of credit, bankers’ acceptances, surety bonds and other similar documents; (d) all obligations evidenced by promissory notes, bonds, debentures or other similar instruments, including all obligations so evidenced that are incurred in connection with the acquisition of property or any business; (e) all indebtedness created under any conditional sale or other title retention agreements or sales of accounts receivable; (f) all non-recourse indebtedness of the kind described in clause (a) through clause (e) secured by Liens on property of the obligor; (g) Attributable Indebtedness in respect of capital leases and Synthetic Lease Obligations, (h) net obligations under any Swap Contract, (i) all Indebtedness of the types referred to in subsections (a) through (h) above of any partnership or joint venture (other than a joint venture that is itself a corporation or limited liability company) in which the Borrower or a Subsidiary is a general partner or party to such a joint venture (other than a limited partner in a limited partnership), unless such Indebtedness is expressly made non-recourse to the Borrower or such Subsidiary and (j) all Guarantees in respect of indebtedness of the kind described in clause (a) through clause (h) above; excluding up to $25,000,000 in the aggregate of contingent liabilities of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries which are not required by GAAP to be recorded on the balance sheet of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries. For all purposes of this Agreement, the term “Consolidated Funded Indebtedness” shall not include, with respect to the Borrower and its Subsidiaries, the contractual and other similar obligations of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries with respect to any Monetization Transactions.

 

CREDIT AGREEMENT – Page 7

" Consolidated Interest Charges " means, for any period, for the Borrower and its Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis, the aggregate amount of interest required to be paid or payable in cash by the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries during such period on all Consolidated Funded Indebtedness of the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries outstanding during all or any part of such period, whether such interest was or is required to be reflected as an item of expense or capitalized, including that portion of rent expense treated as interest in accordance with GAAP in respect of capital lease obligations (including, without duplication, the interest for rental payments made with respect to Sale and Leaseback Transactions) and expressly including (a) any commitment fee payable pursuant to Section 2.09 and (b) any other scheduled commitment fee, facility fee, utilization fee or other scheduled fee payable by the Borrower or any Subsidiary in connection with Consolidated Funded Indebtedness of the Borrower or any Subsidiary.

" Consolidated Interest Coverage Ratio " means, as of any date of determination, the ratio of (a) Consolidated EBITDA for the period of the four prior fiscal quarters ending on such date to (b) Consolidated Interest Charges for such period, provided that , notwithstanding the foregoing, for the purposes of determination of the Consolidated Interest Coverage Ratio, in no event shall any financial results of any Variable Interest Entity be included in such determination, except to the extent Consolidated Interest Charges are computed on Indebtedness of any such Variable Interest Entity which is required by subsection (i) of the definition of Consolidated Funded Indebtedness to be included therein.

" Consolidated Leverage Ratio " means, as of any date of determination, the ratio of (a) Consolidated Funded Indebtedness as of such date to (b) Consolidated EBITDA for the period of the four fiscal quarters most recently ended, provided that , notwithstanding the foregoing, for the purposes of determination of the Consolidated Leverage Ratio, in no event shall any financial results of any Variable Interest Entity be included in such determination, except to the extent Indebtedness of any such Variable Interest Entity is required by subsection (i) of the definition of Consolidated Funded Indebtedness to be included therein.

" Consolidated Net Income " means, for any period, for the Borrower and its Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis, the net income of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries (excluding extraordinary gains and extraordinary losses) for that period, determined in accordance with GAAP; provided that , notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, net income attributable to Variable Interest Entities shall be excluded from the calculation of Consolidated Net Income.

" Consolidated Total Assets " means, as at any date, all assets of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries determined on a consolidated basis in accordance with GAAP.

" Contractual Obligation " means, as to any Person, any provision of any security issued by such Person or of any material agreement, material instrument or other material undertaking to which such Person is a party or by which it or any material amount of its property is bound.

" Control " means the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management or policies of a Person, whether through the ability to exercise voting power, by contract or otherwise. " Controlling " and " Controlled " have meanings correlative thereto.

 

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" Credit Extension " means each of the following: (a) a Borrowing and (b) an L/C Credit Extension.

" Debt Rating " means, as of any date of determination, the S&P Rating, Moody's Rating or Fitch Rating (collectively, such ratings referred to as the " Debt Ratings ").

" Debtor Relief Laws " means the Bankruptcy Code of the United States, and all other liquidation, conservatorship, bankruptcy, assignment for the benefit of creditors, moratorium, rearrangement, receivership, insolvency, reorganization, or similar debtor relief Laws of the United States or other applicable jurisdictions from time to time in effect and affecting the rights of creditors generally.

" Default " means any event or condition that constitutes an Event of Default or that, with the giving of any notice, the passage of time, or both, would be an Event of Default.

" Default Rate " means (a) when used with respect to Obligations other than Letter of Credit Fees, an interest rate equal to (i) the Base Rate plus (ii) the Applicable Rate, if any, applicable to Base Rate Loans plus (iii) 2% per annum; provided , however , that with respect to a Eurodollar Rate Loan, the Default Rate shall be an interest rate equal to the interest rate (including any Applicable Rate) otherwise applicable to such Loan plus 2% per annum, and (b) when used with respect to Letter of Credit Fees, a rate equal to the Applicable Rate plus 2% per annum, in each case, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable Laws.

" Defaulting Lender " means any Lender, as determined by the Administrative Agent, that has (a) has failed to fund any portion of the Committed Loans, participations in L/C Obligations or participations in Swing Line Loans required to be funded by it hereunder within one Business Day of the date required to be funded by it hereunder, (b) notified the Borrower, the Administrative Agent, the L/C Issuer or the Swing Line Lender 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 under other agreements in which it commits to extend credit, (c) failed, within three Business Days after request by the Administrative Agent, 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 L/C Obligations and Swing Line Loans, (d) otherwise failed to pay over to the Administrative Agent or any other Lender any other amount required to be paid by it hereunder within one Business Day of the date when due, unless the subject of a good faith dispute, or (e) (i) become or is insolvent or (ii) become the subject of a bankruptcy or insolvency proceeding, or has had a receiver, conservator, trustee, administrator, assignee for the benefit of creditors or similar Person charged with reorganization or liquidation of its business or custodian, appointed for it, or has taken any action in furtherance of, or indicating its consent to, approval of or acquiescence in any such proceeding or appointment.

" Disposition " or " Dispose " means any sale, transfer, or other disposition of any property by any Person, including without limitation (a) any Sale and Leaseback Transaction and (b) any sale, assignment, transfer or other disposal, with or without recourse, of any notes or accounts receivable or any rights and claims associated therewith.

 

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" Dollar " and " $ " mean lawful money of the United States.

" Eligible Assignee " means any Person that meets the requirements to be an assignee under Section 10.06(b)(iii) , (v) and (vi) (subject to such consents, if any, as may be required under Section 10.06(b)(iii) ).

" Environmental Laws " means any and all Federal, state, local, and foreign statutes, laws, regulations, ordinances, rules, judgments, orders, decrees, permits, concessions, grants, franchises, licenses, agreements or governmental restrictions relating to pollution and the protection of the environment or the release of any materials into the environment, including those related to hazardous substances or wastes, air emissions and discharges to waste or public systems.

" Environmental Liability " means any liability, contingent or otherwise (including any liability for damages, costs of environmental remediation, fines, penalties or indemnities), of the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries directly or indirectly resulting from or based upon (a) violation of any Environmental Law, (b) the generation, use, handling, transportation, storage, treatment or disposal of any Hazardous Materials, (c) exposure to any Hazardous Materials, (d) the release or threatened release of any Hazardous Materials into the environment or (e) any contract, agreement or other consensual arrangement pursuant to which liability is assumed or imposed with respect to any of the foregoing.

" Equity Interests " means, with respect to any Person, all of the outstanding shares of capital stock of (or other ownership or profit interests in) such Person, all of the outstanding warrants, options or other rights for the purchase or acquisition from such Person of shares of capital stock of (or other ownership or profit interests in) such Person, all of the outstanding securities convertible into or exchangeable for shares of capital stock of (or other ownership or profit interests in) such Person or warrants, rights or options for the purchase or acquisition from such Person of such shares (or such other interests), and all of the other outstanding ownership or profit interests in such Person (including partnership, member or trust interests therein), whether voting or nonvoting, and whether or not the shares underlying such warrants, options, rights or other interests are outstanding on any date of determination.

" ERISA " means the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended from time to time.

" ERISA Affiliate " means any trade or business (whether or not incorporated) under common control with the Borrower within the meaning of Section 414(b) or (c) of the Code (and Sections 414(m) and (o) of the Code for purposes of provisions relating to Section 412 of the Code).

" ERISA Event " means (a) a Reportable Event with respect to a Pension Plan; (b) a withdrawal by the Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate from a Pension Plan subject to Section 4063 of ERISA during a plan year in which it was a substantial employer (as defined in Section 4001(a)(2) of ERISA) or a cessation of operations that is treated as such a withdrawal under Section 4062(e) of ERISA; (c) a complete or partial withdrawal by the Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate from a Multiemployer Plan or notification that a Multiemployer Plan is in

 

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reorganization; (d) the filing of a notice of intent to terminate, the treatment of a Plan amendment as a termination under Section 4041 or 4041A of ERISA, or the commencement of proceedings by the PBGC to terminate a Pension Plan or Multiemployer Plan; (e) an event or condition which constitutes grounds under Section 4042 of ERISA for the termination of, or the appointment of a trustee to administer, any Pension Plan or Multiemployer Plan; or (f) the imposition of any liability under Title IV of ERISA, other than for PBGC premiums due but not delinquent under Section 4007 of ERISA, upon the Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate.

" Eurodollar Rate " means:

     (a)     For any Interest Period with respect to a Eurodollar Rate Loan, the rate per annum equal to (i) the British Bankers Association LIBOR Rate, as published by Reuters (or other commercially available source providing quotations of BBA LIBOR as designated by the Administrative Agent from time to time) (" BBA LIBOR "), at approximately 11:00 a.m., London time, two Business Days prior to the commencement of such Interest Period, for Dollar deposits (for delivery on the first day of such Interest Period) with a term equivalent to such Interest Period or (ii) if such published rate is not available at such time for any reason, then the Eurodollar Rate for such Interest Period shall be the rate per annum determined by the Administrative Agent to be the rate at which deposits in Dollars for delivery on the first day of such Interest Period in same day funds in the approximate amount of the Eurodollar Rate Loan being made, continued or converted by Bank of America and with a term equivalent to such Interest Period would be offered by Bank of America's London Branch to major banks in the London interbank Eurodollar market at their request at approximately 11:00 a.m. (London time) two Business Days prior to the commencement of such Interest Period; or

     (b)     For any interest rate calculation with respect to a Base Rate Loan, the rate per annum equal to (i) BBA LIBOR, at approximately 11:00 a.m., on the date of determination (provided that if such day is not a London Business Day, the next preceding London Business Day) for Dollar deposits being delivered in the London interbank market for a term of one month commencing that day or (ii) if such published rate is not available at such time for any reason, the rate determined by the Administrative Agent to be the rate at which deposits in Dollars for delivery on the date of determination in same day funds in the approximate amount of the Base Rate Loan being made, continued or converted by Bank of America and with a term equal to one month would be offered by Bank of America's London Branch to major banks in the London interbank Eurodollar market at their request at the date and time of determination.

" Eurodollar Rate Loan " means a Committed Loan that bears interest at a rate based on the Eurodollar Rate.

" Event of Default " has the meaning specified in Section 8.01 .

