EXHIBIT
10.1
FALL MATURITY CREDIT
AGREEMENT
Dated as of March 26,
2009
Among
TENNESSEE VALLEY
AUTHORITY,
as the Borrower
BANK OF AMERICA, N.A.,
as Administrative Agent
BANK OF AMERICA, N.A.,
as a Lender
and
THE OTHER LENDERS PARTY
HERETO
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Table of Contents
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ARTICLE
I DEFINITIONS AND ACCOUNTING TERMS
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1
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1.01
Defined
Terms
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1
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1.02
Other
Interpretive Provisions
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15
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1.03
Accounting
Terms
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15
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1.04
Times
of Day
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16
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1.05
Letter
of Credit Amounts
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16
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ARTICLE
II THE COMMITMENTS AND LOANS
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16
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2.01
Loans
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16
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2.02
Borrowings,
Conversions and Continuations of Loans
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17
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2.03
Letter
of Credit
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18
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2.04
Prepayments
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26
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2.05
Termination
or Reduction of Aggregate Commitments; Availability
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26
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2.06
Repayment
of Loans
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27
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2.07
Interest
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27
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2.08
Commitment
Fee
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28
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2.09
Computation
of Interest and Fees
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28
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2.10
Evidence of
Debt
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28
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2.11
Payments
Generally; Administrative Agent’s Clawback
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29
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2.12
Sharing
of Payments by Lenders
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30
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ARTICLE
III TAXES, YIELD PROTECTION AND ILLEGALITY
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31
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3.01
Taxes
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31
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3.02
Illegality
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33
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3.03
Inability to
Determine Rates
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34
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3.04
Increased
Costs
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34
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3.05
Compensation for
Losses
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35
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3.06
Mitigation Obligations;
Replacement of Lenders
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36
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3.07
Survival
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36
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ARTICLE
IV CONDITIONS PRECENDENT TO LOANS
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36
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4.01
Conditions to
Closing
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36
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4.02
Conditions to all Credit
Extensions
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37
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ARTICLE
V REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES
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38
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5.01
Existence, Qualification and
Power
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38
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5.02
Authorization; No
Contravention
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38
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5.03
Governmental Authorization;
Other Consents
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38
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5.04
Binding Effect
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39
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5.05
Financial Statements; No
Material Adverse Effect
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39
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5.06
Litigation
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39
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5.07
No Default
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39
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5.08
Ownership of Property;
Liens
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40
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5.09
Environmental
Compliance
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40
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5.10
Payment of Governmental
Charges
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40
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5.11
ERISA
Compliance
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40
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5.12
Margin Regulations;
Investment Company Act; Public Utility Holding Company
Act
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41
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5.13
Disclosure
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41
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5.14
Compliance with
Laws
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42
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ARTICLE
VI AFFIRMATIVE COVENANTS
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42
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6.01
Financial
Statements
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42
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6.02
Certificates; Other
Information
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42
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6.03
Notices
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43
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6.04
Payment of
Obligations
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44
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6.05
Preservation of
Existence, Etc.
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44
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6.06
Maintenance
of Properties
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44
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6.07
Maintenance
of Insurance
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44
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6.08
Compliance
with Laws
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45
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6.09
Books and
Records
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45
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6.10
Inspection Rights
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45
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6.11
Use of Proceeds
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45
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ARTICLE
VII NEGATIVE COVENANTS
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46
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7.01
Liens
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46
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7.02
Indebtedness
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46
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7.03
Fundamental Changes;
Subsidiaries
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46
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7.04
Change in Nature of
Business
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46
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7.05
Use of Proceeds
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46
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ARTICLES
VIII EVENTS OF DEFAULT AND REMEDIES
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47
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8.01
Events of
Default
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47
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8.02
Remedies Upon Event
of Default
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49
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8.03
Application
of Funds
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49
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ARTICLE
IX ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
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50
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9.01
Appointment
and Authority
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50
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9.02
Rights and
Obligations as a Lender
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50
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9.03
Exculpatory
Provisions
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51
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9.04
Reliance by
Administrative Agent
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52
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9.05
Delegation of Duties
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52
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9.06
Resignation of Administrative Agent
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52
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9.07
Non-Reliance on Administrative Agent and Other
Lenders
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53
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9.08
No Other Duties; Etc.
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53
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9.09
Administrative Agent May File Proofs of
Claim
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53
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ARTICLES
X MISCELLANEOUS
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54
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10.01
Amendments,
Etc.
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54
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10.02 Notices
and Other Communications; Facsimile Copies
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55
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10.03 No
Waiver, Cumulative Remedies
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57
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10.04 Expenses;
Indemnity; and Damage Waiver
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57
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10.05 Payments
Set Aside
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59
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10.06 Successors
and Assigns
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59
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10.07 Treatment
of Certain Information; Confidentiality
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62
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10.08
Set-off
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62
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10.09 Interest
Rate Limitation
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63
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10.10 Counterparts;
Integration; Effectiveness
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63
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10.11 Survival
of Representations and Warranties
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63
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10.12 Severability
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63
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10.13 Replacement
of Lenders
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64
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10.14 Termination
of Existing Fall Maturity Credit Facility
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64
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10.15 Governing
Law; Jurisdiction; Etc.
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64
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10.16 Waiver
of Right to Trial by Jury
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65
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10.17 USA
PATRIOT Act Notice
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66
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10.18 Statement
of Borrower regarding the Bankruptcy Code of the
UnitedStates
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66
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10.19 No
Advisory or Fiduciary Responsibility
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66
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10.20 TVA
Related Provisions
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66
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EXHIBITS
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2.02 Form
of Loan Notice
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2.10 Form
of Note
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10.07 Form
of Assignment and Assumption
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10.20 Certification
for Contracts, Grants, Loans, and CooperativeAgreements
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FALL MATURITY CREDIT
AGREEMENT
This FALL MATURITY CREDIT
AGREEMENT is entered into as of March 26, 2009 among TENNESSEE
VALLEY AUTHORITY, a wholly owned corporate agency and
instrumentality of the United States of America
(the “ Borrower ”), the Lenders (defined herein)
and BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., as a Lender and as Administrative
Agent.
