Exhibit 10.3
Published CUSIP Number: XXXXXXXXX
FIVE-YEAR CREDIT AGREEMENT
Dated
as of November 16, 2007
among
VULCAN MATERIALS COMPANY 1
,
as the Borrower,
BANK OF AMERICA, N.A.,
as Administrative Agent, Swing Line Lender
and
L/C Issuer,
and
The
Other Lenders Party Hereto
WACHOVIA BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION,
as Syndication Agent
J.P. MORGAN SECURITIES INC.,
REGIONS BANK
and
UBS LOAN FINANCE LLC,
as
Co-Documentation Agents
BANC OF AMERICA SECURITIES LLC
and
WACHOVIA CAPITAL MARKETS, LLC,
as
Joint Lead Arrangers and Joint Bookrunners
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| 1 |
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Successor by merger to and formerly known as VIRGINIA HOLDCO,
INC., a New Jersey corporation, with such name change occurring on
or about the date hereof. |
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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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19 |
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1.03 Accounting
Terms
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20 |
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1.04
Rounding
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20 |
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1.05 Times of
Day
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20 |
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1.06 Letter of
Credit Amounts
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20 |
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ARTICLE II. THE
COMMITMENTS AND CREDIT EXTENSIONS
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21 |
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2.01 Committed
Loans
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21 |
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2.02 Borrowings,
Conversions and Continuations of Committed Loans
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21 |
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2.03 Bid
Loans
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22 |
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2.04 Letters of
Credit
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25 |
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2.05 Swing Line
Loans
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34 |
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2.06
Prepayments
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37 |
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2.07 Termination
or Reduction of Commitments
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38 |
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2.08 Repayment of
Loans
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38 |
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2.09
Interest
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38 |
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2.10 Fees
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39 |
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2.11 Computation
of Interest and Fees
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39 |
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2.12 Evidence of
Debt
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40 |
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2.13 Payments
Generally; Administrative Agent’s Clawback
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40 |
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2.14 Sharing of
Payments by Lenders
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42 |
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2.15 Increase in
Commitments
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43 |
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2.16 Extension of
Maturity Date
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44 |
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ARTICLE III.
TAXES, YIELD PROTECTION AND ILLEGALITY
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45 |
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3.01 Taxes
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45 |
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3.02
Illegality
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48 |
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3.03 Inability to
Determine Rates
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48 |
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3.04 Increased
Costs
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48 |
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3.05 Compensation
for Losses
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50 |
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3.06 Mitigation
Obligations; Replacement of Lenders
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50 |
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3.07
Survival
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51 |
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ARTICLE IV.
CONDITIONS PRECEDENT TO CREDIT EXTENSIONS
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51 |
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4.01 Conditions of
Initial Credit Extension
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51 |
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4.02 Conditions to
all Credit Extensions
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52 |
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ARTICLE V.
REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES
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53 |
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5.01 Existence,
Qualification and Power
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53 |
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5.02
Authorization; No Contravention; Governmental Authorization
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53 |
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5.03 Binding
Effect
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54 |
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5.04 Financial
Statements; No Material Adverse Effect
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54 |
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5.05
Litigation
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54 |
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5.06 Taxes
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54 |
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5.07 ERISA
Compliance
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55 |
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5.08 Margin
Regulations; Investment Company Act
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55 |
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5.09
Disclosure
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55 |
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5.10 Compliance
with Laws
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55 |
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5.11 Taxpayer
Identification Number
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56 |
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ARTICLE VI.
AFFIRMATIVE COVENANTS
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56 |
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6.01 Financial
Statements
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56 |
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6.02 Certificates;
Other Information
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56 |
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6.03 Notices
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58 |
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6.04 Payment of
Obligations
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58 |
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6.05 Preservation
of Existence
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58 |
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6.06 Maintenance
of Properties
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58 |
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6.07
Self-Insurance
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59 |
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6.08 Compliance
with Laws
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59 |
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6.09 Books and
Records; Inspection Rights
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59 |
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6.10 Use of
Proceeds
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59 |
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ARTICLE VII.
NEGATIVE COVENANTS
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59 |
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7.01 Liens
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59 |
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7.02 Fundamental
Changes
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60 |
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7.03 Sales of
Assets
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61 |
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7.04
Dissolution
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61 |
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7.05 Use of
Proceeds
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61 |
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7.06 Ratio of
Consolidated Debt to Total Capitalization
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61 |
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ARTICLE VIII.
EVENTS OF DEFAULT AND REMEDIES
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62 |
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8.01 Events of
Default
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62 |
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8.02 Remedies Upon
Event of Default
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64 |
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8.03 Application
of Funds
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64 |
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ARTICLE IX.
ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
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65 |
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9.01 Appointment
and Authority
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65 |
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9.02 Rights as a
Lender
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65 |
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9.03 Exculpatory
Provisions
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66 |
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9.04 Reliance by
Administrative Agent
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66 |
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9.05 Delegation of
Duties
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67 |
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9.06 Resignation
of Administrative Agent
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67 |
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9.07 Non-Reliance
on Administrative Agent and Other Lenders
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68 |
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9.08 No Other
Duties, Etc.
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68 |
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9.09
Administrative Agent May File Proofs of Claim
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68 |
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ARTICLE X.
MISCELLANEOUS
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69 |
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10.01 Amendments,
Etc.
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69 |
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10.02 Notices;
Effectiveness; Electronic Communication
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70 |
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10.03 No Waiver;
Cumulative Remedies
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72 |
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10.04 Expenses;
Indemnity; Damage Waiver
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72 |
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10.05 Payments Set
Aside
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74 |
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10.06 Successors
and Assigns
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74 |
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10.07 Treatment of
Certain Information; Confidentiality
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78 |
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10.08 Right of
Setoff
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79 |
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10.09 Interest
Rate Limitation
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79 |
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10.10
Counterparts; Integration; Effectiveness
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80 |
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10.11 Survival of
Representations and Warranties
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80 |
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10.12
Severability
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80 |
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10.13 Replacement
of Lenders
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80 |
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10.14 Governing
Law; Jurisdiction; Etc.
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81 |
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10.15 Waiver of
Jury Trial
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82 |
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10.16 No Advisory
or Fiduciary Responsibility
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82 |
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10.17 USA PATRIOT
Act Notice
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83 |
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SIGNATURES
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S-1 |
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iii
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SCHEDULES
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1.01
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Existing Letters of Credit |
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2.01
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Commitments and Applicable
Percentages |
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10.02
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Administrative Agent’s Office;
Certain Addresses for Notices |
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EXHIBITS
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Form of |
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A
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Committed Loan Notice |
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B-1
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Bid Request |
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B-2
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Competitive Bid |
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C
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Swing Line Loan Notice |
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D
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Note |
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E
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Compliance Certificate |
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F
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Assignment and Assumption |
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G-1
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Borrower Opinion |
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G-2
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Special Counsel to the Borrower
Opinion |
iv
FIVE-YEAR CREDIT AGREEMENT
THIS FIVE-YEAR CREDIT
AGREEMENT (this “ Agreement ”) is entered
into as of November 16, 2007, among VIRGINIA HOLDCO,
INC. , a New Jersey corporation (the “ Borrower
”), each lender from time to time party hereto (collectively,
the “ Lenders ” and individually, a “
Lender ”), and BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., as
Administrative Agent, Swing Line Lender and L/C Issuer.
The Borrower has requested that the
Lenders provide a revolving credit facility, and the Lenders are
willing to do so on the terms and conditions set forth
herein.
In consideration of the mutual
covenants and agreements herein contained, the parties hereto
covenant and agree as follows:
ARTICLE I.
DEFINITIONS AND ACCOUNTING TERMS
1.01 Defined Terms . As used
in this Agreement, the following terms shall have the meanings set
forth below:
“ Absolute Rate ”
means a fixed rate of interest expressed in multiples of 1/100th of
one basis point.
“ Absolute Rate Loan
” means a Bid Loan that bears interest at a rate determined
with reference to an Absolute Rate.
“ Acquisition ”
means the acquisition by the Borrower of all of the issued and
outstanding capital stock of the Target and its Subsidiaries as
described in the Acquisition Agreement.
“ Acquisition Agreement
” means the Agreement and Plan of Merger dated as of February
19, 2007, by and among the Borrower, the Target, VMC, Virginia
Merger Sub, Inc., a New Jersey corporation, and Fresno Merger Sub,
Inc., a Florida corporation, as amended by Amendment No. 1
dated as of April 9, 2007 and as further amended from time to
time.
“ Acquisition Documents
” means, collectively, the Acquisition Agreement and all
other material agreements executed in connection with the
Acquisition, as amended from time to time.
“ 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.
1
“ 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 Commitments of all the Lenders.
“ Agreement ” has
the meaning set forth in the introductory paragraph hereto.
“ 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. If the commitment of each Lender to make Loans and
the obligation of the L/C Issuer to make L/C Credit Extensions have
been terminated pursuant to Section 8.02 or if the
Aggregate Commitments have expired, then the Applicable Percentage
of each Lender shall be determined based on the Applicable
Percentage of such Lender most recently in effect, giving effect to
any subsequent assignments. The initial Applicable Percentage of
each Lender is set forth opposite the name of such Lender on
Schedule 2.01 or in the Assignment and Assumption
pursuant to which such Lender becomes a party hereto, as
applicable.
“ Applicable Rate
” means, from time to time, the following percentages per
annum, based upon the Debt Rating as set forth below:
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Applicable Rate |
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Eurodollar Rate + |
| Pricing |
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Debt Ratings |
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Facility |
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LIBOR Daily Floating Rate
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| Level |
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S&P/Moody’s |
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Fee |
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Letters of Credit |
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1
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A+/A1 or higher |
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0.040 |
% |
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0.135 |
% |
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2
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A/A2 |
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0.050 |
% |
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0.150 |
% |
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3
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A-/A3 |
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0.060 |
% |
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0.190 |
% |
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4
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BBB+/Baa1 |
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0.080 |
% |
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0.220 |
% |
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5
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BBB/Baa2 or lower |
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0.100 |
% |
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0.300 |
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“ Debt Rating ”
means, as of any date of determination, the rating as determined by
either S&P or Moody’s (collectively, the “ Debt
Ratings ”) of the Borrower’s non-credit-enhanced,
senior unsecured long-term debt; provided that (a) if
the respective Debt Ratings issued by the foregoing rating agencies
differ by one level, then the Pricing Level for the higher of such
Debt Ratings shall apply (with the Debt Rating for Pricing Level 1
being the highest and the Debt Rating for Pricing Level 5 being the
lowest); (b) if there is a split in Debt Ratings of more than
one level, then the Pricing Level that is one level lower than the
Pricing Level of the higher Debt Rating shall apply; and
(c) if the Borrower does not have any Debt Rating, Pricing
Level 5 shall apply.
Initially, the Applicable Rate shall be determined based upon the
publicly announced Debt Rating in effect on the Closing Date.
Thereafter, each change in the Applicable Rate resulting from a
publicly announced change in the Debt Rating shall be effective
during the period commencing on the date of the public announcement
or publication thereof by S&P or Moody’s,
2
respectively, or, in the absence of such announcement or
publication, on the effective date of such changed Debt Rating, and
ending on the date immediately preceding the effective date of the
next such change.
“ Approved Fund ”
means any Fund that is administered or managed by (a) a
Lender, (b) an Affiliate of a Lender or (c) an entity or
an Affiliate of an entity that administers or manages a
Lender.
“ Arrangers ”
means each of Banc of America Securities LLC and Wachovia Capital
Markets, LLC, each in its capacity as a joint lead arranger and
joint bookrunner.
“ Assignee Group ”
means two or more Eligible Assignees that are Affiliates of one
another or two or more Approved Funds managed by the same
investment advisor.
“ Assignment and
Assumption ” means an assignment and assumption entered
into by a Lender and an assignee (with the consent of any party
whose consent is required by Section 10.06(b) ), and
accepted by the Administrative Agent, in substantially the form of
Exhibit F or any other form approved by the Administrative
Agent.
“ 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 2.07 , and (c) the date of termination of
the commitment of each Lender to make Loans and of the obligation
of the L/C Issuer to make L/C Credit Extensions pursuant to
Section 8.02 .