" Excluded Taxes " means, with respect to the Administrative Agent, any Lender, the L/C Issuer or any other recipient of any payment to be made by or on account of any obligation of the Borrower hereunder, (a) taxes imposed on or measured by its overall net income (however

 

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denominated), and franchise taxes imposed on it (in lieu of net income taxes), by the jurisdiction (or any political subdivision thereof) under the Laws of which such recipient is organized or in which its principal office is located or, in the case of any Lender, in which its applicable Lending Office is located, (b) any branch profits taxes imposed by the United States or any similar tax imposed by any other jurisdiction in which the Borrower is located, (c) any backup withholding tax that is required by the Code to be withheld from amounts payable to a Lender that has failed to comply with subsection (A) of Section 3.01(e)(ii) , and (d) in the case of a Foreign Lender (other than an assignee pursuant to a request by the Borrower under Section 10.13 ), any United States withholding tax that (i) is required to be imposed on amounts payable to such Foreign Lender pursuant to the Laws in force at the time such Foreign Lender becomes a party hereto (or designates a new Lending Office, except to the extent that such Foreign Lender (or its assignor, if any) was entitled, at the time of designation of a new Lending Office (or assignment), to receive additional amounts from the Borrower with respect to such withholding tax pursuant to Section 3.01(a)(ii) or (iii) or (ii) is attributable to such Foreign Lender's failure or inability (other than as a result of a Change in Law) to comply with subsections (B) of Section 3.01(e)(ii) .

" Existing Credit Agreement " means that certain Amended and Restated Revolving Credit Agreement, dated as of December 9, 2004 among the Borrower, Bank of America, N.A., as agent, and a syndicate of lenders, as amended.

" Existing Letters of Credit " means the letters of credit listed and described on Schedule 2.03 .

" FCC " means The Federal Communications Commission (or any successor agency, commission, bureau, department or other political subdivision) of the United States.

" Federal Funds Rate " means, for any day, the rate per annum equal to the weighted average of the rates on overnight Federal funds transactions with members of the Federal Reserve System arranged by Federal funds brokers on such day, as published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on the Business Day next succeeding such day; provided that (a) if such day is not a Business Day, the Federal Funds Rate for such day shall be such rate on such transactions on the next preceding Business Day as so published on the next succeeding Business Day, and (b) if no such rate is so published on such next succeeding Business Day, the Federal Funds Rate for such day shall be the average rate (rounded upward, if necessary, to a whole multiple of 1/100 of 1%) charged to Bank of America on such day on such transactions as determined by the Administrative Agent.

" Fee Letter " means the letter agreement, dated May 22, 2009, among the Borrower, the Administrative Agent and Banc of America Securities LLC (the " Bank of America Fee Letter ") and any other fee letter agreement among the Borrower and any Arranger or Lender (or Affiliate of any Arranger or Lender), as applicable, and " Fee Letters " means all of such letters.

" Fitch " means Fitch Ratings, and any successor thereto.

" Fitch Rating " means, at any time, the rating issued by Fitch and then in effect with respect to the Borrower's senior unsecured long-term debt securities without third-party credit enhancement.

 

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" Foreign Lender " means any Lender that is organized under the Laws of a jurisdiction other than the United States, each State thereof and the District of Columbia (including such a Lender when acting in the capacity of the L/C Issuer).

" FRB " means the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System of the United States.

" Fund " means any Person (other than a natural person) that is (or will be) engaged in making, purchasing, holding or otherwise investing in commercial loans and similar extensions of credit in the ordinary course of its activities.

" GAAP " means generally accepted accounting principles in the United States as in effect from time to time and set forth in the opinions and pronouncements of the Accounting Principles Board and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and statements and pronouncements of the Financial Accounting Standards Board or such other principles as may be approved by a significant segment of the accounting profession in the United States, that are applicable to the circumstances as of the date of determination.

" Governmental Authority " means the government of the United States or any other nation, or of 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 (including any supra-national bodies such as the European Union or the European Central Bank).

" Guarantee " means, as to any Person without duplication, (a) any payment obligation, contingent or otherwise, of such Person guaranteeing or having the economic effect of guaranteeing any Indebtedness payable by another Person (the " primary obligor ") in any manner, whether directly or indirectly, and including any obligation of such Person, direct or indirect, (i) to purchase or pay (or advance or supply funds for the purchase or payment of) such Indebtedness, (ii) to purchase or lease property, securities or services for the purpose of assuring the obligee in respect of such Indebtedness of the payment of such Indebtedness, (iii) to maintain working capital, equity capital or any other financial statement condition or liquidity or level of income or cash flow of the primary obligor so as to enable the primary obligor to pay such Indebtedness, or (iv) entered into for the purpose of assuring in any other manner the obligee in respect of such Indebtedness of the payment thereof or to protect such obligee against loss in respect thereof (in whole or in part), or (b) any Lien on any assets of such Person securing any Indebtedness of any other Person, whether or not such Indebtedness is assumed by such Person (or any right, contingent or otherwise, of any holder of such Indebtedness to obtain any such Lien), provided that the term "Guarantee" shall not include endorsements for collection or deposit, in either case in the ordinary course of business, or customary and reasonable indemnity obligations in effect on the Closing Date or entered into in connection with any acquisition or disposition of assets permitted under this Agreement (other than such obligations with respect to Indebtedness). The amount of any Guarantee shall be deemed to be an amount equal to the stated or determinable amount of the related primary payment obligation, or portion thereof, in respect of which such Guarantee is made or, if not stated or determinable, the maximum

 

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reasonably anticipated liability in respect thereof as determined by the guaranteeing Person in good faith. The term " Guarantee " as a verb has a corresponding meaning.

" Hazardous Materials " means all explosive or radioactive substances or wastes and all hazardous or toxic substances, wastes or other pollutants, including petroleum or petroleum distillates, asbestos or asbestos-containing materials, polychlorinated biphenyls, radon gas, infectious or medical wastes and all other substances or wastes of any nature regulated pursuant to any Environmental Law.

" Impacted Lender " means a Defaulting Lender or a Lender as to which (a) the L/C Issuer or the Administrative Agent has a good faith belief that the Lender has defaulted in fulfilling its obligations under one or more other syndicated credit facilities or (b) an entity that Controls the Lender has been deemed insolvent or become subject to a bankruptcy or other similar proceeding.

" Increase Effective Date " has the meaning specified in Section 2.14(d) .

" Indebtedness " means, as to any Person at a particular time, without duplication, all of the following, whether or not included as indebtedness or liabilities in accordance with GAAP:

(a) all obligations of such Person for borrowed money and all obligations of such Person evidenced by bonds, debentures, notes, loan agreements or other similar instruments;

(b) all direct or contingent obligations of such Person arising under letters of credit (including standby and commercial), bankers' acceptances, bank guaranties, surety bonds and similar instruments;

(c) net obligations of such Person under any Swap Contract;

(d) all obligations of such Person to pay the deferred purchase price of property or services (other than (A) trade accounts payable in the ordinary course of business and, in each case, not past due for more than 120 days after the date on which such trade account payable was due (unless such trade account is the subject of a good faith dispute), and (B) any earn-out obligation until such obligation becomes a liability on the balance sheet of such Person in accordance with GAAP);

(e) indebtedness (excluding prepaid interest thereon) secured by a Lien on property owned or being purchased by such Person (including indebtedness arising under conditional sales or other title retention agreements), whether or not such indebtedness shall have been assumed by such Person or is limited in recourse;

(f) capital leases and Synthetic Lease Obligations;

(g) all obligations of such Person to purchase, redeem, retire, defease or otherwise make any payment, in each case, solely to the extent such payment is required to be made in cash, in respect of any Equity Interest in such Person or any other Person,

 

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valued, in the case of a redeemable preferred interest, at the greater of its voluntary or involuntary liquidation preference plus accrued and unpaid dividends;

(h)     all obligations of such Person (i) to pay deferred compensation to employees, (ii) with respect to purchase price adjustments on acquisitions and (iii) to return customer deposits, but only in each case to the extent that any such obligation described in subsection (i), (ii) or (iii) preceding remains unpaid for more than 120 days after the date on which such obligation was to be paid (unless such obligation is the subject of a good faith dispute), and

(i)     all Guarantees of such Person in respect of any of the foregoing.

For all purposes hereof, the Indebtedness of any Person shall include, without duplication, the Indebtedness of any partnership or joint venture (other than a joint venture that is itself a corporation or limited liability company) in which such Person is a general partner or a party to such a joint venture (other than a limited partner in a limited partnership), unless such Indebtedness is expressly made non-recourse to such Person. The amount of any net obligation under any Swap Contract on any date shall be deemed to be the Swap Termination Value thereof as of such date. The amount of any capital lease or Synthetic Lease Obligation as of any date shall be deemed to be the amount of Attributable Indebtedness in respect thereof as of such date.

" Indemnified Taxes " means Taxes other than Excluded Taxes.

" Indemnitees " has the meaning specified in Section 10.04(b) .

" Information " has the meaning specified in Section 10.07 .

" Interest Payment Date " means, (a) as to any Loan other than a Base Rate Loan, the last day of each Interest Period applicable to such Loan and the Maturity Date; provided , however , that if any Interest Period for a Eurodollar Rate Loan exceeds three months, the respective dates that fall every three months after the beginning of such Interest Period shall also be Interest Payment Dates; and (b) as to any Base Rate Loan (including a Swing Line Loan), the last Business Day of each March, June, September and December and the Maturity Date.

" Interest Period " means, as to each Eurodollar Rate Loan, the period commencing on the date such Eurodollar Rate Loan is disbursed or converted to or continued as a Eurodollar Rate Loan and ending on the date one, two, three or six months thereafter, as selected by the Borrower in its Committed Loan Notice or such other period that is twelve months or less requested by the Borrower and consented to by all the Lenders; provided that:

(i)     any Interest Period that would otherwise end on a day that is not a Business Day shall be extended to the next succeeding Business Day unless such Business Day falls in another calendar month, in which case such Interest Period shall end on the next preceding Business Day;

(ii)     any Interest Period that begins on the last Business Day of a calendar month (or on a day for which there is no numerically corresponding day in the calendar

 

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month at the end of such Interest Period) shall end on the last Business Day of the calendar month at the end of such Interest Period; and

(iii)     no Interest Period shall extend beyond the Maturity Date.

" Investment " means, as to any Person, any direct or indirect acquisition or investment by such Person, whether by means of (a) the purchase or other acquisition of Equity Interests, debt or other securities of another Person, (b) a loan, advance or capital contribution to, Guarantee or assumption of Indebtedness of, or purchase or other acquisition of any other debt or equity participation or interest in, another Person, including any partnership or joint venture interest in such other Person and any arrangement pursuant to which the investor Guarantees Indebtedness of such other Person, or (c) the purchase or other acquisition (in one transaction or a series of transactions) of assets of another Person that constitute a business unit. For purposes of covenant compliance, the amount of any Investment shall be the amount actually invested, without adjustment for subsequent increases or decreases in the value of such Investment.

" IRS " means the United States Internal Revenue Service.

" ISP " means, with respect to any Letter of Credit, the "International Standby Practices 1998" published by the Institute of International Banking Law & Practice, Inc. (or such later version thereof as may be in effect at the time of issuance).

" Issuer Documents " means with respect to any Letter of Credit, the Letter of Credit Application, and any other document, agreement and instrument entered into by the L/C Issuer and the Borrower (or any Subsidiary) or in favor of the L/C Issuer and relating to such Letter of Credit.

