|
EXHIBIT 10(a)
EXECUTION COPY
U.S. $4,000,000,000
FIVE-YEAR CREDIT AGREEMENT
Dated as of February 22,
2005
Among
SEARS HOLDINGS CORPORATION
and
SEARS ROEBUCK ACCEPTANCE CORP.
and
KMART CORPORATION, as Borrowers
and
THE INITIAL LENDERS NAMED HEREIN,
as Initial Lenders
and
CITICORP USA, INC.
and
BANK OF AMERICA, N.A.,
as Syndication Agents
and
BARCLAYS BANK PLC,
LEHMAN COMMERCIAL PAPER INC.,
HSBC BANK USA,
MERRILL LYNCH BANK USA,
MORGAN STANLEY BANK,
THE ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND, PLC
and
WACHOVIA BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION,
as Documentation Agents
and
J.P. MORGAN SECURITIES INC.,
CITIGROUP GLOBAL MARKETS INC.
and
BANC OF AMERICA SECURITIES LLC,
as Lead Arrangers and Joint
Bookrunners
and
JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.,
as Administrative Agent
TABLE OF CONTENTS
|
Page |
ARTICLE I
DEFINITIONS AND ACCOUNTING TERMS |
|
|
|
| SECTION 1.01.
Certain Defined Terms |
1 |
| SECTION 1.02. Computation of Time
Periods |
19 |
| SECTION 1.03. Accounting
Terms |
19 |
|
ARTICLE II
|
|
|
|
|
|
AMOUNTS AND TERMS OF THE
ADVANCES
|
|
| SECTION 2.01. The Revolving
Advances |
19 |
| SECTION 2.02. Making the Revolving
Advances |
19 |
| SECTION 2.03. The Swingline
Advances |
20 |
| SECTION 2.04. Making the Swingline
Advances |
21 |
| SECTION 2.05. Fees
|
22 |
| SECTION 2.06. Optional Termination
or Reduction of the Commitments |
22 |
| SECTION 2.07. Repayment of
Advances |
22 |
| SECTION 2.08. Interest on
Advances |
22 |
| SECTION 2.09. Interest Rate
Determination |
23 |
| SECTION 2.10. Optional Conversion of
Revolving Advances |
23 |
| SECTION 2.11. Optional and Mandatory
Prepayments of Advances |
23 |
| SECTION 2.12. Increased Costs
|
24 |
| SECTION 2.13. Illegality
|
25 |
| SECTION 2.14. Payments and
Computations |
25 |
| SECTION 2.15. Taxes
|
25 |
| SECTION 2.16. Sharing of Payments,
Etc. |
27 |
| SECTION 2.17. Use of Proceeds of
Advances |
28 |
|
ARTICLE III
|
|
|
|
|
|
AMOUNT AND TERMS OF THE LETTERS OF
CREDIT
|
|
| SECTION 3.01. L/C Commitment
|
28 |
| SECTION 3.02. Procedure for Issuance
of Letter of Credit |
28 |
| SECTION 3.03. Fees and Other
Charges |
28 |
| SECTION 3.04. Letter of Credit
Participations |
29 |
| SECTION 3.05. Reimbursement
Obligation of the Borrowers |
29 |
| SECTION 3.06. Obligations
Absolute |
30 |
| SECTION 3.07. Letter of Credit
Payments |
30 |
| SECTION 3.08. Applications
|
30 |
| SECTION 3.09. Use of Letters of
Credit |
30 |
|
|
| ARTICLE
IV |
|
| CONDITIONS TO
EFFECTIVENESS |
|
|
|
| SECTION 4.01. Conditions Precedent
to Effectiveness |
30 |
| SECTION 4.02. Conditions Precedent
to Each Extension of Credit |
32 |
| SECTION 4.03. Effective Date
|
32 |
|
ARTICLE V
|
|
|
|
|
|
REPRESENTATIONS AND
WARRANTIES
|
|
|
|
| SECTION 5.01. Representations and
Warranties of the Borrowers |
32 |
|
|
|
ARTICLE VI
|
|
|
|
|
|
COVENANTS
|
|
|
|
| SECTION 6.01. Affirmative
Covenants |
35 |
| SECTION 6.02. Negative
Covenants |
38 |
| SECTION 6.03. Financial
Covenant |
41 |
|
|
|
ARTICLE VII
|
|
|
|
|
|
EVENTS OF
DEFAULT
|
|
|
|
| SECTION 7.01. Events of
Default |
41 |
|
ARTICLE
VIII
|
|
|
|
|
|
THE AGENT
|
|
| SECTION 8.01. Appointment
|
43 |
| SECTION 8.02. Delegation of
Duties |
43 |
| SECTION 8.03. Exculpatory
Provisions |
43 |
| SECTION 8.04. Reliance by
Agent |
44 |
| SECTION 8.05. Notice of
Default |
44 |
| SECTION 8.06. Non-Reliance on Agents
and Other Lenders |
44 |
| SECTION 8.07. Indemnification
|
44 |
| SECTION 8.08. Agent in Its
Individual Capacity |
45 |
| SECTION 8.09. Successor Agent
|
45 |
| SECTION 8.10. Documentation Agents
and Syndication Agents |
45 |
|
|
|
ARTICLE IX
|
|
|
|
|
|
MISCELLANEOUS
|
|
|
|
| SECTION 9.01. Amendments,
Etc. |
45 |
| SECTION 9.02. Notices, Etc.
|
46 |
| SECTION 9.03. No Waiver;
Remedies |
47 |
| SECTION 9.04. Costs and
Expenses |
47 |
| SECTION 9.05. Right of
Set-off |
48 |
| SECTION 9.06. Binding Effect;
Effectiveness |
48 |
| SECTION 9.07. Assignments and
Participations |
48 |
| SECTION 9.08. Confidentiality
|
50 |
| SECTION 9.09. Governing Law
|
50 |
| SECTION 9.10. Execution in
Counterparts |
50 |
| SECTION 9.11. Jurisdiction,
Etc. |
51 |
| SECTION 9.12. WAIVER OF JURY
TRIAL |
51 |
| SECTION 9.13. Release of
Collateral |
51 |
| SECTION 9.14. USA PATRIOT Act
Notice |
52 |
| SECTION 9.15. Integration
|
52 |
Schedules
Schedule IA - Pricing Grid
Schedule 5.01(r) -UCC Filing Jurisdictions
Schedule 6.02(a) -Existing Liens
Exhibits
Exhibit A - Form of Notice of Borrowing
Exhibit B - Form of Assignment and Acceptance
Exhibit C - Form of Borrowing Base Certificate
Exhibit D - Form of Guarantee and Collateral Agreement
Exhibit E-1 - Form of Opinion of Counsel for the Borrowers
(Sears Law Department)
Exhibit E-2 - Form of Opinion of Counsel for the Borrowers
(Kmart Law Department)
Exhibit E-3 - Form of Opinion of Special Counsel for the
Borrowers (Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz)
FIVE-YEAR CREDIT AGREEMENT
Dated as of February 22, 2005
SEARS HOLDINGS CORPORATION, a Delaware
corporation (" Holdings "), SEARS ROEBUCK ACCEPTANCE CORP.,
a Delaware corporation (" SRAC "), KMART CORPORATION, a
Michigan corporation (" Kmart Corp. "), the banks, financial
institutions and other institutional lenders (the " Initial
Lenders ") listed on the signature pages hereof, CITICORP USA,
INC. and BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., as syndication agents, BARCLAYS
BANK PLC, LEHMAN COMMERCIAL PAPER INC., HSBC BANK USA, MERRILL
LYNCH BANK USA, MORGAN STANLEY BANK, THE ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND,
PLC and WACHOVIA BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, as documentation
agents, J.P. MORGAN SECURITIES INC., CITIGROUP GLOBAL MARKETS INC.
and BANC OF AMERICA SECURITIES LLC, as lead arrangers and joint
bookrunners (the " Lead Arrangers "), and JPMORGAN CHASE
BANK, N.A. (" JPMorgan Chase Bank "), as administrative
agent (the " Agent ") for the Lenders (as hereinafter
defined), agree as follows:
ARTICLE I
DEFINITIONS AND ACCOUNTING TERMS
SECTION
1.01. Certain Defined Terms . As used
in this Agreement, the following terms shall have the following
meanings (such meanings to be equally applicable to both the
singular and plural forms of the terms defined):
" Adjustment Date " has the meaning set
forth in the Pricing Grid.
" Advance " means any advance by a Lender
to any Borrower as part of a Borrowing.
" Affiliate " means, as to any Person,
any other Person that, directly or indirectly, controls, is
controlled by or is under common control with such Person or is a
director or officer of such Person. For purposes of this
definition, the term "control" (including the terms "controlling",
"controlled by" and "under common control with") of a Person means
the possession, direct or indirect, of the power to direct or cause
the direction of the management and policies of such Person by
contract or otherwise.
" Agent's Account " means the account of
the Agent maintained by the Agent at JPMorgan Chase Bank at its
office at 270 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10017, Account
No. 304288446, Attention: Bank Loan Syndications.
" Applicable Lending Office " means, with
respect to each Lender, such Lender's Domestic Lending Office in
the case of a Base Rate Advance and such Lender's Eurodollar
Lending Office in the case of a Eurodollar Rate Advance.
" Applicable Margin " means, initially,
(a) 0.875% per annum for Eurodollar Rate Advances and (b) 0% per
annum for Base Rate Advances; provided , that on and after
the first Adjustment Date occurring after the Effective Date, the
Applicable Margin will be determined pursuant to the Pricing
Grid.
" Application " means an application, in
such form as the Issuing Lender may specify from time to time,
requesting the Issuing Lender to open a Letter of Credit.
" Assignment and Acceptance " means an
assignment and acceptance entered into by a Lender and an Eligible
Assignee, and accepted by the Agent, in substantially the form of
Exhibit B hereto.
" Authorized Officer " means, as to
Holdings or any Borrower, its president, chief executive officer,
chief financial officer, vice
president and controller, vice president and
treasurer, vice president, finance, executive vice president,
finance or any other person designated by it and acceptable to the
Required Lenders.
" Available Cash " means, on any date,
(a) the aggregate amount of cash and Cash Equivalents of Holdings
and its Subsidiaries on such date (determined on a Consolidated
basis and in accordance with GAAP) minus (b)
$125,000,000.
" Available Commitment " means as to any
Lender at any time, an amount equal to the excess, if any, of (a)
such Lender's Commitment then in effect over (b) such
Lender's Extensions of Credit then outstanding; provided ,
that in calculating any Lender's Extensions of Credit for the
purpose of determining such Lender's Available Commitment pursuant
to Section 2.05(a), the aggregate principal amount of Swingline
Advances then outstanding shall be deemed to be zero.
" Base Rate " means a fluctuating
interest rate per annum in effect from time to time, which rate per
annum shall at all times be equal to the higher of:
(a) the rate of interest announced publicly by
JPMorgan Chase Bank in New York, New York, from time to time, as
its prime rate; and
(b) 1/2 of one percent per annum above the
Federal Funds Rate.
" Base Rate Advance " means an Advance
that bears interest as provided in Section 2.08(a)(i).
" Borrower Information " has the meaning
specified in Section 9.08.
" Borrowers " means, collectively, SRAC
and Kmart Corp.; provided that in the event SRAC is
dissolved, merged with and into Holdings or any Subsidiary of
Holdings or otherwise ceases to exist in accordance with Section
6.01(d), then Sears shall designate that Sears or a direct wholly
owned Domestic Subsidiary of Sears become a Borrower for all
purposes of the Loan Documents.