“ 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 higher
of (a) the Federal Funds Rate plus 1/2 of 1% and
(b) the rate of interest in effect for such day as publicly
announced from time to time by Bank of America as its “prime
rate”. The “prime rate” is a rate set by Bank of
America based upon various factors including Bank of
America’s costs and desired return, general economic
conditions and other factors, and is used as a reference point for
pricing some loans, which may be priced at, above, or below such
announced rate. Any change in such rate announced by Bank of
America shall take effect at the opening of business on the day
specified in the public announcement of such change.
“ Base Rate Committed
Loan ” means a Committed Loan that is a Base Rate
Loan.
“ Base Rate Loan ”
means a Loan that bears interest based on the Base Rate.
“ Bid Borrowing ”
means a borrowing consisting of simultaneous Bid Loans of the same
Type from each of the Lenders whose offer to make one or more Bid
Loans as part of such borrowing has been accepted under the auction
bidding procedures described in Section 2.03 .
“ Bid Loan ” has
the meaning specified in Section 2.03(a) .
“ Bid Loan Lender
” means, in respect of any Bid Loan, the Lender making such
Bid Loan to the Borrower.
3
“ Bid Loan Sublimit
” means an amount equal to $200,000,000. The Bid Loan
Sublimit is part of, and not in addition to, the Aggregate
Commitments.
“ Bid Request ”
means a written request for one or more Bid Loans substantially in
the form of Exhibit B-1 .
“ Borrower ” means
Virginia Holdco, Inc., a New Jersey corporation, to be re-named
“Vulcan Materials Company” on or about the Closing
Date.
“ Borrower Materials
” has the meaning specified in Section 6.02
.
“ Borrowing ”
means a Committed Borrowing, a Bid Borrowing or a Swing Line
Borrowing, as the context may require.
“ Business Day ”
means any day other than a Saturday, Sunday or other day on which
commercial banks are authorized to close under the Laws of, or are
in fact closed in, the State of North Carolina and, if such day
relates to any Eurodollar Rate Loan, means any such day on which
dealings in Dollar deposits are conducted by and between banks in
the London interbank eurodollar market.
“ Capital Stock ”
means any nonredeemable capital stock of the Borrower or any
Consolidated Subsidiary (to the extent issued to a Person other
than the Borrower), whether common or preferred.
“ Cash Collateralize
” has the meaning specified in Section 2.04(g)
.
“ Change in Law ”
means the occurrence, after the date of this Agreement, of any of
the following: (a) the adoption or taking effect of any law,
rule, regulation or treaty, (b) any change in any law, rule,
regulation or treaty or in the administration, interpretation or
application thereof by any Governmental Authority or (c) the
making or issuance of any request, guideline or directive (whether
or not having the force of law) by any Governmental
Authority.
“ Closing Date ”
means the first date all the conditions precedent in Section
4.01 are satisfied or waived in accordance with
Section 10.01 .
“ Code ” means the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
“ Commitment ”
means, as to each Lender, its obligation to (a) make Committed
Loans to the Borrower pursuant to Section 2.01 ,
(b) purchase participations in L/C Obligations, and
(c) purchase participations in Swing Line Loans, in an
aggregate principal amount at any one time outstanding not to
exceed the amount set forth opposite such Lender’s name on
Schedule 2.01 or in the Assignment and Assumption
pursuant to which such Lender becomes a party hereto, as
applicable, as such amount may be adjusted from time to time in
accordance with this Agreement. The aggregate amount of the
Commitments on the Closing Date is $1,500,000,000.
“ Committed Borrowing
” means a borrowing consisting of simultaneous Committed
Loans of the same Type and, in the case of Eurodollar Rate Loans,
having the same Interest Period made by each of the Lenders
pursuant to Section 2.01 .
4
“ Committed Loan ”
has the meaning specified in Section 2.01 .
“ Committed Loan Notice
” means a notice of (a) a Committed Borrowing,
(b) a conversion of Committed Loans from one Type to the
other, or (c) a continuation of Eurodollar Rate Loans,
pursuant to Section 2.02(a) , which, if in writing,
shall be substantially in the form of Exhibit A .
“ Competitive Bid
” means a written offer by a Lender to make one or more Bid
Loans, substantially in the form of Exhibit B-2 , duly
completed and signed by a Lender.
“ Compliance Certificate
” means a certificate substantially in the form of Exhibit
E .
“ Consolidated Debt
” means at any date all obligations for indebtedness for
borrowed money shown on a consolidated balance sheet of the
Borrower and its Consolidated Subsidiaries as of such date (or
would be if a balance sheet were prepared on such date);
provided that indebtedness for borrowed money of any
Partially Owned Subsidiary which is a Consolidated Subsidiary shall
be equal to the Guaranteed Amount, if any, of such
indebtedness.
“ Consolidated
Subsidiary ” means at any date any Subsidiary or other
entity the accounts of which, in accordance with GAAP, are
consolidated with those of any Person in its consolidated financial
statements as of such date.
“ 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.
“ Controlled Group
” means all members of a controlled group of corporations and
all trades or businesses (whether or not incorporated) under common
control which, together with the Borrower, are treated as a single
employer under Section 414 of the Code.
“ Credit Extension
” means each of the following: (a) a Borrowing and
(b) an L/C Credit Extension.
“ Debt Rating ”
has the meaning specified in the definition of “Applicable
Rate”.
“ Debtor Relief Laws
” means the Bankruptcy Code of the United States, and all
other liquidation, conservatorship, bankruptcy, assignment for the
benefit of creditors, moratorium, rearrangement, receivership,
insolvency, reorganization, or similar debtor relief Laws of the
United States or other applicable jurisdictions from time to time
in effect and affecting the rights of creditors generally.
“ Default ” means
any event or condition that constitutes an Event of Default or
that, with the giving of any notice, the passage of time, or both,
would be an Event of Default.
“ Default Rate ”
means (a) when used with respect to Obligations other than
Letter of Credit Fees, an interest rate equal to (i) the Base
Rate plus (ii) 2% per annum; provided ,
however , that with respect to a Eurodollar Rate Loan, the
Default Rate shall be an interest rate
5
equal to
the interest rate (including any Applicable Rate) otherwise
applicable to such Loan plus 2% per annum, and (b) when
used with respect to Letter of Credit Fees, a rate equal to the
Applicable Rate plus 2% per annum.
“ Defaulting Lender
” means any Lender that (a) has failed to fund any
portion of the Committed Loans, participations in L/C Obligations
or participations in Swing Line Loans required to be funded by it
hereunder within one Business Day of the date required to be funded
by it hereunder unless such failure has been cured, (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 Business Day of the date when due, unless the subject of
a good faith dispute or unless such failure has been cured, 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.
“ Domestic Subsidiary
” means any Subsidiary that is organized under the laws of
any political subdivision of the United States.
“ Eligible Assignee
” means any Person that meets the requirements to be an
assignee under Section 10.06(b)(iii) , (v) and
(vi) (subject to such consents, if any, as may be required
under Section 10.06(b)(iii) ).
“ Environmental Laws
” means any and all Federal, state, local, and foreign
statutes, laws, regulations, ordinances, rules, judgments, orders,
decrees, permits, concessions, grants, franchises, licenses or
governmental restrictions relating to pollution and the protection
of the environment or the release of any materials into the
environment, including those related to hazardous substances or
wastes, air emissions and discharges to waste or public
systems.
“ ERISA ” means
the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.
“ ERISA Affiliate
” means any trade or business (whether or not incorporated)
under common control with the Borrower within the meaning of
Section 414(b) or (c) of the Code (and Sections 414(m) and
(o) of the Code for purposes of provisions relating to
Section 412 of the Code).
“ ERISA Event ”
means (a) any of the events set forth in Section 4043(c) of
ERISA, other than events for which the 30 day notice period
has been waived, 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
Section 4041 or 4041A of ERISA, or the commencement of
proceedings by the PBGC to terminate a Pension Plan or
Multiemployer Plan; (e) an event or condition which
constitutes grounds under Section 4042 of ERISA for the
termination of, or the appointment of a trustee to administer, any
Pension Plan or Multiemployer Plan; or (f) the imposition of
any liability under Title IV of ERISA, other than for PBGC premiums
due but not delinquent under
6
Section 4007 of ERISA or contributions to a Pension Plan in
the ordinary course, upon the Borrower or any ERISA
Affiliate.
“ Eurodollar Bid Margin
” means the margin above or below the Eurodollar Rate to be
added to or subtracted from the Eurodollar Rate, which margin shall
be expressed in multiples of 1/100th of one basis point.
“ Eurodollar Margin Bid
Loan ” means a Bid Loan that bears interest at a rate
based upon the Eurodollar Rate.
“ Eurodollar Rate
” means for any Interest Period with respect to a Eurodollar
Rate Loan, a rate per annum determined by the Administrative Agent
pursuant to the following formula:
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|
|
|
|
|
|
Eurodollar Rate = |
|
Eurodollar Base Rate
1.00 – Eurodollar Reserve Percentage |
|
|
Where,
“ Eurodollar Base Rate
” means, for such Interest Period, 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 “Eurodollar Base
Rate” for such Interest Period shall be the rate per annum
determined by the Administrative Agent to be the rate at which
deposits in Dollars for delivery on the first day of such Interest
Period in immediately available funds in the approximate amount of
the Eurodollar Rate Loan being made, continued or converted by Bank
of America and with a term equivalent to such Interest Period would
be offered by Bank of America’s London Branch to major banks
in the London interbank Eurodollar market at their request at
approximately 11:00 a.m. (London time) two Business Days prior
to the commencement of such Interest Period.
“ Eurodollar Rate Committed
Loan ” means a Committed Loan that bears interest at a
rate based on the Eurodollar Rate.
“ Eurodollar Rate Loan
” means a Eurodollar Rate Committed Loan or a Eurodollar
Margin Bid Loan.
“ Eurodollar Reserve
Percentage ” means, for any day during any Interest
Period, the reserve percentage (expressed as a decimal, carried out
to five decimal places) in effect on such day, whether or not
applicable 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
Eurodollar Rate for each outstanding Eurodollar Rate Loan shall be
adjusted automatically as of the effective date of any change in
the Eurodollar Reserve
7
Percentage. The LIBOR Daily Floating Rate for each outstanding
LIBOR Floating Rate Loan shall be adjusted automatically as of the
effective date of any change in the Eurodollar Reserve
Percentage.
“ 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) 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 to Section 3.01(a) .
“ Existing Credit
Facilities ” means the Existing Vulcan Credit Facilities
and the Existing Target Credit Facility.
“ Existing Letters of
Credit ” means the letters of credit described on
Schedule 1.01 .
“ Existing Target Credit
Facility ” means that certain Credit Agreement dated as
of May 27, 2004 among the Target, material domestic subsidiaries
from time to time parties thereto, lenders parties thereto, and
Wachovia Bank, National Association, as Administrative Agent, as
amended.
“ Existing Vulcan Credit
Facilities ” means the credit facility provided under the
Existing Vulcan 364-Day Credit Agreement and the Existing Vulcan
Five-Year Credit Agreement, respectively.
“ Existing Vulcan Five-Year
Credit Agreement ” means that certain Credit Agreement
dated as of June 28, 2006 by and among VMC, the lenders party
thereto from time to time, and Bank of America, N.A., as
Administrative Agent, L/C Issuer and Swing Line Lender, as amended
by Amendment No. 1 to Credit Agreement dated as of
September 15, 2006 and Amendment No. 2 to Credit
Agreement dated as of February 27, 2007.
“ Existing Vulcan 364-Day
Credit Agreement ” means that certain Credit Agreement
dated as of September 15, 2006 among VMC, the lenders party
thereto from time to time, and Bank of America, N.A. as
Administrative Agent, as amended by Amendment No. 1 to Credit
Agreement dated as of February 27, 2007.
8
“ Federal Funds Rate
” means, for any day, the rate per annum equal to the
weighted average of the rates on overnight Federal funds
transactions with members of the Federal Reserve System arranged by
Federal funds brokers on such day, as published by the Federal
Reserve Bank of New York on the Business Day next succeeding such
day; provided that (a) if such day is not a Business
Day, the Federal Funds Rate for such day shall be such rate on such
transactions on the next preceding Business Day as so published on
the next succeeding Business Day, and (b) if no such rate is
so published on such next succeeding Business Day, the Federal
Funds Rate for such day shall be the average rate (rounded upward,
if necessary, to a whole multiple of 1/100 of 1%) charged to Bank
of America on such day on such transactions as determined by the
Administrative Agent.
