CREDIT AGREEMENT
relating to an overdraft and
contingent liability facility
1)
Interface Europe B.V., established in Scherpenzeel, The
Netherlands,
Interface
Scherpenzeel B.V., established in Scherpenzeel, The
Netherlands,
Interface
Nederland B.V., established in Scherpenzeel, The
Netherlands,
Interface
Flooring B.V., established in Scherpenzeel, The
Netherlands,
Interface
Belgium B.V., established in Scherpenzeel, The
Netherlands,
Interface
International B.V., established in Scherpenzeel, The
Netherlands,
Interface
Eastern Europe B.V., established in Scherpenzeel, The
Netherlands,
Heuga Home
Flooring B.V., established in Scherpenzeel, The
Netherlands,
Interface
Foreign Investments B.V., established in Scherpenzeel, The
Netherlands,
individually or
together hereinafter referred to as the 'Borrower',
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ABN AMRO
Bank N.V., having its registered office in Amsterdam, The
Netherlands, hereinafter referred to as 'ABN AMRO'.
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IT IS HEREBY
AGREED AS FOLLOWS:
ABN AMRO grants
to the Borrower until further notice a facility (the 'Facility') on
the terms and conditions and at the rates and charges stated in
this agreement. ABN AMRO may from time to time review the terms and
conditions of the Facility.
The amount of
the Facility (the 'Facility Amount') shall be:
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Period
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EUR (in
millions)
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1 May 2009
– 30 September 2009
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32
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1 October 2009
– 30 September 2010
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26
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1 October 2010
– 30 September 2011
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20
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1 October 2011
– 30 September 2012
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14
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From 1 October
2012
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8
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The Borrower
may reduce the Facility Amount at the end of each quarter in full
or in part (if in part subject to a minimum amount of EUR
2,000,000) subject to 5 business days’ notice.
As of 1 May
2009 this Facility will replace the existing facility as granted
under the Credit Agreement dated 9 March 2007, and all outstanding
amounts are deemed to be made and outstanding under this
Facility.
The Facility is
granted to enable the Borrower to make a dividend payment to
Interface Inc and to finance the general working capital needs of
the Borrower.
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The Facility
may be utilised by way of:
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Overdraft in
euro (including the issuance of guarantees with a tenor of up to 1
year) and or any freely available currency on the current accounts
of the Borrower; and/or
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a Contingent
Liability Facility for the purpose of issuing guarantees with a
tenor exceeding one year up to an aggregate amount of EUR
5,000,000; and/or
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an Allocated
Credit under joint and several liability of the Borrower for
Interfaceflor India Pvt Ltd. with ABN AMRO’s branch in India
as Lending Office for an aggregate amount of EUR 500,000 or
its equivalent in INR or USD.
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For the purpose
of the Agreement:
A credit
facility, made available to Interfaceflor India Pvt Ltd. under the
terms and conditions of a credit agreement entered or to be entered
into between Interfaceflor India Pvt Ltd. and the Lending
Office.
The aggregate
of amounts outstanding by way of overdraft, each amount utilised
under the contingent liability facility and the amount of the
Allocated Credit shall not exceed the Facility Amount.
4. RATES
AND CHARGES
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Interest on
debit balances on the current accounts of the Borrower will be
charged at the rate of 1% per annum over ABN AMRO Euro Base Rate
(presently 4.90% per annum, subject to a minimum ABN AMRO Euro Base
Rate of 3.5% per annum).
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Commission will
be calculated on the basis of 1% per annum or part thereof on the
maximum amount and for the maximum duration of each guarantee and
or documentary letter of credit issued hereunder and will be
payable quarterly in advance.
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Issuing,
amending and other fees will be charged in accordance with ABN
AMRO's then current fees tariff.
Commission and
fees will be debited to the accounts of the Borrower held with ABN
AMRO.
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An arrangement
fee of EUR 0.1% on the Facility Amount will be payable upon
acceptance of this agreement.
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A facility fee
shall be calculated on the basis of 0.5% per annum over the
Facility Amount, payable three monthly in arrears.