" Borrowing " means a borrowing
consisting of simultaneous Advances of the same Type made by each
of the applicable Lenders pursuant to Section 2.01 or Section
2.03.
" Borrowing Base " means, at any time, an
amount equal to (a) 85% of the aggregate outstanding Eligible
Credit Card Accounts Receivable at such time plus (b) the
lesser of (i) 70% of the Net Eligible Inventory at such time
minus 100% of Other Borrowing Base Reserves and (ii) 85% of
the Net Orderly Liquidation Value at such time. The Agent may, in
its Permitted Discretion and with 5 days notice to the Borrowers,
reduce the advance rates set forth above or adjust one or more of
the other elements used in computing the Borrowing Base.
" Borrowing Base Certificate " means a
certificate, signed by an Authorized Officer of Holdings, in the
form of Exhibit C or another form which is acceptable to the Agent
in its Permitted Discretion.
" Business Day " means a day of the year
on which banks are not required or authorized by law to close in
New York, New York or, in the case of matters relating to SRAC,
Greenville, Delaware or, in the case of matters relating to Kmart
Corp., Detroit, Michigan, and, if the applicable Business Day
relates to any Eurodollar Rate Advances, a day of the year on which
dealings are carried on in the London interbank market.
" Cash Equivalents " means investments of
Holdings and its Subsidiaries recorded as cash or cash equivalents
in accordance with GAAP.
" Collateral " means all property of the
Loan Parties, now owned or hereafter acquired, upon which a Lien is
purported to be created by any Security Document.
2
" Collateral Release Date " means the
date on which the Collateral is released from the Liens of the
Agent pursuant to Section 9.13(c).
" Commercial L/C " means a commercial
documentary Letter of Credit under which the Issuing Lender agrees
to make payments in Dollars for the account of any Borrower, on
behalf of any Group Member, in respect of obligations of such Group
Member in connection with the purchase of goods or services in the
ordinary course of business.
" Commitment " means, as to any Lender,
the obligation of such Lender to make Revolving Advances and
participate in Swingline Advances and Letters of Credit in an
aggregate principal amount and/or face amount up to (a) the
amount set forth opposite such Lender's name on the signature pages
hereof or (b) if such Lender has entered into any Assignment and
Acceptance, the amount set forth for such Lender in the Register
maintained by the Agent pursuant to Section 9.07(d), as such amount
may be reduced pursuant to Section 2.06.
" Commitment Fee Rate " means, initially,
0.175% per annum; provided , that on and after the first
Adjustment Date occurring after the Effective Date, the Commitment
Fee Rate will be determined pursuant to the Pricing Grid.
" Commitment Percentage " means, as to
any Lender at any time, the percentage which such Lender's
Commitment then constitutes of the aggregate Commitments of all
Lenders or, at any time after the Commitments shall have expired or
terminated, the percentage which the aggregate principal amount of
such Lender's Advances then outstanding constitutes of the
aggregate principal amount of the Advances then outstanding,
provided , that, in the event that the Advances are paid in
full prior to the reduction to zero of the Total Extensions of
Credit, the Commitment Percentage shall be determined in a manner
designed to ensure that the other outstanding Extensions of Credit
shall be held by the Lenders on a comparable basis.
" Commonly Controlled Entity " means an
entity, whether or not incorporated, that is under common control
with any Borrower within the meaning of Section 4001 of ERISA or is
part of a group that includes any Borrower and that is treated as a
single employer under Section 414 of the Internal Revenue Code.
" Consolidated " refers to the
consolidation of accounts of Holdings, excluding Sears Canada, in
accordance with GAAP and as presented on a GAAP basis.
" Consolidated Adjusted Leverage Ratio "
means, as of any given day, the ratio of (a) the sum of (i)
Consolidated Average Net Debt on such day and (ii) the product of
Consolidated Rent Expense for the four immediately preceding fiscal
quarters for which financial statements are available and 6 to (b)
Consolidated EBITDAR for the four immediately preceding fiscal
quarters for which financial statements are available.
" Consolidated Average Net Debt " means,
as of the last day of any period, (a) the sum of (i) Consolidated
Net Debt as of such day and (ii) the sum of Consolidated Net Debt
as of the end of each of the three immediately preceding fiscal
quarters divided by (b) 4.
" Consolidated EBITDA " means for any
period, Consolidated Net Income for such period plus ,
without duplication and to the extent reflected as a charge in the
statement of such Consolidated Net Income for such period, the sum
of (a) provision for income taxes, (b) interest expense, (c)
depreciation and amortization expense, (d) results attributable to
the minority interest owned by any Person in a non-wholly owned
Subsidiary of Holdings to the extent such Subsidiary is a Loan
Party, (e) expenses relating to the Kmart Corp. bankruptcy case in
an amount not to exceed $12,000,000 in any twelve month period, (f)
the impact of conforming accounting policies as a result of the
Merger through the first full fiscal year following the Merger, (g)
all non-recurring expenses and special charges related to the
Merger incurred within twelve months after the date of the Merger,
(h) non-cash charges arising from share-based payments (as defined
in accordance with GAAP) to employees or
3
directors and (i) any extraordinary or other
non-recurring non-cash expenses or losses, and minus , to
the extent included in the statement of such Consolidated Net
Income for such period, any cash payments made during such period
in respect of items added back pursuant to clause (i) above
subsequent to the fiscal quarter in which the relevant non-cash
expenses or losses were reflected as a charge in the statement of
Consolidated Net Income, all as determined on a Consolidated basis.
For the purposes of calculating Consolidated EBITDA for any fiscal
quarter pursuant to any determination of the Consolidated Adjusted
Leverage Ratio or the Consolidated Leverage Ratio, (i) if at any
time during such fiscal quarter Holdings or any of its Subsidiaries
(other than Sears Canada) shall have made any Material Disposition,
the Consolidated EBITDA for such fiscal quarter shall be reduced by
an amount equal to the Consolidated EBITDA (if positive)
attributable to the property that is the subject of such Material
Disposition for such fiscal quarter or increased by an amount equal
to the Consolidated EBITDA (if negative) attributable thereto for
such fiscal quarter and (ii) if during such fiscal quarter Holdings
or any of its Subsidiaries (other than Sears Canada) shall have
made a Material Acquisition, Consolidated EBITDA for such fiscal
quarter shall be calculated after giving pro forma
effect thereto as if such Material Acquisition occurred on the
first day of such fiscal quarter. As used in this definition,
"Material Acquisition" means any acquisition of property or series
of related acquisitions of property that (a) constitutes assets
comprising all or substantially all of an operating unit of a
business or constitutes all or substantially all of the common
stock of a Person and (b) involves the payment of consideration by
Holdings and its Subsidiaries (other than Sears Canada) in excess
of $100,000,000; and "Material Disposition" means any Disposition
of property or series of related Dispositions of property that
yields gross proceeds to Holdings or any of its Subsidiaries in
excess of $100,000,000.
" Consolidated EBITDAR " means, for any
period, the sum of (a) Consolidated EBITDA for such period
plus (b) Consolidated Rent Expense for such period.
" Consolidated Inventory Coverage Ratio "
means, as of the last day of any period, the ratio of (a) Gross
Domestic Inventory on such day to (b) Total Net Extensions of
Credit on such day.
" Consolidated Leverage Ratio " means, as
of any given day, the ratio of (a) Consolidated Average Net Debt on
such day to (b) Consolidated EBITDA for the four immediately
preceding fiscal quarters for which financial statements are
available. For purposes of determining the Consolidated Leverage
Ratio as of the end of the first four fiscal quarters following the
Effective Date, Consolidated Average Net Debt and Consolidated
EBITDA shall be calculated to give pro forma effect
to the Merger as if the Merger had occurred on the first day of the
relevant period of four consecutive fiscal quarters.
" Consolidated Net Debt " means, on any
date, Consolidated Total Debt minus Available Cash.
" Consolidated Net Income " means, for
any period, the consolidated net income (or loss) of Holdings and
its Subsidiaries, determined on a Consolidated basis in accordance
with GAAP; provided that there shall be excluded (a) the
income (or deficit) of any Person accrued prior to the date it
becomes a Subsidiary of Holdings or is merged into or consolidated
with Holdings or any of its Subsidiaries, (b) the income (or
deficit) of any Person (other than a Subsidiary of Holdings) in
which Holdings or any of its Subsidiaries has an ownership
interest, except to the extent that any such income is actually
received by Holdings or such Subsidiary in the form of dividends or
similar distributions and (c) the undistributed earnings of any
Subsidiary of Holdings (other than a Loan Party) to the extent that
the declaration or payment of dividends or similar distributions by
such Subsidiary is not at the time permitted by the terms of any
contractual obligation (other than under any Loan Document) or
Requirement of Law applicable to such Subsidiary.
" Consolidated Rent Expense " means, for
any period, the aggregate amount of fixed and contingent rentals
payable by Holdings and its Subsidiaries for such period with
respect to operating leases of real estate, determined on a
Consolidated basis in accordance with GAAP.
" Consolidated Total Debt " means, at any
date, the aggregate principal amount of all Debt of Holdings and
its Subsidiaries at such date, determined on a Consolidated basis
in accordance with GAAP, but excluding (i) issued but not funded
letters of
4
credit, (ii) reimbursement obligations which are
characterized as trade payables and are not overdue with respect to
trade letters of credit (other than Letters of Credit issued
hereunder) and (iii) contingent obligations.
" Convert ", " Conversion " and "
Converted " each refers to a conversion of Advances of one
Type into Advances of the other Type pursuant to Section 2.09
or 2.10.
" Credit Card Accounts Receivable " means
each "Account" (as defined in the UCC) together with all income,
payments and proceeds thereof, owed by an issuer of credit cards to
a Loan Party resulting from charges by a customer of a Group Member
(other than Sears Canada) on credit cards issued by such issuer in
connection with the sale of goods by a Group Member (other than
Sears Canada), or services performed by a Group Member (other than
Sears Canada), in each case in the ordinary course of its
business.
" DC " means any distribution center
owned or leased and operated by any Loan Party.
" Debt " of any Person means, without
duplication, (a) all indebtedness of such Person for borrowed
money (excluding interest payable thereon unless such interest is
to be accrued and added to the principal amount of such
indebtedness), (b) all obligations of such Person for the
deferred purchase price of property or services (other than (i)
trade payables incurred in the ordinary course of such Person's
business and (ii) any such obligations which are due less than
twelve months from the date of incurrence), (c) all
obligations of such Person evidenced by notes, bonds, debentures or
other similar instruments (other than performance, surety and
appeals bonds arising in the ordinary course of business and other
than the endorsement of negotiable instruments for deposit or
collection or similar transactions in the ordinary course of
business) or in respect of acceptances or letters of credit,
(d) all obligations of such Person created or arising under
any conditional sale or other title retention agreement with
respect to property acquired by such Person (even though the rights
and remedies of the seller or lender under such agreement in the
event of default are limited to repossession or sale of such
property), (e) all obligations of such Person as lessee under
leases that have been or should be, in accordance with GAAP,
recorded as capital leases, (f) all direct recourse payment
obligations of such Person in respect of any accounts receivable
sold by such Person, (g) all Debt of others referred to in
clauses (a) through (f) above or clause (h) below and
other payment obligations guaranteed directly or indirectly in any
manner by such Person, or in effect guaranteed directly or
indirectly by such Person through an agreement (1) to pay or
purchase such Debt or to advance or supply funds for the payment or
purchase of such Debt, (2) to purchase, sell or lease (as
lessee or lessor) property, or to purchase or sell services,
primarily for the purpose of enabling the debtor to make payment of
such Debt or to assure the holder of such Debt against loss,
(3) to supply funds to or in any other manner invest in the
debtor (including any agreement to pay for property or services
irrespective of whether such property is received or such services
are rendered) or (4) otherwise to assure a creditor against
loss, and (h) all Debt referred to in clauses (a) through
(g) above secured by (or for which the holder of such Debt has
an existing right, contingent or otherwise, to be secured by) any
Lien on property (including accounts and contract rights) owned by
such Person, even though such Person has not assumed or become
liable for the payment of such Debt.
