EXHIBIT 99.2
REGIS CORPORATION
MASTER NOTE PURCHASE
AGREEMENT
Dated as of
March 15, 2005
$400,000,000 Aggregate
Principal Amount
Senior Notes Issuable in Series
Initial Issuance of
$30,000,000 4.97% Senior Notes, Series 2005-A, Tranche 1, due
March 31, 2013
$70,000,000 5.20% Senior Notes, Series 2005-A, Tranche 2, due
March 31, 2015
$70,000,000 Floating Rate Senior Notes, Series 2005-B, Tranche
1, due March 31, 2013
$30,000,000 Floating Rate Senior Notes, Series 2005-B, Tranche
2, due March 31, 2015
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Series A, Tranche 1, PPN:
758932 F# 9 |
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Series A, Tranche 2, PPN:
758932 G* 2 |
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Series B, Tranche 1, PPN:
758932 G@ 0 |
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Series B, Tranche 2, PPN:
758932 G# 8 |
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Section |
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| 1. |
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AUTHORIZATION OF
NOTES |
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1 |
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1.1. |
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Description of Notes |
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1.2. |
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Additional Series of Notes |
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1.3. |
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Subsidiary Guaranty; Release |
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1.4. |
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Floating Interest Rate Provisions for
Floating Rate Notes |
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| 2. |
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SALE AND PURCHASE
OF NOTES |
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| 3. |
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CLOSING |
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| 4. |
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CONDITIONS TO
CLOSING |
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4.1. |
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Representations and Warranties |
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4.2. |
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Performance; No Default |
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4.3. |
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Compliance Certificates |
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4.4. |
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Opinions of Counsel |
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4.5. |
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Purchase Permitted By Applicable Law,
etc. |
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4.6. |
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Sale of Other Notes |
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4.7. |
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Payment of Special Counsel Fees |
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4.8. |
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Private Placement Numbers |
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4.9. |
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Changes in Corporate Structure |
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4.10. |
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Subsidiary Guaranty |
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4.11. |
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Intercreditor Agreement |
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4.12. |
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Funding Instructions |
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4.13. |
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Proceedings and Documents |
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| 5. |
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REPRESENTATIONS
AND WARRANTIES OF THE COMPANY |
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5.1. |
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Organization; Power and
Authority |
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5.2. |
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Authorization, etc. |
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5.3. |
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Disclosure |
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5.4. |
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Organization and Ownership of Shares
of Subsidiaries; Affiliates |
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5.5. |
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Financial Statements |
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5.6. |
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Compliance with Laws, Other
Instruments, etc. |
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5.7. |
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Governmental Authorizations,
etc. |
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5.8. |
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Litigation; Observance of Statutes
and Orders |
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5.9. |
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Taxes |
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5.10. |
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Title to Property; Leases |
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5.11. |
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Licenses, Permits, etc. |
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5.12. |
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Compliance with ERISA |
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5.13. |
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Private Offering by the Company |
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5.14. |
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Use of Proceeds; Margin
Regulations |
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5.15. |
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Existing Debt |
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5.16. |
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Foreign Assets Control Regulations,
etc. |
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Section |
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5.17. |
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Status under Certain Statutes |
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5.18. |
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Environmental Matters |
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5.19. |
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Solvency of Subsidiary
Guarantors |
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5.20. |
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Pari Passu Ranking |
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| 6. |
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REPRESENTATIONS OF
THE PURCHASERS |
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6.1. |
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Purchase for Investment |
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6.2. |
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Source of Funds |
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| 7. |
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INFORMATION AS TO
COMPANY |
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7.1. |
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Financial and Business
Information |
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7.2. |
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Officer’s Certificate |
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7.3. |
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Visitation |
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| 8. |
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PREPAYMENT OF THE
NOTES |
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8.1. |
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No Scheduled Prepayments |
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8.2. |
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Optional Prepayments |
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8.3. |
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Allocation of Partial
Prepayments |
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8.4. |
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Maturity; Surrender, etc. |
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8.5. |
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Purchase of Notes |
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8.6. |
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Make-Whole Amount |
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8.7. |
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LIBOR Breakage Amount |
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| 9. |
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AFFIRMATIVE
COVENANTS |
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9.1. |
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Compliance with Law |
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9.2. |
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Insurance |
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9.3. |
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Maintenance of Properties |
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9.4. |
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Payment of Taxes and Claims |
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9.5. |
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Corporate Existence, etc. |
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9.6. |
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Additional Subsidiary Guarantors |
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9.7. |
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Ranking |
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9.8. |
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Books and Records |
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| 10. |
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NEGATIVE
COVENANTS |
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10.1. |
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Consolidated Net Worth |
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10.2. |
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Consolidated Net Debt |
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10.3. |
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Fixed Charge Coverage |
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10.4. |
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Priority Debt |
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10.5. |
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Liens |
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10.6. |
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Sale of Assets |
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10.7. |
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Mergers, Consolidations, etc. |
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10.8. |
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Disposition of Stock of Restricted
Subsidiaries |
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10.9. |
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Designation of Restricted and
Unrestricted Subsidiaries |
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31 |
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10.10. |
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Transactions with Affiliates |
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| 11. |
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EVENTS OF
DEFAULT |
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| 12. |
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REMEDIES ON
DEFAULT, ETC. |
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Section |
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12.1. |
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Acceleration |
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12.2. |
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Other Remedies |
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12.3. |
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Rescission |
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12.4. |
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No Waivers or Election of Remedies,
Expenses, etc. |
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| 13. |
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REGISTRATION;
EXCHANGE; SUBSTITUTION OF NOTES |
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13.1. |
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Registration of Notes |
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13.2. |
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Transfer and Exchange of Notes |
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13.3. |
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Replacement of Notes |
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| 14. |
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PAYMENTS ON
NOTES |
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14.1. |
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Place of Payment |
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14.2. |
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Home Office Payment |
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| 15. |
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EXPENSES, ETC. |
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15.1. |
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Transaction Expenses |
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15.2. |
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Survival |
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| 16. |
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SURVIVAL OF
REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES; ENTIRE AGREEMENT |
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| 17. |
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AMENDMENT AND
WAIVER |
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17.1. |
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Requirements |
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17.2. |
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Solicitation of Holders of Notes |
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17.3. |
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Binding Effect, etc. |
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17.4. |
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Notes held by Company, etc. |
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| 18. |
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NOTICES |
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| 19. |
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REPRODUCTION OF
DOCUMENTS |
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| 20. |
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CONFIDENTIAL
INFORMATION |
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| 21. |
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SUBSTITUTION OF
PURCHASER |
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| 22. |
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MISCELLANEOUS |
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22.1. |
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Successors and Assigns |
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22.2. |
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Payments Due on Non-Business
Days |
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22.3. |
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Accounting Terms |
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22.4. |
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Severability |
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22.5. |
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Construction |
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22.6. |
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Counterparts |
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22.7. |
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Governing Law |
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22.8. |
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Jurisdiction and Process; Waiver of
Jury Trial |
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iii
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SCHEDULE A
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Information Relating to
Purchasers |
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SCHEDULE B
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Defined Terms |
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SCHEDULE 4.9
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Changes in Corporate Structure |
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SCHEDULE 5.3
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Disclosure Materials |
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SCHEDULE 5.4
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Subsidiaries; Affiliates |
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SCHEDULE 5.5
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Financial Statements |
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SCHEDULE 5.14
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Use of Proceeds |
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SCHEDULE 5.15
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Existing Debt |
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SCHEDULE 10.4
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Liens |
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EXHIBIT 1.1(a)
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Form of Series 2005-A, Tranche
1, Senior Note |
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EXHIBIT 1.1(b)
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Form of Series 2005-A, Tranche
2, Senior Note |
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EXHIBIT 1.1(c)
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Form of Series 2005-B, Tranche
1, Senior Note |
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EXHIBIT 1.1(d)
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Form of Series 2005-B, Tranche
2, Senior Note |
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EXHIBIT 1.2
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Form of Supplement |
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EXHIBIT 1.3
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Form of Subsidiary Guaranty |
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EXHIBIT 4.4(a)
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Form of Opinion of Counsel for the
Company |
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EXHIBIT 4.4(b)
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Form of Opinion of Special Counsel
for the Purchasers |
iv
REGIS CORPORATION
7201 Metro Boulevard
Edina, MN 55439
(952) 947-7777
Fax: (952) 947-7700
$400,000,000 Aggregate
Principal Amount
Senior Notes Issuable in Series
$30,000,000 4.97% Senior
Notes, Series 2005-A, Tranche 1, due March 31, 2013
$70,000,000 5.20% Senior Notes, Series 2005-A, Tranche 2, due
March 31, 2015
$70,000,000 Floating Rate Senior Notes, Series 2005-B, Tranche
1, due March 31, 2013
$30,000,000 Floating Rate Senior Notes, Series 2005-B, Tranche
2, due March 31, 2015
Dated as of March 15,
2005
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TO EACH OF THE
PURCHASERS LISTED IN
THE ATTACHED SCHEDULE A:
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Ladies and Gentlemen:
REGIS
CORPORATION, a Minnesota corporation (the “Company”),
agrees with you as follows:
1. AUTHORIZATION OF
NOTES.