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5. SECURITY,
FINANCIAL COVENANTS AND UNDERTAKINGS
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To the extent
the Borrower is not already obliged to do so on any other basis,
the Borrower hereby further undertakes to provide ABN AMRO with all
of the following security as security for the obligations referred
to in I.3.1. of the Provisions (the Provisions being defined in
clause 8 below):
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a right of
pledge on all assets referred to in article 18 of the GBC (the GBC
being defined in clause 7 below).
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In order to
effectuate the above, the Borrower hereby pledges to ABN AMRO, to
the extent not already pledged to ABN AMRO in accordance with
article 18 of the GBC, the present and future debts owing –
as regards future debts, the pledge being made in advance –
by ABN AMRO to the Borrower as security as stated above. The
Borrower hereby grants ABN AMRO a power of attorney to pledge these
debts, at any time and repeatedly, to itself on behalf of the
Borrower. This power of attorney is unconditional and
irrevocable.
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a right of
pledge on the rights of recourse and the subrogated rights arising
pursuant to the joint and several liability referred to in I.4.3.
of the Provisions.
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In order to
effectuate the above, the Borrower hereby pledges to ABN AMRO, to
the extent not already pledged in accordance with I.4.3. of the
Provisions, his aforementioned rights of recourse as security
stated above. If the Borrower is subrogated to the rights of ABN
AMRO, ABN AMRO reserves a pledge on the subrogated rights as
security as stated above.
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ABN AMRO hereby
accepts the above rights of pledge. This agreement constitutes a
notice of these pledges to the other parties referred to as the
Borrower and to ABN AMRO.
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Revolving
mortgage of EUR 26,000,000 plus 40% for interest and costs, on the
properties with the cadastral numbers Scherpenzeel D 3953, 3958,
3579, 3774, and 2370. Full details are included in the mortgage
deed.
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a first ranking
pledge of stocks and/or machinery and equipment and/or receivables
to be laid down in a pledge agreement. Though obliged to pledge the
inventory and receivables to ABN AMRO on an on-going basis,
the Borrower need only provide ABN AMRO, until further notice,
with an itemised and duly signed list of pledged inventory and
receivables at the beginning of every month.
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joint and
several liability of all parties named under 1. above, pursuant to
I.4. of the Provisions.
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After a
reduction of the Facility Amount in accordance with clause 1 of
this Agreement ABN AMRO and the Borrower may agree - on a case-by
case scenario – on a release of any of the securities (in
part or in its entirety) mentioned under (i) and (ii) of this
clause.
With a view to
the continuity of the Borrower’s business, ABN AMRO
deems it necessary that the following criteria must be satisfied
throughout the Facility period.
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INTEREST
COVERAGE RATIO. The Group’s interest coverage ratio must
amount to at least 5.
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TOTAL
DEBT/EBITDA. The Group’s total debt/ebitda ratio must amount
to no more than 3.
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TANGIBLE NET
WORTH/TOTAL ASSETS. The Group’s tangible net worth must
represent at least 30% of the adjusted balance sheet
total.
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For the purpose
of monitoring these covenants,
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adjusted
balance sheet total is
understood to mean:
total assets
minus the sum of (a) intangible assets, (b) deferred tax assets,
(c) participating interests, (d) receivables from shareholders
and/or directors, (e) shares held in the own company and (f)
intercompany loans, as shown in the annual accounts;
annual
accounts is understood to
mean:
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the
consolidated annual financial statements of Interface Europe
B.V.;
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interest
coverage ratio is
understood to mean:
earnings before
interest and taxation divided by the sum of gross interest paid and
capitalised interest, as shown in the annual accounts;
tangible net
worth is understood to
mean:
issued and
paid-up share capital plus reserves, deferred tax liabilities and
loans subordinated to the Borrower’s debts to ABN AMRO, minus
intangible assets, deferred tax assets, participating interests,
receivables from shareholders and/or directors and shares (the
Borrower) holds in his own company, as shown in the annual
accounts;
total
debt/ebitda ratio is
understood to mean:
the total
interest-bearing debt (including subordinated loans) divided by
earnings before interest, taxation and amortization, as shown in
the annual accounts; and
Group is understood to mean:
Interface
Europe B.V. and its direct and indirect subsidiaries as
consolidated in the annual accounts.