" Default " means any Event of Default or
any event that would constitute an Event of Default but for the
requirement that notice be given or time elapse or both.
" Disposition " means any sale of
property other than goods held for sale in the ordinary course of
business.
" Dollars " and " $ " refers to
lawful money of the United States.
" Domestic Lending Office " means, with
respect to any Lender, the office of such Lender specified as its
"Domestic Lending Office" on the signature pages hereof or in the
Assignment and Acceptance pursuant to which it became a Lender, or
such other office of such Lender as such Lender may from time to
time specify to the Borrowers and the Agent.
5
" Domestic Subsidiary " means any
Subsidiary organized under the laws of any jurisdiction within the
United States.
" Effective Date " means the date on
which the conditions precedent set forth in Section 4.01 shall have
been satisfied.
" Eligible Assignee " means any Person
approved by the Agent, the Issuing Lender and, unless (a) an Event
of Default has occurred and is continuing at the time any
assignment is effected in accordance with Section 9.07 or (b) the
assignee is an existing Lender or an Affiliate of an existing
Lender, the Borrowers, in each case such approval not to be
unreasonably withheld or delayed; provided that neither the
Borrowers nor an Affiliate of the Borrowers shall qualify as an
Eligible Assignee.
" Eligible Credit Card Accounts
Receivable " means at the time of any determination thereof,
each Credit Card Accounts Receivable that satisfies the following
criteria at the time of creation and continues to meet the same at
the time of such determination: such Credit Card Account Receivable
(i) has been earned and represents the bona fide amounts due to a
Loan Party from a credit card payment processor and/or credit card
issuer, and in each case originated in the ordinary course of
business of the applicable Loan Party and (ii) is not ineligible
for inclusion in the calculation of the Borrowing Base pursuant to
any of clauses (a) through (i) below. Without limiting the
foregoing, to qualify as an Eligible Credit Card Account
Receivable, an Account shall indicate no person other than a Loan
Party as payee or remittance party. In determining the amount to be
so included, the face amount of an Account shall be reduced by,
without duplication, to the extent not reflected in such face
amount, (i) the amount of all accrued and actual discounts, claims,
credits or credits pending, promotional program allowances, price
adjustments, finance charges, credit card processor fees or other
allowances (including any amount that the applicable Loan Party may
be obligated to rebate to a customer, a credit card payment
processor, or credit card issuer pursuant to the terms of any
agreement or understanding (written or oral)) and (ii) the
aggregate amount of all cash received in respect of such Account
but not yet applied by the applicable Loan Party to reduce the
amount of such Credit Card Account Receivable. Unless otherwise
approved from time to time in writing by the Agent, no Credit Card
Accounts Receivable shall be Eligible Credit Card Accounts
Receivable if, without duplication:
(a) such Credit Card Accounts Receivable are not
owned by a Loan Party and such Loan Party does not have good or
marketable title to such Credit Card Accounts Receivable free and
clear of any Lien of any Person other than the Agent;
(b) such Credit Card Accounts Receivable do not
constitute "Accounts" (as defined in the UCC) or such Credit Card
Accounts Receivable have been outstanding for more than seven (7)
business days;
(c) the issuer or payment processor of the
applicable credit card with respect to such Credit Card Accounts
Receivable is the subject of any bankruptcy or insolvency
proceedings;
(d) such Credit Card Accounts Receivable are not
valid, legally enforceable obligations of the applicable issuer
with respect thereto;
(e) such Credit Card Accounts Receivable are not
subject to a properly perfected security interest in favor of the
Agent, or are not in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to
the Agent, or are subject to any Lien whatsoever other than
Permitted Liens contemplated by the processor agreements and for
which appropriate reserves (as determined by the Agent) have been
established or maintained by the Loan Parties;
6
(f) the Credit Card Accounts Receivable do not
conform to all representations, warranties or other provisions in
the Loan Documents relating to Credit Card Accounts Receivable;
(g) such Credit Card Accounts Receivable are
subject to risk of set-off, non-collection or not being processed
due to unpaid and/or accrued credit card processor fee balances,
limited to the lesser of the balance of Credit Card Accounts
Receivable or unpaid credit card processor fees;
(h) such Credit Card Accounts Receivable are
evidenced by "chattel paper" or an "instrument" of any kind unless
such "chattel paper" or "instrument" is in the possession of the
Agent, and to the extent necessary or appropriate, endorsed to the
Agent; or
(i) such Credit Card Accounts Receivable do not
meet such other usual and customary eligibility criteria for Credit
Card Accounts Receivable as the Agent may determine from time to
time in its Permitted Discretion.
" Eligible Inventory " means, at any
time, the Inventory of any Loan Party held for sale to third party
customers that is not ineligible for inclusion in the calculation
of the Borrowing Base pursuant to any of clauses (a) through (s)
below. Without limiting the foregoing, to qualify as "Eligible
Inventory" no Person other than the Loan Parties shall have any
direct or indirect ownership, interest or title to such Inventory
and no Person other than the Loan Parties shall be indicated on any
purchase order or invoice with respect to such Inventory as having
or purporting to have an interest therein. Unless otherwise from
time to time approved in writing by the Agent, no Inventory shall
be deemed Eligible Inventory if, without duplication:
(a) the Loan Parties do not have sole and good,
valid and unencumbered title thereto (except for Liens of the type
described in clauses (a), (b), (c) and (e) of the definition of
Permitted Liens); or
(b) it is not located in the United States,
Puerto Rico or U.S. Virgin Islands; or
(c) it is not located at property owned or
leased by the Loan Parties (except to the extent such Inventory is
in transit between such locations or is located at a dealer's store
or is deemed eligible pursuant to clause (h)) or is located at a
third party warehouse or is located at a closed Store (except
pursuant to clause (f)) or is located at a closed DC; or
(d) it is identified as accrued Inventory
without a receiver in the applicable Loan Party's stockledger;
or
(e) it is not subject to a valid and perfected
first priority Lien in favor of the Agent for the benefit of the
Agent and the Lenders; or
(f) it is Inventory located at a Store which is
being closed; provided however that such Inventory will be deemed
eligible for the first four (4) weeks after the commencement of the
Store Closure Sale for that Store; or
(g) it is consigned from a vendor or is at a
customer location but still accounted for in the applicable Loan
Party's inventory balance; or
(h) it is in-transit from a vendor and has not
yet been received into a DC or Store; provided that in-transit
inventory purchased under "private label" letters of credit issued
by SRAC or Letters of Credit issued
7
hereunder shall be deemed Eligible Inventory,
subject to a 25% reserve, if (i) the relevant Loan Party has sole
title (including Inventory delivered on a FOB shipping point basis
and whether or not payment has been made to the letter of credit
beneficiary and/or the issuer of such letter of credit), (ii) the
relevant Loan Party has possession or control over title documents
relating to such Inventory, (iii) the Inventory is fully insured
and (iv) the Inventory would not be deemed ineligible pursuant to
any other provision of this definition; or
(i) it is considered perishable goods or is
identified in the stockledger of the applicable Loan Party as any
of the following departments or consists of Inventory which is
ordinarily classified by such Loan Party consistent with its
historical practices as the following: bakery; dairy; deli; floral;
gasoline; live plants; meat; miscellaneous or other as classified
on the Loan Party's stockledger; produce; books; magazines;
restaurant operations; or seafood; or it is identified per the
applicable Loan Party's stockledger as candy, provided that
it will only be considered ineligible to the extent that the
Inventory Value thereof is greater than 2% of Gross Inventory
Value; or
(j) it is Inventory that is packed-away and
stored at a DC or a Store for future sale, including merchandise of
Sears and its Subsidiaries that has been carried over for more than
9 months as currently reported as XOM status per the RIM
merchandising system; or
(k) from and after the delivery by Holdings of
the first monthly Borrowing Base Certificate after a specified
holiday or event has occurred, any Inventory (other than seasonal
apparel) identified as seasonal per the Loan Parties' stockledger
for sale for such specific holiday or event; or
(l) it is identified as wholesaler freight fees;
or
(m) from and after any date that is more than
four (4) weeks past a specified selling season, any Inventory that
is seasonal apparel and that the Loan Parties have identified, in
accordance in all material respects with the Loan Parties' current
or historical accounting practices, as related to such specific
selling season, including merchandise of Sears and its Subsidiaries
that is currently reported by the SAMS database; or
(n) it is Inventory which is ordinarily
classified by such Loan Party consistent with its historical
practices as repair services, provided that 50% of the value
of such Inventory shall constitute Eligible Inventory; or
(o) it is Inventory on layaway or is Inventory
which has been sold but not delivered or as to which any Loan Party
has accepted a deposit from a third party; or
(p) it is identified per the Loan Parties'
stockledger as Inventory that is in a leased department, including
digital imaging, photofinishing and 1 hour lab; or
(q) it is otherwise deemed ineligible by the
Agent in its Permitted Discretion on at least five (5) Business
Days' notice to Holdings; or
8
(r) it is operating supplies, packaging or
shipping materials, cartons, labels or other such materials not
considered used for sale in the ordinary course of business by the
Agent in its Permitted Discretion; or
(s) it is Inventory which exhibits, includes or
is identified by any trademark, tradename or other Intellectual
Property right which trademark, tradename or other Intellectual
Property right (i) is subject to a restriction that could
reasonably be expected to adversely affect the Agent's ability to
liquidate such Inventory or (ii) the relevant Loan Party does not
have the right to use in connection with the sale of such
Inventory, either through direct ownership or through a written
license or sublicense.
" Environmental Action " means any
action, suit, demand, demand letter, claim, notice of
non-compliance or violation, notice of liability or potential
liability, investigation, proceeding, consent order or consent
agreement relating in any way to any Environmental Law,
Environmental Permit or Hazardous Materials or arising from alleged
injury or threat of injury to health, safety or the environment,
including (a) by any governmental or regulatory authority for
enforcement, cleanup, removal, response, remedial or other actions
or damages and (b) by any governmental or regulatory authority
or any third party for damages, contribution, indemnification, cost
recovery, compensation or injunctive relief.
" Environmental Law " means any federal,
state, local or foreign statute, law, ordinance, rule, regulation,
code, order, judgment, decree or judicial or agency interpretation,
policy or guidance relating to pollution or protection of the
environment, health, safety or natural resources, including those
relating to the use, handling, transportation, treatment, storage,
disposal, release or discharge of Hazardous Materials.