The Borrower has requested
that the Lenders provide $1.00 billion in credit facilities for the
purposes set forth herein, and the Lenders are willing to do so on
the terms and conditions
In consideration of the mutual
covenants and agreements herein contained, the parties hereto
covenant and agree as follows:
ARTICLE I
DEFINITIONS AND ACCOUNTING
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
a form supplied by the Administrative Agent.
“ Affiliate
” means, with respect to any Person, another Person that
directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries,
Controls or is Controlled by or is under common Control
with the Person specified.
“ Aggregate
Commitments ” means the aggregate of the Commitments of
all the Lenders. The amount of the Aggregate Commitments
in effect on the Closing Date is ONE BILLION
DOLLARS ($1,000,000,000).
“ Agreement
” means this Fall Maturity Credit Agreement.
“ Annual Financial
Statements ” means the balance sheet of the Borrower as
of the end of the fiscal year ended September 30, 2008, and the
related statements of income and cash flows
“ 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 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, for any day, the percentages per annum set forth on
Schedule 1.01 based upon the S&P Debt Rating and the
Moody’s Debt Rating then in effect.
The
Applicable Rate shall be determined by the
Administrative Agent based on the lower of the S&P Debt Rating
and Moody’s Debt Rating then in effect. Each
change in the Applicable
Rate shall be effective on and as of the date of
such change and shall be applicable to all existing Credit
Extensions and to any new Credit Extensions made on and after the
date thereof.
“ 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
“ Assignment and
Assumption ” means an assignment and assumption entered
into by a Lender and an Eligible 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 10.07 or any
other form approved by the Administrative Agent and the
Borrower.
“ 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 2.05 , 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
“ 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 Federal Funds Rate plus one and one-half of one
percent (1.5%), (b) the LIBOR Rate for
an Interest Period of 30 days plus one and
one-half of one percent (1.5%) and (c) the Prime Rate.
“ Base Rate Loan
” means a Loan that bears interest based on the Base
Rate.
“ Borrower
” has the meaning specified in the introductory paragraph
hereto.
“ Borrowing
” means a borrowing consisting of simultaneous Loans of the
same Type and, in the case of LIBOR Rate Loans, having the same
Interest Period, made by each of the
Lenders pursuant to Section 2.01
.
“ 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 LIBOR Rate Loan, means any
such day on which dealings in Dollar deposits are conducted by
and
between banks in the LIBOR market.
“ Businesses
” means, at any time, a collective reference to the
businesses operated by the Borrower at such time.
“ 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
guideline or directive
by any Governmental Authority.
“ Closing Date
” means the date hereof.
“ Commitment
” means, as to each Lender, its obligation to make Loans to
the Borrower pursuant to Section 2.01 and purchase
participations in L/C Obligations pursuant to
Section 2.03(a) 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.
“ Contractual
Obligation ” means, as to any Person, any provision of
any security issued by such Person or of any agreement, instrument
or other undertaking to which such Person
is a party or by which it or any 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. Without limiting the generality of the
foregoing, a Person shall be deemed
to be Controlled by another Person if such other
Person possesses, directly or indirectly, power to vote five
percent (5%) or more of the securities having ordinary voting power
for the
election of directors, managing general partners
or the equivalent.
“ Credit
Extension ” means each of the following: (a) a Borrowing
and (b) an L/C Credit Extension.
“ 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) with respect to any Loan, the interest rate
(including any Applicable Rate and any applicable Liquidity
Premium) otherwise applicable to such Loan plus
two
percent (2%) per annum, (b) with respect to the
Letter of Credit Fees, a rate equal to the sum of (i) the
Applicable Rate plus (ii) two percent (2%) per annum, and
(c) with respect to any
other Obligation, an interest rate equal to the
sum of (i) the Base Rate plus (ii) the Applicable Rate,
if any, applicable to Base Rate Loans plus (iii) two percent
(2%) per annum, in each
case to the fullest extent permitted by
applicable Laws.
“ Defaulting
Lender ” means any Lender that (a) has failed to fund any
portion of the Loans or participations in L/C Obligations required
to be funded by it hereunder within
one Business Day of the date
required to be funded by it hereunder, (b) has 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 (1) Business Day of the date when due, unless
the subject of a good faith dispute, or (c) has been deemed
insolvent or become the subject of a
bankruptcy or insolvency
proceeding.
“ Dollar ”
and “ $ ” mean lawful money of the United
States.
“ Eligible
Assignee ” means (a) a Lender; (b) an Affiliate of a
Lender; (c) an Approved Fund; and (d) any other Person (other than
a natural person) approved by (i) the Administrative
Agent, (ii) the L/C Issuer and (iii) unless an
Event of Default has occurred and is continuing, the Borrower (each
such approval not to be unreasonably withheld or
delayed);
provided that notwithstanding the foregoing,
“Eligible Assignee” shall not include (i) the Borrower
or any of the Borrower’s Affiliates or (ii) without the
consent of the Borrower, any Person
that is primarily in the business of producing
or transmitting electricity.
“ Environmental
Laws ” means to the extent 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 sewer systems: any and
all applicable federal, state, local and foreign statutes, laws,
regulations,
ordinances, rules or judgments; any and all
applicable administrative orders, decrees, permits, concessions,
grants, franchises, licenses or agreements made with or issued by
any
governmental authority; and any and all
applicable governmental restrictions.
“ Environmental
Liability ” means any liability, contingent or otherwise
(including any liability for damages, costs of environmental
remediation, fines, penalties or indemnities), of the
Borrower 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.
“ 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)
that, together with the Borrower, is treated as a single employer
under Section 414(b) or (c) of the Internal
Revenue Code or, solely for purposes of Section
302 of ERISA and Section 412 of the Internal Revenue Code, is
treated as a single employer under Section 414 of the Internal
Revenue 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
reorganization; (d)
the filing of a notice of intent to
terminate, the treatment of a Plan amendment as a termination under
Sections 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.
“ 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 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 and
(c) in the case of a Foreign Lender (other than
an assignee pursuant to a request by the Borrower under Section
10.13 ), any withholding tax that is imposed on amounts payable
to such
Foreign Lender at the time such Foreign Lender
becomes a party hereto (or designates a new Lending Office) or is
attributable to such Foreign Lender’s failure or inability
(other than as
a result of a Change in Law occurring after such
Foreign Lender becomes a party hereto) to comply with Section
3.01(e) , 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
“ Existing Credit
Agreement ” has the meaning specified in Section
10.14 .