“ Fee Letter ”
means, collectively, (a) the letter agreement, dated
May 29, 2007, among the Borrower and the Administrative Agent
and (b) the letter agreement, dated May 29, 2007, among
the Borrower, Banc of America Securities LLC and Wachovia Capital
Markets, LLC.
“ 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.
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 activities.
“ 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 or such other principles as may be
approved by a significant segment of the accounting profession in
the United States, that are applicable to the circumstances as of
the date of determination, consistently applied.
“ Governmental Authority
” means the government of the United States or any other
nation, or of any political subdivision thereof, whether state or
local, and any agency, authority, instrumentality, regulatory body,
court, central bank or other entity exercising executive,
legislative, judicial, taxing, regulatory or administrative powers
or functions of or pertaining to government (including any
supra-national bodies such as the European Union or the European
Central Bank).
“ Guarantee ” by
any Person means any obligation, contingent or otherwise, of such
Person directly or indirectly guaranteeing any Indebtedness or
other obligation of any other Person and, without limiting the
generality of the foregoing, any obligation, direct or indirect,
contingent or otherwise, of such Person (a) to secure,
purchase or pay (or advance or supply funds for the purchase or
payment of) such Indebtedness or other obligation (whether arising
by virtue of partnership arrangements, by agreement to keep-well,
to purchase assets, goods,
9
securities or services, to provide collateral security, to
take-or-pay, or to maintain financial statement conditions or
otherwise) or (b) entered into for the purpose of assuring in
any other manner the obligee of such Indebtedness or other
obligation of the payment thereof or to protect such obligee
against loss in respect thereof (in whole or in part);
provided that the term Guarantee shall not include
endorsements for collection or deposit in the ordinary course of
business. The term “Guarantee” used as a verb has a
corresponding meaning.
“ Guaranteed Amount
” means, with respect to the Indebtedness of another Person,
the aggregate amount for which the Borrower is liable (whether by
Guarantee or as a general partner or otherwise, but excluding any
amounts with respect to which the Borrower is expressly
exculpated).
“ Indebtedness ”
of any Person means at any date, without duplication, (a) all
obligations of such Person for borrowed money, (b) all
obligations of such Person evidenced by bonds, debentures, notes or
other similar instruments, (c) all obligations of such Person
to pay the deferred purchase price of property or services, except
trade accounts payable arising in the ordinary course of business,
(d) the capitalized amount of all obligations of such Person
as lessee under capital leases (excluding all Synthetic Lease
Obligations) that are required to be accounted for as capital
leases on a balance sheet of such Person under GAAP, (e) all
obligations of such Person to reimburse any bank or other Person in
respect of amounts payable under a banker’s acceptance,
(f) all obligations (contingent or otherwise) of such Person
to reimburse any bank or other Person in respect of amounts paid or
to be paid under a drawn letter of credit or similar instrument,
(g) all Indebtedness of others secured by a Lien on any asset
of such Person, whether or not such Indebtedness is assumed by such
Person, and (h) all Indebtedness of others Guaranteed by such
Person.
“ Indemnified Taxes
” means Taxes other than Excluded Taxes.
“ Indemnitees ”
has the meaning specified in Section 10.04(b) .
“ Information ”
has the meaning specified in Section 10.07 .
“ Interest Payment Date
” means, (a) as to any Eurodollar Rate Loan, the last
day of each Interest Period applicable to such Loan and the
Maturity Date; provided , however , that if any
Interest Period for a Eurodollar Rate Loan exceeds three months,
the respective dates that fall every three months after the
beginning of such Interest Period shall also be Interest Payment
Dates; (b) as to any Base Rate Loan (including a Swing Line
Loan), the last Business Day of each March, June, September and
December and the Maturity Date, and (c) as to any LIBOR
Floating Rate Loan, the first Business Day of each month and the
Maturity Date.
“ Interest Period
” means (a) as to each Eurodollar Rate Loan, the period
commencing on the date such Eurodollar Rate Loan is disbursed or
(in the case of any Eurodollar Rate Committed Loan) converted to or
continued as a Eurodollar Rate Loan and ending on the date one,
two, three or six months thereafter, as selected by the Borrower in
its Committed Loan Notice or Bid Request, as the case may be; and
(b) as to each Absolute Rate Loan, a period of not less than
seven days and not more than 360 days as selected by the
Borrower in its Bid Request; provided that:
10
(a) 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;
(b) 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
(c) no Interest Period shall extend
beyond the Maturity Date.
“ Interest Rate Change
Date ” means, with respect to the LIBOR Daily Floating
Rate, the first day of each month; provided , however
, that if such date is not a Business Day, then the “Interest
Rate Change Date” shall be the next succeeding Business
Day.
“ ISP ” means,
with respect to any Letter of Credit, the “International
Standby Practices 1998” published by the Institute of
International Banking Law & Practice (or such later version
thereof as may be in effect at the time of issuance).
“ Issuer Documents
” means with respect to any Letter of Credit, the Letter of
Credit Application, and any other document, agreement and
instrument entered into by the L/C Issuer and the Borrower (or any
Subsidiary) or in favor of the L/C Issuer and relating to such
Letter of Credit.
“ Laws ” means,
collectively, all international, foreign, Federal, state and local
statutes, treaties, rules, guidelines, regulations, ordinances,
codes and administrative or judicial precedents or authorities,
including the interpretation or administration thereof by any
Governmental Authority charged with the enforcement, interpretation
or administration thereof, and all applicable administrative
orders, directed duties, requests, licenses, authorizations and
permits of, and agreements with, any Governmental Authority, in
each case whether or not having the force of law.
“ L/C Advance ”
means, with respect to each Lender, such Lender’s funding of
its participation in any L/C Borrowing in accordance with its
Applicable Percentage.
“ L/C Borrowing ”
means an extension of credit resulting from a drawing under any
Letter of Credit which has not been reimbursed on the date required
to be reimbursed herein or refinanced as a Committed
Borrowing.
“ L/C Credit Extension
” means, with respect to any Letter of Credit, the issuance
thereof or extension of the expiry date thereof, or the increase of
the amount thereof.
“ L/C Issuer ”
means, (a) with respect to any Letter of Credit, each of Bank
of America and each other Lender that agrees or is otherwise
obligated to issue such Letter of Credit from time to time, whether
pursuant to Section 2.04(b) ,
Section 2.04(l) , Section 9.06 ,
Section 10.06 or otherwise, and (b) with respect
to any Existing Letter of Credit issued pursuant to the Existing
Target Credit Facility, Wachovia Bank, National Association or Bank
of America, N.A., as
11
applicable, each in its capacity as issuer of Existing Letters of
Credit under this Credit Agreement; provided that, at any
one time there shall not be more than three L/C Issuers. At any
time there is more than one L/C Issuer, all singular references to
the L/C Issuer shall mean any L/C Issuer, either L/C Issuer, each
L/C Issuer, the L/C Issuer that has issued the applicable Letter of
Credit, or all L/C Issuers, as the context may require.
“ L/C Obligations
” means, as at any date of determination, the aggregate
amount available to be drawn under all outstanding Letters of
Credit plus the aggregate of all Unreimbursed Amounts,
including all L/C Borrowings. For purposes of computing the amount
available to be drawn under any Letter of Credit, the amount of
such Letter of Credit shall be determined in accordance with
Section 1.06 . For all purposes of this Agreement, if
on any date of determination a Letter of Credit has expired by its
terms but any amount may still be drawn thereunder by reason of the
operation of Rule 3.14 of the ISP, such Letter of Credit shall
be deemed to be “outstanding” in the amount so
remaining available to be drawn.
“ Lender ” has the
meaning specified in the introductory paragraph hereto and, as the
context requires, includes the Swing Line Lender.
“ Lending Office ”
means, as to any Lender, the office or offices of such Lender
described as such in such Lender’s Administrative
Questionnaire, or such other office or offices as a Lender may from
time to time notify the Borrower and the Administrative
Agent.
“ Letter of Credit
” means any standby letter of credit issued hereunder and
shall include the Existing Letters of Credit.
“ Letter of Credit
Application ” means an application and agreement for the
issuance or amendment of a Letter of Credit in the form from time
to time in use by the L/C Issuer.
“ Letter of Credit
Expiration Date ” means the day that is seven days prior
to the Maturity Date then in effect (or, if such day is not a
Business Day, the next preceding Business Day).
“ Letter of Credit Fee
” has the meaning specified in Section 2.04(i)
.
“ Letter of Credit
Sublimit ” means an amount equal to $250,000,000. The
Letter of Credit Sublimit is part of, and not in addition to, the
Aggregate Commitments.
“ LIBOR Daily Floating
Rate ” means a rate per annum determined by the
Administrative Agent pursuant to the following formula:
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|
LIBOR Daily Floating Rate
= |
|
LIBOR Daily Floating Base
Rate
1.00 – Eurodollar Reserve Percentage |
|
|
Where,
“ LIBOR Daily Floating Base
Rate ” means, for all Loans, on any day any such Loan is
outstanding, the fluctuating rate of interest (rounded upwards, as
necessary, to the nearest 1/100 of 1%) equal to the British Bankers
Association LIBOR Rate (“ BBA LIBOR ”), as
published by Reuters (or other commercially available source
providing
12
quotations of
BBA LIBOR as designated by the Administrative Agent from time to
time) at approximately 11:00 a.m., London time, two
(2) Business Days prior to the most recent Interest Rate
Change Date, for Dollar deposits (for delivery on such Interest
Rate Change Date) with a term of one month, as adjusted from time
to time in the Administrative Agent’s sole discretion for
changes in deposit insurance requirements and other regulatory
costs. If such rate is not available at such time for any reason,
then the “LIBOR Daily Floating Base Rate” shall be the
rate per annum determined by the Administrative Agent to be the
rate at which deposits in Dollars for delivery in same day funds in
the approximate amount of the Dollar denominated Loans outstanding
with a term equivalent to one month would be offered by Bank of
America’s London Branch to major banks in the London
interbank eurodollar market at their request at approximately
11:00 a.m. (London time), on each day any such Loan is
outstanding.
“ LIBOR Floating Rate
Loan ” means a Loan that bears interest at a rate based
on the LIBOR Daily Floating Rate.
“ Lien ” means any
mortgage, pledge, hypothecation, assignment, encumbrance, lien
(statutory or other), charge, or other security interest or
encumbrance (including any conditional sale or other title
retention agreement, any easement, right of way or other
encumbrance on title to real property, and any capital lease having
substantially the same economic effect as any of the
foregoing).
“ Loan ” means an
extension of credit by a Lender to the Borrower under Article
II in the form of a Committed Loan, a Bid Loan or a Swing Line
Loan.
“ Loan Documents ”
means this Agreement, each Note, each Issuer Document and the Fee
Letter.
“ Material Adverse
Effect ” means (a) a material adverse effect upon,
the operations, business, properties or financial condition of the
Borrower, VMC, the Target and their respective Subsidiaries taken
as a whole; (b) a material impairment of the ability of the
Borrower to perform its obligations under any Loan Document; or
(c) a material adverse effect upon the legality, validity,
binding effect or enforceability against the Borrower of any Loan
Document.
“ Maturity Date ”
means the later of (a) November 16, 2012 and (b) if
maturity is extended pursuant to Section 2.16 ,
November 16, 2013; provided , however , that, if
such date is not a Business Day, the Maturity Date shall be the
next preceding Business Day.
“ Moody’s ”
means Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. and any successor
thereto.
“ 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 ” means a
promissory note made by the Borrower in favor of a Lender
evidencing Loans made by such Lender, substantially in the form of
Exhibit D .
13
“ Obligations ”
means all advances to, and debts, liabilities and other monetary
obligations of, the Borrower arising under any Loan Document or
otherwise with respect to any Loan or Letter of Credit, whether
direct or indirect (including those acquired by assumption),
absolute or contingent, due or to become due, now existing or
hereafter arising and including interest and fees that accrue after
the commencement by or against the Borrower or any Affiliate
thereof of any proceeding under any Debtor Relief Laws naming such
Person as the debtor in such proceeding, regardless of whether such
interest and fees are allowed claims in such proceeding.