" Environmental Liability " means any
liability, contingent or otherwise (including any liability for
damages, costs of environmental remediation, fines, penalties or
indemnities), of the Borrowers or any of their Subsidiaries
directly or indirectly resulting from or based upon
(a) violation of any Environmental Law, (b) the
generation, use, handling, transportation, storage, treatment or
disposal of any Hazardous Materials, (c) exposure to any
Hazardous Materials, (d) the release or threatened release of
any Hazardous Materials into the environment or (e) any contract,
agreement or other consensual arrangement pursuant to which
liability is assumed or imposed with respect to any of the
foregoing.
" Environmental Permit " means any
permit, approval, identification number, license or other
authorization required under any Environmental Law.
" ERISA " means the Employee Retirement
Income Security Act of 1974, as amended from time to time, and the
regulations promulgated and rulings issued thereunder.
" ERISA Affiliate " means any Person that
for purposes of Title IV of ERISA is a member of any
Borrower's controlled group, or under common control with such
Borrower, within the meaning of Section 414 of the Internal
Revenue Code.
" ERISA Event " means (a) (i) the
occurrence of a reportable event, within the meaning of
Section 4043 of ERISA, with respect to any Plan unless the
30-day notice requirement with respect to such event has been
waived by the PBGC, or (ii) the requirements of subsection (1) of
Section 4043(b) of ERISA (without regard to subsection (2) of such
Section) are met with respect to a contributing sponsor, as defined
in Section 4001(a)(13) of ERISA, of a Plan, and an event described
in paragraph (9), (10), (11), (12) or (13) of Section 4043(c)
of ERISA is reasonably expected to occur with respect to such Plan
within the following 30 days; (b) the application for a
minimum funding waiver with respect to a Plan; (c) the
provision by the administrator of any Plan of a notice of intent to
terminate such Plan pursuant to Section 4041(a)(2) of ERISA
(including any such notice with respect to a plan amendment
referred to in Section 4041(e) of ERISA); (d) the
cessation of operations at a facility of any Borrower or any ERISA
Affiliate in the circumstances described in Section 4062(e) of
ERISA; (e) the withdrawal
9
by any Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate from a
Multiple Employer Plan during a plan year for which it was a
substantial employer, as defined in Section 4001(a)(2) of
ERISA; (f) the conditions for the imposition of a lien under
Section 302(f) of ERISA shall have been met with respect to
any Plan; (g) the adoption of an amendment to a Plan requiring
the provision of security to such Plan pursuant to Section 307
of ERISA; or (h) the institution by the PBGC of proceedings to
terminate a Plan pursuant to Section 4042 of ERISA, or the
occurrence of any event or condition described in Section 4042
of ERISA that constitutes grounds for the termination of, or the
appointment of a trustee to administer, a Plan.
" Eurocurrency Liabilities " has the
meaning assigned to that term in Regulation D of the Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve System, as in effect from time to
time.
" Eurodollar Lending Office " means, with
respect to any Lender, the office of such Lender specified as its
"Eurodollar Lending Office" on the signature pages hereof or in the
Assignment and Acceptance pursuant to which it became a Lender (or,
if no such office is specified, its Domestic Lending Office), or
such other office of such Lender as such Lender may from time to
time specify to the Borrowers and the Agent.
" Eurodollar Rate " means, for any
Interest Period for each Eurodollar Rate Advance comprising part of
the same Borrowing, the rate per annum determined on the basis of
the rate for deposits in Dollars for a period equal to such
Interest Period commencing on the first day of such Interest Period
appearing on Page 3750 of the Telerate screen as of 11:00 A.M.,
London time, two Business Days prior to the beginning of such
Interest Period. In the event that such rate does not appear on
Page 3750 of the Telerate screen (or otherwise on such screen), the
" Eurodollar Rate " shall be determined by reference to such
other comparable publicly available service for displaying
eurodollar rates as may be selected by the Agent or, in the absence
of such availability, by reference to the rate at which the Agent
is offered Dollar deposits at or about 11:00 A.M., New York City
time, two Business Days prior to the beginning of such Interest
Period in the interbank eurodollar market where its eurodollar and
foreign currency and exchange operations are then being conducted
for delivery on the first day of such Interest Period for the
number of days comprised therein.
" Eurodollar Rate Advance " means an
Advance that bears interest as provided in
Section 2.08(a)(ii).
" Eurodollar Rate Reserve Percentage "
for any Interest Period for a Eurodollar Rate Advance by any Lender
means the reserve percentage applicable to such Lender two Business
Days before the first day of such Interest Period under regulations
issued from time to time by the Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System (or any successor) for determining the maximum
reserve requirement (including any emergency, supplemental or other
marginal reserve requirement) with respect to liabilities or assets
consisting of or including Eurocurrency Liabilities (or with
respect to any other category of liabilities that includes deposits
by reference to which the interest rate on Eurodollar Rate Advances
is determined) having a term equal to such Interest Period.
" Events of Default " has the meaning
specified in Section 7.01.
" Extensions of Credit " means as to any
Lender at any time, an amount equal to the sum of (a) the aggregate
principal amount of all Revolving Advances held by such Lender then
outstanding, (b) such Lender's Commitment Percentage of the
aggregate principal amount of Swingline Advances then outstanding
and (c) such Lender's Commitment Percentage of the L/C Obligations
then outstanding.
" Federal Funds Rate " means, for any
period, a fluctuating interest rate per annum equal for each day
during such period to the weighted average of the rates on
overnight Federal funds transactions with members of the Federal
Reserve System arranged by Federal funds brokers, as published for
such day (or, if such day is not a Business Day, for the next
preceding Business Day) by the Federal Reserve Bank of
New York, or, if such rate is not so published for any day
that is a Business Day, the
10
average of the quotations for such day on such
transactions received by the Agent from three Federal funds brokers
of recognized standing reasonably selected by it.
" GAAP " has the meaning specified in
Section 1.03.
" Gift Card Liability Reserve " shall
mean, at any fiscal month end, as the case may be, a reserve equal
to the total value of all gift cards outstanding.
" Governmental Authority " means any
nation or government, any state or other political subdivision
thereof, any agency, authority, instrumentality, regulatory body,
court, central bank or other entity exercising executive,
legislative, judicial, taxing, regulatory or administrative
functions of or pertaining to government, any securities exchange
and any self-regulatory organization (including the National
Association of Insurance Commissioners).
" Gross Domestic Inventory " means, on
any day, the cost of all Inventory of Holdings and its Subsidiaries
(determined on a first-in-first-out basis either under the retail
or average cost method) located in the United States, Puerto Rico
or U.S. Virgin Islands on such day (other than consignment
Inventory (including Inventory subject to "sale or return"
arrangements) and import Inventory that is in transit from a
location outside of the United States) less reserves taken
in accordance with GAAP, determined on a consolidated basis in
accordance with GAAP; provided that, until the Collateral
Release Date, Inventory shall only be included in the calculation
of Gross Domestic Inventory if such Inventory is subject to a
perfected first-priority Lien in favor of the Agent pursuant to the
terms of the Security Documents.
" Gross Inventory Value " shall mean, at
any month end, the Inventory Value of the domestic Inventory for
Stores and DCs per the Loan Parties' stockledger as calculated in
Exhibit C hereto under the heading of "Inventory Subject to Net
Recovery Rate".
" Group Members " means, collectively,
Holdings, the Borrowers and their respective Subsidiaries.
" Guarantee and Collateral Agreement "
means the Guarantee and Collateral Agreement to be executed and
delivered by Holdings, Sears, Kmart, Kmart Management Corporation,
the Borrowers and each Subsidiary Guarantor, substantially in the
form of Exhibit D.
" Hazardous Materials " means (a)
petroleum and petroleum products, byproducts or breakdown products,
radioactive materials, asbestos-containing materials,
polychlorinated biphenyls and radon gas and (b) any other
chemicals, materials or substances designated, classified or
regulated as hazardous or toxic or as a pollutant or contaminant
under any Environmental Law.
" Information Memorandum " means the
information memorandum dated January 2005, as amended or
supplemented from time to time, used by the Agent in connection
with the syndication of the Commitments.
" Insolvency " means with respect to any
Multiemployer Plan, the condition that such Plan is insolvent
within the meaning of Section 4245 of ERISA.
" Insolvent " means pertaining to a
condition of Insolvency.
" Intellectual Property " means the
collective reference to all rights, priorities and privileges
relating to intellectual property, whether arising under United
States, multinational or foreign laws or otherwise, including
copyrights, copyright licenses, patents, patent licenses,
trademarks, trademark licenses, technology, know-how and processes,
and all rights to sue at law or in equity for any infringement or
other impairment thereof, including the right to receive all
proceeds and damages therefrom.
11
" Interest Period " means, for each
Eurodollar Rate Advance comprising part of the same Borrowing of
Revolving Advances, the period commencing on the date of such
Eurodollar Rate Advance or the date of the Conversion of any Base
Rate Advance into such Eurodollar Rate Advance and ending on the
last day of the period selected by the applicable Borrower pursuant
to the provisions below and, thereafter, each subsequent period
commencing on the last day of the immediately preceding Interest
Period and ending on the last day of the period selected by the
applicable Borrower pursuant to the provisions below. The duration
of each such Interest Period shall be one, two, three or six
months, or, subject to clause (c) of this definition, 7 days or
nine or twelve months, as the applicable Borrower may, upon notice
received by the Agent not later than 12:00 noon on the third
Business Day prior to the first day of such Interest Period,
select; provided , however , that:
(a) a Borrower may not select any Interest
Period that ends after the Termination Date;
(b) Interest Periods commencing on the same date
for Eurodollar Rate Advances comprising part of the same Borrowing
shall be of the same duration;
(c) in the case of any such Borrowing, a
Borrower shall not be entitled to select an Interest Period having
duration of 7 days or nine or twelve months unless, by 2:00 P.M. on
the third Business Day prior to the first day of such Interest
Period, each Lender notifies the Agent that such Lender will be
providing funding for such Borrowing with such Interest Period (the
failure of any Lender to so respond by such time being deemed for
all purposes of this Agreement as an objection by such Lender to
the requested duration of such Interest Period); provided
that, if any or all of the Lenders object to the requested duration
of such Interest Period, the duration of the Interest Period for
such Borrowing shall be one, two, three or six months, as specified
by the applicable Borrower in the applicable Notice of Borrowing as
the desired alternative to an Interest Period of 7 days or nine or
twelve months;
(d) whenever the last day of any Interest Period
would otherwise occur on a day other than a Business Day, the last
day of such Interest Period shall be extended to occur on the next
succeeding Business Day, provided , however , that,
if such extension would cause the last day of such Interest Period
of one month or longer to occur in the next following calendar
month, the last day of such Interest Period shall occur on the next
preceding Business Day; and
(e) whenever the first day of any Interest
Period of one month or longer occurs on a day of an initial
calendar month for which there is no numerically corresponding day
in the calendar month that succeeds such initial calendar month by
the number of months equal to the number of months in such Interest
Period, such Interest Period shall end on the last Business Day of
such succeeding calendar month.
" Internal Revenue Code " means the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended from time to time, and
the regulations promulgated and rulings issued thereunder.
" Inventory " as defined in the Uniform
Commercial Code as from time to time in effect in the State of New
York.