“ Facilities
” means, at any time, a collective reference to the
facilities and real properties owned, leased or operated by the
Borrower.
“ 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 one-hundredth
of one percent (1/100 of 1%)) charged to Bank of America on such
day on such transactions as determined by the Administrative
Agent.
“ Foreign Lender
” means any Lender that is organized under the laws of a
jurisdiction other than that in which the Borrower is resident for
tax purposes (including such a Lender when
acting in the capacity of the L/C
Issuer). For purposes of this definition, the United
States, each State thereof and the District of Columbia shall be
deemed to constitute a single jurisdiction.
“ 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
business.
“ GAAP ”
means generally accepted accounting principles in the United States
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, including, without limitation, Financial
Accounting
Standards Board Statement No. 71, Accounting
for the Effects of Certain Types of Regulation ,
consistently applied and as in effect from time to time.
“ 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).
“ 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.
“ Honor Date
” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.03(c)
.
“ Impacted Lender
” means any Lender as to which (a) the L/C Issuer has a good
faith belief that such Lender has failed to fulfill its obligations
under one or more other syndicated
credit facilities or (b) any Person that
controls such Lender has been deemed insolvent or has become the
subject of a bankruptcy or any other similar proceeding.
“ Indemnified
Taxes ” means Taxes other than Excluded Taxes.
“ Indemnitees
” has the meaning specified in Section 10.04(b)
.
“ Interest Payment
Date ” means (a) as to any LIBOR 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 LIBOR Rate Loan exceeds
one month, the respective dates that fall every month after the
beginning of such Interest Period shall also be Interest Payment
Dates; and
(b) as to any Base Rate Loan, the last Business
Day of each calendar month and the Maturity Date.
“ Interest Period
” means, as to each LIBOR Rate Loan, the period commencing on
the date such LIBOR Rate Loan is disbursed or converted to or
continued as a LIBOR Rate Loan and
ending on the date one, two, three or six months
thereafter, as selected by the Borrower in its Loan Notice;
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 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.
“ Interim Financial
Statements ” means the balance sheet of the Borrower as
of the end of the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2008, and the
related statements of income and
cash flows for such fiscal year.
“ Internal Revenue
Code ” means the Internal Revenue Code of
1986.
“ 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 in favor of the L/C
Issuer and relating to such Letter of Credit.
“ Laws ”
means, collectively, all international, foreign, federal, state and
local statutes, treaties, rules, regulations, ordinances, codes and
binding 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 binding administrative orders,
directed duties, requests, licenses, authorizations and permits of,
and agreements with, any Governmental Authority.
“ 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
“ 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 (including
any deemed issuance of a Letter of Credit
pursuant to Section 2.03(l) ).
“ L/C Exposure
” means the sum of (a) the Outstanding Amount of all L/C
Obligations plus (b) the Outstanding Amount of all L/C
Obligations under the Spring Maturity
Credit Agreement (as used in this clause (b),
the terms “Outstanding Amount” and “L/C
Obligations” shall have the meanings assigned to such terms
in the Spring Maturity
Credit Agreement as in effect on the date
hereof).
“ L/C Issuer
” means Bank of America in its capacity as issuer of Letters
of Credit or any successor issuer of Letters of Credit.
“ 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 1.05 . For all purposesof 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 ”
means each of Bank of America and the other Persons identified as a
“Lender” on the signature pages hereto and its
successors and assigns and, as the context requires.
“ 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.
“ 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
Fee ” has the meaning specified in Section 2.03(i)
.
“ Letter of Credit
Sublimit ” means an amount equal to the lesser of (a) the
Aggregate Commitments and (b) $900 million. The Letter
of Credit Sublimit is part of, and not in addition
to, the Aggregate Commitments.
“ Letter of Credit
Transfer Notice ” has the meaning specified in Section
2.03(l)(i) .
“ LIBOR Base Rate
” means, for any Interest Period with respect to a LIBOR Rate
Loan, the rate per annum equal to the British Bankers Association
LIBOR Rate (“ BBA LIBOR ”), as
published by Reuters (or other commercially
available source providing quotations of BBA LIBOR as designated by
the Administrative Agent from time to time) 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. If such rate is not
available at such time for any reason, then the “LIBOR
Rate” for such Interest Period shall be the rate per annum
determined by the Administrative Agent
(and agreed to by the Borrower) 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
LIBOR
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 LIBOR market at their request at
approximately 11:00 a.m. (London time) two Business Days prior to
the commencement of such Interest Period.
“ LIBOR Rate
” means, for any Interest Period with respect to any LIBOR
Rate Loan, a rate per annum determined by the Administrative Agent
to be equal to the quotient obtained by
dividing (a) the LIBOR Base Rate for such LIBOR
Rate Loan for such Interest Period by (b) one (1) minus the LIBOR
Reserve Percentage for such LIBOR Rate Loan for such Interest
Period.
“ LIBOR Rate Loan
” means a Loan that bears interest at a rate based on the
LIBOR Rate.
“ LIBOR Reserve
Percentage ” means, for any day during any Interest
Period, the reserve percentage (expressed as a decimal, carried out
to five (5) decimal places) in effect on such
day, whether or notapplicable
to any Lender, under regulations issued from time to time by the
FRB for determining the maximum reserve requirement (including any
emergency, supplemental
or other marginal reserve
requirement) with respect to eurocurrency funding
(currently referred to as “eurocurrency
liabilities”). The LIBOR Rate for each outstanding
LIBOR Rate Loan shall
be adjusted automatically as
of the effective date of any change in the LIBOR Reserve
Percentage.
“ 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).