1.1. Description of
Notes.
The
Company has authorized the issue and sale of: $30,000,000 aggregate
principal amount of its 4.97% Senior Notes, Series 2005-A,
Tranche 1, due March 31, 2013 (the “Series 2005-A,
Tranche 1, Notes”); $70,000,000 aggregate principal amount of
its 5.20% Senior Notes, Series 2005-A, Tranche 2, due
March 31, 2015 (the “Series 2005-A, Tranche 2,
Notes” and together with the Series 2005-A, Tranche 1, Notes,
the “Series 2005-A Notes”); $70,000,000 aggregate
principal amount of its Floating Rate Senior Notes,
Series 2005-B, Tranche 1, due March 31, 2013 (the
“Series 2005-B, Tranche 1, Notes”); and
$30,000,000 aggregate principal amount of its Floating Rate Senior
Notes, Series 2005-B, Tranche 2, due March 31, 2015 (the
“Series 2005-B, Tranche 2, Notes” and together
with the Series 2005-B, Tranche 1, Notes, the
“Series 2005-B Notes”). The Series 2005-A
Notes and the Series 2005-B, Notes are referred to
collectively as the “Series 2005 Notes”. The
Series 2005 Notes shall be substantially in the forms set out
in Exhibits 1.1(a), (b), (c) and (d), with such changes
therefrom, if any, as may be approved by the Purchasers and the
Company. Certain capitalized terms used in this Agreement are
defined in Schedule B; references to a “Schedule”
or an “Exhibit” are, unless otherwise specified, to a
Schedule or an Exhibit attached to this Agreement.
1.2. Additional Series
of Notes.
In
addition to the issuance and sale of the Series 2005 Notes,
the Company may from time to time issue and sell one or more
additional series of notes (the “Additional Notes” and
together with the Series 2005 Notes, the “Notes,”
such term to include any such Notes issued in substitution therefor
pursuant to Section 13 of this Agreement) pursuant to this
Agreement, provided that the aggregate principal amount of all
Notes issued pursuant to this Agreement shall not exceed
$400,000,000. Each series of Additional Notes will be issued
pursuant to a supplement to this Agreement (a
“Supplement”) in substantially the form of
Exhibit 1.2, and will be subject to the following terms and
conditions:
(a) the designation of each series of
Additional Notes shall distinguish such series from the Notes of
all other series;
(b) each series of Additional Notes
may consist of different and separate tranches and may differ as to
outstanding principal amounts, maturity dates, interest rates and
premiums or make-whole amounts, if any, and price and terms of
redemption or payment prior to maturity;
(c) all Notes issued under this
Agreement, including pursuant to any Supplement, shall rank pari
passu with each other and shall constitute Senior Debt;
(d) each series of Additional Notes
shall be dated the date of issue, bear interest at such rate or
rates, mature on such date or dates, be subject to such mandatory
or optional prepayments, if any, on the dates and with the
make-whole amounts, premiums or breakage amounts, if any, as are
provided in the Supplement under which such Additional Notes are
issued, and shall have such additional or different conditions
precedent to closing and such additional or different
representations and warranties or, subject to Section 1.2(e),
other terms and provisions as shall be specified in such
Supplement;
(e) any additional or more
restrictive covenants, Defaults, Events of Default, rights or
similar provisions that are added by a Supplement for the benefit
of the series of Notes to be issued pursuant to such Supplement
shall apply to all outstanding Notes, whether or not the Supplement
so provides; and
(f) except to the extent provided in
foregoing clause (d), all of the provisions of this Agreement shall
apply to all Additional Notes.
1.3. Subsidiary
Guaranty; Release.
(a) Subsidiary Guaranty . The
payment by the Company of all amounts due on or in respect to the
Notes and the performance by the Company of its obligations under
this Agreement will be guaranteed by each Subsidiary that is or in
the future becomes a signatory to the Bank Guaranty, a borrower
under the Credit Agreement or a guarantor of any Debt outstanding
under the Private Shelf Agreement (individually, a
“Subsidiary Guarantor” and collectively, the
“Subsidiary Guarantors”) pursuant to the
2
Subsidiary
Guaranty in substantially the form of the attached Exhibit 1.3
(as it may be amended or supplemented from time to time the
“Subsidiary Guaranty”).
(b) Release of Subsidiary
Guaranty . Each holder of a Note acknowledges and agrees that
each Subsidiary Guarantor shall be fully released and discharged
from the Subsidiary Guaranty, and each holder of a Note fully
releases and discharges such Subsidiary Guarantor from the
Subsidiary Guaranty, immediately and without any further act, upon
such Subsidiary being released and discharged as guarantor under
and in respect of the Credit Agreement; provided that (i) no
Default or Event of Default exists or will exist immediately
following such release and discharge; (ii) if any fee or other
consideration is paid or given to any holder of Indebtedness under
the Credit Agreement expressly for the purpose of such release,
other than consideration of $5,000 or less per holder or the
repayment of all or a portion of such Debt under the Credit
Agreement, each holder of a Note receives equivalent consideration
on a pro rata basis; and (iii) at the time of such release and
discharge, the Company delivers to each holder of Notes a
certificate of a Responsible Officer certifying that such
Subsidiary Guarantor has been or is being released and discharged
as a guarantor under and in respect of the Credit Agreement and the
matters set forth in clauses (i) and (ii).
| 1.4. |
Floating Interest Rate Provisions for Floating Rate
Notes. |
(a) Adjusted LIBOR Rate .
“Adjusted LIBOR Rate” means, for each Interest
Period, the rate per annum equal to LIBOR for such Interest Period
plus the percentage applicable to a series or tranche of floating
rate Notes. The percentage applicable to each tranche of
Series 2005-B Notes is set forth below:
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
Series 2005-B Notes |
|
|
Applicable
Percentage |
|
|
|
Tranche 1
|
|
|
|
0.52 |
% |
|
|
|
Tranche 2
|
|
|
|
0.55 |
% |
|
| |
For
purposes of determining Adjusted LIBOR Rate, the following terms
have the following meanings:
“LIBOR” means,
for any Interest Period, the rate per annum (rounded upwards, if
necessary, to the next higher one hundred-thousandth of a
percentage point) for deposits in U.S. Dollars for a 3-month period
(or such other period as is specified in the applicable Supplement)
that appears on the Bloomberg Financial Markets Service Page BBAM-1
(or if such page is not available, the Reuters Screen LIBO Page) as
of 11:00 a.m. (London, England time) on the date two Business
Days before the commencement of such Interest Period (or three
Business Days before the commencement of the first Interest
Period).
“Reuters Screen LIBO
Page” means the display designated as the
“LIBO” page on the Reuters Monitory Money Rates Service
(or such other page as may replace the LIBO page on that service)
or such other service as may be nominated by the British
Bankers’ Association as the information vendor for the
3
purpose of
displaying British Bankers’ Association Interest Settlement
Rates for U.S. Dollar deposits.