" Inventory Reserves " means the
following:
(a) a reserve for shrink, or discrepancies that
arise between Inventory quantities on hand per the Loan Parties'
unit inventory system, and physical counts of the Inventory which
will be equal to the greater of (i) the mathematical average of the
historical shrink results expressed as a percent of sales,
multiplied by sales for the relevant year-to-date period and
adjusted for the cost complement for the relevant year-to-date
period, but only to the extent such amount exceeds reserves already
netted out of the Gross Inventory Value per the
12
stockledger; or (ii) an amount determined by the
Agent in its Permitted Discretion on five (5) Business Days' notice
to Holdings; and
(b) a reserve for intracompany profit, equal to
the most recent three (3) fiscal months of capitalized cost of the
foreign buying offices owned and operated by any Loan Party, with
the time frame subject to change on five (5) Business Days' notice
to Holdings based on Inventory performance, or the Agent's
Permitted Discretion; and
(c) to the extent not already netted out of the
Gross Inventory Value per the stockledger or not treated as
ineligible pursuant to the definition of Eligible Inventory, a
reserve for (i) hard (permanent) markdowns, (ii) seasonal
merchandise, (iii) discontinued and clearance merchandise, (iv)
change in product mix of merchandise, (v) change in pricing
strategy or markon percentages, (vi) damaged merchandise, (vii)
price changes, or (viii) other adjustments as deemed appropriate;
and
(d) a reserve for Inventory returned (other than
as a result of reclamations) to either the return goods center ("
RGC "), the vendor, given to charity, or otherwise
considered non-saleable, whether defective or non-defective. This
reserve is to be calculated as the monthly average for the most
recent rolling 12 fiscal month period of return (other than as a
result of reclamations) activity to the vendors, the RGC, given to
charity, or otherwise considered non-saleable, whether defective or
non-defective, both from the Stores and DCs, and is subject to
change on five (5) Business Days' notice to Holdings at the Agent's
Permitted Discretion; and such reserve to be recalculated by the
10th day after each month-end and to be reflected on each Borrowing
Base Certificate delivered by Holdings after such date until the
amount of such reserve is recalculated pursuant hereto.
" Inventory Value " shall mean, with
respect to any Inventory of the Loan Parties, the value of such
Inventory valued at cost on a basis consistent with the Loan
Parties' current and historical accounting practice per the
stockledger (without giving effect to LIFO reserves and general
ledger reserves for discontinued inventory, markdowns, intercompany
profit, rebates and discounts, any cut off adjustments, revaluation
adjustments, purchase price adjustments or adjustments with respect
to the capitalization of buying, occupancy, distribution and other
overhead costs reflected on the balance sheet of the Loan Parties
in respect of Inventory). The value of the Inventory as set forth
above will, without duplication for any Inventory Reserves, be
calculated net of the reserve established by the Loan Parties on a
basis consistent with the Loan Parties' current and historical
practice in respect of lost, misplaced or stolen Inventory at such
time.
" Investment Grade Ratings " shall
consist of ratings of at least (i) Baa3 from Moody's, (ii) BBB-
from S&P or (iii) BBB- from Fitch
Ratings; provided that solely in the case that the rating at issue
is the minimum rating provided under this definition, such rating
shall, in addition, have a stable or better outlook.
" Issuing Lender " means, collectively,
JPMorgan Chase Bank, Bank of America, N.A. or Fleet National Bank,
Citibank, N.A. (provided that any reimbursement or payment on
account of a Letter of Credit issued by Citibank, N.A. hereunder
shall be made to Citicorp USA, Inc.), and any other Lender which at
the request of any Borrower and with the consent of the Agent, not
to be unreasonably withheld, agrees to become an Issuing Lender, it
being understood that with the consent of the requesting Borrower
(not to be unreasonably withheld) the Issuing Lender may arrange
for one or more Letters of Credit to be issued by affiliates of
such Issuing Lender, in which case the term "Issuing Lender" shall
include any such affiliate with respect to Letters of Credit issued
by such affiliate. Each reference herein to "the Issuing Lender"
shall be deemed to be a reference to the relevant Issuing Lender
with respect to the relevant Letter of Credit.
" Kmart " means Kmart Holding
Corporation, a Delaware corporation.
13
" L/C Commitment " means
$1,500,000,000.
" L/C Obligations " means at any time, an
amount equal to the sum of (a) the aggregate then undrawn and
unexpired amount of the then outstanding Letters of Credit and (b)
the aggregate amount of drawings under Letters of Credit that have
not then been reimbursed or discharged pursuant to Section 3.05
(after giving effect to the proviso thereof).
" Lenders " means the Initial Lenders and
each Person that shall become a party hereto pursuant to Section
9.07.
" Letters of Credit " means the
collective reference to Commercial L/Cs and Standby L/Cs;
individually, a " Letter of Credit ".
" Lien " means any lien, security
interest or other charge or encumbrance of any kind, or any other
type of preferential arrangement, including the lien or retained
security title of a conditional vendor and any easement, right of
way or other encumbrance on title to real property, but excluding
consignments or bailments of goods of third parties and the
interests of lessors under operating leases.
" Loan Documents " means this Agreement,
the Security Documents, the Notes, any Application and any
amendment, waiver, supplement or other modification to any of the
foregoing.
" Loan Parties " means each Group Member
that is a party to a Loan Document.
" Martha Stewart Reserve " shall mean, at
any fiscal month end, a reserve equal to the then current accrued
and unpaid royalty in excess of $25,000,000 earned for Martha
Stewart merchandise sold as reflected on the most recent Borrowing
Base Certificate.
" Material Adverse Change " means a
material adverse change in the business, condition (financial or
otherwise) or operations of Holdings and its Subsidiaries taken as
a whole.
" Material Adverse Effect " means a
material adverse effect on (a) the business, condition (financial
or otherwise) or operations of Holdings and its Subsidiaries taken
as a whole or (b) the validity or enforceability of any of the Loan
Documents or the rights and remedies of the Agent and the Lenders
thereunder.
" Merger " has the meaning specified in
Section 4.01(a).
" Moody's " means Moody's Investors
Service, Inc.
" Multiemployer Plan " means a
multiemployer plan, as defined in Section 4001(a)(3) of ERISA,
to which Holdings or any ERISA Affiliate is making or accruing an
obligation to make contributions, or has within any of the
preceding five plan years made or accrued an obligation to make
contributions.
" Multiple Employer Plan " means a single
employer plan, as defined in Section 4001(a)(15) of ERISA,
that (a) is maintained for employees of Holdings or any ERISA
Affiliate and at least one Person other than Holdings and the ERISA
Affiliates or (b) was so maintained and in respect of which
Holdings or any ERISA Affiliate could have liability under
Section 4064 or 4069 of ERISA in the event such plan has been
or were to be terminated.
" Net Eligible Inventory " means, at any
time, an amount equal to the Inventory Value of Eligible Inventory
less Inventory Reserves.
" Net Orderly Liquidation Value " means
the product of (i) Net Recovery Rate and (ii) the Gross Inventory
Value.
14
" Net Recovery Rate " means the quotient
of (x) the estimated net income, payments and proceeds (net of
expenses) which could reasonably be realized in connection with an
orderly liquidation of each Loan Party's Inventory given a
reasonable period of time for soliciting offers for the sale of
such Inventory on an "as is, where is" basis based on an appraisal
provided by an independent third party appraiser retained or
approved by the Agent in consultation with the Borrowers and (y)
the Gross Inventory Value as of the effective date of the estimate
provided pursuant to clause (x) of this definition
" Note " means a promissory note of any
Borrower payable to the order of any Lender evidencing the
Commitment of such Lender.
" Notice of Borrowing " has the meaning
specified in Section 2.02(a).
" Other Borrowing Base Reserves " means,
to the extent that relevant merchandise is not treated as
ineligible pursuant to the definition of Eligible Inventory, the
following:
(a) a reserve in an amount to be determined by
the Agent in its Permitted Discretion for rent expense at leased
Store and DC locations;
(b) a reserve for royalties payable to non-Loan
Parties in respect of licensed merchandise (other than the Martha
Stewart Reserve);
(c) the Martha Stewart Reserve;
(d) the Gift Card Liability Reserve;
(e) PACA Liability Reserves; and
(f) PASA Liability Reserves.
" Other Taxes " has the meaning specified
in Section 2.15.
" PACA " means the Perishable
Agricultural Commodities Act of 1930, as amended.
" PACA Liability Reserve " means an
amount calculated on a monthly basis by the Agent to provide for
vendor liabilities pursuant to PACA.
" PASA " means the Packers and Stockyards
Act of 1921, as amended.
" PASA Liability Reserve " means the
liability for vendor liabilities pursuant to PASA.
" PBGC " means the Pension Benefit
Guaranty Corporation (or any successor).
" Permitted Discretion " means a
determination made in good faith and in the exercise of
commercially reasonable business judgment.
" Permitted Holder " means ESL
Investments, Inc. and any of its Affiliates other than a Group
Member.
" Permitted Liens " means: (a) Liens
for taxes, assessments and governmental charges or levies to the
extent such taxes, assessments or governmental charges are being
contested in good faith and by proper proceedings and as to which
appropriate reserves are being maintained; (b) Liens imposed
by law, such as materialmen's, mechanics', carriers', workmen's and
repairmen's Liens and other similar Liens arising in the ordinary
course of business securing obligations that are not overdue for a
period of more than 30 days or that are being contested in good
faith by appropriate proceedings and as to which
15
appropriate reserves are being maintained; (c)
landlords' Liens arising in the ordinary course of business
securing (i) rents not yet due and payable, (ii) rent for Stores in
an amount not to exceed the monthly base rent due for the
immediately preceding calendar month and (iii) rents for Stores in
excess of the amount set forth in the preceding clause (ii) so long
as such amounts are being contested in good faith by appropriate
proceedings and as to which appropriate reserves are being
maintained; (d)any attachment or judgment lien not constituting an
Event of Default under Section 7.01(f); (e) Liens presently
existing or hereafter created in favor of the Agent, on behalf of
the Lenders; (f) Liens arising by the terms of commercial letters
of credit entered into in the ordinary course of business to secure
reimbursement obligations thereunder, provided that such Liens only
encumber the title documents and underlying goods relating to such
letters of credit; (g) consignments and claims under PACA and PASA;
and (h) Liens in favor of issuers of credit cards arising in the
ordinary course of business securing the obligation to pay
customary fees and expenses in connection with credit card
arrangements.
" Person " means an individual,
partnership, corporation (including a business trust), joint stock
company, trust, unincorporated association, joint venture, limited
liability company or other entity, or a government or any political
subdivision or agency thereof.
" Plan " means a Single Employer Plan or
a Multiple Employer Plan.
" Pricing Grid " means the pricing grid
set forth on Schedule IA.
" Pro Forma Financial Information " means
the pro forma financial data of Holdings contained in the
Registration Statement.
" Refunded Swingline Advances " has the
meaning specified in Section 2.04(b).
" Register " has the meaning specified in
Section 9.07(d).
" Registration Statement " means the
Registration Statement of Holdings on Form S-4 filed with the SEC
(Registration No. 333-120954) and declared effective on February
18, 2005.
" Reimbursement Obligation " means the
obligation of the Borrowers to reimburse the Issuing Lender
pursuant to Section 3.05 for amounts drawn under Letters of
Credit.
" Related Intellectual Property " means
such rights with respect to the Intellectual Property of the
Borrowers and their Subsidiaries (other than Sears Canada) as are
reasonably necessary to permit the Agent to enforce its remedies
under the Loan Documents with respect to the Collateral.
" Reorganization " means with respect to
any Multiemployer Plan, the condition that such Plan is in
reorganization within the meaning of Section 4241 of ERISA.