“ Organization Documents
” means, (a) with respect to any corporation, the
certificate or articles of incorporation and the bylaws (or
equivalent or comparable constitutive documents with respect to any
non-U.S. jurisdiction); (b) with respect to any limited
liability company, the certificate or articles of formation or
organization and operating agreement; and (c) with respect to
any partnership, joint venture, trust or other form of business
entity, the partnership, joint venture or other applicable
agreement of formation or organization and any agreement,
instrument, filing or notice with respect thereto filed in
connection with its formation or organization with the applicable
Governmental Authority in the jurisdiction of its formation or
organization and, if applicable, any certificate or articles of
formation or organization of such entity.
“ Other Taxes ”
means all present or future stamp or documentary taxes or any other
excise or property taxes, charges or similar levies arising from
any payment made hereunder or under any other Loan Document or from
the execution, delivery or enforcement of, or otherwise with
respect to, this Agreement or any other Loan Document. “Other
Taxes” shall not include any Taxes imposed on (or measured by
reference to) gross income, net income, or gain.
“ Outstanding Amount
” means (a) with respect to Committed Loans, Bid Loans
and Swing Line Loans on any date, the aggregate outstanding
principal amount thereof after giving effect to any borrowings and
prepayments or repayments of Committed Loans, Bid Loans and Swing
Line Loans, as the case may be, 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.
“ Partially Owned
Subsidiary ” means a Subsidiary that is not a Wholly
Owned Subsidiary.
“ Participant ”
has the meaning specified in Section 10.06(d) .
“ PBGC ” means the
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation or any entity succeeding to
any or all of its functions under ERISA.
“ 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
14
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 Encumbrances
” means:
(a) Liens imposed by law or any
Governmental Authority for taxes, assessments or charges that are
not yet due or are being contested;
(b) carriers’,
warehousemen’s, mechanics’, materialmen’s,
repairmen’s and other like Liens imposed by law, arising in
the ordinary course of business and securing obligations that are
not overdue by more than 30 days or where the validity or
amount thereof is being contested in good faith by appropriate
proceedings;
(c) pledges and deposits made in
compliance with workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance
and other social security laws or regulations;
(d) deposits to secure the
performance of bids, trade contracts, leases, statutory
obligations, surety and appeal bonds, performance bonds and other
obligations of a like nature, in each case in the ordinary course
of business;
(e) judgment liens in respect of
judgments that do not constitute an Event of Default; and
(f) easements, zoning restrictions,
minor title imperfections, restrictions on use, rights of way and
similar encumbrances on real property imposed by law or arising in
the ordinary course of business that do not secure any monetary
obligations and do not materially detract from the value of the
affected property or interfere with the ordinary conduct of
business of the Borrower or its Subsidiaries;
provided that the term “Permitted Encumbrances”
shall not include any Lien securing Indebtedness.
“ Person ” means
any natural person, corporation, limited liability company, trust,
joint venture, association, company, partnership, Governmental
Authority or other entity.
“ Plan ” means at
any time an employee pension benefit plan which is covered by Title
IV of ERISA or subject to the minimum funding standards under
Section 412 of the Code and is either (a) maintained by a
member of the Controlled Group for employees of any member of the
Controlled Group or (b) maintained pursuant to a collective
bargaining agreement or any other arrangement under which more than
one employer makes contributions and to which a member of the
Controlled Group is then making or accruing an obligation to make
contributions.
“ Platform ” has
the meaning specified in Section 6.02 .
“ Properties ”
means all real property owned, leased or otherwise used or occupied
by the Borrower or any Subsidiary, wherever located.
15
“ Receivables ”
means all rights of the Borrower or its Subsidiaries to payment,
whether constituting an account, chattel paper, instrument, general
intangible or otherwise, arising from the sale of goods or services
(including rights under bill and hold arrangements) by the Borrower
or its Subsidiaries (and including the right to payment of any
interest or finance charges and other obligations with respect
thereto).
“ Receivables
Securitization ” means any transaction or series of
transactions that may be entered into by the Borrower and its
Subsidiaries pursuant to which the Borrower and/or its Subsidiaries
may sell, convey or otherwise transfer to the Receivables
Subsidiary and, in the case of a transfer by the Receivables
Subsidiary, any other Person, or may grant a security interest in,
any Receivables (whether now existing or arising in the future);
provided that:
(a) no portion of the indebtedness or
any other obligations (contingent or otherwise) of a Receivables
Subsidiary (i) is guaranteed by the Borrower or its
Subsidiaries (other than the Receivables Subsidiary and excluding
guarantees of obligations pursuant to customary securitization
undertakings), (ii) is recourse to or obligates the Borrower
or its Subsidiaries (other than the Receivables Subsidiary) for
payment other than pursuant to customary securitization
undertakings or (iii) subjects any property or asset of the
Borrower or its Subsidiaries (other than the Receivables
Subsidiary), directly or indirectly, contingently or otherwise, to
the satisfaction of obligations incurred in such transactions,
other than pursuant to customary securitization undertakings;
(b) the Borrower and its Subsidiaries
(other than the Receivables Subsidiary) do not have any obligation
to maintain or preserve the financial condition of the Receivables
Subsidiary or cause such entity to achieve certain levels of
operating results; and
(c) fair value has been
received.
“ Receivables Subsidiary
” means a special purpose corporation that is a wholly owned
subsidiary of the Borrower, whose primary business shall be the
acquisition of Receivables pursuant to the Receivables
Securitization and those activities incidental to the Receivables
Securitization.
“ Register ” has
the meaning specified in Section 10.06(c) .
“ Registered Public
Accounting Firm ” has the meaning specified in the
Securities Laws and shall be independent of the Borrower as
prescribed in the Securities Laws.
“ 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 Person’s
Affiliates.
“ Request for Credit
Extension ” means (a) with respect to a Borrowing,
conversion or continuation of Committed Loans, a Committed Loan
Notice, (b) with respect to a Bid Loan, a Bid Request,
(c) with respect to an L/C Credit Extension, a Letter of
Credit Application, and (d) with respect to a Swing Line Loan,
a Swing Line Loan Notice.
16
“ Required Lenders
” means, as of any date of determination, Lenders having more
than 50% of the Aggregate Commitments or, if the commitment of each
Lender to make Loans and the obligation of the L/C Issuer to make
L/C Credit Extensions have been terminated pursuant to
Section 8.02 , Lenders holding in the aggregate more
than 50% of the Total Outstandings (with the aggregate amount of
each Lender’s risk participation and funded participation in
L/C Obligations and Swing Line Loans being deemed
“held” by such Lender for purposes of this definition);
provided that the Commitment of, and the portion of the
Total Outstandings held or deemed held by, any Defaulting Lender
shall be excluded for purposes of making a determination of
Required Lenders.
“ Responsible Officer
” means the chief executive officer, president, chief
financial officer, treasurer, assistant treasurer or controller of
the Borrower and, solely for purposes of notices given pursuant to
Article II , any other officer or employee of the
Borrower so designated by any of the foregoing officers in a notice
to the Administrative Agent. Any document delivered hereunder that
is signed by a Responsible Officer of the Borrower shall be
conclusively presumed to have been authorized by all necessary
corporate, partnership and/or other action on the part of the
Borrower and such Responsible Officer shall be conclusively
presumed to have acted on behalf of the Borrower.
“ S&P ” means
Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, a division of The
McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. and any successor thereto.
“ SEC ” means the
Securities and Exchange Commission, or any Governmental Authority
succeeding to any of its principal functions.
“ Securities Laws
” means the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934, and the applicable accounting and auditing principles,
rules, standards and practices promulgated, approved or
incorporated by the SEC, all as amended.
“ Shareholders’
Equity ” means, at any time, the shareholders’
equity of the Borrower and its Consolidated Subsidiaries, as set
forth or reflected on the most recent consolidated balance sheet of
the Borrower and its Consolidated Subsidiaries prepared in
accordance with GAAP.
“ Significant Subsidiary
” means any Subsidiary within the meaning of Rule 1-02
under Regulation S-X promulgated by the SEC.
“ Subsidiary ” of
a Person means a corporation, partnership, joint venture, limited
liability company or other business entity of which a majority of
the shares of securities or other interests having ordinary voting
power for the election of directors or other governing body (other
than securities or interests having such power only by reason of
the happening of a contingency) are at the time beneficially owned,
or the management of which is otherwise controlled, directly, or
indirectly through one or more intermediaries, or both, by such
Person. Unless otherwise specified, all references herein to a
“Subsidiary” or to “Subsidiaries” shall
refer to a Subsidiary or Subsidiaries of the Borrower.
“ SWAP Obligations
” means all obligations of such Person with respect to
interest rate protection agreements, foreign currency exchange
agreements or other hedging arrangements
17
(valued
for any SWAP Obligation at any date, as the net payments that such
Person would have to make in the event of an early termination of
the applicable agreement on such date).
“ Swing Line ”
means the revolving credit facility made available by the Swing
Line Lender pursuant to Section 2.05 .
“ Swing Line Borrowing
” means a borrowing of a Swing Line Loan pursuant to
Section 2.05 .
“ Swing Line Lender
” means Bank of America in its capacity as provider of Swing
Line Loans, or any successor swing line lender hereunder.
“ Swing Line Loan
” has the meaning specified in Section 2.05(a)
.
“ Swing Line Loan Notice
” means a notice of a Swing Line Borrowing pursuant to
Section 2.05(b) , which, if in writing, shall be
substantially in the form of Exhibit C .
“ Swing Line Sublimit
” means an amount equal to the lesser of (a) $25,000,000 and
(b) the Aggregate Commitments. The Swing Line Sublimit is part of,
and not in addition to, the Aggregate Commitments.
“ Synthetic Lease
” means any operating lease under GAAP for which the lessee
retains federal tax ownership of the property leased.
“ Synthetic Lease
Obligations ” means any and all liabilities,
indebtedness, rent, and all other obligations of the Borrower or
any Subsidiary owed under any Synthetic Lease.
“ Target ” means
Florida Rock Industries, Inc., a Florida corporation.
“ Target Merger ”
means the merger of Fresno Merger Sub, Inc., a Florida corporation,
with and into the Target, with the Target as the surviving
corporation of such merger.
“ Taxes ” means
all present or future taxes, levies, imposts, duties, deductions,
withholdings or like charges imposed by any Governmental Authority,
including any interest, additions to tax or penalties applicable
thereto.
“ 364-Day Working Capital
Credit Agreement ” means that certain 364-Day Credit
Agreement, dated as of November 16, 2007, by and among the
Borrower, Bank of America, N.A., as administrative agent, and the
lenders party thereto.
“ Total Capitalization
” means the sum of (a) Shareholders’ Equity
plus (b) Consolidated Debt.
“ Total Outstandings
” means on any date the aggregate Outstanding Amount of all
Loans and all L/C Obligations.
18
“ Transactions ”
means (a) the execution and delivery of the Loan Documents and
the borrowings hereunder and (b) the consummation of the
Acquisition, the Target Merger, the Vulcan Merger and the other
transactions to occur pursuant to the Acquisition Documents.
“ Type ” means
(a) with respect to a Committed Loan, its character as a Base
Rate Loan, a Eurodollar Rate Loan or a LIBOR Floating Rate Loan,
and (b) with respect to a Bid Loan, its character as an
Absolute Rate Loan or a Eurodollar Margin Bid Loan.
“ United States ”
and “ U.S. ” mean the United States of
America.
“ Unreimbursed Amount
” has the meaning specified in Section 2.04(c)(i)
.
“ VMC ” means
Vulcan Materials Company, a New Jersey corporation and the
surviving entity of the VMC Merger, to be renamed “VMC
Corp.” on or about the Closing Date.
“ Vulcan Merger ”
means the merger of Virginia Merger Sub, Inc., a New Jersey
corporation, with and into Vulcan Materials Company, a New Jersey
corporation, with Vulcan Materials Company as the surviving
corporation of such merger.
“ Wholly Owned
Subsidiary ” means any Subsidiary all of the shares of
capital stock or other ownership interests of which (except
directors’ qualifying shares) are at the time directly or
indirectly owned by the Borrower.