“ Liquidity
Premium ” means, for any day, the following percentages
per annum based upon the Notice Period and the principal amount of
any Borrowing, any conversion of Loans
from one Type to the other and any continuation
of LIBOR Rate Loans:
|
|
|
Size of Borrowing, Conversion or
Continuation
|
|
|
Notice Period
|
|
< $500 Million
|
|
|
> $500 Million but less than $1
Billion
|
|
|
> $1 Billion but less than $1.25
Billion
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Same Day
|
|
|
0.05
|
%
|
|
|
0.05
|
%
|
|
|
0.10
|
%
|
|
One Day
|
|
|
0.05
|
%
|
|
|
0.05
|
%
|
|
|
0.05
|
%
|
|
Two or More Days
|
|
|
0.00
|
%
|
|
|
0.00
|
%
|
|
|
0.00
|
%
|
The Liquidity Premium shall
apply to each Borrowing, each conversion of Loans from one Type to
the other, and each continuation of LIBOR Rate Loans. As
used herein, “Notice Period” means the period equal to
the number of Business Days notice that the Borrower provides to
the Administrative Agent pursuant to Section 2.02 prior to
the date of the applicable Borrowing, conversion or continuation
(any such notice provided after 1:00 pm on any Business Day shall
for purposes hereof be deemed to have been provided on the
immediately succeeding Business Day). If the Borrower
fails to give a timely notice requesting a conversion or
continuation of an outstanding Loan and such Loan is converted to,
or continued as, a LIBOR Rate Loan with an Interest Period of one
month pursuant to Section 2.02 , then, for purposes of the
Liquidity Premium, the Borrower shall be deemed to have given same
day notice for such conversion or continuation.
“ Loan ”
has the meaning specified in Section 2.01 .
“ Loan Documents
” means this Agreement, each Note and each Issuer
Document.
“ Loan Notice
” means a notice of (a) a Borrowing of Loans, (b) a
conversion of Loans from one Type to the other, or (c) a
continuation of LIBOR Rate Loans, in each case pursuant
to
Section 2.02(a) , which, if in writing, shall be substantially
in the form of Exhibit 2.02 .
“ Material Adverse
Effect ” means (a) a material adverse change in, or a
material adverse effect upon, the operations, business, properties,
liabilities (actual or contingent) or condition
(financial or otherwise) of the Borrower; (b) a
material impairment of the ability of the Borrower to perform its
obligations under any Loan Document to which it is a party; or (c)
a
material adverse effect upon the legality,
validity, binding effect or enforceability against the Borrower of
any Loan Document. The parties agree that a downgrade of
the S&P Debt Rating
or the Moody’s Debt Rating shall not
itself constitute a Material Adverse Effect.
“ Maturity Date
” means November 9, 2009.
“ Moody’s
” means Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. and any
successor thereto.
“ Moody’s Debt
Rating ” means, at any time, the rating (if any) assigned
to the Borrower’s senior unsecured long term non-credit
enhanced debt by Moody’s.
“ 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.
“ Note ”
has the meaning specified in Section 2.10 .
“ Nuclear
Decommissioning Trust ” means the Nuclear Decommissioning
Trust established by the Borrower to fund the future
decommissioning of nuclear power facilities operated by
“ Obligations
” means all advances to, and debts, liabilities, obligations,
covenants and duties of, the Borrower arising under any Loan
Document, 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.
“ 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 (a) with respect to any Loans on any date,
the aggregate outstanding principal amount thereof after giving
effect to any borrowings and prepayments
or repayments of any Loans occurring on such
date; and (b) 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)
.
“ PBGC ”
means the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation or any successor
thereto.
“ 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.
“ Permitted Liens
” means any of the following:
(a) Liens
pursuant to any Loan Document;
(b)
the pledge by the Borrower of Net Power Proceeds (as defined under
the Power Resolution) to secure bonds, notes and other evidences of
indebtedness issued
under the Power Resolution;
(c) Liens
existing on the date hereof and listed on Schedule 7.01
;
(d) Liens
for taxes (other than Liens imposed under ERISA), assessments or
governmental charges or levies not yet due or which are being
contested in good faith and
by appropriate proceedings diligently
conducted, if adequate reserves with respect thereto are maintained
on the books of the applicable Person in accordance with
GAAP;
(e) Liens
imposed under Law, including statutory Liens of landlords and Liens
of carriers, warehousemen, mechanics, material men and suppliers,
and Liens imposed
pursuant to customary reservations or
retentions of title arising in the ordinary course of business,
provided that such Liens secure only amounts not yet due and
payable or, if
due and payable, are unfiled and no other
action has been taken to enforce the same or are being contested in
good faith by appropriate proceedings for which adequate
reserves determined in accordance with GAAP
have been established;
(f) pledges
or deposits in the ordinary course of business in connection with
workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance, Pension Plan,
Nuclear Decommissioning
Trust and other social security
legislation, other than any Lien imposed by ERISA;
(g) deposits
to secure the performance of bids, trade contracts and leases
(other than indebtedness), statutory obligations, surety bonds
(other than bonds related to
judgments or litigation), performance bonds
and other obligations of a like nature incurred in the ordinary
course of business;
(h) easements,
rights-of-way, restrictions, licenses, permits and other similar
encumbrances affecting real property which, in the aggregate, do
not materially interfere
with the ordinary conduct of the
Borrower’s power program;
(i) Liens
securing judgments for the payment of money (or appeal or other
surety bonds relating to such judgments) not in excess of the
Threshold Amount (except to
the extent covered by independent
third-party insurance as to which the insurer has acknowledged in
writing its obligation to cover), unless any such judgment
remains
undischarged for a period of more
than thirty consecutive days during which execution is not
effectively stayed;
(j) Liens
securing Indebtedness incurred to provide funds for the
construction, acquisition, enlargement, improvement, replacement,
operation and maintenance of the
Borrower’s power system;
provided that (i) such Liens do not at any time encumber any
Property other than (A) the Property financed by such indebtedness,
(B) supporting and
other related
facilities, including without limitation, facilities that are
shared or used in common by multiple units or facilities and that
are necessary for or otherwise used in the
operation of the Property
being financed and (C) other Property to the extent such Liens
would otherwise be Permitted Liens, (ii) the indebtedness secured
thereby does not
exceed the cost or fair
market value, whichever is lower, of the Property being
acquired on the date of acquisition and (iii) such Liens attach to
such Property concurrently
with or within one year
after (A) the later of the completion of such
construction or commencement of full operation of such
Property or (B) ninety (90) days from the acquisition
(k) leases,
subleases, licenses or easements involving real or personal