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(NEGATIVE
PLEDGE.) As long as the Borrower owes ABN AMRO any sum on any
account whatsoever, or may in any manner become indebted to
ABN AMRO as a result of present or future obligations, the
Borrower shall not and it shall procure that Interface Australia
Holdings Pty Ltd and its subsidiaries and Interface Europe Ltd
shall not:
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(i) transfer,
or promise to transfer, title to all or any of its assets to an
unaffiliated third party; nor
(ii) transfer,
or promise to transfer, title to any of the assets constituting
collateral under this facility to any affiliated third
party,
except where
such transfer forms part of its ordinary business and other
transfers up to an aggregate amount of EUR 3,000,000, or charge, or
promise to charge, all or any of its assets in favour of a third
party unless it has obtained the prior express consent (not to be
unreasonably withheld) of ABN AMRO with the exception of the
Borrower’s operating lease arrangements with Amstel Lease and
BPF Onroerend Goed Lease en Financieringen B.V. / BPF Onroerend
Goed Advies en Transacties B.V. (together hereinafter referred to
as “BPF”) and the financing arrangement dated 6 March
2009 between Interface Australia Holdings Pty Ltd and its
subsidiaries on the one hand and the Australia and New Zealand
Banking Group Limited on the other hand.
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on first demand
of ABN AMRO the Borrower will provide ABN AMRO with full cash cover
(to be held on a duly pledged deposit account) in respect of all
outstanding guarantees issued on behalf of the Borrower by ABN
AMRO;
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The Borrower
shall not and it shall procure that Interface Australia Holdings
Pty Ltd and its subsidiaries and Interface Europe Ltd shall not
enter into credit agreements with third parties exceeding an
aggregate amount of EUR 2,500,000 without the consent (not to be
unreasonably withheld) of ABN AMRO with the exception of the
Borrower’s operating lease transactions with Amstel Lease and
BPF. ABN AMRO is aware of the existing operating leasing
arrangement with Amstel Lease (Operational Lease Agreement number
371561.00 regarding packaging line, dated 1.11.6), the operating
lease arrangements with BPF (Operational Lease Agreements regarding
register-bound good Industrielaan 15 resp. Glashorst 135, as lastly
amended per deed dated 22.9.5) and the financing arrangement dated
6 March 2009 between Interface Australia Holdings Pty Ltd and its
subsidiaries on the one hand and the Australia and New Zealand
Banking Group Limited on the other hand;
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ABN AMRO
will receive a list of the Borrower's accounts payable to trade
suppliers at the beginning of every month;
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The Borrower
shall inform ABN AMRO immediately if:
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the Borrower
fails to comply with or fulfil, at the time and in the manner
required, any obligation under any other contractual obligation,
loan or financing arrangement with or any guarantee towards third
parties exceeding an aggregate amount of
EUR 1,000,000;and/or
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when the
Borrower becomes aware if Interface Inc., Interface Europe Ltd
and/or Interface Australia Holdings Pty Ltd (including its
subsidiaries) fail to comply with or fulfil, at the time and in the
manner required, any obligation under any loan or financing
arrangement with or any guarantee towards third parties exceeding
an aggregate amount of EUR 1,000,000.
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In addition to
any other condition required to be fulfilled hereunder, ABN AMRO
requires
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a copy of this
agreement duly signed on behalf of the Borrower; and
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b)
a copy of the Borrower’s current Articles of Association (
Statuten ) and extract from the Trade Register of the
Chamber of Commerce ( Uittreksel Handelsregister );
and
c)
copies of documents acceptable to ABN AMRO to authenticate the
identity of the signatories representing the Borrower.
7. GENERAL
BANKING CONDITIONS
The ABN AMRO
General Banking Conditions (the 'GBC') shall apply to the
relationship between ABN AMRO and the Borrower.
8.
INCORPORATION OF ABN AMRO CONDITIONS
ABN AMRO
General Credit Provisions dated July 2006 (the 'Provisions') shall
be incorporated into this agreement. By the execution of this
agreement the Borrower acknowledges receipt of a copy of the GBC
and the Provisions and agrees to the terms of the GBC, the
Provisions and this agreement. In the event of any conflict with
the GBC and or the Provisions, the terms of this agreement shall
prevail.
Contrary to the
Provisions, article I.5 (negative pledge) shall be replaced by the
negative pledge section in clause 5 of this agreement.