" Joinder Agreement " means a Joinder Agreement to be executed by any new Lender in connection with an increase in commitments in accordance with Section 2.14 , in each case substantially in the form of Exhibit G or any other form approved by the Administrative Agent.

" Laws " means, collectively, all international, foreign, Federal, state and local statutes, treaties, rules, guidelines, regulations, ordinances, codes and administrative or judicial precedents or authorities, including the interpretation or administration thereof by any Governmental Authority charged with the enforcement, interpretation or administration thereof, and all applicable administrative orders, directed duties, requests, licenses, authorizations and permits of, and agreements with, any Governmental Authority, in each case whether or not having the force of law.

" L/C Advance " means, with respect to each Lender, such Lender's funding of its participation in any L/C Borrowing in accordance with its Applicable Percentage.

" L/C Borrowing " means an extension of credit resulting from a drawing under any Letter of Credit which has not been reimbursed on the date when made or refinanced as a Committed Borrowing.

" L/C Credit Extension " means, with respect to any Letter of Credit, the issuance thereof or extension of the expiry date thereof, or the increase of the amount thereof.

 

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" L/C Issuer " means Bank of America in its capacity as issuer of Letters of Credit hereunder, or any successor issuer of Letters of Credit hereunder.

" L/C Obligations " means, as at any date of determination, the aggregate amount available to be drawn under all outstanding Letters of Credit plus the aggregate of all Unreimbursed Amounts, including all L/C Borrowings. For purposes of computing the amount available to be drawn under any Letter of Credit, the amount of such Letter of Credit shall be determined in accordance with Section 1.06 . For all purposes of this Agreement, if on any date of determination a Letter of Credit has expired by its terms but any amount may still be drawn thereunder by reason of the operation of Rule 3.14 of the ISP, such Letter of Credit shall be deemed to be "outstanding" in the amount so remaining available to be drawn.

" Lender " has the meaning specified in the introductory paragraph hereto and, as the context requires, includes the Swing Line Lender.

" Lending Office " means, as to any Lender, the office or offices of such Lender described as such in such Lender's Administrative Questionnaire, or such other office or offices as a Lender may from time to time notify the Borrower and the Administrative Agent.

" Letter of Credit " means any standby letter of credit issued hereunder and shall include the Existing Letters of Credit.

" Letter of Credit Application " means an application and agreement for the issuance or amendment of a Letter of Credit in the form from time to time in use by the L/C Issuer.

" Letter of Credit Expiration Date " means the day that is seven days prior to the Maturity Date then in effect (or, if such day is not a Business Day, the next preceding Business Day).

" Letter of Credit Fee " has the meaning specified in Section 2.03(i) .

" Letter of Credit Sublimit " means an amount equal to $20,000,000. The Letter of Credit Sublimit is part of, and not in addition to, the Aggregate Commitments.

" Lien " means any mortgage, pledge, hypothecation, assignment, deposit arrangement, encumbrance, lien (statutory or other), charge, or preference, priority or other security interest or preferential arrangement in the nature of a security interest of any kind or nature whatsoever (including any conditional sale or other title retention agreement, any easement, right of way or other encumbrance on title to real property, and any financing lease having substantially the same economic effect as any of the foregoing).

" Loan " means an extension of credit by a Lender to the Borrower under Article II in the form of a Committed Loan or a Swing Line Loan.

" Loan Documents " means this Agreement, each Note, each Issuer Document, and the Fee Letters.

" Material Adverse Effect " means (a) a material adverse change in, or a material adverse effect upon, the financial condition or business of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries taken as a

 

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whole; or (b) a material impairment of the rights and remedies of the Administrative Agent or any Lender under any Loan Document; or (c) a material impairment of the ability of the Borrower to perform its obligations under any Loan Document to which it is a party; or (d) a material adverse effect upon the legality, validity, binding effect or enforceability against the Borrower of any Loan Document to which it is a party.

" Material Subsidiary " means any Subsidiary that is directly or indirectly owned by the Borrower and whose total assets constitute at least 1% of Consolidated Total Assets or whose gross revenues determined in accordance with GAAP constitute at least 1% of the consolidated gross revenues of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries calculated in accordance with GAAP, and "Material Subsidiaries" means collectively each Material Subsidiary.

" Maturity Date " means June 29, 2012, provided , however , that, if such date is not a Business Day, the Maturity Date shall be the next preceding Business Day.

" Moody's " means Moody's Investors Service, Inc. and any successor thereto.

" Moody's Rating " means, at any time, the rating issued by Moody's and then in effect with respect to the Borrower's senior unsecured long-term debt securities without third-party credit enhancement.

" Monetization Transaction " means, with respect to any Specified Equity Interests owned by the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries, any transaction, agreement, device or arrangement (A) which results in the Borrower or any Subsidiary receiving payments on account of entering into contractual or other similar obligations and granting rights in, to or with respect to such Specified Equity Interests, or (B) by which the Borrower or any Subsidiary hedges against price fluctuation with respect to such Specified Equity Interests.

" Multiemployer Plan " means any employee benefit plan of the type described in Section 4001(a)(3) of ERISA, to which the Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate makes or is obligated to make contributions, or during the preceding five plan years, has made or been obligated to make contributions.

" Net Proceeds " means with respect to each Disposition by the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries under Section 7.05(g) , the excess, if any, of (a) the sum of cash and all other assets received in connection with such Disposition (including without limitation, any cash, cash equivalents, notes, and all other assets received, including by way of deferred payment pursuant to, or by monetization of, a note receivable or otherwise) over (b) the sum of (i) the principal amount of any Indebtedness that is secured by the applicable asset (so long as such security interest was not granted in anticipation of the Disposition of such asset) and that is required to be repaid in connection with such transaction (other than Indebtedness under the Loan Documents), (ii) the reasonable and customary out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the Borrower or such Subsidiary in connection with such transaction (including reasonable brokers' fees or commissions, legal, accounting and other professional and transactional fees) and (iii) income taxes reasonably estimated to be actually payable within two years of the date of the relevant transaction as a result of any gain recognized in connection therewith; provided that, if the amount of any estimated taxes pursuant to subsection (iii) exceeds the amount of taxes actually

 

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required to be paid in cash in respect of such Disposition, the aggregate amount of such excess shall constitute Net Proceeds.

" Non-Extension Notice Date " has the meaning specified in Section 2.03(b)(iii) .

" Note " means a promissory note made by the Borrower in favor of a Lender evidencing Loans made by such Lender, substantially in the form of Exhibit C .

" Obligations " means all advances to, and debts, liabilities, obligations, covenants and duties of the Borrower arising under any Loan Document or otherwise with respect to any Loan or Letter of Credit, whether direct or indirect (including those acquired by assumption), absolute or contingent, due or to become due, now existing or hereafter arising and including interest and fees that accrue after the commencement by or against the Borrower of any proceeding under any Debtor Relief Laws naming the Borrower as the debtor in such proceeding, regardless of whether such interest and fees are allowed claims in such proceeding.

" Ordinary Capital Expenditures " means, with respect to any Special Entity or Subsidiary, capital expenditures incurred in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practices that are either related to maintenance or are ordinary course acquisitions that are identified with an existing and ongoing project of such Special Entity or Subsidiary.

" Organization Documents " means, (a) with respect to any corporation, the certificate or articles of incorporation and the bylaws (or equivalent or comparable constitutive documents with respect to any non-U.S. jurisdiction); (b) with respect to any limited liability company, the certificate or articles of formation or organization and operating agreement; and (c) with respect to any partnership, joint venture, trust or other form of business entity, the partnership, joint venture or other applicable agreement of formation or organization and any agreement, instrument, filing or notice with respect thereto filed in connection with its formation or organization with the applicable Governmental Authority in the jurisdiction of its formation or organization and, if applicable, any certificate or articles of formation or organization of such entity.

" Other Taxes " means all present or future stamp or documentary taxes or any other excise or property taxes, charges or similar levies arising from any payment made hereunder or under any other Loan Document or from the execution, delivery or enforcement of, or otherwise with respect to, this Agreement or any other Loan Document.

" Outstanding Amount " means (i) with respect to Committed Loans and Swing Line Loans on any date, the aggregate outstanding principal amount thereof after giving effect to any borrowings and prepayments or repayments of Committed Loans and Swing Line Loans, as the case may be, occurring on such date; and (ii) with respect to any L/C Obligations on any date, the amount of such L/C Obligations on such date after giving effect to any L/C Credit Extension occurring on such date and any other changes in the aggregate amount of the L/C Obligations as of such date, including as a result of any reimbursements by the Borrower of Unreimbursed Amounts.

" Participant " has the meaning specified in Section 10.06(d) .

 

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" PBGC " means the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

" Pension Plan " means any "employee pension benefit plan" (as such term is defined in Section 3(2) of ERISA), other than a Multiemployer Plan, that is subject to Title IV of ERISA and is sponsored or maintained by the Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate or to which the Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate contributes or has an obligation to contribute, or in the case of a multiple employer or other plan described in Section 4064(a) of ERISA, has made contributions at any time during the immediately preceding five plan years.

" Person " means any natural person, corporation, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, association, company, partnership, Governmental Authority or other entity.

" Plan " means any "employee benefit plan" (as such term is defined in Section 3(3) of ERISA) established by the Borrower or, with respect to any such plan that is subject to Section 412 of the Code or Title IV of ERISA, any ERISA Affiliate.

" Platform " has the meaning specified in Section 6.02 .

" Prime Rate " means the rate of interest in effect for such day as publicly announced from time to time by Bank of America as its "prime rate." The "prime rate" is a rate set by Bank of America based upon various factors including Bank of America's costs and desired return, general economic conditions and other factors, and is used as a reference point for pricing some loans, which may be priced at, above, or below such announced rate. Any change in such rate announced by Bank of America shall take effect at the opening of business on the day specified in the public announcement of such change.

" Public Lender " has the meaning specified in Section 6.02 .

" Register " has the meaning specified in Section 10.06(c) .

" Related Parties " means, with respect to any Person, such Person's Affiliates and the partners, directors, officers, employees, agents, trustees and advisors of such Person and of such Person's Affiliates.

" Reportable Event " means any of the events set forth in Section 4043(c) of ERISA, other than events for which the 30 day notice period has been waived.

" Request for Credit Extension " means (a) with respect to a Borrowing, conversion or continuation of Committed Loans, a Committed Loan Notice, (b) with respect to an L/C Credit Extension, a Letter of Credit Application, and (c) with respect to a Swing Line Loan, a Swing Line Loan Notice.

" Required Lenders " means, as of any date of determination, Lenders having more than 50% of the Aggregate Commitments or, if the commitment of each Lender to make Loans and the obligation of the L/C Issuer to make L/C Credit Extensions have been terminated pursuant to Section 8.02 , Lenders holding in the aggregate more than 50% of the Total Outstandings (with the aggregate amount of each Lender's risk participation and funded participation in L/C Obligations and Swing Line Loans being deemed "held" by such Lender for purposes of this

 

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definition); provided that the Commitment of, and the portion of the Total Outstandings held or deemed held by, any Defaulting Lender shall be excluded for purposes of making a determination of Required Lenders.

" Responsible Officer " means the President and Chief Executive Officer, Chairman Emeritus, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Senior Vice President and Controller, Vice President and Treasurer, or Vice President- Corporate Finance of the Borrower and, solely for purposes of notices given pursuant to Article II, any other officer of the Borrower so designated by any two of the foregoing officers in a notice to the Administrative Agent. Any document delivered hereunder that is signed by a Responsible Officer of the Borrower shall be conclusively presumed to have been authorized by all necessary corporate, partnership and/or other action on the part of the Borrower and such Responsible Officer shall be conclusively presumed to have acted on behalf of the Borrower.