property, whether or not the economic equivalent of a sale, where
the Borrower obtains a sublease,
service contract or other arrangements
giving the Borrower a right to the output or use of related
Property which is the subject of such lease, sublease, license or
easement
(“ Lease Transactions ”), and
Liens granted in such leaseholds, sub leaseholds, licenses or
easements in connection with such Lease Transactions;
(l) leases
or subleases granted to others not interfering in any material
respect with the business of the Borrower;
(m) any
interest of title of a lessor under, and Liens arising from UCC
financing statements (or equivalent filings, registrations or
agreements in foreign jurisdictions)
relating to, leases permitted by this
Agreement;
(n) Liens
deemed to exist in connection with investments in repurchase
agreements;
(o) normal
and customary rights of setoff upon deposits of cash in favor of
banks or other depository institutions;
(p) Liens
of a collection bank arising under Section 4-210 of the Uniform
Commercial Code on items in the course of collection;
(q) Liens
of sellers of goods to the Borrower arising under Article 2 of the
Uniform Commercial Code or similar provisions of applicable law in
the ordinary course of
business, covering only the goods sold and
securing only the unpaid purchase price for such goods and related
expenses;
(r)
Liens existing on Property at the time of the
acquisition thereof by the Borrower, provided that such
Liens are not created in contemplation of such
acquisition;
(s)
Liens in favor of the L/C Issuer on cash
collateral securing the obligations of a Defaulting Lender or an
Impacted Lender to fund risk participations in Letters
of
(t) any
renewals or extensions of any Liens permitted under (b), (c), (j),
or (l) above, provided that (i) any renewal or extension is
limited to the Property subject to such
Lien, (ii) the amount secured or
benefited thereby is not increased, (iii) the direct or any
contingent obligor with respect to the Lien is not changed and (iv)
any renewal or
extension of any indebtedness secured
or benefited thereby is permitted by Section 7.02
.
“ Person ”
means any natural person, corporation, limited liability company,
trust, jointventure, 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 Internal Revenue Code or Title
IV of ERISA, any ERISA Affiliate.
“ Power
Resolution ” means the Basic Tennessee Valley Authority
Power Bond Resolution, as amended from time to time.
“ Pricing Increase
Condition ” means any of the following: (a) the aggregate
outstanding principal amount of Loans plus the aggregate
outstanding principal amount of L/C Borrowings
exceeds an amount equal to 25% of the Aggregate
Commitments or (b) the aggregate outstanding principal amount of
Loans plus the aggregate outstanding principal amount of
L/C
Borrowings exceeds $0 on the date of
determination and on each of the 59 consecutive calendar days
preceding the date of determination.
“ Prime Rate
” means, for any day, 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 the
“prime 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.
“ Property
” means any interest of any kind in any property or asset,
whether real, personal or mixed, or tangible or
intangible.
“ 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
and advisors of such Person and of such
“ Reportable
Event ” means any of the events set forth in Section
4043(c) of ERISA, other than events for which the thirty-day notice
period has been waived.
“ Request for Credit
Extension ” means (a) with respect to a Borrowing,
conversion or continuation of Loans, a Loan Notice, and (b) with
respect to an L/C Credit Extension, a Letter of
Credit Application or a Letter of Credit
Transfer Notice, as applicable.
“ Required
Lenders ” means, at any time, Lenders holding in the
aggregate more than 50% of (a) the unfunded Commitments and
the outstanding Loans, L/C Obligations and
participations therein or (b) if the
Commitments have been terminated, the outstanding Loans, L/C
Obligations and participations therein. The unfunded
Commitments of, and the
outstanding Loans, L/C Obligations and
participations therein held or deemed held by, any Defaulting
Lender shall be excluded for purposes of making a determination of
Required Lenders.
“ Responsible
Officer ” means the Chief Financial Officer, the
Treasurer, the Senior Manager, Finance, or the Senior Manager,
Treasury Management, of the Borrower. Any document
delivered hereunder that is signed by a
Responsible Officer shall be conclusively presumed to have been
authorized by all necessary action on the part of the Borrower and
such
Responsible Officer shall be conclusively
presumed to have acted on behalf of the Borrower.
“ S&P ”
means Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, a division of
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. and any successor
thereto.
“ S&P Debt
Rating ” means, at any time, the rating (if any) assigned
to the Borrower’s senior unsecured long term non-credit
enhanced debt by S&P.
“ SEC ”
means the Securities and Exchange Commission, or any Governmental
Authority succeeding to any of its principal functions.
“ Spring Maturity
Credit Agreement ” means the Spring Maturity Credit
Agreement dated as of the date hereof among the Borrower, the
lenders identified therein and Bank of America,
“ Spring Maturity
Letter of Credit ” has the meaning specified in
Section 2.03(l)(i) .
“ 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 Voting Stock is at the
time beneficially owned, directly, or indirectly
through one or more intermediaries, or both, by such
Person.
“ Taxes ”
means all present or future taxes, levies, imposts, duties,
deductions, withholdings, assessments, fees or other charges
imposed by any Governmental Authority (other than
Other Taxes), including any interest, additions
to tax or penalties applicable thereto.
“ Threshold
Amount ” means $1 billion.
“ Total Revolving
Outstandings ” means the aggregate Outstanding Amount of
all Loans and all L/C Obligations.
“ TVA Act ”
means the Tennessee Valley Authority Act of 1933, as
amended.
“ Type ”
means, with respect to any Loan, its character as a Base Rate Loan
or a LIBOR 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 that Pension Plan pursuant to Section 412 of the
Internal Revenue 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) .
“ Voting Stock
” means, with respect to any Person, capital stock or other
ownership and equity interests issued by such Person the holders of
which are ordinarily, in the absence of
contingencies, entitled to vote for the election
of directors (or persons performing similar functions) of such
Person, even though the right so to vote has been suspended by
the
happening of such a contingency.
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 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 “ until ” 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
(a)
Generally . Except as otherwise specifically
provided herein, all accounting terms not specifically or
completely defined herein shall be construed in conformity with,
and all
financial data (including
financial ratios and other financial calculations) required to be
submitted pursuant to this Agreement shall be prepared in
conformity with, GAAP
applied on a consistent basis, as in effect from time to
time, applied in a manner consistent with that used in preparing
the Annual Financial Statements.