(b) Determination of the Adjusted
LIBOR Rate . The Adjusted LIBOR Rate shall be determined by the
Company, and notice thereof shall be given to the holders of the
applicable series or tranche of floating rate Notes, within two
Business Days after the beginning of each Interest Period, together
with (i) a copy of the relevant screen used for the
determination of LIBOR, (ii) a calculation of the Adjusted
LIBOR Rate for such Interest Period, (iii) the number of days
in such Interest Period, (iv) the date on which interest for
such Interest Period will be paid and (v) the amount of
interest to be paid to each holder of Notes of such series or
tranche on such date. If the holders of a majority in principal
amount of the Notes of such series or tranche outstanding do not
concur with such determination by the Company, as evidenced by a
single written notice delivered to the Company within 10 Business
Days after receipt by such holders of the notice delivered by the
Company pursuant to the immediately preceding sentence, the
determination of the Adjusted LIBOR Rate shall be made by such
holders of the Notes, and any such determination made in accordance
with the provisions of this Agreement shall be conclusive and
binding absent manifest error.
(c) Interest Period .
“Interest Period” means for any series or
tranche of floating rate Notes and for any period for which
interest is to be calculated or paid, the period commencing on an
interest payment date for such series or tranche of floating rate
Notes, or on the date of Closing in the case of the first such
period, and continuing up to, but not including, the next interest
payment date. The interest payment dates for the Series 2005-B
Notes are March 31, June 30, September 30 and
December 31.
| 2. |
SALE AND PURCHASE OF NOTES. |
Subject
to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, the Company will
issue and sell to you and each of the other purchasers named in
Schedule A (the “Other Purchasers”), and you and
the Other Purchasers will purchase from the Company, at the Closing
provided for in Section 3, Notes in the principal amount
specified opposite your names in Schedule A at the purchase
price of 100% of the principal amount thereof. Your obligation
hereunder and the obligations of the Other Purchasers are several
and not joint obligations and you shall have no liability to any
Person for the performance or non-performance by any Other
Purchaser hereunder.
The
sale and purchase of the Series 2005 Notes to be purchased by
you and the Other Purchasers shall occur at the offices of Gardner
Carton & Douglas LLP, 191 N. Wacker Drive, Suite 3700,
Chicago, Illinois 60606 at 9:00 a.m., Chicago time, at a closing
(the “Closing”) on March 31, 2005 or on such other
Business Day thereafter on or prior to April 15, 2005 as may
be agreed upon by the Company and you and the Other Purchasers. At
the Closing the Company will deliver to you the Notes to be
purchased by you in the form of a single Series 2005 Note (or
such greater number of Notes in denominations of at least $100,000
as you may request) dated the date of the Closing and registered in
your name (or in the name of your
4
nominee), against delivery
by you to the Company or its order of immediately available funds
in the amount of the purchase price therefor by wire transfer of
immediately available funds for the account of the Company to
account number 2347093, at LaSalle National Bank, 135 South LaSalle
Street, Chicago, IL 60603, ABA #071000505. If at the Closing the
Company fails to tender such Notes to you as provided above in this
Section 3, or any of the conditions specified in
Section 4 shall not have been fulfilled to your satisfaction,
you shall, at your election, be relieved of all further obligations
under this Agreement, without thereby waiving any rights you may
have by reason of such failure or such nonfulfillment.
| 4. |
CONDITIONS TO CLOSING. |
Your
obligation to purchase and pay for the Notes to be sold to you at
the Closing is subject to the fulfillment to your satisfaction,
prior to or at the Closing, of the following conditions:
| 4.1. |
Representations and Warranties. |
(a) Representations and Warranties
of the Company . The representations and warranties of the
Company in this Agreement shall be correct when made and at the
time of the Closing.
(b) Representations and Warranties
of the Subsidiary Guarantors . The representations and
warranties of each Subsidiary Guarantor in the Subsidiary Guaranty
shall be correct when made and at the time of the Closing.
| 4.2. |
Performance; No Default. |
The
Company shall have performed and complied with all agreements and
conditions contained in this Agreement required to be performed or
complied with by it prior to or at the Closing and after giving
effect to the issue and sale of the Series 2005 Notes (and the
application of the proceeds thereof as contemplated by
Schedule 5.14) no Default or Event of Default shall have
occurred and be continuing. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary
shall have entered into any transaction since the date of the
Memorandum that would have been prohibited by Section 10
hereof had such Section applied since such date.
| 4.3. |
Compliance Certificates. |
(a) Certificate of Officer of the
Company . The Company shall have delivered to you an
Officer’s Certificate, dated the date of the Closing,
certifying that the conditions specified in Sections 4.1, 4.2
and 4.9 have been fulfilled.
(b) Certificate of Secretary of
the Company . The Company shall have delivered to you a
certificate certifying as to the resolutions attached thereto and
other corporate proceedings relating to the authorization,
execution and delivery of the Notes and the Agreement.
(c) Certificate of Secretary of
Each Subsidiary . Each Subsidiary shall have delivered to you a
certificate certifying as to the resolutions attached thereto and
other
5
corporate
proceedings relating to the authorization, execution and delivery
of the Subsidiary Guaranty.
| 4.4. |
Opinions of Counsel. |
You
shall have received opinions in form and substance satisfactory to
you, dated the date of the Closing (a) from Eric Bakken, Vice
President and General Counsel for the Company, covering the matters
set forth in Exhibit 4.4(a) and covering such other matters
incident to the transactions contemplated hereby as you or your
counsel may reasonably request (and the Company instructs its
counsel to deliver such opinion to you) and (b) from Gardner
Carton & Douglas LLP, your special counsel in connection with
such transactions, substantially in the form set forth in
Exhibit 4.4(b) and covering such other matters incident to
such transactions as you may reasonably request.
| 4.5. |
Purchase Permitted By Applicable Law, etc. |
On the
date of the Closing your purchase of Notes shall (i) be
permitted by the laws and regulations of each jurisdiction to which
you are subject, without recourse to provisions (such as
Section 1405(a)(8) of the New York Insurance Law) permitting
limited investments by insurance companies without restriction as
to the character of the particular investment, (ii) not
violate any applicable law or regulation (including, without
limitation, Regulation U, T or X of the Board of Governors of
the Federal Reserve System) and (iii) not subject you to any
tax, penalty or liability under or pursuant to any applicable law
or regulation, which law or regulation was not in effect on the
date hereof. If requested by you, you shall have received an
Officer’s Certificate certifying as to such matters of fact
as you may reasonably specify to enable you to determine whether
such purchase is so permitted.
| 4.6. |
Sale of Other Notes. |
Contemporaneously
with the Closing the Company shall sell to the Other Purchasers and
the Other Purchasers shall purchase the Notes to be purchased by
them at the Closing as specified in Schedule A.
| 4.7. |
Payment of Special Counsel Fees. |
Without
limiting the provisions of Section 15.1, the Company shall
have paid on or before the Closing the reasonable fees, charges and
disbursements of your special counsel referred to in
Section 4.4, to the extent reflected in a statement of such
counsel rendered to the Company at least one Business Day prior to
the Closing (such statement to include reasonable detail as to the
basis for such fees, charges and disbursements).
| 4.8. |
Private Placement Numbers. |
A
Private Placement Number issued by Standard & Poor’s
CUSIP Service Bureau (in cooperation with the Securities Valuation
Office of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners)
shall have been obtained by Gardner Carton & Douglas LLP for
each series or tranche of the Notes.