Part III of the
Provisions shall not apply to the Facility.
Agreed and
signed in Scherpenzeel on 24-4-2009.
Interface
Europe
B.V. ABN
AMRO Bank N.V.
/s/ J.
Hasselman
/s/ J. J. M. van de Ven
/s/ A. H.
van Keken
/s/ W. R. J. Lingrowt
Interface
Scherpenzeel
B.V. Interface
Nederland B.V.
/s/ J.
Hasselman
/s/ J. Hasselman
Name: J.
Hasselman Name:
J. Hasselman
Title: Director Title: Director
Interface
Flooring
B.V.
Interface Belgium B.V.
/s/ J.
Hasselman
/s/ J. Hasselman
Name: J.
Hasselman
Name: J.
Hasselman
Title: Director
Title: Director
Title: Director
of Interface Europe B.V.
Interface
International
B.V. Interface
Eastern Europe B.V.
/s/ J.
Hasselman
/s/ J. Hasselman
Name: J.
Hasselman
Name: J.
Hasselman
Title: Director
Title: Director
Heuga Home
Flooring
B.V. Interface
Foreign Investments B.V.
/s/ J.
Hasselman
/s/ J. Hasselman
Name: J.
Hasselman
Name: J.
Hasselman
Title: Director
Title: Director
ABN AMRO
GENERAL CREDIT PROVISIONS
consisting
of:
I Common
Provisions
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General
Provisions governing Overdraft and Contingent Liability
Facilities
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III General
Provisions governing Loans
(July
2006)
I COMMON
PROVISIONS
1 Definitions
In these
ABN AMRO General Credit Provisions the following terms shall
have the following meanings:
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'Borrower'
shall mean the legal or natural person or persons, both jointly and
individually, to whom the Credit has been or will be made
available;
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'ABN AMRO'
shall mean ABN AMRO Bank N.V., having its registered office in
Amsterdam, the Netherlands;
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'Credit
Agreement' shall mean the agreement concluded between the Borrower
and ABN AMRO in which these ABN AMRO General Credit
Provisions have been declared applicable;
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'Credit' shall
mean overdraft facilities and/or contingent liability facilities
and/or loans granted or to be granted to the Borrower under the
Credit Agreement.
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2 Availability
The Credit will
not be made available to the Borrower until all security,
undertakings (verklaringen) , documents and information
referred to in the Credit Agreement have been provided and all
other conditions in the Credit Agreement for the availability of
the Credit have been complied with.
3 Security
and undertakings (verklaringen)
3.1 Instruments
and priority
If security or
undertakings ( verklaringen ) are provided, these shall
secure any and all present or future indebtedness of the Borrower
to ABN AMRO on any basis whatsoever (including indebtedness arising
from derivative transactions), whether or not arising in the
ordinary course of banking business, and shall be laid down in
instruments to be drawn up by ABN AMRO or in the Credit Agreement.
Any costs in this regard shall be borne by the Borrower. Unless
otherwise stated, security provided to ABN AMRO shall rank first in
priority.
3.2 Mortgage
If a right of
mortgage is given, it shall be subject to the General Terms and
Conditions for Mortgages (Algemene Bepalingen voor
Hypotheekstelling) in addition to the provisions contained in
the mortgage deed. A right of mortgage on multiple registered
properties ( registergoederen ) shall be created by means of
separate rights of mortgage on each property individually, in each
case for the full principal amount plus interest and
costs.
3.3 Disclosure
The Borrower
agrees that if third parties have provided security or undertakings
(verklaringen) , ABN AMRO may furnish such third
parties with information about the Borrower's financial position
and any other information relating to the Credit that may be of
importance to such third parties.
4 Multiple
Borrowers/joint and several liability
4.1 Joint
and several liability
If the Borrower
consists of more than one legal or natural person, each of them
shall be jointly and severally liable to ABN AMRO for any and all
present or future indebtedness of any or all of them to ABN AMRO on
any basis whatsoever (including indebtedness arising from
derivative transactions), whether or not arising in the ordinary
course of banking business. Any costs in this regard shall be borne
by the Borrower. Unless otherwise stated, security provided to ABN
AMRO shall rank first in priority.
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Waiver of
defences and rights
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The Borrower
waives as against ABN AMRO all defences and rights accruing to
debtors with joint and several liability or to sureties (
borg ).