(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, 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.
Unless otherwise specified, all references
herein to times of day shall be references to Eastern time
(daylight or standard, as then applicable).
1.05
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 LOANS
Subject to the terms and conditions set forth
herein, each Lender severally agrees to make loans (each such loan,
a “ Loan ”) to the Borrower in Dollars 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 such
Lender’s Commitment; provided , however , that
after giving effect to any
Borrowing of Loans, (a) the Total Revolving
Outstandings shall not exceed the Aggregate
Commitments and (b) the aggregate Outstanding Amount of Loans of
any Lender plus such
Lender’s Applicable Percentage of the
aggregate Outstanding Amount of L/C Obligations 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 2.04 , and reborrow under this
Section 2.01 . Loans may be
Base Rate Loans or LIBOR Rate Loans, as further
provided herein.
2.02
Borrowings, Conversions and Continuations of Loans
.
(a) Each
Borrowing, each conversion of Loans from one Type to the other, and
each continuation of LIBOR Rate Loans shall be made upon the
Borrower’s irrevocable notice to
the Administrative Agent, which may be given by
telephone by an individual identifying himself or herself as a
Responsible Officer. Each such notice must be received
by the
Administrative Agent not later than 1:00 p.m. on
the date of the requested Borrowing, conversion or
continuation. 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 Loan Notice, appropriately
completed and signed by a Responsible
Officer. Each
Borrowing of, conversion to or continuation of
Loans shall be in a principal amount of $1,000,000 or a whole
multiple of $1,000,000 in excess thereof. Each Loan
Notice (whether
telephonic or written) shall specify (i) whether
the Borrower is requesting a Borrowing, a conversion of Loans from
one Type to the other, or a continuation of LIBOR 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 Loans to be
borrowed,
converted or continued, (iv) the Type of Loans
to be borrowed or to which existing Loans are to be converted, and
(v) if applicable, the duration of the Interest Period with
respect
thereto. If the Borrower fails to
specify a Type of a Loan in a Loan Notice or if the Borrower fails
to give a timely notice requesting a conversion or
continuation, then the applicable
Loan shall be made as, converted to, or
continued as, a LIBOR Rate Loan with an Interest Period of one
month. Any such automatic conversion to a LIBOR Rate
Loan with an Interest
Period of one month shall be effective as of the
last day of the Interest Period then in effect with respect to the
applicable LIBOR Rate Loan. If the Borrower requests a
Borrowing of,
conversion to, or continuation of LIBOR Rate
Loans in any 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 Loan Notice, the Administrative Agent shall promptly
notify each Lender of the amount of its Applicable Percentage of
the applicable 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 a LIBOR
Rate
Loan with an Interest Period of one month as
described in the preceding subsection. In the
case of a Borrowing, each Lender shall make the amount of its Loan
available to the
Administrative Agent in immediately
available funds at the Administrative Agent’s Office not
later than 3:00 p.m. on the Business Day specified in the
applicable Loan Notice. Upon
satisfaction of the applicable conditions set
forth in Section 4.02 , 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
of a Borrowing of Loans,
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 LIBOR Rate Loan may be continued or
converted only on the last day of the Interest Period for such
LIBOR Rate Loan. During the
existence of a Default, no Loans may be
requested as, converted to or continued as LIBOR Rate Loans without
the consent of the Required Lenders, and the Required Lenders
may
demand that any or all of the then outstanding
LIBOR Rate Loans be converted immediately to Base Rate
Loans.
(d) The
Administrative Agent shall promptly notify the Borrower and the
Lenders of the interest rate applicable to any Interest Period for
LIBOR 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 Bank of
America’s prime rate
used in determining the Base Rate promptly
following the public announcement of such change.
(e) After
giving effect to all Borrowings, all conversions of Loans from one
Type to the other, and all continuations of Loans as the same Type,
there shall not be more than
eight (8) Interest Periods in effect with
respect to Loans (for purposes hereof, LIBOR Rate Loans with
separate or different Interest Periods will be considered as
separate Loans even if their
Interest Periods expire on the same
date).
(a)
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
Availability Period, to issue Letters of Credit in Dollars 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 Letters of
Credit; and (B) the Lenders severally agree to participate in
Letters of
Credit and any drawings thereunder;
provided that after giving effect to any L/C Credit
Extension, (x) the Total Revolving Outstandings shall not exceed
the Aggregate
Commitments, (y) the aggregate Outstanding
Amount of the Loans of any Lender plus such Lender’s
Applicable Percentage of the Outstanding Amount of all L/C
Obligations
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
the L/C Credit Extension so requested complies with the
conditions set forth in the proviso to the
preceding sentence. 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.
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The L/C Issuer
shall not issue any Letter of Credit if the expiry date of such
Letter of Credit would occur after the Maturity Date, unless all
the Lenders have approved such expiry date.
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(iii)
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The L/C Issuer
shall not be under any obligation to issue any Letter of Credit
if:
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(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
on the Closing Date and which the L/C
Issuer in good faith deems material to it;
(B) the
issuance of such Letter of Credit would violate one or more
policies of the L/C Issuer applicable to borrowers
generally;
(C) such
Letter of Credit contains any provisions for automatic
reinstatement of the stated amount after any drawing
thereunder;
(D) such
Letter of Credit contains any provisions for automatic extension of
the expiration date thereof; or
(E) a
default of any Lender’s obligations to fund under Section
2.03(c) exists or any Lender is at such time a Defaulting
Lender or an Impacted Lender, unless
the L/C Issuer has entered into arrangements
satisfactory to the L/C Issuer 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
(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 be under no obligation to amend any Letter of
Credit to increase or decrease the amount of such Letter of Credit
more frequently than five times per
(vii) The
L/C Issuer shall act on behalf of the Lenders with respect to any
Letter 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 X
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 X 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
.