" Restricted Payment " means any dividend or other distribution (whether in cash, securities or other property) with respect to any Equity Interest of the Borrower or any Subsidiary, or any payment (whether in cash, securities or other property), including any sinking fund or similar deposit, on account of the purchase, redemption, retirement, acquisition, cancellation or termination of any Equity Interest, or on account of any return of capital to the Borrower's stockholders, partners or members (or the equivalent Person thereof).

" Sale and Leaseback Transaction " means any arrangement with any Person providing for the leasing (as lessee) by the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries of any property (the primary purpose of the transaction of which such lease is a part is not to provide funds to or financing for the Borrower or any Subsidiary), which property has been or is to be sold or transferred by the Borrower or any Subsidiary to a Subsidiary or any other Person in contemplation of or in connection with such arrangement.

" S&P " means Standard and Poor's Rating Services, a division of The McGraw Hill Companies, Inc., and any successor thereto.

" S&P Rating " means, at any time, the rating issued by S&P, and then in effect with respect to the Borrower's senior unsecured long-term debt securities without third-party credit enhancement.

" SEC " means the Securities and Exchange Commission, or any Governmental Authority succeeding to any of its principal functions.

" Special Entity " means a Person (other than a Subsidiary) (a) listed on Schedule 1.01 and in existence on the Closing Date or (b) created after the Closing Date and with respect to which (i) the Borrower or any Subsidiary has made an equity Investment and directly or indirectly owns a minority interest, or any Special Entity has made an Investment and directly or indirectly owns an interest and (ii) the Borrower has delivered prior written notice to the Administrative Agent of the creation of such Special Entity and its designation as a Special Entity.

" Specified Equity Interests " means Equity Interests owned by the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries in any Person or Persons that (i) are not directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, Controlled by the Borrower or by any of its Subsidiaries and (ii) are either

 

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disclosed on Schedule 5.13 , or acquired by the Borrower after the Closing Date in connection with an acquisition expressly permitted under Section 7.02 or a divestiture expressly permitted under Section 7.05 .

" Subsidiary " of a Person means a corporation, partnership, joint venture, limited liability company or other business entity of which a majority of the shares of securities or other interests having ordinary voting power for the election of directors or other governing body (other than securities or interests having such power only by reason of the happening of a contingency) are at the time beneficially owned, or the management of which is otherwise Controlled, directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, or both, by such Person. Unless otherwise specified, all references herein to a "Subsidiary" or to "Subsidiaries" shall refer to a Subsidiary or Subsidiaries of the Borrower. For the avoidance of doubt, no Variable Interest Entity shall be considered a "Subsidiary" hereunder for any purpose other than solely as contemplated by Section 1.03(c) .

" Swap Contract " means (a) any and all rate swap transactions, basis swaps, credit derivative transactions, forward rate transactions, commodity swaps, commodity options, forward commodity contracts, equity or equity index swaps or options, bond or bond price or bond index swaps or options or forward bond or forward bond price or forward bond index transactions, interest rate options, forward foreign exchange transactions, cap transactions, floor transactions, collar transactions, currency swap transactions, cross-currency rate swap transactions, currency options, spot contracts, or any other similar transactions or any combination of any of the foregoing (including any options to enter into any of the foregoing), whether or not any such transaction is governed by or subject to any master agreement, and (b) any and all transactions of any kind, and the related confirmations, which are subject to the terms and conditions of, or governed by, any form of master agreement published by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc., any International Foreign Exchange Master Agreement, or any other master agreement (any such master agreement, together with any related schedules, a " Master Agreement "), including any such obligations or liabilities under any Master Agreement.

" Swap Termination Value " means, in respect of any one or more Swap Contracts, after taking into account the effect of any legally enforceable netting agreement relating to such Swap Contracts, (a) for any date on or after the date such Swap Contracts have been closed out and termination value(s) determined in accordance therewith, such termination value(s), and (b) for any date prior to the date referenced in subsection (a), the amount(s) determined as the mark-to-market value(s) for such Swap Contracts, as determined based upon one or more mid-market or other readily available quotations provided by any recognized dealer in such Swap Contracts (which may include a Lender or any Affiliate of a Lender).

" Swing Line Borrowing " means a borrowing of a Swing Line Loan pursuant to Section 2.04 .

" Swing Line Lender " means Bank of America in its capacity as provider of Swing Line Loans, or any successor swing line lender hereunder.

" Swing Line Loan " has the meaning specified in Section 2.04(a) .

 

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" Swing Line Loan Notice " means a notice of a Swing Line Borrowing pursuant to Section 2.04(b) , which, if in writing, shall be substantially in the form of Exhibit B or any other form approved by the Administrative Agent.

" Swing Line Sublimit " means an amount equal to the lesser of (a) $25,000,000 and (b) the Aggregate Commitments. The Swing Line Sublimit is part of, and not in addition to, the Aggregate Commitments.

" Synthetic Lease Obligation " means the monetary obligation of a Person in connection with a transaction that is (a) treated and accounted for as a lease in the financial statements of such Person but (b) treated and accounted for as indebtedness in the tax statements of such Person, but in any case which, upon the insolvency or bankruptcy of such Person, would be characterized as the indebtedness of such Person (without regard to accounting treatment).

" Taxes " means all present or future taxes, levies, imposts, duties, deductions, withholdings (including backup withholding), assessments, fees or other charges imposed by any Governmental Authority, including any interest, additions to tax or penalties applicable thereto.

" Threshold Amount " means, on any date of determination and calculated as of the last day of the fiscal quarter for which financial statements were most recently delivered by the Borrower pursuant to Section 6.01(a) or 6.01(b) , as applicable, an amount equal to 7.5% of Consolidated EBITDA for the period of four consecutive fiscal quarters most recently ended.

" Total Outstandings " means the aggregate Outstanding Amount of all Loans and all L/C Obligations.

" Type " means, with respect to a Committed Loan, its character as a Base Rate Loan or a Eurodollar Rate Loan.

" Unfunded Pension Liability " means the excess of a Pension Plan's benefit liabilities under Section 4001(a)(16) of ERISA, over the current value of that Pension Plan's assets, determined in accordance with the assumptions used for funding the Pension Plan pursuant to Section 412 of the Code for the applicable plan year.

" United States " and " U.S. " mean the United States of America.

" Unreimbursed Amount " has the meaning specified in Section 2.03(c)(i) .

" U.S. Cellular Credit Agreement " means that that certain Credit Agreement, dated as of June 30, 2009, among United States Cellular Corporation, Toronto Dominion (New York) LLC as the administrative agent and the lenders party thereto from time to time, as amended, restated and extended from time to time in accordance with the terms thereof.

" Variable Interest Entity " means any of (i) Carroll Wireless, L.P. and Carroll PCS, Inc., its general partner, (ii) Barat Wireless, L.P., and Barat Wireless, Inc., its general partner, (iii) King Street Wireless, L.P., and King Street Wireless, Inc., its general partner, (iv) Aquinas Wireless, L.P. and (v) any other entity that entity that the Borrower is required to consolidate

 

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pursuant to FASB Interpretation No. 46(R) – Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities: an interpretation of ARB No. 51 (Revised December 2003).

" wholly-owned " means, with respect to a Subsidiary of a Person, a Subsidiary of such Person all of the outstanding Equity Interests of which (other than (i) director's qualifying shares and (ii) shares issued to foreign nationals to the extent required by applicable law) are owned by such Person and/or by one or more wholly-owned Subsidiaries of such Person.

1.02     Other Interpretive Provisions . With reference to this Agreement and each other Loan Document, unless otherwise specified herein or in such other Loan Document:

(a)     The definitions of terms herein shall apply equally to the singular and plural forms of the terms defined. Whenever the context may require, any pronoun shall include the corresponding masculine, feminine and neuter forms. The words " include ," " includes " and " including " shall be deemed to be followed by the phrase " without limitation ." The word " will " shall be construed to have the same meaning and effect as the word " shall ." Unless the context requires otherwise, (i) any definition of or reference to any agreement, instrument or other document (including any Organization Document) shall be construed as referring to such agreement, instrument or other document as from time to time amended, supplemented or otherwise modified (subject to any restrictions on such amendments, supplements or modifications set forth herein or in any other Loan Document), (ii) any reference herein to any Person shall be construed to include such Person's successors and assigns, (iii) the words " herein ," " hereof " and " hereunder ," and words of similar import when used in any Loan Document, shall be construed to refer to such Loan Document in its entirety and not to any particular provision thereof, (iv) all references in a Loan Document to Articles, Sections, Exhibits and Schedules shall be construed to refer to Articles and Sections of, and Exhibits and Schedules to, the Loan Document in which such references appear, (v) any reference to any law shall include all statutory and regulatory provisions consolidating, amending, replacing or interpreting such law and any reference to any law or regulation shall, unless otherwise specified, refer to such law or regulation as amended, modified or supplemented from time to time, and (vi) the words " asset " and " property " shall be construed to have the same meaning and effect and to refer to any and all tangible and intangible assets and properties, including cash, securities, accounts and contract rights.

(b)     In the computation of periods of time from a specified date to a later specified date, the word " from " means " from and including ;" the words " to " and " unti l " each mean " to but excluding ;" and the word " through " means " to and including ."

(c)     Section headings herein and in the other Loan Documents are included for convenience of reference only and shall not affect the interpretation of this Agreement or any other Loan Document.

1.03     Accounting Terms .

(a)     Generally . All accounting terms not specifically or completely defined herein shall be construed in conformity with, and all financial data (including financial

 

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ratios and other financial calculations) required to be submitted pursuant to this Agreement shall be prepared in conformity with, GAAP as in effect from time to time, except as otherwise specifically prescribed herein.

(b)     Changes in GAAP . If at any time any change in GAAP would affect the computation of any financial ratio or requirement set forth in any Loan Document (including, without limitation, the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards by U.S. companies), and either the Borrower or the Required Lenders shall so request, the Administrative Agent, the Lenders and the Borrower shall negotiate in good faith to amend such ratio or requirement to preserve the original intent thereof in light of such change in GAAP (subject to the approval of the Required Lenders); provided that , until so amended, (i) such ratio or requirement shall continue to be computed in accordance with GAAP prior to such change therein and (ii) the Borrower shall provide to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders financial statements and other documents required under this Agreement or as reasonably requested hereunder setting forth a reconciliation between calculations of such ratio or requirement made before and after giving effect to such change in GAAP.

(c)     Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities . All references herein to consolidated financial statements of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries or to the determination of any amount for the Borrower and its Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis or any similar reference shall, in each case, be deemed to include each Variable Interest Entity as if such Variable Interest Entity were a Subsidiary as defined herein.

1.04     Rounding . Any financial ratios required to be maintained by the Borrower pursuant to this Agreement (or required to be satisfied in order for a specific action to be permitted under this Agreement) shall be calculated by dividing the appropriate component by the other component, carrying the result to one place more than the number of places by which such ratio is expressed herein and rounding the result up or down to the nearest number (with a rounding-up if there is no nearest number).

1.05     Times of Day . Unless otherwise specified, all references herein to times of day shall be references to Central time (daylight or standard, as applicable).

1.06     Letter of Credit Amounts . Unless otherwise specified herein, the amount of a Letter of Credit at any time shall be deemed to be the stated amount of such Letter of Credit in effect at such time; provided , however , that with respect to any Letter of Credit that, by its terms or the terms of any Issuer Document related thereto, provides for one or more automatic increases in the stated amount thereof, the amount of such Letter of Credit shall be deemed to be the maximum stated amount of such Letter of Credit after giving effect to all such increases, whether or not such maximum stated amount is in effect at such time.