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Recourse rights
and subrogated rights
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Each Borrower
undertakes to pledge his rights of recourse against any of the
other parties referred to as Borrower and agrees that, if he is
subrogated to the rights of ABN AMRO against any of the other
parties referred to as Borrower, ABN AMRO reserves a right of
pledge on the subrogated rights. Both pledges shall secure any and
all present or future indebtedness of the Borrower to ABN AMRO on
any basis whatsoever (including indebtedness arising from
derivative transactions), whether or not arising in the ordinary
course of banking business.
To the extent
that a Borrower's rights of recourse or subrogated rights against
any of the other parties referred to as Borrower are not subject to
a right of pledge as described above, such rights shall be
subordinated to all present or future rights of ABN AMRO against
any of the other parties referred to as Borrower. For that
situation, each Borrower waives his right to subrogation in respect
of any security attached to the rights of ABN AMRO against any of
the other parties referred to as Borrower.
Subject to the
condition precedent that a Borrower is being sold to a third party
in connection with a restructuring (ontvlechting) , each
Borrower waives his rights of recourse or subrogated rights against
that Borrower.
4.4 Communications
Unless
otherwise stated, communications made by ABN AMRO to the Borrower
first named in the Credit Agreement shall be deemed to have been
made to all parties that are jointly and severally liable under
that agreement.
5 Negative
pledge
As long as the
Borrower owes ABN AMRO any sum whatsoever (including
indebtedness arising from derivative transactions), or may in any
manner become indebted to ABN AMRO as a result of present or
future obligations, the Borrower shall not transfer, or promise to
transfer, title to all or any of his assets – except
transfers in the ordinary course of business - or charge or
encumber, or promise to charge or encumber, all or any of his
assets in favour of a third party unless he has obtained ABN
AMRO’s prior written consent.
6 Prohibition
against transfer or pledge
Credit balances
on accounts held at ABN AMRO may not be transferred or pledged
other than to ABN AMRO.
7 Positive
pledge
Without
prejudice to the provisions of Article 20 of the General Banking
Conditions, the Borrower undertakes to ensure, at ABN AMRO's first
request, that security or additional security is provided, in the
form and amount desired by ABN AMRO, for the performance of any and
all present or future obligations of the Borrower to ABN AMRO on
any basis whatsoever (including indebtedness arising from
derivative transactions), whether or not arising in the ordinary
course of banking business.
8 Insurance
The Borrower
shall at all times maintain sufficient and adequate insurance
against general and specific business risks pertaining to his line
of business and his particular business.
9 Restructuring
clause (companies only)
The Borrower
shall notify ABN AMRO in a timely manner of any intended
changes in the Borrower's corporate structure or in that of his
subsidiaries or group companies, if any, including changes in the
identity of the shareholder(s) of the Borrower or any subsidiaries
or group companies.
10 Costs
and expenses
All costs and
expenses incurred by ABN AMRO in connection with the performance of
the Credit Agreement, including any taxes payable by ABN AMRO
(other than on net profit), as well as any reasonable costs and
expenses incurred by ABN AMRO in connection with the
Borrower's failure to comply with or fulfil any obligation under
the Credit Agreement at the time and in the manner required,
including collection charges, fees of legal advisers and other
experts and the costs of proceedings, irrespective of to whom owed,
shall be for the account of the Borrower and shall be paid by the
Borrower on ABN AMRO's first demand.
Provided more
than three months have elapsed since the signing of the Credit
Agreement, ABN AMRO shall have the right to refix an agreed
interest rate if the cost to ABN AMRO of making available, or
continuing to make available, the Credit has increased and this
increase results directly or indirectly from credit-restricting
measures (kredietbeperkende maatregelen) , solvency
guidelines or other rules or provisions increasing costs (including
lines of conduct the observance of which has been requested) of the
Dutch Central Bank (De Nederlandsche Bank) , the European
Central Bank or any other authority, monetary or
otherwise.
11 Calculation
of Interest
Interest shall
be calculated on the basis of a 360-day year (or, depending on the
market practice with respect to the relevant currency, 365 days)
and the actual number of days in any month.