6
| 4.9. |
Changes in Corporate Structure. |
Neither
the Company nor any Subsidiary Guarantor shall have changed its
jurisdiction of organization or, except as reflected in
Schedule 4.9, been a party to any merger or consolidation, or
shall have succeeded to all or any substantial part of the
liabilities of any other entity, at any time following the date of
the most recent financial statements referred to in
Schedule 5.5.
| 4.10. |
Subsidiary Guaranty. |
Each
Subsidiary Guarantor shall have executed and delivered the
Subsidiary Guaranty in favor of you and the Other Purchasers and
you shall have received a copy of the executed Subsidiary
Guaranty.
| 4.11. |
Intercreditor Agreement. |
You and
each of the Other Purchasers shall have become parties to the
Intercreditor Agreement.
| 4.12. |
Funding Instructions. |
At
least three Business Days prior to the date of the Closing, each
Purchaser shall have received written instructions signed by a
Responsible Officer on letterhead of the Company confirming the
information specified in Section 3 including (i) the name
and address of the transferee bank, (ii) such transferee
bank’s ABA number and (iii) the account name and number
into which the purchase price for the Notes is to be deposited.
| 4.13. |
Proceedings and Documents. |
All
corporate and other proceedings in connection with the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement and all documents and instruments
incident to such transactions shall be satisfactory to you and your
special counsel, and you and your special counsel shall have
received all such counterpart originals or certified or other
copies of such documents as you or they may reasonably request.
| 5. |
REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE COMPANY. |
The
Company represents and warrants to you that:
| 5.1. |
Organization; Power and Authority. |
The
Company is a corporation duly organized, validly existing and in
good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation,
and is duly qualified as a foreign corporation and is in good
standing in each jurisdiction in which such qualification is
required by law, other than those jurisdictions as to which the
failure to be so qualified or in good standing could not,
individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a
Material Adverse Effect. The Company has the corporate power and
authority to own or hold under lease the
7
properties it purports to
own or hold under lease, to transact the business it transacts and
proposes to transact, to execute and deliver this Agreement and the
Notes and to perform the provisions hereof and thereof.
This
Agreement and the Notes have been duly authorized by all necessary
corporate action on the part of the Company, and this Agreement
constitutes, and upon execution and delivery thereof each Note will
constitute, a legal, valid and binding obligation of the Company
enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms,
except as such enforceability may be limited by (i) applicable
bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or other similar
laws affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights generally
and (ii) general principles of equity (regardless of whether
such enforceability is considered in a proceeding in equity or at
law).
The
Subsidiary Guaranty has been duly authorized by all necessary
corporate action on the part of each Subsidiary Guarantor and upon
execution and delivery thereof will constitute the legal, valid and
binding obligation of each Subsidiary Guarantor, enforceable
against each Subsidiary Guarantor in accordance with its terms,
except as such enforceability may be limited by (i) applicable
bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or other similar
laws affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights generally
and (ii) general principles of equity (regardless of whether
such enforceability is considered in a proceeding in equity or at
law).
The
Company, through its agent, Banc of America Securities LLC, has
delivered to you and each Other Purchaser a copy of a Private
Placement Memorandum, dated February 2005 (the
“Memorandum”), relating to the transactions
contemplated hereby. The Memorandum fairly describes, in all
material respects, the general nature of the business and principal
properties of the Company and its Subsidiaries. This Agreement, the
Memorandum, the documents, certificates or other writings
identified in Schedule 5.3 delivered to the Purchasers by or
on behalf of the Company in connection with the transactions
contemplated hereby and the financial statements listed in
Schedule 5.5, in each case, delivered to the Purchasers prior
to March 7, 2005 (this Agreement, the Memorandum and such
documents, certificates or other writings and such financial
statements being referred to, collectively, as the
“Disclosure Documents”), taken as a whole, do not
contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state
any material fact necessary to make the statements therein not
misleading in light of the circumstances under which they were
made. Except as disclosed in the Disclosure Documents, since
June 30, 2004, there has been no change in the financial
condition, operations, business or properties of the Company or any
Subsidiary except changes that individually or in the aggregate
could not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
There is no fact known to the Company that could reasonably be
expected to have a Material Adverse Effect that has not been set
forth Disclosure Documents.
8
| 5.4. |
Organization and Ownership of Shares of Subsidiaries;
Affiliates. |
(a) Schedule 5.4 contains
(except as noted therein) complete and correct lists of: (i) the
Company’s Subsidiaries, showing, as to each Subsidiary, the
correct name thereof, the jurisdiction of its organization, the
percentage of shares of each class of its capital stock or similar
equity interests outstanding owned by the Company and each other
Subsidiary, (ii) the Company’s Affiliates, other than
Subsidiaries, and (iii) the Company’s directors and
senior officers. Each Subsidiary listed in Schedule 5.4 is
designated a Restricted Subsidiary by the Company.
(b) All of the outstanding shares of
capital stock or similar equity interests of each Subsidiary shown
in Schedule 5.4 as being owned by the Company and its
Subsidiaries have been validly issued, are fully paid and
nonassessable and are owned by the Company or another Subsidiary
free and clear of any Lien (except as otherwise disclosed in
Schedule 5.4).
(c) Each Subsidiary identified in
Schedule 5.4 is a corporation or other legal entity duly
organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of
its jurisdiction of organization, and is duly qualified as a
foreign corporation or other legal entity and is in good standing
in each jurisdiction in which such qualification is required by
law, other than those jurisdictions as to which the failure to be
so qualified or in good standing could not, individually or in the
aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse
Effect. Each such Subsidiary has the corporate or other power and
authority to own or hold under lease the properties it purports to
own or hold under lease and to transact the business it transacts
and proposes to transact.
(d) No Subsidiary is a party to, or
otherwise subject to, any legal restriction or any agreement (other
than this Agreement, the agreements listed on Schedule 5.4 and
customary limitations imposed by corporate law statutes)
restricting the ability of such Subsidiary to pay dividends out of
profits or make any other similar distributions of profits to the
Company or any of its Subsidiaries that owns outstanding shares of
capital stock or similar equity interests of such Subsidiary.
| 5.5. |
Financial Statements. |
The
Company has delivered to you and each Other Purchaser copies of the
financial statements of the Company and its Subsidiaries listed on
Schedule 5.5. All of said financial statements (including in
each case the related schedules and notes) fairly present in all
material respects the consolidated financial position of the
Company and its Subsidiaries as of the respective dates specified
in such Schedule and the consolidated results of their operations
and cash flows for the respective periods so specified and have
been prepared in accordance with GAAP consistently applied
throughout the periods involved except as set forth in the notes
thereto (subject, in the case of any interim financial statements,
to normal year-end adjustments). The Company and its Subsidiaries
do not have any Material liabilities that are not disclosed on such
financial statements or otherwise disclosed in the Disclosure
Documents.
9
| 5.6. |
Compliance with Laws, Other Instruments, etc. |
The
execution, delivery and performance by the Company of this
Agreement, the Intercreditor Agreement and the Notes will not
(i) contravene, result in any breach of, or constitute a
default under, or result in the creation of any Lien in respect of
any property of the Company or any Subsidiary under, any indenture,
mortgage, deed of trust, loan, purchase or credit agreement, lease,
corporate charter or by-laws, or any other agreement or instrument
to which the Company or any Subsidiary is bound or by which the
Company or any Subsidiary or any of their respective properties may
be bound or affected, (ii) conflict with or result in a breach
of any of the terms, conditions or provisions of any order,
judgment, decree, or ruling of any court, arbitrator or
Governmental Authority applicable to the Company or any Subsidiary
or (iii) violate any provision of any statute or other rule or
regulation of any Governmental Authority, including the USA Patriot
Act, applicable to the Company or any Subsidiary.
The
execution, delivery and performance by each Subsidiary Guarantor of
the Subsidiary Guaranty will not (i) contravene, result in any
breach of, or constitute a default under, or result in the creation
of any Lien in respect of any property of such Subsidiary Guarantor
under any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan, purchase or
credit agreement, lease, corporate charter or by-laws, or any other
agreement or instrument to which such Subsidiary Guarantor is bound
or by which such Subsidiary Guarantor or any of its properties may
be bound or affected, (ii) conflict with or result in a breach
of any of the terms, conditions or provisions of any order,
judgment, decree, or ruling of any court, arbitrator or
Governmental Authority applicable to such Subsidiary Guarantor or
(iii) violate any provision of any statute or other rule or
regulation of any Governmental Authority, including the USA Patriot
Act, applicable to such Subsidiary Guarantor.
| 5.7. |
Governmental Authorizations, etc. |
No
consent, approval or authorization of, or registration, filing or
declaration with, any Governmental Authority is required in
connection with the execution, delivery or performance by the
Company of this Agreement, the Intercreditor Agreement or the Notes
or the execution, delivery or performance by each Subsidiary
Guarantor of the Subsidiary Guaranty.
| 5.8. |
Litigation; Observance of Statutes and Orders. |
(a) There are no actions, suits or
proceedings pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened
against or affecting the Company or any Subsidiary or any property
of the Company or any Subsidiary in any court or before any
arbitrator of any kind or before or by any Governmental Authority
that, individually or in the aggregate, could reasonably be
expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(b) Neither the Company nor any
Subsidiary is in default under any term of any agreement or
instrument to which it is a party or by which it is bound, or any
order, judgment, decree or ruling of any court, arbitrator or
Governmental Authority or is in violation of any applicable law,
ordinance, rule or regulation (including Environmental Laws or the
USA Patriot Act) of any Governmental Authority, which default or
violation,
10
individually or in the aggregate, could reasonably be expected to
have a Material Adverse Effect.