ARTICLE II.
THE COMMITMENTS AND CREDIT EXTENSIONS

2.01     Committed Loans . Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, each Lender severally agrees to make loans (each such loan, a " Committed Loan ") to the Borrower

 

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from time to time, on any Business Day during the Availability Period, in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed at any time outstanding the amount of such Lender's Commitment; provided , however , that after giving effect to any Committed Borrowing, (i) the Total Outstandings shall not exceed the Aggregate Commitments, and (ii) the aggregate Outstanding Amount of the Committed Loans of any Lender, plus such Lender's Applicable Percentage of the Outstanding Amount of all L/C Obligations, plus such Lender's Applicable Percentage of the Outstanding Amount of all Swing Line Loans shall not exceed such Lender's Commitment. Within the limits of each Lender's Commitment, and subject to the other terms and conditions hereof, the Borrower may borrow under this Section 2.01 , prepay under Section 2.05 , and reborrow under this Section 2.01 . Committed Loans may be Base Rate Loans or Eurodollar Rate Loans, as further provided herein.

2.02     Borrowings, Conversions and Continuations of Committed Loans .

(a)     Each Committed Borrowing, each conversion of Committed Loans from one Type to the other, and each continuation of Eurodollar Rate Loans shall be made upon the Borrower's irrevocable notice to the Administrative Agent, which may be given by telephone. Each such notice must be received by the Administrative Agent not later than 11:00 a.m. (i) three Business Days prior to the requested date of any Borrowing of, conversion to or continuation of Eurodollar Rate Loans or of any conversion of Eurodollar Rate Loans to Base Rate Committed Loans, and (ii) on the requested date of any Borrowing of Base Rate Committed Loans or conversion of any Eurodollar Rate Loans to Base Rate Committed Loans; provided, however, that if the Borrower wishes to request Eurodollar Rate Loans having an Interest Period other than one, two, three or six months in duration as provided in the definition of "Interest Period," the applicable notice must be received by the Administrative Agent not later than 11:00 a.m. four Business Days prior to the requested date of such Borrowing, conversion or continuation, whereupon the Administrative Agent shall give prompt notice to the Lenders of such request and determine whether the requested Interest Period is acceptable to all of them. Not later than 11:00 a.m., three Business Days before the requested date of such Borrowing, conversion or continuation, the Administrative Agent shall notify the Borrower (which notice may be by telephone) whether or not the requested Interest Period has been consented to by all the Lenders. Each telephonic notice by the Borrower pursuant to this Section 2.02(a) must be confirmed promptly by delivery to the Administrative Agent of a written Committed Loan Notice, appropriately completed and signed by a Responsible Officer of the Borrower. Each Borrowing of, conversion to or continuation of Eurodollar Rate Loans shall be in a principal amount of $5,000,000 or a whole multiple of $1,000,000 in excess thereof. Except as provided in Sections 2.03(c) and 2.04(c) , each Borrowing of or conversion to Base Rate Committed Loans shall be in a principal amount of $500,000 or a whole multiple of $100,000 in excess thereof. Each Committed Loan Notice (whether telephonic or written) shall specify (i) whether the Borrower is requesting a Committed Borrowing, a conversion of Committed Loans from one Type to the other, or a continuation of Eurodollar Rate Loans, (ii) the requested date of the Borrowing, conversion or continuation, as the case may be (which shall be a Business Day), (iii) the principal amount of Committed Loans to be borrowed, converted or continued, (iv) the Type of Committed Loans to be borrowed or to which existing Committed Loans are to be converted, and (v) if applicable, the duration of the Interest

 

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Period with respect thereto. If the Borrower fails to specify a Type of Committed Loan in a Committed Loan Notice or if the Borrower fails to give a timely notice requesting a conversion or continuation, then the applicable Committed Loans shall be made as, or converted to, Base Rate Loans. Any such automatic conversion to Base Rate Loans shall be effective as of the last day of the Interest Period then in effect with respect to the applicable Eurodollar Rate Loans. If the Borrower requests a Borrowing of, conversion to, or continuation of Eurodollar Rate Loans in any such Committed Loan Notice, but fails to specify an Interest Period, it will be deemed to have specified an Interest Period of one month.

(b)     Following receipt of a Committed Loan Notice, the Administrative Agent shall promptly notify each Lender of the amount of its Applicable Percentage of the applicable Committed Loans, and if no timely notice of a conversion or continuation is provided by the Borrower, the Administrative Agent shall notify each Lender of the details of any automatic conversion to Base Rate Loans described in the preceding subsection. In the case of a Committed Borrowing, each Lender shall make the amount of its Committed Loan available to the Administrative Agent in immediately available funds at the Administrative Agent's Office not later than 1:00 p.m. on the Business Day specified in the applicable Committed Loan Notice. Upon satisfaction of the applicable conditions set forth in Section 4.02 (and, if such Borrowing is the initial Credit Extension, Section 4.01 ), the Administrative Agent shall make all funds so received available to the Borrower in like funds as received by the Administrative Agent either by (i) crediting the account of the Borrower on the books of Bank of America with the amount of such funds or (ii) wire transfer of such funds, in each case in accordance with instructions provided to (and reasonably acceptable to) the Administrative Agent by the Borrower; provided , however , that if, on the date the Committed Loan Notice with respect to such Borrowing is given by the Borrower, there are L/C Borrowings outstanding, then the proceeds of such Borrowing, first , shall be applied to the payment in full of any such L/C Borrowings, and second , shall be made available to the Borrower as provided above.

(c)     Except as otherwise provided herein, a Eurodollar Rate Loan may be continued or converted only on the last day of an Interest Period for such Eurodollar Rate Loan. During the existence of a Default, no Loans may be requested as, converted to or continued as Eurodollar Rate Loans without the consent of the Required Lenders.

(d)     The Administrative Agent shall promptly notify the Borrower and the Lenders of the interest rate applicable to any Interest Period for Eurodollar Rate Loans upon determination of such interest rate. At any time that Base Rate Loans are outstanding, the Administrative Agent shall notify the Borrower and the Lenders of any change in the Prime Rate used in determining the Base Rate promptly following the public announcement of such change.

(e)     After giving effect to all Committed Borrowings, all conversions of Committed Loans from one Type to the other, and all continuations of Committed Loans as the same Type, there shall not be more than ten Interest Periods in effect with respect to Committed Loans.

 

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2.03     Letters of Credit .

(a)     The Letter of Credit Commitment .

(i)     Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, (A) the L/C Issuer agrees, in reliance upon the agreements of the Lenders set forth in this Section 2.03 , (1) from time to time on any Business Day during the period from the Closing Date until the Letter of Credit Expiration Date, to issue Letters of Credit for the account of the Borrower, and to amend or extend Letters of Credit previously issued by it, in accordance with subsection (b) below, and (2) to honor drawings under the Letters of Credit; and (B) the Lenders severally agree to participate in Letters of Credit issued for the account of the Borrower and any drawings thereunder; provided that after giving effect to any L/C Credit Extension with respect to any Letter of Credit, (x) the Total Outstandings shall not exceed the Aggregate Commitments, (y) the aggregate Outstanding Amount of the Committed Loans of any Lender, plus such Lender's Applicable Percentage of the Outstanding Amount of all L/C Obligations, plus such Lender's Applicable Percentage of the Outstanding Amount of all Swing Line Loans shall not exceed such Lender's Commitment, and (z) the Outstanding Amount of the L/C Obligations shall not exceed the Letter of Credit Sublimit. Each request by the Borrower for the issuance or amendment of a Letter of Credit shall be deemed to be a representation by the Borrower that after giving effect to such proposed L/C Credit Extension (x) the Total Outstandings shall not exceed the Aggregate Commitments, and (y) the Outstanding Amount of the L/C Obligations shall not exceed the Letter of Credit Sublimit. Within the foregoing limits, and subject to the terms and conditions hereof, the Borrower's ability to obtain Letters of Credit shall be fully revolving, and accordingly the Borrower may, during the foregoing period, obtain Letters of Credit to replace Letters of Credit that have expired or that have been drawn upon and reimbursed. All Existing Letters of Credit shall be deemed to have been issued pursuant hereto, and from and after the Closing Date shall be subject to and governed by the terms and conditions hereof.

(ii)     The L/C Issuer shall not issue any Letter of Credit, if:

(A)     subject to Section 2.03(b)(iii) , the expiry date of such requested Letter of Credit would occur more than twelve months after the date of issuance or last extension, unless the Required Lenders have approved such expiry date; or

(B)     the expiry date of such requested Letter of Credit would occur after the Letter of Credit Expiration Date, unless all the Lenders have approved such expiry date.

 

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(iii)     The L/C Issuer shall not be under any obligation to issue any Letter of Credit if:

(A)     any order, judgment or decree of any Governmental Authority or arbitrator shall by its terms purport to enjoin or restrain the L/C Issuer from issuing such Letter of Credit, or any Law applicable to the L/C Issuer or any request or directive (whether or not having the force of law) from any Governmental Authority with jurisdiction over the L/C Issuer shall prohibit, or request that the L/C Issuer refrain from, the issuance of letters of credit generally or such Letter of Credit in particular or shall impose upon the L/C Issuer with respect to such Letter of Credit any restriction, reserve or capital requirement (for which the L/C Issuer is not otherwise compensated hereunder) not in effect on the Closing Date, or shall impose upon the L/C Issuer any unreimbursed loss, cost or expense which was not applicable on the Closing Date and which the L/C Issuer in good faith deems material to it (for which the L/C Issuer is not otherwise compensated hereunder);

(B)     the issuance of such Letter of Credit would violate one or more policies of the L/C Issuer applicable to letters of credit generally;

(C)     such Letter of Credit is to be denominated in a currency other than Dollars; or

(D)     a default of any Lender's obligations to fund under Section 2.03(c) exists or any Lender is at such time an Impacted Lender hereunder, unless the L/C Issuer has entered into reasonably satisfactory arrangements with the Borrower or such Lender to eliminate the L/C Issuer's risk with respect to such Lender.

(iv)     The L/C Issuer shall not amend any Letter of Credit if the L/C Issuer would not be permitted at such time to issue such Letter of Credit in its amended form under the terms hereof.

(v)      The L/C Issuer shall be under no obligation to amend any Letter of Credit if (A) the L/C Issuer would have no obligation at such time to issue such Letter of Credit in its amended form under the terms hereof, or (B) the beneficiary of such Letter of Credit does not accept the proposed amendment to such Letter of Credit.

(vi)      The L/C Issuer shall act on behalf of the Lenders with respect to any Letters of Credit issued by it and the documents associated therewith, and the L/C Issuer shall have all of the benefits and immunities (A) provided to the Administrative Agent in Article IX with respect to any acts taken or omissions suffered by the L/C Issuer in connection with Letters of Credit issued by it or proposed to be issued by it and Issuer Documents pertaining to such Letters of Credit as fully as if the term "Administrative Agent" as used in Article IX

 

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included the L/C Issuer with respect to such acts or omissions, and (B) as additionally provided herein with respect to the L/C Issuer.

(b)      Procedures for Issuance and Amendment of Letters of Credit; Auto-Extension Letters of Credit .