12 Furnishing
of Information
12.1 Annual
accounts
The Borrower
shall send ABN AMRO his balance sheet, profit and loss account
and notes thereto for the past financial year immediately after
they have been drawn up but in any event not later than six months
after the end of the relevant financial year.
12.2 Other
Information
The Borrower
shall allow ABN AMRO to inspect his books and records on ABN
AMRO’s first demand, and shall provide ABN AMRO, both on its
first demand and unsolicited, with any information about his
financial position and business developments that could have a
material effect thereon.
13 General
Banking Conditions
All relations
between the Borrower and ABN AMRO shall also be governed by
the General Banking Conditions (Algemene Voorwaarden
ABN AMRO Bank N.V.) (the "General Banking Conditions"). In
the event of a conflict between the provisions of these ABN AMRO
General Credit Provisions and the General Banking Conditions, the
relevant provisions of these ABN AMRO General Credit Provisions
shall prevail. These ABN AMRO General Credit Provisions shall
remain applicable until all legal relations to which they apply
have been fully settled.
14 English
Legal Terminology
The words used
in these ABN AMRO General Credit Provisions to describe legal
concepts, although in English, refer to Dutch legal concepts only
and the consequences of the use of these words in English law or
any other foreign law shall be disregarded.
Any Dutch legal
concept referred to in these ABN AMRO General Credit Provisions
shall, in respect of any jurisdiction other than the Netherlands,
be deemed to include such concepts as in that jurisdiction most
closely approximate the Dutch legal concept.
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GENERAL
PROVISIONS GOVERNING OVERDRAFT AND CONTINGENT LIABILITY
FACILITIES
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1 Use
1.1 Overdraft
facility
An overdraft facility may be used;
- to
withdraw funds on current account;
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to enter into
non-cash contingent liabilities with a maximum term of one year,
unless agreed otherwise, such as those arising from the issuance of
guarantees, the issuance of letters of credit and the discounting
of bills; and
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in any other
manner stated in the Credit Agreement.
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1.2 Contingent
liability facility
A contingent
liability facility may be used to enter into non-cash contingent
liabilities, such as those arising from the issuance of guarantees,
the issuance of letters of credit and the discounting of
bills.
2. Balance
Netting
ABN AMRO will
apply balance netting to the current accounts held by the Borrower
at ABN AMRO, subject to the following provisions:
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Balance netting
shall be effected in the manner set out below under b., in respect
of all current accounts (including any deposits that are
administratively linked to a current account) held at ABN AMRO in
the Netherlands at any given time in the name of the Borrower and
which the Borrower is entitled to freely operate, whether
denominated in euro or in a foreign currency, to the extent that
the application of balance netting to an account is not precluded
by a request of the Borrower, a designation by ABN AMRO or, in the
opinion of ABN AMRO, the nature of the account or the relevant
currency.
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b. The
result of balance netting shall be equal to:
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the aggregate
of the credit balances on the current accounts referred to in a.,
increased by the amount of any deposits that are administratively
linked thereto, less:
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the aggregate
of the debit balances on the current accounts referred to in a.
above irrespective of the size of the balances to be taken into
account.
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The result of
balance netting shall be used solely for the purpose of determining
the unused portion of the overdraft facility .
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3. Contingent
liabilities/unused amount
3.1 Overdraft
facility
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For the purpose
of the calculation by ABN AMRO of the unused portion of the
overdraft facility at any given time, the amount of the overdraft
facility shall be:
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either reduced
by the then existing negative balance resulting from balance
netting or increased by the then existing positive balance
resulting from balance netting, as set out above under 2.b;
and
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reduced by the
non-cash contingent liabilities as set out above under 1.1, unless
these obligations can be charged to a contingent liability facility
granted to the Borrower; and
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reduced by
obligations arising from the use of the overdraft facility in any
other manner as set out above under 1.1.
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If the debit
balance on a current account is, in the opinion of ABN AMRO,
unacceptably high, the Borrower shall reduce that debit balance to
a level acceptable to ABN AMRO at ABN AMRO’s first
request.
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ABN AMRO may at
any time reject, in whole or in part, dispositions requested by the
Borrower if, after the disposition, the debit balance on the
relevant current account will, in the opinion of ABN AMRO, be
unacceptably high.