The
Company and its Subsidiaries have filed all tax returns that are
required to have been filed in any jurisdiction, and have paid all
taxes shown to be due and payable on such returns and all other
taxes and assessments levied upon them or their properties, assets,
income or franchises, to the extent such taxes and assessments have
become due and payable and before they have become delinquent,
except for any taxes and assessments (i) the amount of which
is not individually or in the aggregate Material or (ii) the
amount, applicability or validity of which is currently being
contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings and with respect
to which the Company or a Subsidiary, as the case may be, has
established adequate reserves in accordance with GAAP. The Company
knows of no basis for any other tax or assessment that could
reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. The
charges, accruals and reserves on the books of the Company and its
Subsidiaries in respect of Federal, state or other taxes for all
fiscal periods are adequate. The Federal income tax liabilities of
the Company and its Subsidiaries have been determined (whether by
reason of completed audits or the statute of limitations having
run) for all fiscal years up to and including the fiscal year ended
June 30, 2001.
| 5.10. |
Title to Property; Leases. |
The
Company and its Subsidiaries have good and sufficient title to
their respective properties that individually or in the aggregate
are Material, including all such properties reflected in the most
recent audited balance sheet referred to in Section 5.5 or
purported to have been acquired by the Company or any Subsidiary
after said date (except as sold or otherwise disposed of in the
ordinary course of business), in each case free and clear of Liens
prohibited by this Agreement. All leases that individually or in
the aggregate are Material are valid and subsisting and are in full
force and effect in all material respects.
| 5.11. |
Licenses, Permits, etc. |
(a) The Company and its Subsidiaries
own or possess all licenses, permits, franchises, authorizations,
patents, copyrights, proprietary software, service marks,
trademarks and trade names, or rights thereto, that individually or
in the aggregate are Material, without known conflict with the
rights of others;
(b) To the best knowledge of the
Company, no product of the Company or any Subsidiary infringes in
any material respect any license, permit, franchise, authorization,
patent, copyright, proprietary software, service mark, trademark,
trade name or other right owned by any other Person; and
(c) To the best knowledge of the
Company, there is no Material violation by any Person of any right
of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries with respect to any
patent, copyright, proprietary software, service mark, trademark,
trade name or other right owned or used by the Company or any of
its Subsidiaries.
11
| 5.12. |
Compliance with ERISA. |
(a) The Company and each ERISA
Affiliate have operated and administered each Plan (other than
Multiemployer Plans) in compliance with all applicable laws except
for such instances of noncompliance as have not resulted in and
could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse
Effect. Neither the Company nor any ERISA Affiliate has incurred
any liability pursuant to Title I or IV of ERISA or the penalty or
excise tax provisions of the Code relating to employee benefit
plans (as defined in Section 3 of ERISA), and no event,
transaction or condition has occurred or exists that could
reasonably be expected to result in the incurrence of any such
liability by the Company or any ERISA Affiliate, or in the
imposition of any Lien on any of the rights, properties or assets
of the Company or any ERISA Affiliate, in either case pursuant to
Title I or IV of ERISA or to such penalty or excise tax provisions
or to Section 401(a)(29) or 412 of the Code or section 4068 of
ERISA, other than such liabilities or Liens as would not be
individually or in the aggregate Material.
(b) The present value of the
aggregate benefit liabilities under each of the Plans (other than
Multiemployer Plans), determined as of the end of such Plan’s
most recently ended plan year on the basis of the actuarial
assumptions specified for funding purposes in such Plan’s
most recent actuarial valuation report, did not exceed the
aggregate current value of the assets of such Plan allocable to
such benefit liabilities by more than $5,000,000 in the aggregate
for all Plans. The term “benefit liabilities” has the
meaning specified in section 4001 of ERISA and the terms
“current value” and “present value” have
the meaning specified in section 3 of ERISA.
(c) The Company and its ERISA
Affiliates have not incurred withdrawal liabilities (and are not
subject to contingent withdrawal liabilities) under section 4201 or
4204 of ERISA in respect of Multiemployer Plans that individually
or in the aggregate are Material.
(d) The accumulated postretirement
benefit obligation (determined as of the last day of the
Company’s most recently ended fiscal year in accordance with
Financial Accounting Standards Board Statement No. 106,
without regard to liabilities attributable to continuation coverage
mandated by section 4980B of the Code) of the Company and its
Subsidiaries is not Material.
(e) The execution and delivery of
this Agreement and the issuance and sale of the Series 2005-A
Notes hereunder will not involve any transaction that is subject to
the prohibitions of section 406 of ERISA or in connection with
which a tax could be imposed pursuant to section 4975(c)(1)(A)-(D)
of the Code. The representation by the Company in the first
sentence of this Section 5.12(e) is made in reliance upon and
subject to the accuracy of your representation in Section 6.2
as to the sources of the funds used to pay the purchase price of
the Notes to be purchased by you.
12
| 5.13. |
Private Offering by the Company. |
Neither
the Company nor anyone acting on its behalf has offered the Notes
or any similar securities for sale to, or solicited any offer to
buy any of the same from, or otherwise approached or negotiated in
respect thereof with, any person other than you, the Other
Purchasers and not more than 50 other Institutional Investors, each
of which has been offered the Notes at a private sale for
investment. Neither the Company nor anyone acting on its behalf has
taken, or will take, any action that would subject the issuance or
sale of the Notes to the registration requirements of
Section 5 of the Securities Act or to the registration
requirements of any securities or blue sky laws of any applicable
jurisdiction.
| 5.14. |
Use of Proceeds; Margin Regulations. |
The
Company will apply the proceeds of the sale of the Notes for
general corporate purposes and to refinance Debt as set forth in
Schedule 5.14. No part of the proceeds from the sale of the
Notes will be used, directly or indirectly, for the purpose of
buying or carrying any margin stock within the meaning of
Regulation U of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
System (12 CFR 221), or for the purpose of buying or carrying or
trading in any securities under such circumstances as to involve
the Company in a violation of Regulation X of said Board (12
CFR 224) or to involve any broker or dealer in a violation of
Regulation T of said Board (12 CFR 220). Margin stock does not
constitute more than 1% of the value of the consolidated assets of
the Company and its Subsidiaries and the Company does not have any
present intention that margin stock will constitute more than 1% of
the value of such assets. As used in this Section, the terms
“margin stock” and “purpose of buying or
carrying” shall have the meanings assigned to them in said
Regulation U.
(a) Except as described therein,
Schedule 5.15 sets forth a complete and correct list of all
outstanding Debt of the Company and its Subsidiaries as of
December 31, 2004 (including a description of the obligors and
obligees, principal amount outstanding and collateral therefor, if
any, and Guaranty thereof, if any), since which date there has been
no Material change in the amounts, interest rates, sinking funds,
installment payments or maturities of the Debt of the Company or
its Subsidiaries. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary is in
default and no waiver of default is currently in effect, in the
payment of any principal or interest on any Debt of the Company or
such Subsidiary and no event or condition exists with respect to
any Debt of the Company or any Subsidiary that would permit (or
that with notice or the lapse of time, or both, would permit) one
or more Persons to cause such Debt to become due and payable before
its stated maturity or before its regularly scheduled dates of
payment.