(i)     Each Letter of Credit shall be issued or amended, as the case may be, upon the request of the Borrower delivered to the L/C Issuer (with a copy to the Administrative Agent) in the form of a Letter of Credit Application, appropriately completed and signed by a Responsible Officer of the Borrower. Such Letter of Credit Application must be received by the L/C Issuer and the Administrative Agent not later than 11:00 a.m. at least two Business Days prior to the proposed issuance date or date of amendment, as the case may be (or such later date and time as the Administrative Agent and the L/C Issuer may agree in a particular instance in their sole discretion). In the case of a request for an initial issuance of a Letter of Credit, such Letter of Credit Application shall specify in form and detail reasonably satisfactory to the L/C Issuer: (A) the proposed issuance date of the requested Letter of Credit (which shall be a Business Day); (B) the amount thereof; (C) the expiry date thereof; (D) the name and address of the beneficiary thereof; (E) the documents to be presented by such beneficiary in case of any drawing thereunder; (F) the full text of any certificate to be presented by such beneficiary in case of any drawing thereunder; (G) the purpose and nature of the requested Letter of Credit; and (H) such other matters as the L/C Issuer may reasonably request. In the case of a request for an amendment of any outstanding Letter of Credit, such Letter of Credit Application shall specify in form and detail reasonably satisfactory to the L/C Issuer (A) the Letter of Credit to be amended; (B) the proposed date of amendment thereof (which shall be a Business Day); (C) the nature of the proposed amendment; and (D) such other matters as the L/C Issuer may reasonably require. Additionally, the Borrower shall furnish to the L/C Issuer and the Administrative Agent such other documents and information pertaining to such requested Letter of Credit issuance or amendment, including any Issuer Documents, as the L/C Issuer or the Administrative Agent may reasonably require.

(ii)     Promptly after receipt of any Letter of Credit Application, the L/C Issuer will confirm with the Administrative Agent (by telephone or in writing) that the Administrative Agent has received a copy of such Letter of Credit Application from the Borrower and, if not, the L/C Issuer will provide the Administrative Agent with a copy thereof. Unless the L/C Issuer has received written notice from any Lender, the Administrative Agent or the Borrower, at least one Business Day prior to the requested date of issuance or amendment of the applicable Letter of Credit, that one or more applicable conditions contained in Article IV shall not then be satisfied, then, subject to the terms and conditions hereof, the L/C Issuer shall, on the requested date, issue a Letter of Credit for the account of the Borrower or enter into the applicable amendment, as the case may be, in each case in accordance with the L/C Issuer's usual and customary business practices. Immediately upon the issuance of each Letter of Credit, each Lender

 

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shall be deemed to, and hereby irrevocably and unconditionally agrees to, purchase from the L/C Issuer a risk participation in such Letter of Credit in an amount equal to the product of such Lender's Applicable Percentage times the amount of such Letter of Credit.

(iii)     If the Borrower so requests in any applicable Letter of Credit Application, the L/C Issuer may, in its sole and absolute discretion, agree to issue a Letter of Credit that has automatic extension provisions (each, an “ Auto-Extension Letter of Credit ”); provided that any such Auto-Extension Letter of Credit must permit the L/C Issuer to prevent any such extension at least once in each twelve-month period (commencing with the date of issuance of such Letter of Credit) by giving prior notice to the beneficiary thereof not later than a day (the “ Non-Extension Notice Date ”) in each such twelve-month period to be agreed upon at the time such Letter of Credit is issued. Unless otherwise directed by the L/C Issuer, the Borrower shall not be required to make a specific request to the L/C Issuer for any such extension. Once an Auto-Extension Letter of Credit has been issued, the Lenders shall be deemed to have authorized (but may not require) the L/C Issuer to permit the extension of such Letter of Credit at any time to an expiry date not later than the Letter of Credit Expiration Date; provided , however , that the L/C Issuer shall not permit any such extension if (A) the L/C Issuer has determined that it would not be permitted, or would have no obligation, at such time to issue such Letter of Credit in its revised form (as extended) under the terms hereof (by reason of the provisions of clause (ii) or (iii) of Section 2.03(a) or otherwise), or (B) it has received notice (which may be by telephone or in writing) on or before the day that is seven Business Days before the NonExtension Notice Date (1) from the Administrative Agent that the Required Lenders have elected not to permit such extension or (2) from the Administrative Agent, any Lender or the Borrower that one or more of the applicable conditions specified in Section 4.02 is not then satisfied, and in each such case directing the L/C Issuer not to permit such extension.

(iv)     Promptly after its delivery of any Letter of Credit or any amendment to a Letter of Credit to an advising bank with respect thereto or to the beneficiary thereof, the L/C Issuer will also deliver to the Borrower and the Administrative Agent a true and complete copy of such Letter of Credit or amendment.

(c)     Drawings and Reimbursements; Funding of Participations .

(i)     Upon receipt from the beneficiary of any Letter of Credit of any notice of a drawing under such Letter of Credit, the L/C Issuer shall notify the Borrower and the Administrative Agent thereof. Not later than 11:00 a.m. on the date of any payment by the L/C Issuer under a Letter of Credit (each such date, an " Honor Date "), the Borrower shall reimburse the L/C Issuer through the Administrative Agent in an amount equal to the amount of such drawing. If the Borrower fails to so reimburse the L/C Issuer by such time, the Administrative Agent shall promptly notify each Lender of the Honor Date, the amount of the

 

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unreimbursed drawing (the " Unreimbursed Amount "), and the amount of such Lender's Applicable Percentage thereof. In such event, the Borrower shall be deemed to have requested a Committed Borrowing of Base Rate Loans to be disbursed on the Honor Date in an amount equal to the Unreimbursed Amount, without regard to the minimum and multiples specified in Section 2.02 for the principal amount of Base Rate Loans, but subject to the amount of the unutilized portion of the Aggregate Commitments and the conditions set forth in Section 4.02 (other than the delivery of a Committed Loan Notice). Any notice given by the L/C Issuer or the Administrative Agent pursuant to this Section 2.03(c)(i) may be given by telephone if immediately confirmed in writing; provided that the lack of such an immediate confirmation shall not affect the conclusiveness or binding effect of such notice.

(ii) Each Lender shall upon any notice pursuant to Section 2.03(c)(i) make funds available to the Administrative Agent for the account of the L/C Issuer at the Administrative Agent's Office in an amount equal to its Applicable Percentage of the Unreimbursed Amount not later than 1:00 p.m. on the Business Day specified in such notice by the Administrative Agent, whereupon, subject to the provisions of Section 2.03(c)(iii) , each Lender that so makes funds available shall be deemed to have made a Base Rate Committed Loan to the Borrower in such amount. The Administrative Agent shall remit the funds so received to the L/C Issuer.

(iii) With respect to any Unreimbursed Amount that is not fully refinanced by a Committed Borrowing of Base Rate Loans because the conditions set forth in Section 4.02 cannot be satisfied or for any other reason, the Borrower shall be deemed to have incurred from the L/C Issuer an L/C Borrowing in the amount of the Unreimbursed Amount that is not so refinanced, which L/C Borrowing shall be due and payable on demand (together with interest) and shall bear interest at the Default Rate. In such event, each Lender's payment to the Administrative Agent for the account of the L/C Issuer pursuant to Section 2.03(c)(ii) shall be deemed payment in respect of its participation in such L/C Borrowing and shall constitute an L/C Advance from such Lender in satisfaction of its participation obligation under this Section 2.03 .

(iv) Until each Lender funds its Committed Loan or L/C Advance pursuant to this Section 2.03(c) to reimburse the L/C Issuer for any amount drawn under any Letter of Credit, interest in respect of such Lender's Applicable Percentage of such amount shall be solely for the account of the L/C Issuer.

(v) Each Lender's obligation to make Committed Loans or L/C Advances to reimburse the L/C Issuer for amounts drawn under Letters of Credit, as contemplated by this Section 2.03(c) , shall be absolute and unconditional and shall not be affected by any circumstance, including (A) any setoff, counterclaim, recoupment, defense or other right which such Lender may have against the L/C Issuer, the Borrower or any other Person for any reason whatsoever; (B) the occurrence or continuance of a Default; or (C) any other occurrence, event or

 

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condition, whether or not similar to any of the foregoing; provided , however , that each Lender's obligation to make Committed Loans pursuant to this Section 2.03(c) is subject to the conditions set forth in Section 4.02 (other than delivery by the Borrower of a Committed Loan Notice). No such making of an L/C Advance shall relieve or otherwise impair the obligation of the Borrower to reimburse the L/C Issuer for the amount of any payment made by the L/C Issuer under any Letter of Credit, together with interest as provided herein.

(vi)     If any Lender fails to make available to the Administrative Agent for the account of the L/C Issuer any amount required to be paid by such Lender pursuant to the foregoing provisions of this Section 2.03(c) by the time specified in Section 2.03(c)(ii) , the L/C Issuer shall be entitled to recover from such Lender (acting through the Administrative Agent), on demand, such amount with interest thereon for the period from the date such payment is required to the date on which such payment is immediately available to the L/C Issuer at a rate per annum equal to the greater of the Federal Funds Rate and a rate determined by the L/C Issuer in accordance with banking industry rules on interbank compensation, plus any administrative, processing or similar fees customarily charged by the L/C Issuer in connection with the foregoing. If such Lender pays such amount (with interest and fees as aforesaid), the amount so paid shall constitute such Lender's Committed Loan included in the relevant Committed Borrowing or L/C Advance in respect of the relevant L/C Borrowing, as the case may be. A certificate of the L/C Issuer submitted to any Lender (through the Administrative Agent) with respect to any amounts owing under this subsection (vi) shall be prima facie evidence.

(d)      Repayment of Participations .

(i)     At any time after the L/C Issuer has made a payment under any Letter of Credit and has received from any Lender such Lender's L/C Advance in respect of such payment in accordance with Section 2.03(c) , if the Administrative Agent receives for the account of the L/C Issuer any payment in respect of the related Unreimbursed Amount or interest thereon (whether directly from the Borrower or otherwise, including proceeds of Cash Collateral applied thereto by the Administrative Agent), the Administrative Agent will distribute to such Lender its Applicable Percentage thereof (appropriately adjusted, in the case of interest payments, to reflect the period of time during which such Lender's L/C Advance was outstanding) in the same funds as those received by the Administrative Agent.

(ii)     If any payment received by the Administrative Agent for the account of the L/C Issuer pursuant to Section 2.03(c)(i) is required to be returned under any of the circumstances described in Section 10.05 (including pursuant to any settlement entered into by the L/C Issuer in its discretion), each Lender shall pay to the Administrative Agent for the account of the L/C Issuer its Applicable Percentage thereof on demand of the Administrative Agent, plus interest thereon from the date of such demand to the date such amount is returned by such Lender,

 

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at a rate per annum equal to the Federal Funds Rate from time to time in effect. The obligations of the Lenders under this subsection shall survive the payment in full of the Obligations and the termination of this Agreement.