" Reportable Event " means any of the
events set forth in Section 4043(c) of ERISA, other than (i) those
events as to which the thirty day notice period is waived under
subsections .27, .28, .29, .30, .31, .32, .34 or .35 of PBGC Reg.
Section 4043 and (ii) any event that must be reported solely as a
result of the bankruptcy filing by Kmart Corp. and certain of its
Subsidiaries on January 22, 2002 in the Bankruptcy Court for the
Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division.
" Required Lenders " means, at any time,
the holders of more than 50% of the Commitments then in effect or,
if the Commitments have been terminated, the holders of more than
50% of the Total Extensions of Credit then outstanding.
" Requirements of Law " means as to any
Person, the Certificate of Incorporation and By Laws or other
organizational or governing documents of such Person, and any law,
treaty, rule or regulation or determination of an arbitrator or a
court or other
16
Governmental Authority, in each case applicable
to or binding upon such Person or any of its property or to which
such Person or any of its property is subject.
" Restricted Payment " means any dividend
or other distribution (whether in cash, securities or other
property) with respect to any equity interests in Holdings or any
Subsidiary of Holdings, or any payment (whether in cash, securities
or other property), including any sinking fund or similar deposit,
on account of the purchase, redemption, retirement, acquisition,
cancellation or termination of any such equity interests in
Holdings or any Subsidiary of Holdings or any option, warrant or
other right to acquire any such equity interests in Holdings or any
Subsidiary of Holdings.
" Revolving Advance " has the meaning
specified in Section 2.01. A Revolving Advance may be a Base Rate
Advance or a Eurodollar Rate Advance (each of which shall be a "
Type " of Revolving Advance).
" S&P " means Standard &
Poor's Ratings Services, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies,
Inc.
" Sears " means Sears, Roebuck and Co., a
New York corporation.
" Sears Canada " means the collective
reference to Sears Canada Inc., a Canadian corporation, and its
Subsidiaries.
" SEC " means the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
" Security Documents " means the
collective reference to the Guarantee and Collateral Agreement, and
all other security documents hereafter delivered to the Agent
granting a Lien on any property of any Person to secure the
obligations and liabilities of any Loan Party under any Loan
Document.
" Single Employer Plan " means a single
employer plan, as defined in Section 4001(a)(15) of ERISA,
that (a) is maintained for employees of any Borrower or any
ERISA Affiliate and no Person other than such Borrower and the
ERISA Affiliates or (b) was so maintained and in respect of
which any Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate could have liability
under Section 4069 of ERISA in the event such plan has been or
were to be terminated.
" Solvent " means, when used with respect
to any Person, that, as of any date of determination, (a) the
amount of the "present fair saleable value" of the assets of such
Person will, as of such date, exceed the amount of all "liabilities
of such Person, contingent or otherwise", as of such date, as such
quoted terms are determined in accordance with applicable federal
and state laws governing determinations of the insolvency of
debtors, (b) the present fair saleable value of the assets of such
Person will, as of such date, be greater than the amount that will
be required to pay the liability of such Person on its debts as
such debts become absolute and matured, (c) such Person will not
have, as of such date, an unreasonably small amount of capital with
which to conduct its business, and (d) such Person will be able to
pay its debts as they mature. For purposes of this definition, (i)
"debt" means liability on a "claim", and (ii) "claim" means any (x)
right to payment, whether or not such a right is reduced to
judgment, liquidated, unliquidated, fixed, contingent, matured,
unmatured, disputed, undisputed, legal, equitable, secured or
unsecured or (y) right to an equitable remedy for breach of
performance if such breach gives rise to a right to payment,
whether or not such right to an equitable remedy is reduced to
judgment, fixed, contingent, matured or unmatured, disputed,
undisputed, secured or unsecured.
" Standby L/C " means an irrevocable
letter of credit under which the Issuing Lender agrees to make
payments in Dollars for the account of any Borrower, on behalf of
any Group Member in respect of obligations of such Group Member
incurred pursuant to contracts made or performances undertaken or
to be undertaken or like matters relating to contracts to which
such Group Member is or proposes to become a party, including,
without limiting the foregoing, for insurance purposes or in
respect of
17
advance payments or as bid or performance bonds
or for any other purpose for which a standby letter of credit might
be issued.
" Store " means any store owned or leased and operated by
any Loan Party.
" Store Closure Sale " means a store
closure sale that is properly advertised and professionally managed
over a defined period that is anticipated by the Borrowers not to
exceed 12 weeks (on average) from the date of the same
commencement.
" Subsidiary " of any Person means any
corporation, partnership, joint venture, limited liability company,
trust or estate of which (or in which) more than 50% of
(a) the issued and outstanding capital stock having ordinary
voting power to elect a majority of the Board of Directors of such
corporation (irrespective of whether at the time capital stock of
any other class or classes of such corporation shall or might have
voting power upon the occurrence of any contingency), (b) the
interest in the capital or profits of such limited liability
company, partnership or joint venture or (c) the beneficial
interest in such trust or estate is at the time directly or
indirectly owned or controlled by such Person, by such Person and
one or more of its other Subsidiaries or by one or more of such
Person's other Subsidiaries.
" Subsidiary Guarantor " means each
Domestic Subsidiary of Holdings which owns Inventory or Credit Card
Accounts Receivable.
" Supermajority Lenders " means, at any
time, the holders of 66-2/3% or more of Commitments then in effect
or, if the Commitments have been terminated, the holders of 66-2/3%
or more of the Total Extensions of Credit then outstanding.
" Swingline Advances " has the meaning
specified in Section 2.03.
" Swingline Commitment " means the
obligation of the Swingline Lender to make Swingline Advances
pursuant to Section 2.03 in an aggregate principal amount at any
one time outstanding not to exceed $100,000,000.
" Swingline Lender " means JPMorgan Chase
Bank, in its capacity as the lender of Swingline Advances.
" Swingline Participation Amount " has
the meaning specified in Section 2.04(c).
" Taxes " has the meaning specified in
Section 2.15.
" Termination Date " means the earlier of
(a) the date that is five years after the Effective Date and (b)
the date of termination in whole of the Commitments pursuant to
Section 2.06 or 7.01.
" Total Availability " means the amount
at any time by which (a) the lesser of (i) aggregate Commitments or
(ii) the Borrowing Base, if applicable, exceeds (b) the Total
Extensions of Credit at such time.
" Total Extensions of Credit " means at
any time, the aggregate amount of the Extensions of Credit of the
Lenders outstanding at such time.
" Total Net Extensions of Credit " means,
on any day, (a) Total Extensions of Credit on such day less
(b) Available Cash on such day.
" Type " means either a Base Rate Advance
or a Eurodollar Rate Advance.
18
" UCC " means the Uniform Commercial Code
as from time to time in effect in the State of New York.
" Voting Stock " means capital stock
issued by a corporation, or equivalent interests in any other
Person, the holders of which are ordinarily, in the absence of
contingencies, entitled to vote for the election of directors (or
persons performing similar functions) of such Person, even if the
right so to vote has been suspended by the happening of such a
contingency.
SECTION
1.02. Computation of Time Periods . In
this Agreement (a) in the computation of periods of time from a
specified date to a later specified date, the word "from" means
"from and including" and the words "to" and "until" each mean "to
but excluding" (b) "including" means "including without
limitation"; and (c) unless otherwise specified, any reference to a
time of day means such time in New York City.
SECTION
1.03. Accounting Terms . All accounting
terms not specifically defined herein or in the other Loan
Documents shall be construed in accordance with U.S. generally
accepted accounting principles (" GAAP ") which for purposes
of Section 6.03 shall be consistently applied. If
at any time any change in U.S. generally accepted accounting
principles would affect the computation of any financial ratio or
requirement set forth herein, and either the Borrowers or the
Required Lenders shall so request, the Agent, the Lenders and the
Borrowers shall negotiate in good faith to amend such ratio or
requirement to preserve the original intent thereof in light of
such change in U.S. generally accepted accounting principles
(subject to the approval of the Required Lenders which shall not be
unreasonably withheld), provided that, until so amended, (i)
such ratio or requirement shall continue to be computed in
accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles prior
to such change in principles and (ii) the Borrowers shall provide
to the 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 U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.
For the avoidance of doubt, no retroactive change in U.S. generally
accepted accounting principles shall apply to the construction of
accounting terms under this Agreement in the absence of an
amendment hereto in accordance with the terms of this Section
1.03.
ARTICLE II
AMOUNTS AND TERMS OF THE ADVANCES
SECTION
2.01. The Revolving Advances . Each
Lender severally agrees, on the terms and conditions hereinafter
set forth, to make revolving advances (the " Revolving
Advances ") to the Borrowers from time to time on any Business
Day during the period from the Effective Date until the Termination
Date in an aggregate amount at any one time outstanding which, when
added to such Lender's Commitment Percentage of the sum of (i) the
aggregate principal amount of the Swingline Advances then
outstanding and (ii) the L/C Obligations then outstanding, equals
the amount of such Lender's Commitment; provided , that the
aggregate principal amount of any Borrowing made at any time shall
not exceed the Total Availability at such time. Each Borrowing
under this Section 2.01 shall be in an aggregate amount of
$5,000,000 or an integral multiple of $1,000,000 in excess thereof
(provided, that the Swingline Lender may request, on behalf of the
applicable Borrower, Borrowings that are Base Rate Advances in
other amounts pursuant to Section 2.04(b)) and shall consist of
Revolving Advances of the same Type made on the same day by the
Lenders ratably according to their respective Commitments. Within
the limits set forth in this Section 2.01, the Borrowers may borrow
under this Section 2.01, prepay pursuant to Section 2.11 and
reborrow under this Section 2.01.
SECTION
2.02. Making the Revolving Advances . (a) Each Borrowing under Section 2.01 shall be
made on notice, given not later than (x) 12:00 noon on the
third Business Day prior to the date of the proposed Borrowing in
the case of a Borrowing consisting of Eurodollar Rate Advances or
(y) 12:00 noon on the date of the proposed Borrowing in the case of
a Borrowing consisting of Base Rate Advances, by the applicable
Borrower to the Agent, which shall give to each Lender prompt
notice thereof by telecopier. Each such notice of a Borrowing (a "
Notice of Borrowing ") shall be by telephone, confirmed
immediately in writing, by email attachment or by telecopier, in
substantially the form of Exhibit A hereto, specifying therein
the requested (i) date of such Borrowing, (ii) Type of
Revolving Advances comprising such Borrowing,
19
(iii) aggregate amount of
such Borrowing, and (iv) in the case of a Borrowing consisting
of Eurodollar Rate Advances, initial Interest Period for each such
Revolving Advance. Each Lender shall, before 1:00 P.M. on the
date of such Borrowing make available for the account of its
Applicable Lending Office to the Agent at the Agent's Account, in
same day funds, such Lender's ratable (in accordance with its
Commitment Percentage) portion of such Borrowing. After the Agent's
receipt of such funds and upon fulfillment of the applicable
conditions set forth in Article IV, the Agent will make such
funds available to the Borrower requesting such Borrowing at the
Agent's address referred to in Section 9.02.
(b) Anything in subsection (a) above to the
contrary notwithstanding, (i) a Borrower may not select
Eurodollar Rate Advances for any Borrowing if the aggregate amount
of such Borrowing is less than $5,000,000 or if the obligation of
the Lenders to make Eurodollar Rate Advances shall then be
suspended pursuant to Section 2.09 or 2.13 and (ii) the
Eurodollar Rate Advances may not be outstanding as part of more
than ten separate Borrowings.