(b) Except as disclosed in
Schedule 5.15, neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has
agreed or consented to cause or permit in the future (upon the
happening of a contingency or otherwise) any of its property,
whether now owned or hereafter acquired, to be subject to a Lien
not permitted by Section 10.5.
13
| 5.16. |
Foreign Assets Control Regulations, etc. |
(a) Neither the sale of the Notes by
the Company hereunder nor its use of the proceeds thereof will
violate the Trading with the Enemy Act, as amended, or any of the
foreign assets control regulations of the United States Treasury
Department (31 CFR, Subtitle B, Chapter V, as amended) or any
enabling legislation or executive order relating thereto.
(b) Neither the Company nor any
Subsidiary (i) is a Person described or designated in the
Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List of the
Office of Foreign Assets Control or in Section 1 of the
Anti-Terrorism Order or (ii) to the Company’s knowledge,
engages in any dealings or transactions with any such Person. The
Company and its Subsidiaries are in compliance, in all material
respects, with the USA Patriot Act.
(c) No part of the proceeds from the
sale of the Notes hereunder will be used, directly or indirectly,
in violation of the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of
1977, as amended, assuming in all cases that such Act applies to
the Company.
| 5.17. |
Status under Certain Statutes. |
Neither
the Company nor any Subsidiary is subject to regulation under the
Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, the Public Utility
Holding Company Act of 1935, as amended, the ICC Termination Act,
as amended, or the Federal Power Act, as amended.
| 5.18. |
Environmental Matters. |
(a) Neither the Company nor any
Subsidiary has knowledge of any claim or has received any notice of
any claim, and no proceeding has been instituted raising any claim
against the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or any of their
respective real properties now or formerly owned, leased or
operated by any of them or other assets, alleging any damage to the
environment or violation of any Environmental Laws, except, in each
case, such as could not reasonably be expected to result in a
Material Adverse Effect.
(b) Neither the Company nor any
Subsidiary has knowledge of any facts which would give rise to any
claim, public or private, of violation of Environmental Laws or
damage to the environment emanating from, occurring on or in any
way related to real properties now or formerly owned, leased or
operated by any of them or to other assets or their use, except, in
each case, such as could not reasonably be expected to result in a
Material Adverse Effect;
(c) Neither the Company nor any of
its Subsidiaries has stored any Hazardous Materials on real
properties now or formerly owned, leased or operated by any of them
and has not disposed of any Hazardous Materials in a manner
contrary to any Environmental Laws in each case in any manner that
could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse
Effect; and
14
(d) All buildings on all real
properties now owned, leased or operated by the Company or any of
its Subsidiaries are in compliance with applicable Environmental
Laws, except where failure to comply could not reasonably be
expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
| 5.19. |
Solvency of Subsidiary Guarantors. |
After
giving effect to the transactions contemplated herein and after
giving due consideration to any rights of contribution
(i) each Subsidiary Guarantor has received fair consideration
and reasonably equivalent value for the incurrence of its
obligations under the Subsidiary Guaranty, (ii) the fair value
of the assets of each Subsidiary Guarantor (both at fair valuation
and at present fair saleable value) exceeds its liabilities,
(iii) each Subsidiary Guarantor is able to and expects to be
able to pay its debts as they mature, and (iv) each Subsidiary
Guarantor has capital sufficient to carry on its business as
conducted and as proposed to be conducted.
| 5.20. |
Pari Passu Ranking. |
The
obligations of the Company under the Notes rank pari passu
in right of payment with all other unsecured Senior Debt (actual or
contingent) of the Company, including the unsecured Senior Debt
listed in Schedule 5.15.
| 6. |
REPRESENTATIONS OF THE PURCHASERS. |
| 6.1. |
Purchase for Investment. |
You
represent that you are purchasing the Notes for your own account or
for one or more separate accounts maintained by you or for the
account of one or more pension or trust funds and not with a view
to the distribution thereof, provided that the disposition of your
or their property shall at all times be within your or their
control. You understand that the Notes have not been registered
under the Securities Act and may be resold only if registered
pursuant to the provisions of the Securities Act or if an exemption
from registration is available, except under circumstances where
neither such registration nor such an exemption is required by law,
and that the Company is not required to register the Notes. You
represent that you are a Qualified Institutional Buyer or an
“accredited investor” within the meaning of
subparagraph (a)(1), (2), (3) or (7) of Rule 501 of
Regulation D under the Securities Act.
You
represent that at least one of the following statements is an
accurate representation as to each source of funds (a
“Source”) to be used by you to pay the purchase price
of the Notes to be purchased by you hereunder:
(a) the Source is an “insurance
company general account” (as the term is defined in the
United States Department of Labor’s Prohibited Transaction
Exemption (“PTE”) 95-60) in respect of which the
reserves and liabilities (as defined by the annual statement for
life insurance companies approved by the National Association
of
15
Insurance
Commissioners (the “NAIC Annual Statement”) for the
general account contract(s) held by or on behalf of any employee
benefit plan together with the amount of the reserves and
liabilities for the general account contract(s) held by or on
behalf of any other employee benefit plans maintained by the same
employer (or affiliate thereof as defined in PTE 95-60) or by the
same employee organization in the general account do not exceed 10%
of the total reserves and liabilities of the general account
(exclusive of separate account liabilities) plus surplus as set
forth in the NAIC Annual Statement filed with such
Purchaser’s state of domicile and the other applicable
conditions of such exemption are otherwise satisfied as of the date
of acquisition of the Notes; or
(b) the Source is a separate account
that is maintained solely in connection with such Purchaser’s
fixed contractual obligations under which the amounts payable, or
credited, to any employee benefit plan (or its related trust) that
has any interest in such separate account (or to any participant or
beneficiary of such plan (including any annuitant)) are not
affected in any manner by the investment performance of the
separate account; or
(c) the Source is either (i) an
insurance company pooled separate account, within the meaning of
PTE 90-1, or (ii) a bank collective investment fund, within
the meaning of PTE 91-38 and, except as you have disclosed to the
Company in writing pursuant to this paragraph (c), no employee
benefit plan or group of plans maintained by the same employer or
employee organization beneficially owns more than 10% of all assets
allocated to such pooled separate account or collective investment
fund and the other applicable conditions of such exemption are
otherwise satisfied as of the date of acquisition of the Notes;
or
(d) the Source constitutes assets of
an “investment fund” (within the meaning of Part V
of PTE 84-14 (the “QPAM Exemption”) managed by a
“qualified professional asset manager” or
“QPAM” (within the meaning of Part V of the QPAM
Exemption), no employee benefit plan’s assets that are
included in such investment fund, when combined with the assets of
all other employee benefit plans established or maintained by the
same employer or by an affiliate (within the meaning of
Part V(c)(1) of the QPAM Exemption) of such employer or by the
same employee organization and managed by such QPAM, exceed 20% of
the total client assets managed by such QPAM, the conditions of
Part I(c) and (g) of the QPAM Exemption are satisfied,
neither the QPAM nor a person controlling or controlled by the QPAM
(applying the definition of “control” in Part V(e)
of the QPAM Exemption) owns a 5% or more interest in the Company
and (i) the identity of such QPAM and (ii) the names of
all employee benefit plans whose assets are included in such
investment fund have been disclosed to the Company in writing
pursuant to this clause (d) and the other applicable
conditions of such exemption are otherwise satisfied as of the date
of acquisition of the Notes; or
(e) the Source constitutes assets of
a “plan(s)” (within the meaning of Part IV of PTE
96-23 (the “INHAM Exemption”) managed by an
“in-house asset manager” or “INHAM” (within
the meaning of Part IV of the INHAM exemption), the conditions
of Part I(a), (g) and (h) of the INHAM Exemption are
satisfied, neither the INHAM nor a person controlling or controlled
by the INHAM (applying the definition of “control”
in
16
Part IV(d) of the INHAM Exemption) owns a 5% or more interest
in the Company and (i) the identity of such INHAM and (ii) the
name(s) of the employee benefit plan(s) whose assets constitute the
Source have been disclosed to the Company in writing pursuant to
this clause (e) and the other applicable conditions of such
exemption are otherwise satisfied as of the date of acquisition of
the Notes; or
(f) the Source is a governmental
plan; or
(g) the Source is one or more
employee benefit plans, or a separate account or trust fund
comprised of one or more employee benefit plans, each of which has
been identified to the Company in writing pursuant to this
paragraph (g); or
(h) the Source does not include
assets of any employee benefit plan, other than a plan exempt from
the coverage of ERISA and from application of Section 4975 of
the Code.