(e)     Obligations Absolute . The obligation of the Borrower to reimburse the L/C Issuer for each drawing under each Letter of Credit and to repay each L/C Borrowing shall be absolute, unconditional and irrevocable, and shall be paid strictly in accordance with the terms of this Agreement under all circumstances, including the following:

(i)     any lack of validity or enforceability of such Letter of Credit, this Agreement, or any other Loan Document;

(ii)     the existence of any claim, counterclaim, setoff, defense or other right that the Borrower or any Subsidiary may have at any time against any beneficiary or any transferee of such Letter of Credit (or any Person for whom any such beneficiary or any such transferee may be acting), the L/C Issuer or any other Person, whether in connection with this Agreement, the transactions contemplated hereby or by such Letter of Credit or any agreement or instrument relating thereto, or any unrelated transaction;

(iii)     any draft, demand, certificate or other document presented under such Letter of Credit proving to be forged, fraudulent, invalid or insufficient in any respect or any statement therein being untrue or inaccurate in any respect and accepted by the L/C Issuer in good faith; or any loss or delay in the transmission or otherwise of any document required in order to make a drawing under such Letter of Credit;

(iv)     any payment by the L/C Issuer under such Letter of Credit against presentation of a draft or certificate that does not strictly comply with the terms of such Letter of Credit; or any payment made by the L/C Issuer under such Letter of Credit to any Person purporting to be a trustee in bankruptcy, debtor-in-possession, assignee for the benefit of creditors, liquidator, receiver or other representative of or successor to any beneficiary or any transferee of such Letter of Credit, including any arising in connection with any proceeding under any Debtor Relief Law; or

(v)     any other circumstance or happening whatsoever, whether or not similar to any of the foregoing, including any other circumstance that might otherwise constitute a defense available to, or a discharge of, the Borrower or any Subsidiary.

The Borrower shall promptly examine a copy of each Letter of Credit and each amendment thereto that is delivered to it (at the time of delivery) and, in the event of any claim of noncompliance with the Borrower's instructions or other irregularity, the Borrower will immediately notify the L/C Issuer. The Borrower shall be conclusively deemed to have waived any such claim against the L/C Issuer and its correspondents unless such notice is given as aforesaid. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, the

 

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foregoing shall not excuse any L/C Issuer from liability to the Borrower to the extent of any direct damages (as opposed to consequential damages, claims in respect of which are waived by the Borrower to the extent permitted by applicable law) suffered by the Borrower that are caused by such L/C Issuer's gross negligence or willful misconduct when determining whether drafts and other documents presented under a Letter of Credit comply with the terms thereof.

(f)     Role of L/C Issuer . Each Lender and the Borrower agree that, in paying any drawing under a Letter of Credit, the L/C Issuer shall not have any responsibility to obtain any document (other than any sight draft, certificates and documents expressly required by the Letter of Credit) or to ascertain or inquire as to the validity or accuracy of any such document or the authority of the Person executing or delivering any such document. None of the L/C Issuer, the Administrative Agent, any of their respective Related Parties nor any correspondent, participant or assignee of the L/C Issuer shall be liable to any Lender for (i) any action taken or omitted in connection herewith at the request or with the approval of the Lenders or the Required Lenders, as applicable; (ii) any action taken or omitted in the absence of gross negligence, bad faith, fraud or willful misconduct; or (iii) the due execution, effectiveness, validity or enforceability of any document or instrument related to any Letter of Credit or Issuer Document. The Borrower hereby assumes all risks of the acts or omissions of any beneficiary or transferee with respect to its use of any Letter of Credit; provided , however , that this assumption is not intended to, and shall not, preclude the Borrower's pursuing such rights and remedies as it may have against the beneficiary or transferee at law or under any other agreement. None of the L/C Issuer, the Administrative Agent, any of their respective Related Parties nor any correspondent, participant or assignee of the L/C Issuer shall be liable or responsible for any of the matters described in subsections (i) through (v) of Section 2.03(e) ; provided , however , that anything in such subsections to the contrary notwithstanding, the Borrower may have a claim against the L/C Issuer, and the L/C Issuer may be liable to the Borrower, to the extent, but only to the extent, of any direct, as opposed to consequential or exemplary, damages suffered by the Borrower which the Borrower proves were caused by the L/C Issuer's willful misconduct, bad faith, fraud or gross negligence or the L/C Issuer's willful or grossly negligent failure to pay under any Letter of Credit after the presentation to it by the beneficiary of a sight draft and certificate(s) strictly complying with the terms and conditions of a Letter of Credit. In furtherance and not in limitation of the foregoing, the L/C Issuer may accept documents that appear on their face to be in order, without responsibility for further investigation, regardless of any notice or information to the contrary, and the L/C Issuer shall not be responsible for the validity or sufficiency of any instrument transferring or assigning or purporting to transfer or assign a Letter of Credit or the rights or benefits thereunder or proceeds thereof, in whole or in part, which may prove to be invalid or ineffective for any reason.

(g)     Cash Collateral . Upon the request of the Administrative Agent, (i) if the L/C Issuer has honored any full or partial drawing request under any Letter of Credit and such drawing has resulted in an L/C Borrowing, or (ii) if, as of the Letter of Credit Expiration Date, any L/C Obligation for any reason remains outstanding, the Borrower shall, in each case, immediately Cash Collateralize the then Outstanding Amount of all

 

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L/C Obligations in an amount equal to 103% of the aggregate Outstanding Amount of all L/C Obligations. Sections 2.05 and 8.02(c) set forth certain additional requirements to deliver Cash Collateral hereunder. For purposes of this Section 2.03 , Section 2.05 , Section 7.02(e) , Section 7.05(f) , Section 7.05(g) , Section 7.06(e) , and Section 8.02(c) , " Cash Collateralize " means to pledge and deposit with or deliver to the Administrative Agent, for the benefit of the L/C Issuer and the Lenders, as collateral for the L/C Obligations, cash or deposit account balances in an amount equal to 103% of the aggregate Outstanding Amount of all L/C Obligations, pursuant to documentation in form and substance satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and the L/C Issuer (which documents are hereby consented to by the Lenders). Derivatives of such term have corresponding meanings. The Borrower hereby grants to the Administrative Agent, for the benefit of the L/C Issuer and the Lenders, a security interest in all such cash, deposit accounts and all balances therein and all proceeds of the foregoing. Cash Collateral shall be maintained in interest bearing blocked accounts at Bank of America determined in the sole discretion of Bank of America, which may be invested in readily available cash equivalents at the discretion of the Administrative Agent. Upon the drawing of any Letter of Credit for which funds are on deposit as Cash Collateral, such funds shall be applied, to the extent permitted under applicable Law, to reimburse the L/C Issuer. At such time as no Event of Default has occurred and is continuing, all remaining and unapplied Cash Collateral shall be refunded to the Borrower.

(h)     Applicability of ISP . Unless otherwise expressly agreed by the L/C Issuer and the Borrower when a Letter of Credit is issued (including any such agreement applicable to an Existing Letter of Credit), the rules of the ISP shall apply to each standby Letter of Credit.

(i)     Letter of Credit Fees . The Borrower shall pay to the Administrative Agent for the account of each Lender in accordance with its Applicable Percentage a Letter of Credit fee (the " Letter of Credit Fee ") for each standby Letter of Credit equal to the Applicable Rate times the daily amount available to be drawn under such Letter of Credit. For purposes of computing the daily amount available to be drawn under any Letter of Credit, the amount of such Letter of Credit shall be determined in accordance with Section 1.06 . Letter of Credit Fees shall be (i) due and payable on the first Business Day after the end of each March, June, September and December, commencing with the first such date to occur after the issuance of such Letter of Credit, on the Letter of Credit Expiration Date and thereafter on demand and (ii) computed on a quarterly basis in arrears. If there is any change in the Applicable Rate during any quarter, the daily amount available to be drawn under each standby Letter of Credit shall be computed and multiplied by the Applicable Rate separately for each period during such quarter that such Applicable Rate was in effect. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, upon the request of the Required Lenders, while any Event of Default exists, all Letter of Credit Fees shall accrue at the Default Rate.

(j)     Fronting Fee and Documentary and Processing Charges Payable to L/C Issuer . The Borrower shall pay directly to the L/C Issuer for its own account a fronting fee with respect to each Letter of Credit, at the rate per annum specified in the Bank of America Fee Letter, computed on the daily amount available to be drawn under such

 

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Letter of Credit on a quarterly basis in arrears. Such fronting fee shall be due and payable on the tenth Business Day after the end of each March, June, September and December in respect of the most recently-ended quarterly period (or portion thereof, in the case of the first payment), commencing with the first such date to occur after the issuance of such Letter of Credit, on the Letter of Credit Expiration Date and thereafter on demand. For purposes of computing the daily amount available to be drawn under any Letter of Credit, the amount of such Letter of Credit shall be determined in accordance with Section 1.06 . In addition, the Borrower shall pay directly to the L/C Issuer for its own account the customary issuance, presentation, amendment and other processing fees, and other standard costs and charges, of the L/C Issuer relating to letters of credit as from time to time in effect. Such customary fees and standard costs and charges are due and payable on demand and are nonrefundable.

(k)     Conflict with Issuer Documents . In the event of any conflict between the terms hereof and the terms of any Issuer Document, the terms hereof shall control.

2.04     Swing Line Loans .

(a)     The Swing Line . Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, the Swing Line Lender may, in its sole discretion and without conferring with the Lenders, and in reliance upon the agreements of the other Lenders set forth in this Section 2.04 , to make loans (each such loan, a " Swing Line Loan ") to the Borrower from time to time on any Business Day during the Availability Period in an aggregate amount not to exceed at any time outstanding the amount of the Swing Line Sublimit, notwithstanding the fact that such Swing Line Loans, when aggregated with the Applicable Percentage of the Outstanding Amount of Committed Loans and L/C Obligations of the Lender acting as Swing Line Lender, may exceed the amount of such Lender's Commitment; provided , however , that after giving effect to any Swing Line Loan, (i) the Total Outstandings shall not exceed the Aggregate Commitments, and (ii) the aggregate Outstanding Amount of the Committed Loans of any Lender, plus such Lender's Applicable Percentage of the Outstanding Amount of all L/C Obligations, plus such Lender's Applicable Percentage of the Outstanding Amount of all Swing Line Loans shall not exceed such Lender's Commitment, and provided , further , that the Borrower shall not use the proceeds of any Swing Line Loan to refinance any outstanding Swing Line Loan. Within the foregoing limits, and subject to the other terms and conditions hereof, the Borrower may borrow under this Section 2.04 , prepay under Section 2.05 , and reborrow under this Section 2.04 . Each Swing Line Loan shall be a Base Rate Loan. Immediately upon the making of a Swing Line Loan, each Lender shall be deemed to, and hereby irrevocably and unconditionally agrees to, purchase from the Swing Line Lender a risk participation in such Swing Line Loan in an amount equal to the product of such Lender's Applicable Percentage times the amount of such Swing Line Loan.

(b)      Borrowing Procedures . Each Swing Line Borrowing shall be made upon the Borrower's irrevocable notice to the Swing Line Lender and the Administrative Agent, which may be given by telephone. Each such notice must be received by the Swing Line Lender and the Administrative Agent not later than 1:00 p.m. on the requested borrowing date, and shall specify (i) the amount to be borrowed, which shall be

 

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a minimum of $100,000, and (ii) the requested borrowing date, which shall be a Business Day. Each such telephonic notice must be confirmed promptly by delivery to the Swing Line Lender and the Administrative Agent of a written Swing Line Loan Notice, appropriately completed and signed by a Responsible Officer of the Borrower. Promptly after receipt by the Swing Line Lender of any telephonic Swing Line Loan Notice, the Swing Line Lender will confirm with the Administrative Agent (by telephone or in writing) that the Administrative Agent has also received such Swing Line Loan Notice and, if not, the Swing Line Lender will notify the Administrative Agent (by telephone or in writing) of the contents thereof. Unless the Swing Line Lender has received notice (by telephone or in writing) from the Administrative Agent (including at the request of any Lender) prior to 2:00 p.m. on the date of the proposed Swing Line Borrowing (A) directing the Swing Line Lender not to make such Swing Line Loan as a result of the limitations set forth in the first proviso to the first sentence of Section 2.04(a) , or (B) that one or more of the applicable conditions specified in Article IV is not then satisfied, then, subject to the terms and conditions hereof, the Swing Line Lender will, not later than 3:00 p.m. on the borrowing date specified in such Swing Line Loan Notice, make the amount of its Swing Line Loan available to the Borrower by either crediting the account of the Borrower on the books of the Swing Line Lender in immediately available funds or pursuant to other written direction of the Borrower.