(c) Each Notice of Borrowing shall be
irrevocable and binding on the applicable Borrower. In the case of
any Borrowing that the related Notice of Borrowing specifies is to
be comprised of Eurodollar Rate Advances, the applicable Borrower
shall indemnify each Lender against any loss, cost or expense
incurred by such Lender as a result of any failure to fulfill on or
before the date specified in such Notice of Borrowing for such
Borrowing the applicable conditions set forth in Article IV,
including any loss (including loss of anticipated profits), cost or
expense incurred by reason of the liquidation or reemployment of
deposits or other funds acquired by such Lender to fund the
Revolving Advance to be made by such Lender as part of such
Borrowing when such Revolving Advance, as a result of such failure,
is not made on such date.
(d) Unless the Agent shall have received notice
from a Lender prior to the time of any Borrowing that such Lender
will not make available to the Agent such Lender's ratable portion
of such Borrowing, the Agent may assume that such Lender has made
such portion available to the Agent on the date of such Borrowing
in accordance with subsection (a) of this Section 2.02
and the Agent may, in reliance upon such assumption, make available
to the applicable Borrower on such date a corresponding amount. If
and to the extent that such Lender shall not have so made such
ratable portion available to the Agent, such Lender and the
applicable Borrower severally agree to repay to the Agent forthwith
on demand such corresponding amount together with interest thereon,
for each day from the date such amount is made available to such
Borrower until the date such amount is repaid to the Agent, at
(i) in the case of such Borrower, the interest rate applicable
at the time to Revolving Advances comprising such Borrowing and
(ii) in the case of such Lender, the Federal Funds Rate. If
such Lender shall repay to the Agent such corresponding amount,
such amount so repaid shall be made available to the applicable
Borrower and shall constitute such Lender's Revolving Advance as
part of such Borrowing for purposes of this Agreement.
(e) The failure of any Lender to make the
Revolving Advance to be made by it as part of any Borrowing shall
not relieve any other Lender of its obligation, if any, hereunder
to make its Revolving Advance on the date of such Borrowing, but no
Lender shall be responsible for the failure of any other Lender to
make the Revolving Advance to be made by such other Lender on the
date of any Borrowing.
SECTION
2.03. The Swingline Advances .
(a) Subject to the terms and conditions hereof, the
Swingline Lender agrees to make a portion of the credit otherwise
available to the Borrowers under the Commitments from time to time
during the period from the Effective Date until the Termination
Date by making swing line advances (" Swingline Advances ")
to the Borrowers; provided that (i) the aggregate principal
amount of Swingline Advances outstanding at any time shall not
exceed the Swingline Commitment then in effect (notwithstanding
that the Swingline Advances outstanding at any time, when
aggregated with the Swingline Lender's other outstanding Revolving
Advances, may exceed the Swingline Commitment then in effect) and
(ii) the amount of any Swingline Advance made at any time shall not
exceed the Total Availability at such time. During the period from
the Effective Date until the Termination Date, the Borrowers may
use the Swingline Commitment by borrowing, repaying and
reborrowing, all in accordance with the terms and conditions
hereof. Swingline Advances shall be available as Base Rate Advances
only.
(b) Each Borrower shall repay to the Swingline
Lender the then unpaid principal amount of each Swingline Advance
made to it on the earlier of the Termination Date and the first
date after such Swingline Advance is made that is the 15th or last
day of a calendar month and is at least
20
two Business Days after such Swingline
Advance is made; provided that on each date that a Revolving
Advance is borrowed by a Borrower, such Borrower shall repay all
Swingline Advances then outstanding, if any, and may use all or a
portion of such Revolving Advance to fund such repayment.
SECTION
2.04. Making the Swingline Advances . (a) Each Borrowing under Section 2.03 shall
be made on notice, given not later than 1:00 P.M. on the date of
the proposed Borrowing, by the applicable Borrower to the Agent and
Swingline Lender. Each such Notice of a Borrowing shall be by
telephone, confirmed immediately in writing, by email attachment or
by telecopier, in substantially the form of Exhibit A hereto,
specifying therein the requested (i) date of such Borrowing and
(ii) aggregate amount of such Borrowing. Each Borrowing under the
Swingline Commitment shall be in an amount equal to $500,000 or a
whole multiple of $100,000 in excess thereof. Not later than 3:00
P.M. on the date of the proposed Borrowing, the Swingline Lender
shall make available to the Agent at the Agent's Account an amount
in immediately available funds equal to the amount of the Swingline
Advance to be made by the Swingline Lender. Upon fulfillment of the
applicable conditions set forth in Article IV, the Agent shall make
the proceeds of such Swingline Advance available to the Borrower
requesting such Borrowing at the Agent's address referred to in
Section 9.02.
(b) The Swingline Lender, at any time and from
time to time in its sole and absolute discretion may, on behalf of
the Borrowers (which hereby irrevocably direct the Swingline Lender
to act on their behalf), by notice given by the Swingline Lender no
later than 12:00 noon, request each Lender to make, and each Lender
hereby agrees to make, a Revolving Advance, in an amount equal to
such Lender's Commitment Percentage of the aggregate amount of the
Swingline Advances (the " Refunded Swingline Advances ")
outstanding on the date of such notice, to repay the Swingline
Lender. Each Lender shall make the amount of such Revolving Advance
available to the Agent at the Agent's Account in same day funds,
not later than 1:00 P.M. on the date of such notice. The proceeds
of such Revolving Advances shall be immediately made available by
the Agent to the Swingline Lender for application by the Swingline
Lender to the repayment of the Refunded Swingline Advances. Each
Borrower irrevocably authorizes the Swingline Lender to charge such
Borrower's accounts with the Agent (up to the amount available in
each such account) in order to immediately pay the amount of such
Refunded Swingline Advances to the extent amounts received from the
Lenders are not sufficient to repay in full such Refunded Swingline
Advances.
(c) If prior to the time a Revolving Advance
would have otherwise been made pursuant to Section 2.04(b), one of
the events described in Section 7.01 shall have occurred and be
continuing or if for any other reason, as determined by the
Swingline Lender in its sole discretion, Revolving Advances may not
be made as contemplated by Section 2.04(b), each Lender shall, on
the date such Revolving Advance was to have been made pursuant to
the notice referred to in Section 2.04(b), purchase for cash an
undivided participating interest in the then outstanding Swingline
Advances by paying to the Swingline Lender an amount (the "
Swingline Participation Amount ") equal to (i) such Lender's
Commitment Percentage multiplied by (ii) the sum of
the aggregate principal amount of Swingline Advances then
outstanding that were to have been repaid with such Revolving
Advances.
(d) Whenever, at any time after the Swingline
Lender has received from any Lender such Lender's Swingline
Participation Amount, the Swingline Lender receives any payment on
account of the Swingline Advances, the Swingline Lender will
distribute to such Lender its Swingline Participation Amount
(appropriately adjusted, in the case of interest payments, to
reflect the period of time during which such Lender's participating
interest was outstanding and funded and, in the case of principal
and interest payments, to reflect such Lender's pro
rata portion of such payment if such payment is not
sufficient to pay the principal of and interest on all Swingline
Advances then due); provided , however , that in the
event that such payment received by the Swingline Lender is
required to be returned, such Lender will return to the Swingline
Lender any portion thereof previously distributed to it by the
Swingline Lender.
(e) Each Lender's obligation to make the
Advances referred to in Section 2.04(b) and to purchase
participating interests pursuant to Section 2.04(c) shall be
absolute and unconditional and shall not be affected by any
circumstance, including (i) any set-off, counterclaim, recoupment,
defense or other right that such Lender or any Borrower may have
against the Swingline Lender, any Borrower or any other Person for
any reason whatsoever, (ii) the occurrence or continuance of a
Default or an Event of Default or the failure to satisfy any of the
other conditions specified in Article IV, (iii) any adverse change
in the condition (financial or otherwise) of any Borrower, (iv) any
breach of this Agreement or any other Loan Document by any
Borrower, any other Loan Party or any other Lender or (v) any other
circumstance, happening or event whatsoever, whether or not similar
to any of the foregoing.
21
SECTION
2.05. Fees . (a)
Commitment Fee . The Borrowers jointly and severally agree
to pay to the Agent for the account of each Lender a commitment fee
commencing on the Effective Date on the average daily amount of the
Available Commitment of such Lender during the period for which
payment is made at a rate per annum equal to the Commitment Fee
Rate in effect from time to time, payable in arrears quarterly on
the 5 th day subsequent to the last day of each April,
July, October and January, commencing April 30, 2005, and on the
Termination Date.
(b) Agent's Fees . The Borrowers shall
pay to the Agent for its own account such fees as may from time to
time be agreed between the Borrowers and the Agent.
SECTION
2.06. Optional Termination or Reduction of the
Commitments . The
Borrowers shall have the right, without penalty or premium and upon
at least three Business Days' notice to the Agent, to permanently
terminate in whole or permanently reduce ratably in part the unused
portions of the respective Commitments of the Lenders,
provided that no such termination or reduction of the
Commitments shall be permitted if, after giving effect thereof and
to any prepayments of the Advances made on the effective date
thereof, the Total Extensions of Credit would exceed the aggregate
amount of the Commitments as so reduced. Any partial reduction of
the Commitments shall be in the aggregate amount of $5,000,000 or
an integral multiple of $1,000,000 in excess thereof.
SECTION
2.07. Repayment of Advances .
Each Borrower shall repay to the Agent for the ratable account of
the Lenders on the Termination Date the aggregate principal amount
of the Advances made to it then outstanding.
SECTION
2.08. Interest on Advances . (a)
Scheduled Interest . Each Borrower shall pay interest on the
unpaid principal amount of each Advance made to it and owing to
each Lender from the date of such Advance until such principal
amount shall be paid in full, at the following rates per
annum:
(i) Base Rate Advances . During such
periods as such Advance is a Base Rate Advance, a rate per annum
equal at all times to the sum of (x) the Base Rate in effect
from time to time plus (y) the Applicable Margin in
effect from time to time, payable (I) in the case of any Base Rate
Advance other than a Swingline Advance, in arrears quarterly on the
5 th day subsequent to the last day of each April, July,
October and January during such periods and on the date such Base
Rate Advance shall be Converted or paid in full and (II) in the
case of any Swingline Advance, on the date that such Swingline
Advance is required to be repaid.
(ii) Eurodollar Rate Advances . During
such periods as such Advance is a Eurodollar Rate Advance, a rate
per annum equal at all times during each Interest Period for such
Advance to the sum of (x) the Eurodollar Rate for such
Interest Period for such Advance plus (y) the
Applicable Margin in effect from time to time, payable in arrears
on the last day of such Interest Period and, if such Interest
Period has a duration of more than three months, on each day that
occurs during such Interest Period every three months from the
first day of such Interest Period and on the date such Eurodollar
Rate Advance shall be Converted or paid in full.
(b) Default Interest . Upon the
occurrence and during the continuance of an Event of Default under
Section 7.01(a) in respect of principal amounts, the Borrowers
shall pay interest on the unpaid principal amount of each Advance
and Reimbursement Obligation owing to each Lender, payable in
arrears on the dates referred to in clause (a)(i) or (a)(ii)
above, at a rate per annum equal to 2% per annum above the rate per
annum required to be paid on such Advance or Reimbursement
Obligation pursuant to clause (a)(i) or (a)(ii) above.