“ Working Capital Credit
Facilities ” mean, collectively, (a) the 364-Day
Bridge Credit Agreement dated as of November 16, 2007, by and
among the Borrower, Wachovia Bank, National Association, as
administrative agent, and the lenders party thereto, (b) the
364-Day Working Capital Credit Agreement, and (c) any
revolving credit or comparable credit agreement dated on or after
the Closing Date by and among the Target and any financial
institutions thereto.
1.02 Other Interpretive
Provisions . With reference to this Agreement and each other
Loan Document, unless otherwise specified herein or in such other
Loan Document:
(a) The definitions of terms
herein shall apply equally to the singular and plural forms of the
terms defined. Whenever the context may require, any pronoun shall
include the corresponding masculine, feminine and neuter forms. The
words “ include ”, “ includes
” and “ including ” shall be deemed to be
followed by the phrase “without limitation”. The word
“ will ” shall be construed to have the same
meaning and effect as the word “ shall ”. Unless
the context requires otherwise, (i) any definition of or
reference to any agreement, instrument or other document (including
any Organization Document) shall be construed as referring to such
agreement, instrument or other document as from time to time
amended, supplemented or otherwise modified (subject to any
restrictions on such amendments, supplements or modifications set
forth herein or in any other Loan Document), (ii) any
reference herein to any Person shall be construed to include such
Person’s successors and assigns, (iii) the words “
herein ”, “ hereof ” and “
hereunder ”, and words of similar import when used in
any Loan Document, shall be construed to refer to such Loan
Document in its entirety and not to any particular provision
thereof, (iv) all references in a Loan Document to Articles,
Sections, Exhibits and Schedules shall be construed to refer to
Articles and Sections of, and Exhibits and Schedules to, the Loan
Document in which such references appear, (v) any reference to
any law
19
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 other Loan Document.
1.03 Accounting Terms . (a)
Generally . All accounting terms not specifically or
completely defined herein shall be construed in conformity with,
and all financial data (including financial 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 throughout the applicable period, as in effect
from time to time, except as otherwise specifically
prescribed herein.
(a) 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.
1.04 Rounding . Any financial
ratios required to be maintained by the Borrower pursuant to this
Agreement shall be calculated by dividing the appropriate component
by the other component, carrying the result to one place more than
the number of places by which such ratio is expressed herein and
rounding the result up or down to the nearest number (with a
rounding-up if there is no nearest number).
1.05 Times of Day . Unless
otherwise specified, all references herein to times of day shall be
references to Eastern time (daylight or standard, as
applicable).
1.06 Letter of Credit Amounts
. Unless otherwise specified herein, the amount of a Letter of
Credit at any time shall be deemed to be the stated amount of such
Letter of Credit in effect at such time (including giving effect to
any further increases or decreases thereof); provided ,
however , that with respect to any Letter of Credit that, by
its terms or the terms of any
20
Issuer
Document related thereto, provides for one or more automatic
increases in the stated amount thereof, the amount of such Letter
of Credit shall be deemed to be the maximum stated amount of such
Letter of Credit after giving effect to all such increases, whether
or not such maximum stated amount is in effect at such time.
ARTICLE II.
THE COMMITMENTS AND CREDIT EXTENSIONS
2.01 Committed Loans .
Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, each Lender
severally agrees to make loans (each such loan, a “
Committed Loan ”) to the Borrower 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 Committed Borrowing, (i) the Total
Outstandings shall not exceed the Aggregate Commitments, and
(ii) the aggregate Outstanding Amount of the Committed Loans
of any Lender, plus such Lender’s Applicable
Percentage of the Outstanding Amount of all L/C Obligations,
plus such Lender’s Applicable Percentage of the
Outstanding Amount of all Swing Line Loans shall not exceed such
Lender’s Commitment. Within the limits of each Lender’s
Commitment, and subject to the other terms and conditions hereof,
the Borrower may borrow under this Section 2.01 ,
prepay under Section 2.06 , and reborrow under this
Section 2.01 . Committed Loans may be Base Rate Loans,
Eurodollar Rate Loans or LIBOR Floating Rate Loans, as further
provided herein.
2.02 Borrowings, Conversions and
Continuations of Committed Loans .
(a) Each Committed Borrowing,
each conversion of Committed Loans from one Type to the other, and
each continuation of Eurodollar Rate Loans shall be made upon the
Borrower’s irrevocable notice to the Administrative Agent,
which may be given by telephone. Each such notice must be received
by the Administrative Agent not later than 12:00 noon
(i) three Business Days prior to the requested date of any
Borrowing of, conversion to or continuation of Eurodollar Rate
Loans or of any conversion of Eurodollar Rate Loans to Base Rate
Committed Loans or LIBOR Floating Rate Loans, and (ii) on the
requested date of any Borrowing of Base Rate Committed Loans or
LIBOR Floating Rate Loans. Each telephonic notice by the Borrower
pursuant to this Section 2.02(a) must be confirmed
promptly by delivery to the Administrative Agent of a written
Committed Loan Notice, appropriately completed and signed by a
Responsible Officer of the Borrower. Each Borrowing of, conversion
to or continuation of Eurodollar Rate Loans shall be in a principal
amount of $5,000,000 or a whole multiple of $1,000,000 in excess
thereof. Except as provided in Sections 2.04(c) and
2.05(c) , each Borrowing of or conversion to Base Rate
Committed Loans or LIBOR Floating Rate Loans shall be in a
principal amount of $500,000 or a whole multiple of $100,000 in
excess thereof. Each Committed Loan Notice (whether telephonic or
written) shall specify (i) whether the Borrower is requesting
a Committed Borrowing, a conversion of Committed Loans from one
Type to the other, or a continuation of Eurodollar Rate Loans,
(ii) the requested date of the Borrowing, conversion or
continuation, as the case may be (which shall be a Business Day),
(iii) the principal amount of Committed Loans to be borrowed,
converted or continued, (iv) the Type of Committed Loans to be
borrowed or to which existing Committed Loans are to be converted,
and (v) if applicable, the duration of the Interest Period
with respect thereto. If the Borrower fails to specify a Type of
Committed Loan in a Committed Loan Notice or if the Borrower
fails
21
to give
a timely notice requesting a conversion or continuation, then the
applicable Committed Loans shall be made as, or converted to, Base
Rate Loans. Any such automatic conversion to Base Rate Loans shall
be effective as of the last day of the Interest Period then in
effect with respect to the applicable Eurodollar Rate Loans. If the
Borrower requests a Borrowing of, conversion to, or continuation of
Eurodollar Rate Loans in any such Committed Loan Notice, but fails
to specify an Interest Period, it will be deemed to have specified
an Interest Period of one month.
(b) Following receipt of a
Committed Loan Notice, the Administrative Agent shall promptly
notify each Lender of the amount of its Applicable Percentage of
the applicable Committed Loans, and if no timely notice of a
conversion or continuation is provided by the Borrower, the
Administrative Agent shall notify each Lender of the details of any
automatic conversion to Base Rate Loans described in the preceding
subsection. In the case of a Committed Borrowing, each Lender shall
make the amount of its Committed Loan available to the
Administrative Agent in immediately available funds at the
Administrative Agent’s Office not later than 2:00 p.m. on the
Business Day specified in the applicable Committed Loan Notice.
Upon satisfaction of the applicable conditions set forth in
Section 4.02 (and, if such Borrowing is the initial
Credit Extension, Section 4.01 ), the Administrative
Agent shall make all funds so received available to the Borrower in
like funds as received by the Administrative Agent either by (i)
crediting the account of the Borrower on the books of Bank of
America with the amount of such funds or (ii) wire transfer of
such funds, in each case in accordance with instructions provided
to (and reasonably acceptable to) the Administrative Agent by the
Borrower; provided , however , that if, on the date
the Committed Loan Notice with respect to such Borrowing is given
by the Borrower, there are L/C Borrowings outstanding, then the
proceeds of such Borrowing, first , shall be applied to the
payment in full of any such L/C Borrowings, and second ,
shall be made available to the Borrower as provided above.
(c) Except as otherwise provided
herein, a Eurodollar Rate Loan may be continued or converted only
on the last day of an Interest Period for such Eurodollar Rate
Loan. During the existence of a Default, no Loans may be requested
as, converted to or continued as Eurodollar Rate Loans without the
consent of the Required Lenders.
(d) The Administrative Agent
shall promptly notify the Borrower and the Lenders of the interest
rate applicable to any Interest Period for Eurodollar Rate Loans
upon determination of such interest rate. At any time that Base
Rate Loans are outstanding, the Administrative Agent shall notify
the Borrower and the Lenders of any change in 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
Committed Borrowings, all conversions of Committed Loans from one
Type to the other, and all continuations of Committed Loans as the
same Type, there shall not be more than ten Interest Periods in
effect with respect to Committed Loans.
2.03 Bid Loans .
(a) General . Subject to
the terms and conditions set forth herein, each Lender agrees that
the Borrower may from time to time request the Lenders to submit
offers to make loans (each such loan, a “ Bid Loan
”) to the Borrower prior to the Maturity Date pursuant to
this
22
Section 2.03 ; provided , however , that
after giving effect to any Bid Borrowing, (i) the Total
Outstandings shall not exceed the Aggregate Commitments, and
(ii) the aggregate Outstanding Amount of all Bid Loans shall
not exceed the Bid Loan Sublimit. There shall not be more than ten
different Interest Periods in effect with respect to Bid Loans at
any time.
(b) Requesting Competitive
Bids . The Borrower may request the submission of Competitive
Bids by delivering a Bid Request to the Administrative Agent not
later than 12:00 noon (i) one Business Day prior to the
requested date of any Bid Borrowing that is to consist of Absolute
Rate Loans, or (ii) four Business Days prior to the requested
date of any Bid Borrowing that is to consist of Eurodollar Margin
Bid Loans. Each Bid Request shall specify (i) the requested
date of the Bid Borrowing (which shall be a Business Day),
(ii) the aggregate principal amount of Bid Loans requested
(which must be $10,000,000 or a whole multiple of $5,000,000 in
excess thereof), (iii) the Type of Bid Loans requested, and
(iv) the duration of the Interest Period with respect thereto,
and shall be signed by a Responsible Officer of the Borrower. No
Bid Request shall contain a request for (i) more than one Type
of Bid Loan or (ii) Bid Loans having more than three different
Interest Periods. Unless the Administrative Agent otherwise agrees
in its sole and absolute discretion, the Borrower may not submit a
Bid Request if it has submitted another Bid Request within the
prior five Business Days.
(c) Submitting Competitive
Bids .
(i) The Administrative Agent shall
promptly notify each Lender of each Bid Request received by it from
the Borrower and the contents of such Bid Request.
(ii) Each Lender may (but shall have
no obligation to) submit a Competitive Bid containing an offer to
make one or more Bid Loans in response to such Bid Request. Such
Competitive Bid must be delivered to the Administrative Agent not
later than 10:30 a.m. (A) on the requested date of any Bid
Borrowing that is to consist of Absolute Rate Loans, and
(B) three Business Days prior to the requested date of any Bid
Borrowing that is to consist of Eurodollar Margin Bid Loans;
provided , however , that any Competitive Bid
submitted by Bank of America in its capacity as a Lender in
response to any Bid Request must be submitted to the Administrative
Agent not later than 10:15 a.m. on the date on which
Competitive Bids are required to be delivered by the other Lenders
in response to such Bid Request. Each Competitive Bid shall specify
(A) the proposed date of the Bid Borrowing; (B) the principal
amount of each Bid Loan for which such Competitive Bid is being
made, which principal amount (x) may be equal to, greater than
or less than the Commitment of the bidding Lender, (y) must be
$10,000,000 or a whole multiple of $5,000,000 in excess thereof,
and (z) may not exceed the principal amount of Bid Loans for
which Competitive Bids were requested; (C) if the proposed Bid
Borrowing is to consist of Absolute Rate Loans, the Absolute Rate
offered for each such Bid Loan and the Interest Period applicable
thereto; (D) if the proposed Bid Borrowing is to consist of
Eurodollar Margin Bid Loans, the Eurodollar Bid Margin with respect
to each such Eurodollar Margin Bid Loan and the Interest Period
applicable thereto; and (E) the identity of the bidding
Lender.