(c)     Refinancing of Swing Line Loans .

(i)     The Swing Line Lender at any time in its sole and absolute discretion may request, on behalf of the Borrower (which hereby irrevocably authorizes the Swing Line Lender to so request on its behalf), that each Lender make a Base Rate Committed Loan in an amount equal to such Lender's Applicable Percentage of the amount of Swing Line Loans then outstanding. Such request shall be made in writing (which written request shall be deemed to be a Committed Loan Notice for purposes hereof) and in accordance with the requirements of Section 2.02 , without regard to the minimum and multiples specified therein for the principal amount of Base Rate Loans, but subject to the unutilized portion of the Aggregate Commitments and the conditions set forth in Section 4.02 . The Swing Line Lender shall furnish the Borrower with a copy of the applicable Committed Loan Notice promptly after delivering such notice to the Administrative Agent. Each Lender shall make an amount equal to its Applicable Percentage of the amount specified in such Committed Loan Notice available to the Administrative Agent in immediately available funds for the account of the Swing Line Lender at the Administrative Agent's Office not later than 1:00 p.m. on the day specified in such Committed Loan Notice, whereupon, subject to Section 2.04(c)(ii) , each Lender that so makes funds available shall be deemed to have made a Base Rate Committed Loan to the Borrower in such amount. The Administrative Agent shall remit the funds so received to the Swing Line Lender.

(ii)     If for any reason any Swing Line Loan cannot be refinanced by such a Committed Borrowing in accordance with Section 2.04(c)(i) , the request for Base Rate Committed Loans submitted by the Swing Line Lender as set forth

 

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herein shall be deemed to be a request by the Swing Line Lender that each of the Lenders fund its risk participation in the relevant Swing Line Loan and each Lender's payment to the Administrative Agent for the account of the Swing Line Lender pursuant to Section 2.04(c)(i) shall be deemed payment in respect of such participation.

(iii)     If any Lender fails to make available to the Administrative Agent for the account of the Swing Line Lender any amount required to be paid by such Lender pursuant to the foregoing provisions of this Section 2.04(c) by the time specified in Section 2.04(c)(i) , the Swing Line Lender shall be entitled to recover from such Lender (acting through the Administrative Agent), on demand, such amount with interest thereon for the period from the date such payment is required to the date on which such payment is immediately available to the Swing Line Lender at a rate per annum equal to the greater of the Federal Funds Rate and a rate determined by the Swing Line Lender in accordance with banking industry rules on interbank compensation, plus any administrative, processing or similar fees customarily charged by the Swing Line Lender in connection with the foregoing. If such Lender pays such amount (with interest and fees as aforesaid), the amount so paid shall constitute such Lender's Committed Loan included in the relevant Committed Borrowing or funded participation in the relevant Swing Line Loan, as the case may be. A certificate of the Swing Line Lender submitted to any Lender (through the Administrative Agent) with respect to any amounts owing under this subsection (iii) shall be prima facie evidence thereof.

(iv)     Each Lender's obligation to make Committed Loans or to purchase and fund risk participations in Swing Line Loans pursuant to this Section 2.04(c) shall be absolute and unconditional and shall not be affected by any circumstance, including (A) any setoff, counterclaim, recoupment, defense or other right which such Lender may have against the Swing Line Lender, the Borrower or any other Person for any reason whatsoever, (B) the occurrence or continuance of a Default, or (C) any other occurrence, event or condition, whether or not similar to any of the foregoing; provided , however , that each Lender's obligation to make Committed Loans pursuant to this Section 2.04(c) is subject to the conditions set forth in Section 4.02 . No such funding of risk participations shall relieve or otherwise impair the obligation of the Borrower to repay Swing Line Loans, together with interest as provided herein.

(d)     Repayment of Participations .

(i)      At any time after any Lender has purchased and funded a risk participation in a Swing Line Loan, if the Swing Line Lender receives any payment on account of such Swing Line Loan, the Swing Line Lender will distribute to such Lender its Applicable Percentage thereof (appropriately adjusted, in the case of interest payments, to reflect the period of time during which such Lender’s L/C Advance was outstanding) in the same funds as those received by the Swing Line Lender.

 

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(ii)     If any payment received by the Swing Line Lender in respect of principal or interest on any Swing Line Loan is required to be returned by the Swing Line Lender under any of the circumstances described in Section 10.05 (including pursuant to any settlement entered into by the Swing Line Lender in its discretion), each Lender shall pay to the Swing Line Lender its Applicable Percentage thereof on demand of the Administrative Agent, plus interest thereon from the date of such demand to the date such amount is returned, at a rate per annum equal to the Federal Funds Rate. The Administrative Agent will make such demand upon the request of the Swing Line Lender. The obligations of the Lenders under this subsection shall survive the payment in full of the Obligations and the termination of this Agreement.

(e)     Interest for Account of Swing Line Lender . The Swing Line Lender shall be responsible for invoicing the Borrower for interest on the Swing Line Loans. Until each Lender funds its Base Rate Committed Loan or risk participation pursuant to this Section 2.04 to refinance such Lender's Applicable Percentage of any Swing Line Loan, interest in respect of such Applicable Percentage shall be solely for the account of the Swing Line Lender.

(f)     Payments Directly to Swing Line Lender . The Borrower shall make all payments of principal and interest in respect of the Swing Line Loans directly to the Swing Line Lender.

2.05      Prepayments .

(a)     Voluntary . The Borrower may, upon notice to the Administrative Agent, at any time or from time to time voluntarily prepay Committed Loans in whole or in part without premium or penalty; provided that (i) such notice must be received by the Administrative Agent not later than 11:00 a.m. (A) three Business Days prior to any date of prepayment of Eurodollar Rate Loans and (B) on the date of prepayment of Base Rate Committed Loans; (ii) any prepayment of Eurodollar Rate Loans shall be in a principal amount of $5,000,000 or a whole multiple of $1,000,000 in excess thereof; and (iii) any prepayment of Base Rate Committed Loans shall be in a principal amount of $500,000 or a whole multiple of $100,000 in excess thereof or, in each case, if less, the entire principal amount thereof then outstanding. Each such notice shall specify the date and amount of such prepayment and the Type(s) of Committed Loans to be prepaid and, if Eurodollar Rate Loans are to be prepaid, the Interest Period(s) of such Loans. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement, the Borrower may rescind or postpone any notice of prepayment under this Section 2.05(a) if such prepayment would have resulted from a refinancing of this Agreement, which refinancing shall not be consummated or otherwise shall be delayed (subject to payment by the Borrower of amounts owed under Section 3.05 occurring as a result of such notice).

(b)     Mandatory . The Outstanding Amounts shall be prepaid by an amount and in accordance with the terms of Section 7.05(g) , (together with a reduction in the Aggregate Commitments).

 

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(c)     Generally . The Administrative Agent will promptly notify each Lender of its receipt of each such notice, and of the amount of such Lender's Applicable Percentage of such prepayment. If such notice is given by the Borrower, the Borrower shall make such prepayment and the payment amount specified in such notice shall be due and payable on the date specified therein. Any prepayment of a Eurodollar Rate Loan shall be accompanied by all accrued interest on the amount prepaid, together with any additional amounts required pursuant to Section 3.05 . Each such prepayment shall be applied to the Committed Loans of the Lenders in accordance with their respective Applicable Percentages.

(d)     Swing Line Loans . The Borrower may, upon notice to the Swing Line Lender (with a copy to the Administrative Agent), at any time or from time to time, voluntarily prepay Swing Line Loans in whole or in part without premium or penalty; provided that (i) such notice must be received by the Swing Line Lender and the Administrative Agent not later than 1:00 p.m. on the date of the prepayment, and (ii) any such prepayment shall be in a minimum principal amount of $100,000. Each such notice shall specify the date and amount of such prepayment. If such notice is given by the Borrower, the Borrower shall make such prepayment and the payment amount specified in such notice shall be due and payable on the date specified therein.

(e)     Outstandings in Excess of Commitments . If for any reason the Total Outstandings at any time exceed the Aggregate Commitments then in effect, the Borrower shall immediately prepay or cause to be prepaid Loans and/or Cash Collateralize the L/C Obligations in an aggregate amount equal to such excess; provided , however , that the Borrower shall not be required to Cash Collateralize the L/C Obligations pursuant to this Section 2.05(e) unless after the prepayment in full of the Loans the Total Outstandings exceed the Aggregate Commitments then in effect.

2.06     Termination or Reduction of Commitments .

(a)     Voluntary . The Borrower may, upon notice to the Administrative Agent, terminate the Aggregate Commitments, or from time to time permanently reduce the Aggregate Commitments without premium or penalty (except those amounts payable by the Borrower under Section 3.05 which shall be paid by the Borrower); provided that (i) any such notice shall be received by the Administrative Agent not later than 11:00 a.m. five Business Days prior to the date of termination or reduction, (ii) any such partial reduction shall be in an aggregate amount of $10,000,000 or any whole multiple of $1,000,000 in excess thereof, (iii) the Borrower shall not terminate or reduce the Aggregate Commitments if, after giving effect thereto and to any concurrent prepayments hereunder, the Total Outstandings would exceed the Aggregate Commitments, and (iv) if, after giving effect to any reduction of the Aggregate Commitments, the Letter of Credit Sublimit or the Swing Line Sublimit exceeds the amount of the Aggregate Commitments, such Sublimit shall be automatically reduced by the amount of such excess. The amount of any such Commitment reduction shall not otherwise be applied to the Letter of Credit Sublimit or the Swing Line Sublimit unless otherwise specified by the Borrower. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Borrower may rescind or postpone any notice of termination of the Commitments if such termination would have resulted from a

 

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refinancing of this Agreement, which refinancing shall not be consummated or otherwise shall be delayed (subject to payment by the Borrower of amounts owed under Section 3.05 occurring as a result of such notice).

(b)      Mandatory . The Aggregate Commitments shall be automatically and permanently reduced by an amount and in accordance with the terms of Section 7.05(g) .

(c)     Generally . The Administrative Agent will promptly notify the Lenders of any such notice of termination or reduction of the Aggregate Commitments. Any reduction of the Aggregate Commitments shall be applied to the Commitment of each Lender according to its Applicable Percentage. All fees accrued until the effective date of any termination of the Aggregate Commitments shall be paid on the effective date of such termination.

2.07      Repayment of Loans .

(a)     The Borrower shall repay to the Lenders on the Maturity Date the aggregate principal amount of Committed Loans outstanding on such date.

(b)     The Borrower shall repay each Swing Line Loan on the earlier to occur of (i) the date ten Business Days after such Loan is made and (ii) the Maturity Date.

2.08     Interest .

(a)     Subject to the provisions of subsection (b) below, (i) each Eurodollar Rate Loan shall bear interest on the outstanding principal amount thereof for each Interest Period at a rate per annum equal to the Eurodollar Rate for such Interest Period plus the Applicable Rate; (ii) each Base Rate Committed Loan shall bear interest on the outstanding principal amount thereof from the applicable borrowing date at a rate per annum equal to the Base Rate plus the Applicable Rate; and (iii) each Swing Line Loan shall bear interest on the outstanding principal amount thereof from the applicable borrowing date at a rate per annum equal to the Base Rate plus the Applicable Rate.

(b)              (i)   If any amount of principal of any Loan is not paid when due (without rega