Further, the Borrowers shall pay interest, to the fullest extent
permitted by law, on the amount of any interest, fee or other
amount (other than principal) payable hereunder that is not paid
when due, from the date such amount shall be due until such amount
shall be paid in full, payable in arrears on the date such amount
shall be paid in full and on demand, at a rate per annum equal to
2% per annum above the rate per annum required to be paid on Base
Rate Advances pursuant to clause (a)(i) above.
(c) Regulation D Compensation . Each
Lender that is subject to reserve requirements of the Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve System (or any successor) may
require the Borrowers to pay, contemporaneously with each payment
of interest on the
22
Eurodollar Rate Advances, additional interest on
the related Eurodollar Rate Advances of such Lender at the rate per
annum equal to the excess of (i) (A) the applicable
Eurodollar Rate divided by (B) one minus the Eurodollar Rate
Reserve Percentage over (ii) the applicable Eurodollar Rate.
Any Lender wishing to require payment of such additional interest
(x) shall so notify the Agent and the Borrowers, in which case
such additional interest on the Eurodollar Rate Advances of such
Lender shall be payable to such Lender at the place indicated in
such notice with respect to each Interest Period commencing at
least five Business Days after the giving of such notice and
(y) shall notify the Agent and the Borrowers at least five
Business Days prior to each date on which interest is payable on
the amount then due it under this Section. Each such notification
shall be accompanied by such information as the Borrowers may
reasonably request.
SECTION
2.09. Interest Rate Determination . (a) The Agent shall give prompt notice to the
Borrowers and the Lenders of the applicable interest rate
determined by the Agent for purposes of Section 2.08(a)(i) or
(ii).
(b) If, with respect to any Eurodollar Rate
Advances, the Required Lenders notify the Agent at least one
Business Day before the date of any proposed Eurodollar Rate
Advance that the Eurodollar Rate for any Interest Period for such
Advances will not adequately reflect the cost to such Required
Lenders of making, funding or maintaining their respective
Eurodollar Rate Advances for such Interest Period, the Agent shall
forthwith so notify the Borrowers and the Lenders, whereupon (i)
each Eurodollar Rate Advance will automatically, on the last day of
the then existing Interest Period therefor, Convert into a Base
Rate Advance, and (ii) the obligation of the Lenders to make, or to
Convert Advances into, Eurodollar Rate Advances shall be suspended
until the Agent shall notify the Borrowers and the Lenders that the
circumstances causing such suspension no longer exist.
(c) If any Borrower shall fail to select the
duration of any Interest Period for any Eurodollar Rate Advances in
accordance with the provisions contained in the definition of
"Interest Period" in Section 1.01, the Agent will forthwith so
notify such Borrower and the Lenders and such Advances will
automatically, on the last day of the then existing Interest Period
therefor, Convert into Base Rate Advances.
(d) On the date on which the aggregate unpaid
principal amount of Eurodollar Rate Advances comprising any
Borrowing shall be reduced, by payment or prepayment or otherwise,
to less than $5,000,000, such Advances shall automatically Convert
into Base Rate Advances.
(e) Upon the occurrence and during the
continuance of any Event of Default under Section 7.01(a),
(i) each Eurodollar Rate Advance will automatically, on the
last day of the then existing Interest Period therefor, Convert
into a Base Rate Advance and (ii) the obligation of the
Lenders to make, or to Convert Revolving Advances into, Eurodollar
Rate Advances shall be suspended.
SECTION
2.10. Optional Conversion of Revolving Advances
. The Borrowers may on any Business Day, upon notice
given to the Agent not later than 12:00 noon on the third Business
Day prior to the date of the proposed Conversion and subject to the
provisions of Sections 2.09 and 2.13, Convert all Revolving
Advances of one Type comprising the same Borrowing into Revolving
Advances of the other Type; provided , however , that
any Conversion of Eurodollar Rate Advances into Base Rate Advances
shall be made only on the last day of an Interest Period for such
Eurodollar Rate Advances, any Conversion of Base Rate Advances into
Eurodollar Rate Advances shall be in an amount not less than the
minimum amount specified in Section 2.02(b) and no Conversion
of any Revolving Advances shall result in more separate Borrowings
than permitted under Section 2.02(b). Each such notice of a
Conversion shall, within the restrictions specified above, specify
(i) the date of such Conversion, (ii) the Revolving
Advances to be Converted, and (iii) if such Conversion is into
Eurodollar Rate Advances, the duration of the initial Interest
Period for each such Revolving Advance. Each notice of Conversion
shall be irrevocable and binding on the applicable
Borrower.
SECTION
2.11. Optional and Mandatory Prepayments of Advances
. (a) Any Borrower may, without penalty
or premium and upon notice given not later than 12:00 noon on the
date of such prepayment to the Agent stating the proposed date and
aggregate principal amount of the
23
prepayment, and if such notice is
given such Borrower shall, prepay the outstanding principal amount
of the Advances comprising part of the same Borrowing in whole or
ratably in part, together with accrued interest to the date of such
prepayment on the principal amount prepaid; provided ,
however , that (x) each partial prepayment shall be in an
aggregate principal amount of $5,000,000 or an integral multiple of
$1,000,000 in excess thereof (or, in the case of partial
prepayments of Swingline Advances, $100,000 or a whole multiple
thereof) and (y) in the event of any such prepayment of a
Eurodollar Rate Advance, the applicable Borrower shall be obligated
to reimburse the Lenders in respect thereof pursuant to Section
9.04(c).
(b) On the date of delivery of any Borrowing
Base Certificate, if the amount described in clause (b) of the
definition of Total Availability exceeds the amount described in
clause (a) of such definition, the Borrowers shall prepay Advances
in an amount equal to such excess, provided that if the
aggregate principal amount of Advances then outstanding is less
than the amount of such excess (because L/C Obligations constitute
a portion thereof), the Borrowers shall, to the extent of the
balance of such excess, replace outstanding Letters of Credit
and/or deposit an amount in cash in a cash collateral account
established with the Agent for the benefit of the Lenders on terms
and conditions satisfactory to the Agent. Any prepayment of Loans
pursuant to this Section 2.11(b) shall be applied, first, to any
Base Rate Advances then outstanding and the balance of such
prepayment, if any, to the Eurodollar Rate Advances then
outstanding.
SECTION
2.12. Increased Costs .
(a) If, due to either (i) after the date of this
Agreement the introduction of or any change in or in the
interpretation of any law or regulation or (ii) the compliance
with any guideline or request from any central bank or other
governmental authority (whether or not having the force of law)
made or issued after the date of this Agreement, there shall be any
increase in the cost to any Lender of agreeing to make or making,
funding or maintaining Eurodollar Rate Advances or issuing or
participating in Letters of Credit (excluding for purposes of this
Section 2.12 any such increased costs resulting from (i) Taxes or
Other Taxes (as to which Section 2.15 shall govern) and (ii)
changes in the basis of taxation of overall net income or overall
gross income by the United States or by the foreign jurisdiction or
state under the laws of which such Lender is organized or has its
Applicable Lending Office or any political subdivision thereof),
then the Borrowers shall from time to time, upon demand by such
Lender (with a copy of such demand to the Agent), pay to the Agent
for the account of such Lender additional amounts sufficient to
compensate such Lender for such increased cost; provided that a
Lender claiming additional amounts under this Section 2.12(a)
agrees to use reasonable efforts (consistent with its internal
policy and legal and regulatory restrictions) to designate a
different Applicable Lending Office and/or take other commercially
reasonable action if the making of such a designation or the taking
of such actions would avoid the need for, or reduce the amount of,
such increased cost that may thereafter accrue and would not, in
the reasonable judgment of such Lender, be otherwise
disadvantageous to such Lender. A certificate as to the amount of
such increased cost, submitted to the Borrowers and the Agent by
such Lender, shall be entitled to a presumption of correctness. If
any Borrower so notifies the Agent after any Lender notifies the
Borrowers of any increased cost pursuant to the foregoing
provisions of this Section 2.12(a), such Borrower may, upon payment
of such increased cost to such Lender, replace such Lender with a
Person that is an Eligible Assignee in accordance with the terms of
Section 9.07 (and the Lender being so replaced shall take all
action as may be necessary to assign its rights and obligations
under this Agreement to such Eligible Assignee).
(b) If any Lender determines that compliance
with any change after the date of this Agreement in law or
regulation or any guideline or request after the date of this
Agreement from any central bank or other governmental authority
(whether or not having the force of law) affects or would affect
the amount of capital required or expected to be maintained by such
Lender or any entity controlling such Lender and that the amount of
such capital is increased by or based upon the existence of such
Lender's commitment to lend hereunder and other commitments of this
type, then, upon demand by such Lender (with a copy of such demand
to the Agent), the Borrowers shall pay to the Agent for the account
of such Lender, from time to time as specified by such Lender,
additional amounts sufficient to compensate such Lender or such
entity in the light of such circumstances, to the extent that such
Lender reasonably determines such increase in capital to be
allocable to the existence of such Lender's commitment to lend
hereunder. A certificate as to such amounts submitted to the
Borrowers and the Agent by such Lender shall be entitled to a
presumption of correctness.
(c) The Borrowers shall not be required to
compensate a Lender pursuant to this Section for any increased
costs or capital or reserve requirement or pursuant to Section 2.15
for any taxes incurred more than six months prior to the date that
such Lender notifies the Borrowers of the change or issuance giving
rise to such increased costs or capital or reserve requirement or
tax and of such Lender's intention to claim compensation therefor;
provided that if the change or issuance giving rise to
such
24
increased costs or capital or reserve
requirement or tax is retroactive, then the six-month period
referred to above shall be extended to include the period of
retroactive effect thereof.
SECTION
2.13. Illegality . Notwithstanding any
other provision of this Agreement, if any Lender shall notify the
Agent that the introduction of or any change in or in the
interpretation of any law or regulation makes it unlawful, or any
central bank or other governmental authority asserts that it is
unlawful, for any Lender or its Eurodollar Lending Office to
perform its obligations hereunder to make Eurodollar Rate Advances
or to fund or maintain Eurodollar Rate Advances hereunder, (a) each
Eurodollar Rate Advance will automatically, upon such demand,
Convert into a Base Rate Advance or an Advance that bears interest
at the rate set forth in Section 2.08(a)(i), as the case may be,
and (b) the obligation of the Lenders to make Eurodollar Rate
Advances or to Convert Advances into Eurodollar Rate Advances shall
be suspended until the Agent shall notify the Borrowers and the
Lenders that the circumstances causing such suspension no longer
exist.
SECTION
2.14. Payments and Computations .
(a) The Borrowers shall make each payment hereunder and
under the other Loan Documents, without any right of counterclaim
or set-off, not later than 1:00 P.M. on the day when due in U.S.
dollars to the Agent at the Agent's Account in same day funds. The
Agent will promptly thereafter cause to be distributed like funds
relating to the payment of principal or interest or commitment fees
ratably (other than amounts payable pursuant to Section 2.12,
2.15 or 10.04(c)) to the Lenders for the account of their
respective Applicable Lending Offices, and like funds relating to
the payment of any other amount payable to any Lender to such
Lender for the account of its Applicable Lending Office, in each
case to be applied in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.
Upon its acceptance of an Assignment and Acceptance and recording
of the information contained therein in the Register pursuant to
Section 9.07(c), from and after the effective date specified in
s
|