(iii) Any Competitive Bid shall be
disregarded if it (A) is received after the applicable time
specified in clause (ii) above, (B) is not
substantially in the form of a
23
Competitive Bid
as specified herein, (C) contains qualifying, conditional or
similar language, (D) proposes terms other than or in addition
to those set forth in the applicable Bid Request, or (E) is
otherwise not responsive to such Bid Request. Any Lender may
correct a Competitive Bid containing a manifest error by submitting
a corrected Competitive Bid (identified as such) not later than the
applicable time required for submission of Competitive Bids. Any
such submission of a corrected Competitive Bid shall constitute a
revocation of the Competitive Bid that contained the manifest
error. The Administrative Agent may, but shall not be required to,
notify any Lender of any manifest error it detects in such
Lender’s Competitive Bid.
(iv) Subject only to the provisions
of Sections 3.02 , 3.03 and 4.02 and
clause (iii) above, each Competitive Bid shall be
irrevocable.
(d) Notice to Borrower of
Competitive Bids . Not later than 11:00 a.m. (i) on
the requested date of any Bid Borrowing that is to consist of
Absolute Rate Loans, or (ii) three Business Days prior to the
requested date of any Bid Borrowing that is to consist of
Eurodollar Margin Bid Loans, the Administrative Agent shall notify
the Borrower of the identity of each Lender that has submitted a
Competitive Bid that complies with Section 2.03(c) and
of the terms of the offers contained in each such Competitive
Bid.
(e) Acceptance of
Competitive Bids . Not later than 11:30 a.m. (i) on
the requested date of any Bid Borrowing that is to consist of
Absolute Rate Loans, and (ii) three Business Days prior to the
requested date of any Bid Borrowing that is to consist of
Eurodollar Margin Bid Loans, the Borrower shall notify the
Administrative Agent of its acceptance or rejection of the offers
notified to it pursuant to Section 2.03(d) . The
Borrower shall be under no obligation to accept any Competitive Bid
and may choose to reject all Competitive Bids. In the case of
acceptance, such notice shall specify the aggregate principal
amount of Competitive Bids for each Interest Period that is
accepted. The Borrower may accept any Competitive Bid in whole or
in part; provided that:
(i) the aggregate principal amount of
each Bid Borrowing may not exceed the applicable amount set forth
in the related Bid Request;
(ii) the principal amount of each Bid
Loan must be $10,000,000 or a whole multiple of $5,000,000 in
excess thereof;
(iii) the acceptance of offers may be
made only on the basis of ascending Absolute Rates or Eurodollar
Bid Margins within each Interest Period; and
(iv) the Borrower may not accept any
offer that is described in Section 2.03(c)(iii) or that
otherwise fails to comply with the requirements hereof.
(f) Procedure for Identical
Bids . If two or more Lenders have submitted Competitive Bids
at the same Absolute Rate or Eurodollar Bid Margin, as the case may
be, for the same Interest Period, and the result of accepting all
of such Competitive Bids in whole (together with any other
Competitive Bids at lower Absolute Rates or Eurodollar Bid Margins,
as the case may be, accepted for such Interest Period in conformity
with the requirements of Section 2.03(e)(iii) ) would
be to cause the aggregate outstanding principal amount of the
applicable Bid Borrowing to
24
exceed
the amount specified therefor in the related Bid Request, then,
unless otherwise agreed by the Borrower, the Administrative Agent
and such Lenders, such Competitive Bids shall be accepted as nearly
as possible in proportion to the amount offered by each such Lender
in respect of such Interest Period, with such accepted amounts
being rounded to the nearest whole multiple of $1,000,000.
(g) Notice to Lenders of
Acceptance or Rejection of Bids . The Administrative Agent
shall promptly notify each Lender having submitted a Competitive
Bid whether or not its offer has been accepted and, if its offer
has been accepted, of the amount of the Bid Loan or Bid Loans to be
made by it on the date of the applicable Bid Borrowing. Any
Competitive Bid or portion thereof that is not accepted by the
Borrower by the applicable time specified in
Section 2.03(e) shall be deemed rejected.
(h) Notice of Eurodollar
Rate . If any Bid Borrowing is to consist of Eurodollar Margin
Loans, the Administrative Agent shall determine the Eurodollar Rate
for the relevant Interest Period, and promptly after making such
determination, shall notify the Borrower and the Lenders that will
be participating in such Bid Borrowing of such Eurodollar
Rate.
(i) Funding of Bid Loans
. Each Lender that has received notice pursuant to
Section 2.03(g) that all or a portion of its
Competitive Bid has been accepted by the Borrower shall make the
amount of its Bid Loan(s) available to the Administrative Agent in
immediately available funds at the Administrative Agent’s
Office not later than 1:00 p.m. on the date of the requested Bid
Borrowing. 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.
(j) Notice of Range of
Bids . After each Competitive Bid auction pursuant to this
Section 2.03 , the Administrative Agent shall notify
each Lender that submitted a Competitive Bid in such auction of the
ranges of bids submitted (without the bidder’s name) and
accepted for each Bid Loan and the aggregate amount of each Bid
Borrowing.
2.04 Letters of Credit
.
(a) The Letter of Credit
Commitment .
(i) Subject to the terms and
conditions set forth herein, (A) the L/C Issuer agrees, in
reliance upon the agreements of the Lenders set forth in this
Section 2.04 , (1) from time to time on any
Business Day during the period from the Closing Date until the
Letter of Credit Expiration Date, to issue Letters of Credit for
the account of the Borrower or its Subsidiaries, and to amend or
extend Letters of Credit previously issued by it, in accordance
with subsection (b) below, and (2) to honor drawings
under the Letters of Credit; and (B) the Lenders severally
agree to participate in Letters of Credit issued for the account of
the Borrower or its Subsidiaries and any drawings thereunder;
provided that after giving effect to any L/C Credit
Extension with respect to any Letter of Credit, (x) the Total
Outstandings shall not exceed the Aggregate Commitments, (y) the
aggregate Outstanding Amount of the Committed Loans of any Lender,
plus such Lender’s Applicable Percentage of the
Outstanding Amount of all L/C Obligations, plus
25
such
Lender’s Applicable Percentage of the Outstanding Amount of
all Swing Line Loans shall not exceed such Lender’s
Commitment, and (z) the Outstanding Amount of the L/C
Obligations shall not exceed the Letter of Credit Sublimit. Each
request by the Borrower for the issuance or amendment of a Letter
of Credit shall be deemed to be a representation by the Borrower
that 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. All Existing Letters of Credit shall be deemed
to have been issued pursuant hereto, and from and after the Closing
Date shall be subject to and governed by the terms and conditions
hereof.
(ii) The L/C Issuer shall not issue
any Letter of Credit if:
(A) subject to
Section 2.04(b)(iii) , the expiry date of such
requested Letter of Credit would occur more than twelve months
after the date of issuance, unless the Required Lenders have
approved such expiry date;
(B) the expiry date of such requested
Letter of Credit would occur after the Letter of Credit Expiration
Date, unless all the Lenders have approved such expiry date;
or
(C) such Letter of Credit is to be
denominated in a currency other than Dollars.
(iii) The L/C Issuer shall not be
under any obligation to issue any Letter of Credit if:
(A) any order, judgment or decree of
any Governmental Authority or arbitrator shall by its terms purport
to enjoin or restrain the L/C Issuer from issuing such Letter of
Credit, or any Law applicable to the L/C Issuer or any request or
directive (whether or not having the force of law) from any
Governmental Authority with jurisdiction over the L/C Issuer shall
prohibit, or request that the L/C Issuer refrain from, the issuance
of letters of credit generally or such Letter of Credit in
particular or shall impose upon the L/C Issuer with respect to such
Letter of Credit any restriction, reserve or capital requirement
(for which the L/C Issuer is not otherwise compensated hereunder)
not in effect on the Closing Date, or shall impose upon the L/C
Issuer any unreimbursed loss, cost or expense which was not
applicable on the Closing Date and which the L/C Issuer in good
faith deems material to it;
(B) the issuance of such Letter of
Credit would violate one or more policies of the L/C Issuer
applicable to letters of credit generally;
(C) except as otherwise agreed by the
Administrative Agent and the L/C Issuer, such Letter of Credit is
in an initial stated amount less than $100,000; or
26
(D) a default of any Lender’s
obligations to fund under Section 2.04(c) exists or any
Lender is at such time a Defaulting Lender hereunder, unless the
L/C Issuer has entered into satisfactory arrangements with the
Borrower or such Lender to eliminate the L/C Issuer’s risk
with respect to such Lender.
(iv) The L/C Issuer shall not amend
any Letter of Credit if the L/C Issuer would not be permitted at
such time to issue such Letter of Credit in its amended form under
the terms hereof.
(v) The L/C Issuer shall be under no
obligation to amend any Letter of Credit if (A) the L/C Issuer
would have no obligation at such time to issue such Letter of
Credit in its amended form under the terms hereof, or (B) the
beneficiary of such Letter of Credit does not accept the proposed
amendment to such Letter of Credit.
(vi) The L/C Issuer shall act on
behalf of the Lenders with respect to any Letters of Credit issued
by it and the documents associated therewith, and the L/C Issuer
shall have all of the benefits and immunities (A) provided to
the Administrative Agent in Article IX with respect to any
acts taken or omissions suffered by the L/C Issuer in connection
with Letters of Credit issued by it or proposed to be issued by it
and Issuer Documents pertaining to such Letters of Credit as fully
as if the term “Administrative Agent” as used in
Article IX included the L/C Issuer with respect to such
acts or omissions, and (B) as additionally provided herein
with respect to the L/C Issuer.
(b) Procedures for Issuance
and Amendment of Letters of Credit; Auto-Extension Letters of
Credit .
(i) Each Letter of Credit shall be
issued or amended, as the case may be, upon the request of the
Borrower delivered to the L/C Issuer (with a copy to the
Administrative Agent) in the form of a Letter of Credit
Application, appropriately completed and signed by a Responsible
Officer of the Borrower. Such Letter of Credit Application must be
received by the L/C Issuer and the Administrative Agent not later
than 12:00 noon at least two 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; and (G) such other matters as the L/C
Issuer may 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 require. Additionally, the
Borrower shall furnish to the L/C Issuer and the Administrative
Agent such other documents and information pertaining to such
27
requested
Letter of Credit issuance or amendment, including any Issuer
Documents, as the L/C Issuer or the Administrative Agent may
require.
(ii) Promptly after receipt of any
Letter of Credit Application, the L/C Issuer will confirm with the
Administrative Agent (by telephone or in writing) that the
Administrative Agent has received a copy of such Letter of Credit
Application from the Borrower and, if not, the L/C Issuer will
provide the Administrative Agent with a copy thereof. Unless the
L/C Issuer has received written notice from any Lender, the
Administrative Agent or the Borrower, at least one Business Day
prior to the requested date of issuance or amendment of the
applicable Letter of Credit, that one or more applicable conditions
contained in Article IV shall not then be satisfied,
then, subject to the terms and conditions hereof, the L/C Issuer
shall, on the requested date, issue a Letter of Credit for the
account of the Borrower (or the applicable Subsidiary) or enter
into the applicable amendment, as the case may be, in each case in
accordance with the L/C Issuer’s usual and customary business
practices. Immediately upon the issuance of each Letter of Credit,
each Lender shall be deemed to, and hereby irrevocably and
unconditionally agrees to, purchase from the L/C Issuer a risk
participation in such Letter of Credit in an amount equal to the
product of such Lender’s Applicable Percentage times
the amount of such Letter of Credit.
(iii) If the Borrower so requests in
any applicable Letter of Credit Application, the L/C Issuer may, in
its sole and absolute discretion, agree to issue a Letter of Credit
that has automatic extension provisions (each, an “
Auto-Extension Letter of Credit ”); provided
that any such Auto-Extension Letter of Credit must permit the L/C
Issuer to prevent any such extension at least once in each
twelve-month period (commencing with the date of issuance of such
Letter of Credit) by giving prior notice to the beneficiary thereof
not later than a day (the “ Non-Extension Notice Date
”) in each such twelve-month period to be agreed upon at the
time such Letter of Credit is issued. Unless otherwise directed by
the L/C Issuer, the Borrower shall not be required to make a
specific request to the L/C Issuer for any such extension. Once an
Auto-Extension Letter of Credit has been issued, the Lenders shall
be deemed to have authorized (but may not require) the L/C Issuer
to permit the extension of such Letter of Credit at any time to an
expiry date not later than the Letter of Credit Expiration Date;
provided , however , that the L/C Issuer shall not
permit any such extension if (A) the L/C Issuer has determined
that it would not be permitted, or would have no obligation, at
such time to issue such Letter of Credit in its revised form (as
extended) under the terms hereof (by reason of the provisions of
clause (ii) or (iii) of Section 2.04(a)
or otherwise), or (B) it has received notice (which may be by
telephone or in writing) on or before the day that is five Business
Days before the Non-Extension Notice Date (1) from the
Administrative Agent that the Required Lenders have elected not to
permit such extension or (2) from the Administrative Agent,
any Lender or the Borrower that one or more of the applicable
conditions specified in Section 4.02 is not then
satisfied, and in each such case directing the L/C Issuer not to
permit such extension.