(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 three (3)
Business Days (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) prior to the proposed issuance date or date
of amendment, as the case may be. 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 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 nd nature of the requested Letter of Credit; and (H)
such other matters as the L/C Issuer may reasonably
require. 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 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 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 (including
any deemed issuance as described in Section 2.03(l) ),
each Lender 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) 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 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 unreimbursed drawing (the " Unreimburesed
Amount "), and the
amount of such Lender’s
Applicable Percentage thereof. In such event, the
Borrower shall be deemed to have requested a 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
conditions set forth in Section 4.02 (other than the
delivery of a Loan Notice) and provided that, after giving effect
to such Borrowing, the Total Revolving
Outstandings shall not
exceed the Aggregate Commitments. 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 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 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 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 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 condition, whether or not similar to any of the foregoing;
provided , however , that each Lender’s
obligation to make 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 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 Loan included in the relevant 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 clause (vi) shall
be conclusive absent manifest error.
(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 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, at a rate per annum equal to the Federal Funds Rate
from time to time in effect. The obligations of the
Lenders under this clause 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 Issuerfor 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:
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any lack of
validity or enforceability of such Letter of Credit, this Agreement
or any other Loan Document;
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the existence
of any claim, counterclaim, setoff, defense or other right that the
Borrower 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
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agreement or instrument relating
thereto, or any unrelated transaction;
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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; 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;
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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
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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.
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The Borrower shall promptly examine a copy of
each Letter of Credit and each amendment thereto that is delivered
to it and, in the event of any claim of noncompliance with the
Borrower’s instructions or other irregularity, the Borrower
will promptly 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.
(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 such 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 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 clauses (i) through (v) of Section
2.03(e) ; provided ,
however , that anything in such clauses 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 or gross
negligence or the L/C Issuer’s willful 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
theterms 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 benefirst
thereunder
or proceeds thereof, on whole
or in part, which may prove to be invalid or ineffective for any
reason; provided , however , that anything in
this sentence 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 extend, but
only
to the extend, of any
direct, as opposed to consequential or explary, damages suffered by
the Borrower which the Borrower proves were caused by the L/C
Issuer's
willful misconduct or
gross negligence.
(g)
Cash Collateral . If (i) either (A) 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 (B) as of the Maturity Date
any L/C Obligation for any reason remains outstanding, and (ii) the
Administrative Agent shall have provided ten (10) days prior
written notice to the Borrower,
then the Borrower shall
immediately Cash Collateralize the then Outstanding Amount of all
L/C Obligations. Sections 2.04 and 8.02
set forth certain additional requirements to deliver
Cash
Collateral
hereunder. For purposes of this Section 2.03 ,
Section 2.04 and Section 8.02 , “ 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 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 Collateral, deposit accounts and all balances therein
and all proceeds of
the foregoing. Cash
Collateral shall be maintained in blocked deposit accounts at Bank
of America and shall be invested in such investments as the
Borrower and the Administrative Agent
shall agree, and the account
records for such deposit accounts shall clearly indicate that the
Cash Collateral is held as collateral and owned by 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, the rules of the ISP shall apply to each
(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
”) equal to the Applicable Rate times the daily amount
available to be drawn under each 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 1.05 . Letter of Credit Fees shall be
computed on a monthly basis in
arrears and shall be due and payable in arrears
on the first Business Day of each calendar month, commencing with
the first such date to occur after the issuance of such Letter of
Credit,
on the Maturity Date and thereafter on demand;
provided that (1) no Letter of Credit Fees shall accrue in
favor of a Defaulting Lender so long as such Lender shall be a
Defaulting Lender
and (2) any Letter of Credit Fees accrued in
favor of a Defaulting Lender during the period prior to the time
such Lender became a Defaulting Lender and unpaid at such time
shall not be
payable by the Borrower so long as such Lender
shall be a Defaulting Lender. If there is any change in
the Applicable Rate during any month, the daily amount available to
be drawn
under each Letter of Credit shall be computed
and multiplied by the Applicable Rate separately for each period
during such month 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
(j)
Fronting Fee and Documentary and Processing Charges Payable to
L/C Issuer .
(i) During
any period in which the L/C Issuer is not the only Lender under
this Agreement, the Borrower shall pay directly to the L/C Issuer
for its own account a
fronting fee equal to 0.125% times the
daily amount available to be drawn under each 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
1.05 . Such fronting fee shall be computed on the
daily amount
available to be drawn under each Letter of
Credit and on a monthly basis in arrears. Such fronting
shall be due and payable in arrears on the first Business Day of
each
calendar month, commencing with the first such
date to occur after the issuance of such Letter of Credit, on the
Maturity Date and thereafter on demand.
(ii) 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 set
forth on Schedule 2.03 hereto. 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.
(l)
Transfer of Letters of Credit to and from Spring Maturity Credit
Agreement .
(i) The
Borrower has the right to request letters of credit under the
Spring Maturity Credit Agreement (each a “ Spring Maturity
Letter of Credit ”). If the Borrower
desires
to extend the expiry date of any Spring Maturity
Letter of Credit, the parties hereto agree that the Borrower may,
in its discretion, transfer such Spring Maturity Letter of
Credit
to this Agreement, provided that (A) such
transfer shall be effective as of the date of extension of such
Spring Maturity Letter of Credit, (B) the Borrower shall have
delivered to
the Administrative Agent and the L/C Issuer
written notice of such transfer at least at least five
Business Days prior to the date of such transfer (the
“ Letter of Credit
Transfer Notice ”), (C) such transfer shall be expressly
permitted under the Spring Maturity Credit Agreement and (D) such
transfer shall be deemed an issuance of a Letter
of Credit under this Agreement and, accordingly,
such transfer shall be permitted only if each of the conditions to
issuance of Letters of Credit shall have been satisfied
(including the conditions specified in
Section 2.03 and Article IV ). Upon
satisfaction of each of the conditions precedent to such transfer,
such Spring Letter of Credit
shall be deemed issued and outstanding under
this Agreement and shall be deemed a Letter of Credit for all
purposes of this Agreement.