As used in this
Section 6.2, the terms “employee benefit plan”,
“governmental plan” and “separate account”
shall have the respective meanings assigned to such terms in
Section 3 of ERISA.
| 7. |
INFORMATION AS TO COMPANY. |
| 7.1. |
Financial and Business Information |
The
Company will deliver to each holder of Notes that is an
Institutional Investor:
(a) Quarterly Statements
— within 60 days after the end of each quarterly fiscal
period in each fiscal year of the Company (other than the last
quarterly fiscal period of each such fiscal year), duplicate copies
of,
(i) consolidated balance sheet of the
Company and its Subsidiaries as at the end of such quarter,
(ii) consolidated statements of
income of the Company and its Subsidiaries for such quarter and (in
the case of the second and third quarters) for the portion of the
fiscal year ending with such quarter, and
(iii) consolidated statements of cash
flows of the Company and its Subsidiaries for such quarter or (in
the case of the second and third quarters) for the portion of the
fiscal year ending with such quarter,
setting
forth in each case in comparative form the figures for the
corresponding periods in the previous fiscal year, all in
reasonable detail, prepared in accordance with GAAP applicable to
quarterly financial statements generally, and certified by a Senior
Financial Officer as fairly presenting, in all material respects,
the financial position of the companies being reported on and their
results of operations and cash flows, subject to changes resulting
from year-end adjustments, provided that delivery within the time
period specified above of copies of the Company’s Quarterly
Report on Form 10-Q
17
prepared in
compliance with the requirements therefor and filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission shall be deemed to satisfy the
requirements of this Section 7.1(a);
(b) Annual Statements —
within 105 days after the end of each fiscal year of the
Company, duplicate copies of,
(i) consolidated balance sheet of the
Company and its Subsidiaries, as at the end of such year, and
(ii) consolidated statements of
income, changes in shareholders’ equity and cash flows of the
Company and its Subsidiaries, for such year,
setting
forth in each case in comparative form the figures for the previous
fiscal year, all in reasonable detail, prepared in accordance with
GAAP, and accompanied by an opinion of independent certified public
accountants of recognized national standing, which opinion shall
state that such financial statements present fairly, in all
material respects, the financial position of the companies being
reported upon and their results of operations and cash flows and
have been prepared in conformity with GAAP, and that the
examination of such accountants in connection with such financial
statements has been made in accordance with generally accepted
auditing standards, and that such audit provides a reasonable basis
for such opinion in the circumstances, provided that the delivery
within the time period specified above of the Company’s
Annual Report on Form 10-K for such fiscal year (together with the
Company’s annual report to shareholders, if any, prepared
pursuant to Rule 14a-3 under the Exchange Act) prepared in
accordance with the requirements therefor and filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission shall be deemed to satisfy the
requirements of this Section 7.1(b);
(c) Unrestricted Subsidiaries
— if, at the time of delivery of any financial statements
pursuant to Section 7.1(a) or (b), Unrestricted Subsidiaries
account for more than 10% of (i) the consolidated total assets
of the Company and its Subsidiaries reflected in the balance sheet
included in such financial statements or (ii) the consolidated
revenues of the Company and its Subsidiaries reflected in the
consolidated statement of income included in such financial
statements, an unaudited balance sheet for all Unrestricted
Subsidiaries taken as whole as at the end of the fiscal period
included in such financial statements and the related unaudited
statements of income, stockholders’ equity and cash flows for
such Unrestricted Subsidiaries for such period, together with
consolidating statements reflecting all eliminations or adjustments
necessary to reconcile such group financial statements to the
consolidated financial statements of the Company and its
Subsidiaries shall be delivered together with the financial
statements required pursuant to Sections 7.1(a) and (b);
(d) SEC and Other Reports
— promptly upon their becoming available, one copy of
(i) each financial statement, report, notice or proxy
statement sent by the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary to
public securities holders generally, and (ii) each regular or
periodic report, each registration statement other than
registration statements on Form S-8 (without exhibits except as
expressly requested by such holder), and each prospectus and all
amendments thereto filed by the Company or any Restricted
18
Subsidiary
with the Securities and Exchange Commission and of all press
releases and other statements made available generally by the
Company or any Restricted Subsidiary to the public concerning
developments that are Material;
(e) Notice of Default or Event of
Default — promptly, and in any event within five Business
Days after a Responsible Officer becoming aware of the existence of
any Default or Event of Default or that any Person has given any
notice or taken any action with respect to a claimed default
hereunder or that any Person has given notice or taken any action
with respect to a claimed default of the type referred to in
Section 11(f), a written notice specifying the nature and
period of existence thereof and what action the Company is taking
or proposes to take with respect thereto;
(f) ERISA Matters —
promptly, and in any event within five Business Days after a
Responsible Officer becoming aware of any of the following, a
written notice setting forth the nature thereof and the action, if
any, that the Company or an ERISA Affiliate proposes to take with
respect thereto:
(i) with respect to any Plan, any
reportable event, as defined in section 4043(b) of ERISA and the
regulations thereunder, for which notice thereof has not been
waived pursuant to such regulations as in effect on the date
hereof; or
(ii) the taking by the PBGC of steps
to institute, or the threatening by the PBGC of the institution of,
proceedings under section 4042 of ERISA for the termination of, or
the appointment of a trustee to administer, any Plan, or the
receipt by the Company or any ERISA Affiliate of a notice from a
Multiemployer Plan that such action has been taken by the PBGC with
respect to such Multiemployer Plan; or
(iii) any event, transaction or
condition that could result in the incurrence of any liability by
the Company or any ERISA Affiliate pursuant to Title I or IV of
ERISA or the penalty or excise tax provisions of the Code relating
to employee benefit plans, or in the imposition of any Lien on any
of the rights, properties or assets of the Company or any ERISA
Affiliate pursuant to Title I or IV of ERISA or such penalty or
excise tax provisions, if such liability or Lien, taken together
with any other such liabilities or Liens then existing, could
reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;
(g) Notices from Governmental
Authority — promptly, and in any event within 30 days of
receipt thereof, copies of any notice to the Company or any
Subsidiary from any Federal or state Governmental Authority
relating to any order, ruling, statute or other law or regulation
that could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse
Effect;
(h) Supplements —
promptly and in any event within 10 Business Days after the
execution and delivery of any Supplement, a copy thereof; and
19
(i) Requested Information
— with reasonable promptness, such other data and information
relating to the business, operations, affairs, financial condition,
assets or properties of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or
relating to the ability of the Company to perform its obligations
hereunder and under the Notes as from time to time may be
reasonably requested by any such holder of Notes.
| 7.2. |
Officer’s Certificate. |
Each
set of financial statements delivered to a holder of Notes pursuant
to Section 7.1(a) or (b) shall be accompanied by a
certificate of a Senior Financial Officer setting forth:
(a) Covenant Compliance
— the information (including detailed calculations) required
in order to establish whether the Company was in compliance with
the requirements of Section 10.1 through Section 10.10,
inclusive, during the quarterly or annual period covered by the
statements then being furnished (including with respect to each
such Section, where applicable, the calculations of the maximum or
minimum amount, ratio or percentage, as the case may be,
permissible under the terms of such Sections, and the calculation
of the amount, ratio or percentage then in existence); and
(b) Event of Default — a
statement that such officer has reviewed the relevant terms hereof
and has made, or caused to be made, under his or her supervision, a
review of the transactions and conditions of the Company and its
Subsidiaries from the beginning of the quarterly or annual period
covered by the statements then being furnished to the date of the
certificate and that such review shall not have disclosed the
existence during such period of any condition or event that
constitutes a Default or an Event of Default or, if any such
condition or event existed or exists (including any such event or
condition resulting from the failure of the Company or any
Subsidiary to comply with any Environmental Law), specifying the
nature and period of existence thereof and what action the Company
shall have taken or proposes to take with respect thereto.