(iv) Promptly after its delivery of
any Letter of Credit or any amendment to a Letter of Credit to an
advising bank with respect thereto or to the beneficiary thereof,
the
28
L/C Issuer will
also deliver to the Borrower and the Administrative Agent a true
and complete copy of such Letter of Credit or amendment.
(c) Drawings and
Reimbursements; Funding of Participations .
(i) Upon receipt from the beneficiary
of any Letter of Credit of any notice of a drawing under such
Letter of Credit, the L/C Issuer shall notify the Borrower and the
Administrative Agent thereof. Not later than 12:00 noon 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; provided
that, if the Borrower is not notified of a drawing under a Letter
of Credit by 10:00 a.m. on the date of such drawing, then the
Borrower shall instead be required to make such reimbursement on
the Business Day following 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 “ Unreimbursed Amount
”), and the amount of such Lender’s Applicable
Percentage thereof. In such event, the Borrower shall be deemed to
have requested a Committed Borrowing of Base Rate Loans to be
disbursed on the Honor Date in an amount equal to the Unreimbursed
Amount, without regard to the minimum and multiples specified in
Section 2.02 for the principal amount of Base Rate Loans,
but subject to the amount of the unutilized portion of the
Aggregate Commitments and the conditions set forth in Section
4.02 (other than the delivery of a Committed Loan Notice). Any
notice given by the L/C Issuer or the Administrative Agent pursuant
to this Section 2.04(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. No later than the fifth Business
Day of each month, each L/C Issuer shall provide a written report
to the Administrative Agent as to the stated amount of any Letters
of Credit issued by such L/C Issuer during the preceding month, the
dates and amounts of each draw under any outstanding Letters of
Credit during such month and the dates and amounts of each
reimbursement made by the Borrower during such month.
(ii) Each Lender shall upon any
notice pursuant to Section 2.04(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 2:00 p.m. on the Business Day specified in such notice
by the Administrative Agent, whereupon, subject to the provisions
of Section 2.04(c)(iii) , each Lender that so makes funds
available shall be deemed to have made a Base Rate Committed Loan
to the Borrower in such amount. The Administrative Agent shall
remit the funds so received to the L/C Issuer.
(iii) With respect to any
Unreimbursed Amount that is not fully refinanced by a Committed
Borrowing of Base Rate Loans because the conditions set forth in
Section 4.02 cannot be satisfied or for any other reason,
the Borrower shall be deemed to have incurred from the L/C Issuer
an L/C Borrowing in the amount of the Unreimbursed Amount that is
not so refinanced, which L/C Borrowing shall be due and payable on
demand (together with interest) and shall bear interest at the
Default Rate. In such event, each Lender’s payment to the
Administrative Agent for the account of the L/C Issuer
29
pursuant to
Section 2.04(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 2.04 .
(iv) Until each Lender funds its
Committed Loan or L/C Advance pursuant to this
Section 2.04(c) to reimburse the L/C Issuer for any
amount drawn under any Letter of Credit, interest in respect of
such Lender’s Applicable Percentage of such amount shall be
solely for the account of the L/C Issuer.
(v) Each Lender’s obligation to
make Committed Loans or L/C Advances to reimburse the L/C Issuer
for amounts drawn under Letters of Credit, as contemplated by this
Section 2.04(c) , shall be absolute and unconditional and
shall not be affected by any circumstance, including (A) any
setoff, counterclaim, recoupment, defense or other right which such
Lender may have against the 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 Committed Loans pursuant to this
Section 2.04(c) is subject to the conditions set forth
in Section 4.02 (other than delivery by the Borrower of
a Committed Loan Notice). No such making of an L/C Advance shall
relieve or otherwise impair the obligation of the Borrower to
reimburse the L/C Issuer for the amount of any payment made by the
L/C Issuer under any Letter of Credit, together with interest as
provided herein.
(vi) If any Lender fails to make
available to the Administrative Agent for the account of the L/C
Issuer any amount required to be paid by such Lender pursuant to
the foregoing provisions of this Section 2.04(c) by the
time specified in Section 2.04(c)(ii) , the L/C Issuer shall
be entitled to recover from such Lender (acting through the
Administrative Agent), on demand, such amount with interest thereon
for the period from the date such payment is required to the date
on which such payment is immediately available to the L/C Issuer at
a rate per annum equal to the greater of the Federal Funds Rate and
a rate determined by the L/C Issuer in accordance with banking
industry rules on interbank compensation, plus any
administrative, processing or similar fees customarily charged by
the L/C Issuer in connection with the foregoing. If such Lender
pays such amount (with interest and fees as aforesaid), the amount
so paid shall constitute such Lender’s Committed Loan
included in the relevant Committed Borrowing or L/C Advance in
respect of the relevant L/C Borrowing, as the case may be. A
certificate of the L/C Issuer submitted to any Lender (through the
Administrative Agent) with respect to any amounts owing under this
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 2.04(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
30
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 2.04(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 Issuer for
each drawing under each Letter of Credit and to repay each L/C
Borrowing shall be absolute, unconditional and irrevocable, and
shall be paid strictly in accordance with the terms of this
Agreement under all circumstances (but subject to
Section 2.04(f) ), including the following:
(i) any lack of validity or
enforceability of such Letter of Credit, this Agreement, or any
other Loan Document;
(ii) the existence of any claim,
counterclaim, setoff, defense or other right that the Borrower or
any Subsidiary may have at any time against any beneficiary or any
transferee of such Letter of Credit (or any Person for whom any
such beneficiary or any such transferee may be acting), the L/C
Issuer or any other Person, whether in connection with this
Agreement, the transactions contemplated hereby or by such Letter
of Credit or any agreement or instrument relating thereto, or any
unrelated transaction;
(iii) any draft, demand, certificate
or other document presented under such Letter of Credit proving to
be forged, fraudulent, invalid or insufficient in any respect or
any statement therein being untrue or inaccurate in any respect; or
any loss or delay in the transmission or otherwise of any document
required in order to make a drawing under such Letter of
Credit;
(iv) any payment by the L/C Issuer
under such Letter of Credit against presentation of a draft or
certificate that does not strictly comply with the terms of such
Letter of Credit; or any payment made by the L/C Issuer under such
Letter of Credit to any Person purporting to be a trustee in
bankruptcy, debtor-in-possession, assignee for the benefit of
creditors, liquidator, receiver or other representative of or
successor to any beneficiary or any transferee of such Letter of
Credit, including any arising in connection with any proceeding
under any Debtor Relief Law; or
(v) any other circumstance or
happening whatsoever, whether or not similar to any of the
foregoing, including any other circumstance that might otherwise
constitute a defense available to, or a discharge of, the Borrower
or any Subsidiary.
The Borrower shall promptly examine a
copy of each Letter of Credit and each amendment thereto that is
delivered to it and, in the event of any claim of noncompliance
with
31
the
Borrower’s instructions or other irregularity, the Borrower
will immediately notify the L/C Issuer. The Borrower shall be
conclusively deemed to have waived any such claim against the L/C
Issuer and its correspondents unless such notice is given as
aforesaid.
(f) Role of L/C Issuer .
Each Lender and the Borrower agree that, in paying any drawing
under a Letter of Credit, the L/C Issuer shall not have any
responsibility to obtain any document (other than any sight draft,
certificates and documents expressly required by the Letter of
Credit) or to ascertain or inquire as to the validity or accuracy
of any such document or the authority of the Person executing or
delivering any such document. None of the L/C Issuer, the
Administrative Agent, any of their respective Related Parties nor
any correspondent, participant or assignee of the L/C Issuer shall
be liable to any Lender for (i) any action taken or omitted in
connection herewith at the request or with the approval of the
Lenders or the Required Lenders, as applicable; (ii) any
action taken or omitted in the absence of gross negligence 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. As between the Borrower,
on the one hand, and the Lenders and the L/C Issuer, on the other,
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 2.04(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 the terms and conditions of a Letter of Credit. In furtherance
and not in limitation of the foregoing, the L/C Issuer may accept
documents that appear on their face to be in order, without
responsibility for further investigation, regardless of any notice
or information to the contrary, and the L/C Issuer shall not be
responsible for the validity or sufficiency of any instrument
transferring or assigning or purporting to transfer or assign a
Letter of Credit or the rights or benefits thereunder or proceeds
thereof, in whole or in part, which may prove to be invalid or
ineffective for any reason.
(g) Cash Collateral .
Upon the request of the Administrative Agent, (i) if the L/C
Issuer has honored any full or partial drawing request under any
Letter of Credit and such drawing has resulted in an L/C Borrowing,
or (ii) if, as of the Letter of Credit Expiration Date, any
L/C Obligation for any reason remains outstanding, the Borrower
shall, in each case, on the next Business Day following the date on
which the Borrower receives notice of such request, Cash
Collateralize the then Outstanding Amount of all L/C Obligations.
Sections 2.06 and 8.02(c) set forth certain
additional requirements to deliver Cash Collateral hereunder. For
purposes of this Section 2.04 ,
Section 2.06 and Section 8.02(c) , “
Cash Collateralize ” means to pledge and deposit with
or deliver to the Administrative Agent, for the benefit of the L/C
Issuer and the Lenders, as collateral for the L/C Obligations, cash
or deposit account balances pursuant to documentation in form and
substance satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and the
L/C
32
Issuer
(which documents are hereby consented to by the Lenders), or, with
respect to clause (ii) above, to provide a back-to-back
letter of credit issued by an institution, and in form, reasonably
satisfactory to the L/C Issuer. Derivatives of such term have
corresponding meanings. The Borrower hereby grants to the
Administrative Agent, for the benefit of the L/C Issuer and the
Lenders, a security interest in all such cash, deposit accounts and
all balances therein and all proceeds of the foregoing. Cash
Collateral shall be maintained in blocked, non-interest bearing
deposit accounts at Bank of America.
(h) Applicability of ISP
. Unless otherwise expressly agreed by the L/C Issuer and the
Borrower when a Letter of Credit is issued (including any such
agreement applicable to an Existing Letter of Credit), the rules of
the ISP shall apply to each standby Letter of Credit.
(i) Letter of Credit
Fees . The Borrower shall pay to the Administrative Agent for
the account of each Lender in accordance with its Applicable
Percentage a Letter of Credit fee (the “ Letter of Credit
Fee ”) for each Letter of Credit equal to the Applicable
Rate times the daily amount available to be drawn under such
Letter of Credit. For purposes of computing the daily amount
available to be drawn under any Letter of Credit, the amount of
such Letter of Credit shall be determined in accordance with
Section 1.06 . Letter of Credit Fees shall be
(i) due and payable on the first Business Day after the end of
each March, June, September and December, commencing with the first
such date to occur after the issuance of such Letter of Credit, on
the Letter of Credit Expiration Date and thereafter on demand and
(ii) computed on a quarterly basis in arrears. If there is any
change in the Applicable Rate during any quarter, the daily amount
available to be drawn under each Letter of Credit shall be computed
and multiplied by the Applicable Rate separately for each period
during such quarter that such Applicable Rate was in effect.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, upon the
request of the Required Lenders, while any Event of Default exists,
all Letter of Credit Fees shall accrue at the Default Rate.