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3.2 Contingent
liability facility
The unused
portion of the contingent liability facility shall be determined by
reducing the amount of the facility by the aggregate, at any given
time, of the Borrower’s non-cash contingent liabilities to
ABN AMRO arising from the use of the contingent liability
facility.
4 Interest
and fees
4.1 Calculation
of debit interest
In calculating
interest on debit balances in euro up to the agreed amount of the
overdraft facility, ABN AMRO shall apply the ABN AMRO
Euro Base Rate (ABN AMRO Euro Basisrente) . Until further
notice, the ABN AMRO Euro Base Rate shall consist of the
leading refi rate (the rate of the main refinancing operation
(Basisherfinancieringsrente) ) as determined from time to
time by the European Central Bank (“ECB”), plus a debit
interest surcharge. With respect to the ABN AMRO Euro Base
Rate , ABN AMRO shall apply the minimum base rate stated in
the Credit Agreement. The ABN AMRO Euro Base Rate shall be
increased by the individual margin stated in the Credit Agreement.
If the ECB changes the rate of the main refinancing operation, or
ABN AMRO changes the debit interest surcharge or alters the
composition or method of calculation of the ABN AMRO Euro Base
Rate, the debit interest rate shall be adjusted accordingly.
ABN AMRO shall announce changes in the debit interest
surcharge as well as any alterations in the composition or method
of calculation of the ABN AMRO Euro Base Rate in at least
three national daily newspapers in the Netherlands. Interest on
debit balances in a currency other than the euro shall be payable
at a rate to be determined by ABN AMRO.
ABN AMRO may at
any time change the individual margin stated in the Credit
Agreement.
4.2 Interest
on overdrafts exceeding the agreed limit
Subject to the
provisions contained in 3.1 above, the Borrower shall pay ABN AMRO
compensation, in an amount to be determined by ABN AMRO, in respect
of the amount by which the Borrower’s debit balance exceeds
the agreed amount of the overdraft facility. The Borrower shall
nevertheless remain obliged to reduce the debit balance to the
agreed amount of the overdraft facility.
4.3 Payment
of debit interest and fees
Debit interest
and fees payable by the Borrower shall be charged to the Borrower's
current account as follows:
- debit
interest once every quarter;
- fees
at the times to be specified by ABN AMRO.
If the Borrower
holds more than one current account at ABN AMRO, ABN AMRO
shall have the right to charge debit interest and fees to any of
those accounts.
5 Cancellation/reduction
of credit amount
Both the
Borrower and ABN AMRO may at any time cancel an overdraft
facility or a contingent liability facility or reduce the credit
amount.
In the event of
cancellation, all amounts owing by the Borrower under the overdraft
facility shall be immediately due and payable, without any demand
or notice of default being required.
In the event of
cancellation, the Borrower shall also, at ABN AMRO’s first
demand, cause all latent obligations under non-cash contingent
liabilities to terminate or provide adequate cash collateral for
these obligations.
If the credit
amount is reduced, the above provisions shall apply mutatis
mutandis to the amount by which the sum of the debit balance
and the obligations under non-cash contingent liabilities exceeds
the reduced credit amount.
After
cancellation, no new withdrawals may be made and no further
non-cash contingent liabilities may be entered into.
III GENERAL
PROVISIONS GOVERNING LOANS
1 Availability
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In addition to
that stated in 2 of the General Provisions, the following shall
apply:
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ABN AMRO
shall not be obliged to make the loan amount available upon the
occurrence of any of the events set out in 5.1 below;
and
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if the loan has
not been drawn, or fully drawn, by the agreed final drawing date,
ABN AMRO may, in its discretion and without any further
instructions from the Borrower being required, make the undrawn
amount of the loan available to the Borrower on that
date.
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ABN AMRO shall
make the loan amount available by crediting it to a current account
which, according to ABN AMRO’s records, is held in the
Borrower’s name.
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2 Refixing
of interest rates
2.1 Fixed-interest
loans
If a fixed
interest rate has been agreed, ABN AMRO shall, not later than
two weeks prior to an agreed interest refixing date, notify the
Borrower in writing of the proposed - fixed or floating - interest
rate for the next interest period, subject to the provisions
contained in 2.3 below. Agreement on the interest rate must be
reached no later than one week prior to the interest refixing date.