(ii) If
the Borrower desires to extend the expiry date of any Letter of
Credit, the parties hereto agree that the Borrower may, in its
discretion, transfer such Letter of Credit
to the Spring Maturity Credit Agreement,
provided that (A) such transfer shall be effective as of the
date of extension of such Letter of Credit, (B) the Borrower shall
have delivered
to the Administrative Agent and the L/C Issuer
written notice of such transfer at least at least five Business
Days prior to the date of such transfer and (C) such transfer shall
be
expressly permitted under the Spring Maturity
Credit Agreement. Upon satisfaction of each of the
conditions precedent to such transfer, any transferred Letter of
Credit shall be
deemed issued and outstanding
under the Spring Maturity Credit Agreement and shall no longer
be deemed outstanding under this Agreement.
(a)
Voluntary Prepayments . The Borrower may, upon
notice from the Borrower to the Administrative Agent, at any time
or from time to time voluntarily prepay 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 1:00 p.m. (A) one (1) Business
Day prior to the date of
prepayment; and (ii) any such prepayment shall
be in a principal amount of $1,000,000 or a whole multiple of
$1,000,000 in excess thereof (or, 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 Loans to be prepaid. 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 LIBOR 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 Loans of the Lenders
in accordance with their respective Applicable
Percentages.
(b)
Mandatory Prepayments of Loans . If for any
reason the Total Revolving Outstandings at any time exceed the
Aggregate Commitments then in effect, the Borrower shall
immediately prepay Loans and/or Cash
Collateralize the L/C Obligations in an aggregate amount equal to
such excess. Prepayments shall be applied first to Base
Rate Loans and then
to LIBOR Rate Loans in direct order of Interest
Period maturities. All prepayments under this Section
2.04(b) and Section 2.05(a)(ii) shall be subject to
Section 3.05 , but otherwise
without premium or penalty, and shall be
accompanied by interest on the principal amount prepaid through the
date of prepayment.
2.05
Termination or Reduction of Aggregate Commitments;
Availability .
(a)
Termination or Reduction of Aggregate Commitments
.
(i)
Optional . The Borrower may, upon written notice
to the Administrative Agent, terminate the Aggregate Commitments,
or from time to time permanently reduce the
Aggregate Commitments to an amount not less than
the Total Revolving Outstandings; provided that (i) any
such notice shall be received by the Administrative Agent
not
later than 12:00 noon five (5) Business Days
prior to the date of termination or reduction, (ii) any such
partial reduction shall be in an aggregate amount of $5,000,000 or
any
whole multiple of $1,000,000 in excess thereof
and (iii) if after giving effect to any reduction of the Aggregate
Commitments, the Letter of Credit Sublimit exceeds the amount of
the
Aggregate Commitments, then the Letter of Credit
Sublimit shall automatically be reduced by the amount of such
excess. 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 with respect thereto until
the effective date of any termination or reduction of the Aggregate
Commitments shall be
paid on the effective date of such termination
or reduction.
(ii)
Mandatory . If at any time the
Moody’s Debt Rating is reduced to lower than Aa3 and
the S&P Debt Rating is reduced to lower than AA-, the Required
Lenders
may, in their sole discretion, upon written
notice to the Borrower (the “ Commitment Termination
Notice ”), terminate the Aggregate Commitments and
require the prepayment of
the Loans and other Obligations in full and Cash
Collateralization of all L/C Obligations on the date ninety (90)
days after the effective date of such reduction in the
Moody’s
Debt Rating and S&P Debt Rating.
(b)
Availability . Notwithstanding any provision in
this Agreement or any other Loan Document to the contrary, if at
any time either the Moody’s Debt Rating is reduced
to
lower than Aa3 or the S&P Debt Rating
is reduced to lower than AA-, then the Borrower shall not be
permitted to request, and the Lenders shall not be obligated to
make, any new
Credit Extensions (although the Borrower shall
be permitted to continue and convert existing Loans);
provided that so long as the Required Lenders have not
delivered the Termination
Notice to the Borrower, the Borrower shall be
permitted to request, and the Lenders shall be obligated to make,
new Credit Extensions upon the occurrence of one of the following:
(i) the
Moody’s Debt Rating is raised to Aa3 or
higher and the S&P Debt Rating is raised to AA- or
higher or (ii) the Required Lenders consent to the Borrower
making new Credit Extensions.
2.06
Repayment of Loans .
The Borrower shall repay to the Administrative
Agent, for the account of the Lenders, on the Maturity Date the
aggregate principal amount of all Loans outstanding on such
date.
(a) Subject
to the provisions of subsection (b) below, (i) each LIBOR Rate Loan
shall bear interest on the outstanding principal amount thereof for
each Interest Period at a rate
per annum equal to the sum of (A) the LIBOR Rate
for such Interest Period plus (B) the Applicable Rate
plus (C) the applicable Liquidity Premium; and (ii) each
Base Rate Loan shall bear
interest on the outstanding principal amount
thereof from the applicable borrowing date at a rate per annum
equal to the sum of (A) the Base Rate plus (B) the
Applicable Rate plus
(C) the applicable Liquidity Premium.
(b) (i) If
any amount payable by the Borrower under any Loan Document is not
paid when due (without regard to any applicable grace periods),
whether at stated maturity,
by
acceleration or otherwise, such amount shall thereafter bear
interest at a fluctuating interest rate per annum at all times
equal to the Default Rate to the fullest extent permitted
by
(ii) Upon
the request of the Required Lenders, while any Event of Default
exists, the Borrower shall pay interest on the principal amount of
all outstanding Obligations
hereunder at a fluctuating interest rate
per annum at all times equal to the Default Rate to the fullest
extent permitted by applicable Laws.
(iii) Accrued
and unpaid interest on past due amounts (including interest on past
due interest) shall be due and payable upon demand.
(c) Interest
on each Loan shall be due and payable in arrears on each Interest
Payment Date applicable thereto and at such other times as may be
specified herein. Interest
hereunder shall be due and
payable in accordance with the terms hereof before and after
judgment, and before and after the commencement of any proceeding
under any Debtor Relief Law.
The Borrower shall pay to the Administrative
Agent, for the account of each Lender in accordance with its
Applicable Percentage, a commitment fee (the “ Commitment
Fee ”) equal to the product of the (i) Applicable Rate
times (ii) the actual daily amount by which the Aggregate
Commitments exceed the Total Revolving Outstandings. The Commitment
Fee shall accrue at all times during the Availability Period,
including at any time during which one or more of the conditions in
Article IV is not met, and shall be due and