(j) Fronting Fee and
Documentary and Processing Charges Payable to L/C Issuer . The
Borrower shall pay directly to the L/C Issuer for its own account a
fronting fee with respect to each Letter of Credit, at a rate per
annum equal to 0.125% or such other rate as may be separately
agreed to in writing between the Borrower and the applicable L/C
Issuer, computed on the daily amount available to be drawn under
such Letter of Credit and on a quarterly basis in arrears. Such
fronting fee shall be due and payable on the tenth Business Day
after the end of each March, June, September and December in
respect of the most recently-ended quarterly period (or portion
thereof, in the case of the first payment), commencing with the
first such date to occur after the issuance of such Letter of
Credit, on the Letter of Credit Expiration Date and thereafter on
demand. For purposes of computing the daily amount available to be
drawn under any Letter of Credit, the amount of such Letter of
Credit shall be determined in accordance with
Section 1.06 . In addition, the Borrower shall pay
directly to the L/C Issuer for its own account the customary
issuance, presentation, amendment and other processing fees, and
other standard costs and charges, of the L/C Issuer relating to
letters of credit as from time to time in effect. Such customary
fees and standard costs and charges are due and payable on demand
and are nonrefundable.
(k) Conflict with Issuer
Documents . In the event of any conflict between the terms
hereof and the terms of any Issuer Document, the terms hereof shall
control.
33
(l) L/C Issuers . The
Borrower may, at any time and from time to time, whether in
connection with a resignation of an L/C Issuer pursuant to
Section 9.06 or Section 10.06(h) below or
otherwise, designate one or more additional Lenders to act as an
L/C Issuer under the terms of this Agreement, with the consent of
the Administrative Agent (which consent shall not be unreasonably
withheld, delayed or conditioned) and such Lender; provided
that in no event shall there be more than three L/C Issuers at any
time. Any Lender designated as an L/C Issuer pursuant to this
Section 2.04(l) shall be deemed (in addition to being a
Lender) to be the L/C Issuer with respect to the Letters of Credit
issued or to be issued by such Lender, and all references herein
and in the other Loan Documents to the term “L/C
Issuer” shall, with respect to such Letters of Credit, be
deemed to refer to such Lender in its capacity as an L/C Issuer, as
the context shall require.
(m) Letters of Credit Issued
for Subsidiaries . Notwithstanding that a Letter of Credit
issued or outstanding hereunder is in support of any obligations
of, or is for the account of, a Subsidiary, the Borrower shall be
obligated to reimburse the L/C Issuer hereunder for any and all
drawings under such Letter of Credit. The Borrower hereby
acknowledges that the issuance of Letters of Credit for the account
of Subsidiaries inures to the benefit of the Borrower, and that the
Borrower’s business derives substantial benefits from the
businesses of such Subsidiaries.
2.05 Swing Line Loans .
(a) The Swing Line .
Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, the Swing
Line Lender agrees, in reliance upon the agreements of the other
Lenders set forth in this Section 2.05 , to make loans
(each such loan, a “ Swing Line Loan ”) to the
Borrower from time to time on any Business Day during the
Availability Period in an aggregate amount not to exceed at any
time outstanding the amount of the Swing Line Sublimit,
notwithstanding the fact that such Swing Line Loans, when
aggregated with the Applicable Percentage of the Outstanding Amount
of Committed Loans and L/C Obligations of the Lender acting as
Swing Line Lender, may exceed the amount of such Lender’s
Commitment; provided , however , that after giving
effect to any Swing Line Loan, (i) the Total Outstandings
shall not exceed the Aggregate Commitments, and (ii) the
aggregate Outstanding Amount of the Committed Loans of any Lender,
plus such Lender’s Applicable Percentage of the
Outstanding Amount of all L/C Obligations, plus such
Lender’s Applicable Percentage of the Outstanding Amount of
all Swing Line Loans shall not exceed such Lender’s
Commitment, and provided , further , that the
Borrower shall not use the proceeds of any Swing Line Loan to
refinance any outstanding Swing Line Loan. Within the foregoing
limits, and subject to the other terms and conditions hereof, the
Borrower may borrow under this Section 2.05 , prepay
under Section 2.06 , and reborrow under this
Section 2.05 . Each Swing Line Loan shall be a Base
Rate Loan. Immediately upon the making of a Swing Line Loan, each
Lender shall be deemed to, and hereby irrevocably and
unconditionally agrees to, purchase from the Swing Line Lender a
risk participation in such Swing Line Loan in an amount equal to
the product of such Lender’s Applicable Percentage
times the amount of such Swing Line Loan.
(b) Borrowing Procedures
. Each Swing Line Borrowing shall be made upon the Borrower’s
irrevocable notice to the Swing Line Lender and the Administrative
Agent, which may be given by telephone. Each such notice must be
received by the Swing Line Lender and the Administrative Agent not
later than 2:00 p.m. on the requested borrowing date, and shall
specify
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(i) the amount to be borrowed, which shall be a minimum of
$100,000, and (ii) the requested borrowing date, which shall
be a Business Day. Each such telephonic notice must be confirmed
promptly by delivery to the Swing Line Lender and the
Administrative Agent of a written Swing Line Loan Notice,
appropriately completed and signed by a Responsible Officer of the
Borrower. Promptly after receipt by the Swing Line Lender of any
telephonic Swing Line Loan Notice, the Swing Line Lender will
confirm with the Administrative Agent (by telephone or in writing)
that the Administrative Agent has also received such Swing Line
Loan Notice and, if not, the Swing Line Lender will notify the
Administrative Agent (by telephone or in writing) of the contents
thereof. Unless the Swing Line Lender has received notice (by
telephone or in writing) from the Administrative Agent (including
at the request of any Lender) prior to 3:00 p.m. on the date of the
proposed Swing Line Borrowing (A) directing the Swing Line
Lender not to make such Swing Line Loan as a result of the
limitations set forth in the proviso to the first sentence of
Section 2.05(a) , or (B) that one or more of the
applicable conditions specified in Article IV is not
then satisfied, then, subject to the terms and conditions hereof,
the Swing Line Lender will, not later than 4:00 p.m. on the
borrowing date specified in such Swing Line Loan Notice, make the
amount of its Swing Line Loan available to the Borrower.
(c) Refinancing of Swing
Line Loans .
(i) The Swing Line Lender at any time
in its sole and absolute discretion may request, on behalf of the
Borrower (which hereby irrevocably authorizes the Swing Line Lender
to so request on its behalf), that each Lender make a Base Rate
Committed Loan in an amount equal to such Lender’s Applicable
Percentage of the amount of Swing Line Loans then outstanding. Such
request shall be made in writing (which written request shall be
deemed to be a Committed Loan Notice for purposes hereof) and in
accordance with the requirements of Section 2.02 ,
without regard to the minimum and multiples specified therein for
the principal amount of Base Rate Loans, but subject to the
unutilized portion of the Aggregate Commitments and the conditions
set forth in Section 4.02 . The Swing Line Lender shall
furnish the Borrower with a copy of the applicable Committed Loan
Notice promptly after delivering such notice to the Administrative
Agent. Each Lender shall make an amount equal to its Applicable
Percentage of the amount specified in such Committed Loan Notice
available to the Administrative Agent in immediately available
funds for the account of the Swing Line Lender at the
Administrative Agent’s Office not later than 2:00 p.m. on the
day specified in such Committed Loan Notice, whereupon, subject to
Section 2.05(c)(ii) , each Lender that so makes funds
available shall be deemed to have made a Base Rate Committed Loan
to the Borrower in such amount. The Administrative Agent shall
remit the funds so received to the Swing Line Lender.
(ii) If for any reason any Swing Line
Loan cannot be refinanced by such a Committed Borrowing in
accordance with Section 2.05(c)(i) , the request for
Base Rate Committed Loans submitted by the Swing Line Lender as set
forth herein shall be deemed to be a request by the Swing Line
Lender that each of the Lenders fund its risk participation in the
relevant Swing Line Loan and each Lender’s payment to the
Administrative Agent for the account of the Swing Line Lender
pursuant to Section 2.05(c)(i) shall be deemed payment
in respect of such participation.
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(iii) If any Lender fails to make
available to the Administrative Agent for the account of the Swing
Line Lender any amount required to be paid by such Lender pursuant
to the foregoing provisions of this Section 2.05(c) by
the time specified in Section 2.05(c)(i) , the Swing Line
Lender shall be entitled to recover from such Lender (acting
through the Administrative Agent), on demand, such amount with
interest thereon for the period from the date such payment is
required to the date on which such payment is immediately available
to the Swing Line Lender at a rate per annum equal to the greater
of the Federal Funds Rate and a rate determined by the Swing Line
Lender in accordance with banking industry rules on interbank
compensation, plus any administrative processing or similar
fees customarily charged by the Swing Line Lender in connection
with the foregoing. If such Lender pays such amount (with interest
and fees as aforesaid), the amount so paid shall constitute such
Lender’s Committed Loan included in the relevant Committed
Borrowing or funded participation in the relevant Swing Line Loan,
as the case may be. A certificate of the Swing Line Lender
submitted to any Lender (through the Administrative Agent) with
respect to any amounts owing under this clause (iii) shall
be conclusive absent manifest error.
(iv) Each Lender’s obligation
to make Committed Loans or to purchase and fund risk participations
in Swing Line Loans pursuant to this Section 2.05(c)
shall be absolute and unconditional and shall not be affected by
any circumstance, including (A) any setoff, counterclaim,
recoupment, defense or other right which such Lender may have
against the Swing Line Lender, the Borrower or any other Person for
any reason whatsoever, (B) the occurrence or continuance of a
Default, or (C) any other occurrence, event or condition,
whether or not similar to any of the foregoing; provided ,
however , that each Lender’s obligation to make
Committed Loans pursuant to this Section 2.05(c) is
subject to the conditions set forth in Section 4.02 .
No such funding of risk participations shall relieve or otherwise
impair the obligation of the Borrower to repay Swing Line Loans,
together with interest as provided herein.
(d) Repayment of
Participations .
(i) At any time after any Lender has
purchased and funded a risk participation in a Swing Line Loan, if
the Swing Line Lender receives any payment on account of such Swing
Line Loan, the Swing Line Lender will distribute to such Lender its
Applicable Percentage thereof in the same funds as those received
by the Swing Line Lender.
(ii) If any payment received by the
Swing Line Lender in respect of principal or interest on any Swing
Line Loan is required to be returned by the Swing Line Lender under
any of the circumstances described in Section 10.05
(including pursuant to any settlement entered into by the Swing
Line Lender in its discretion), each Lender shall pay to the Swing
Line Lender its Applicable Percentage thereof on demand of the
Administrative Agent, plus interest thereon from the date of
such demand to the date such amount is returned, at a rate per
annum equal to the Federal Funds Rate. The Administrative Agent
will make such demand upon the request of the Swing Line Lender.
The obligations of the Lenders under this clause shall survive the
payment in full of the Obligations and the termination of this
Agreement.
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(e) Interest for Account of
Swing Line Lender . The Swing Line Lender shall be responsible
for invoicing the Borrower for interest on the Swing Line Loans.
Until each Lender funds its Base Rate Committed Loan or risk
participation pursuant to this Section 2.05 to
refinance such Lender’s Applicable Percentage of any Swing
Line Loan, interest in respect of such Applicable Percentage shall
be solely for the account of the Swing Line Lender.
(f) Payments Directly to
Swing Line Lender . The Borrower shall make all payments of
principal and interest in respect of the Swing Line Loans directly
to the Swing Line Lender.
2.06 Prepayments .
(a) The Borrower may, upon
notice to the Administrative Agent, at any time or from time to
time voluntarily prepay Committed Loans in whole or in part without
premium or penalty; provided that (i) such notice
(which may be conditional) must be received by the Administrative
Agent not later than 12:00 noon (A) three Business Days prior
to any date of prepayment of Eurodollar Rate Loans and (B) on
the date of prepayment of Base Rate Committed Loans or LIBOR
Floating Rate Loans; (ii) any prepayment of Eurodollar Rate
Loans shall be in a principal amount of $5,000,000 or a whole
multiple of $1,000,000 in excess thereof; and (iii) any
prepayment of Base Rate Committed Loans or LIBOR Floating Rate
Loans shall be in a principal amount of $500,000 or a whole
multiple of $100,000 in excess thereof or, in each case, if less,
the entire principal amount thereof then outstanding. Each such
notice shall specify the date and amount of such prepayment and the
Type(s) of Committed Loans
to be prepaid and, if Eurodollar Rate Loans are to be repaid, the
Interest Period(s) of such Loans.
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