If the Borrower fails to respond to the above notice from
ABN AMRO at least one week prior to the interest refixing
date, the Borrower shall be deemed to have opted for the interest
rate applicable to the shortest interest period referred to in the
notice. If ABN AMRO fails to give the above notice in a timely
manner, it shall nevertheless be free to do so at a later date. In
that event, ABN AMRO shall offer the Borrower the lower of the
interest rate it would have offered on the basis of its then
prevailing rates had the notice been given in time or the rate it
is able to offer based on its prevailing rates at the time of the
later notice. Agreement on the interest rate must be reached within
two weeks after the Borrower has received such notice from
ABN AMRO.
2.2 Floating
interest rate loan
ABN AMRO may
change the floating interest rate at any time. If ABN AMRO
elects to do so, it shall notify the Borrower in writing of the
change at least eleven days prior to the day on which it is to take
effect.
If the Borrower
does not agree to the new interest rate, he shall inform
ABN AMRO thereof in writing at least one week prior to the
interest refixing date. If the Borrower fails to respond to the
written notice from ABN AMRO by that date, the Borrower shall
be deemed to have agreed to the new rate.
If the Borrower
so requests at least two weeks prior to the first day of the next
calendar quarter or on a day the interest rate is changed,
ABN AMRO shall, on the first day of the next calendar quarter,
convert such floating rate loan into a fixed rate loan at
ABN AMRO's then prevailing interest rate.
2.3 Loan
in foreign currency
If a loan is
not denominated in euro, the Borrower shall contact ABN AMRO
by telephone before 10.00 a.m. (Amsterdam time) two business days
prior to the agreed interest refixing date. Business day shall mean
a day on which banking institutions in the Netherlands and the
country where the currency in which the loan is denominated is the
national unit are open for business.
During or
immediately after such telephone call, ABN AMRO shall inform
the Borrower of the interest rate it proposes for the next interest
period. If ABN AMRO and the Borrower then reach agreement,
ABN AMRO shall confirm the interest rate to the Borrower in
writing.
If the Borrower
fails to contact ABN AMRO before the time indicated above,
ABN AMRO shall have the right to refix the interest rate on
the basis of a one-year interest period.
2.4 No
agreement/assent on interest rate
If
ABN AMRO and the Borrower fail, or are deemed to have failed,
to reach agreement on the fixed interest rate that will apply from
the interest refixing date and the period for which it will apply,
or if the Borrower does not agree to the floating rate that will
apply from the interest refixing date, the entire amount
outstanding under the relevant loan shall become due and payable by
the Borrower to ABN AMRO on such interest refixing date. The
Borrower shall not be liable to pay compensation for losses and
foregone profits (geleden verlies en gederfde winst)
resulting from such early repayment, as referred to in 4.1 or
4.2.
3 Interest
due dates
If a fixed
interest rate is in effect, the interest shall be paid by the
Borrower to ABN AMRO on the dates stated in the Credit Agreement.
If a floating interest rate is in effect, the interest shall be
paid by the Borrower to ABN AMRO on the first day of each calendar
quarter.
4 Early
repayment
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If a fixed
interest rate is in effect and the loan is denominated in euro, the
Borrower shall be entitled to make early repayments without
becoming liable to pay ABN AMRO compensation for losses and
foregone profits (geleden verlies en gederfde winst)
provided the following conditions are met:
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the Borrower
has given ABN AMRO at least one month's prior notice by
registered letter, indicating the amount and date of the intended
early repayment; and
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the early
repayment coincides with a contractual repayment date or an agreed
interest due date; and
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the prepaid
amount is at least EUR 1,000, subject to a maximum in any one
calendar year of 5% of the original principal amount of the loan;
and
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the Borrower
proves to ABN AMRO's satisfaction that the repayment will be
made from the Borrower's own resources.
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If the Borrower
fails to meet one or more of the above conditions or if the loan is
denominated in a foreign currency, the Borrower shall owe ABN AMRO
compensation for the latter’s losses and foregone profits
(geleden verlies en gederfde winst) in relation to any part
of the early payment made in a manner other than as agreed or in
excess of the maximum agreed, to be paid together with such early
repayment.
This
compensation shall be fixed by ABN AMRO at the difference
between:
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the aggregate
of the present values of the inter
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