The
Company will permit the representatives of each holder of Notes
that is an Institutional Investor:
(a) No Default — if no
Default or Event of Default then exists, at the expense of such
holder and upon reasonable prior notice to the Company, to visit
the principal executive office of the Company, to discuss the
affairs, finances and accounts of the Company and its Subsidiaries
with the Company’s officers, and (with the consent of the
Company, which consent will not be unreasonably withheld) its
independent public accountants, and (with the consent of the
Company, which consent will not be unreasonably withheld) to visit
the other offices and properties of the Company and each
Subsidiary, all at such reasonable times and as often as may be
reasonably requested in writing; and
20
(b) Default — if a
Default or Event of Default then exists, at the expense of the
Company, to visit and inspect any of the offices or properties of
the Company or any Subsidiary, to examine all their respective
books of account, records, reports and other papers, to make copies
and extracts therefrom, and to discuss their respective affairs,
finances, and accounts with their respective officers and
independent public accountants (and by this provision the Company
authorizes said accountants to discuss the affairs, finances and
accounts of the Company and its Subsidiaries), all at such times
and as often as may be requested.
| 8. |
PREPAYMENT OF THE NOTES. |
| 8.1. |
No Scheduled Prepayments. |
No
regularly scheduled prepayments are due on the Series 2005
Notes prior to their stated maturity.
8.2. Optional
Prepayments.
(a) Fixed Rate Notes . The
Company may, at its option, upon notice as provided below, prepay
at any time all, or from time to time any part of, one or more
series or tranches of fixed rate Notes, including the
Series 2005-A Notes, in an amount not less than $2,000,000 in
the aggregate in the case of a partial prepayment, at 100% of the
principal amount so prepaid, plus the Make-Whole Amount determined
for the prepayment date with respect to such principal amount. The
Company will give each holder of each series or tranche of fixed
rate Notes to be prepaid written notice of each optional prepayment
under this Section 8.2(a) not less than 30 days and not
more than 60 days prior to the date fixed for such prepayment.
Each such notice shall specify such date, the aggregate principal
amount of each series or tranche of fixed rate Notes to be prepaid
on such date, the principal amount of each Note held by such holder
to be prepaid (determined in accordance with Section 8.3), and
the interest to be paid on the prepayment date with respect to such
principal amount being prepaid, and shall be accompanied by a
certificate of a Senior Financial Officer as to the estimated
Make-Whole Amount due in connection with such prepayment
(calculated as if the date of such notice were the date of the
prepayment), setting forth the details of such computation. Two
Business Days prior to such prepayment, the Company shall deliver
to each holder of the series or tranche of fixed rate Notes being
prepaid a certificate of a Senior Financial Officer specifying the
calculation of such Make-Whole Amount as of the specified
prepayment date.
(b) Floating Rate Notes . The
Company may, at its option, upon notice as provided below, prepay
at any time all, or from time to time any part of, either tranche
of the Series 2005-B Notes, in an amount not less than
$2,000,000 in the aggregate in the case of a partial prepayment, at
100% of the principal amount so prepaid, plus the prepayment
premium set forth below, and if such prepayment is to occur on any
date other than an interest payment date, the LIBOR Breakage
Amount, if any.
21
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
If Prepaid During the Period |
|
|
Prepayment Premium |
|
|
|
April 7, 2005
through March 31, 2006
|
|
|
2.0% |
|
|
|
April 1, 2006
through March 31, 2007
|
|
|
1.0% |
|
|
|
April 1, 2007
and thereafter
|
|
|
0.0% |
|
| |
The Company
will give each holder of each series or tranche of floating rate
Notes to be prepaid, including the Series 2005-B Notes,
written notice of each optional prepayment under this
Section 8.2(b) not less than 30 days and not more than
60 days prior to the date fixed for such prepayment. Each such
notice shall specify such date, the aggregate principal amount of
each series or tranche of floating rate Notes to be prepaid on such
date, the principal amount of each floating rate Note held by such
holder to be prepaid (determined in accordance with
Section 8.3), the interest to be paid on the prepayment date
with respect to such principal amount being prepaid and the amount
of any prepayment premium and LIBOR Breakage Amount to be paid. The
terms on which floating rate Additional Notes may be prepaid at the
option of the Company will be set forth in the Supplement pursuant
to which such Notes are issued.
| 8.3. |
Allocation of Partial Prepayments. |
In the
case of each partial prepayment of Notes of a series or tranche
pursuant to Section 8.2(a) or (b), the principal amount of the
Notes of the series or tranche to be prepaid shall be allocated
among all of the Notes of such series or tranche at the time
outstanding in proportion, as nearly as practicable, to the
respective unpaid principal amounts thereof not theretofore called
for prepayment.
| 8.4. |
Maturity; Surrender, etc. |
In the
case of each prepayment of Notes pursuant to this Section 8,
the principal amount of each Note to be prepaid shall mature and
become due and payable on the date fixed for such prepayment,
together with interest on such principal amount accrued to such
date and the applicable Make-Whole Amount, if any, prepayment
premium, if any, and LIBOR Breakage Amount, if any. From and after
such date, unless the Company shall fail to pay such principal
amount when so due and payable, together with the interest and
Make-Whole Amount, if any, prepayment premium, if any, or LIBOR
Breakage Amount, if any, as aforesaid, interest on such principal
amount shall cease to accrue. Any Note paid or prepaid in full,
after such payment and upon the written request of the Company,
shall be surrendered to the Company and canceled and shall not be
reissued, and no Note shall be issued in lieu of any prepaid
principal amount of any Note.
The
Company will not and will not permit any Affiliate to purchase,
redeem, prepay or otherwise acquire, directly or indirectly, any of
the outstanding Notes of any series except upon the payment or
prepayment of such series of Notes in accordance with the terms of
this Agreement. The Company will promptly cancel all Notes acquired
by it or any Affiliate
22
pursuant to any payment,
prepayment or purchase of Notes pursuant to any provision of this
Agreement and no Notes may be issued in substitution or exchange
for any such Notes.
The
term “Make-Whole Amount” means, with respect to
any fixed rate Note, an amount equal to the excess, if any, of the
Discounted Value of the Remaining Scheduled Payments with respect
to the Called Principal of such Note over the amount of such Called
Principal, provided that the Make-Whole Amount may in no event be
less than zero. For the purposes of determining the Make-Whole
Amount, the following terms have the following meanings:
“Called
Principal” means, with respect to any fixed rate Note,
the principal of such Note that is to be prepaid pursuant to
Section 8.2 or has become or is declared to be immediately due
and payable pursuant to Section 12.1, as the context
requires.
“Discounted
Value” means, with respect to the Called Principal of any
fixed rate Note, the amount obtained by discounting all Remaining
Scheduled Payments with respect to such Called Principal from their
respective scheduled due dates to the Settlement Date with respect
to such Called Principal, in accordance with accepted financial
practice and at a discount factor (applied on the same periodic
basis as that on which interest on the Notes is payable) equal to
the Reinvestment Yield with respect to such Called Principal.
“Reinvestment
Yield” means, with respect to the Called Principal of any
fixed rate Note, .50% over the yield to maturity implied by
(i) the yields reported, as of 10:00 A.M. (New York City
time) on the second Business Day preceding the Settlement Date with
respect to such Called Principal, on the display designated as the
“PX Screen” on the Bloomberg Financial Market Service
(or such other display as may replace the PX Screen on Bloomberg
Financial Market Service) for actively traded U.S. Treasury
securities having a maturity equal to the Remaining Average Life of
such Called Principal as of such Settlement Date, or (ii) if
such yields are not reported as of such time or the yields reported
as of such time are not ascertainable, the Treasury Constant
Maturity Series Yields reported, for the latest day for which
such yields have been so reported as of the second Business Day
preceding the Settlement Date with respect to such Called
Principal, in Federal Reserve Statistical Release H.15 (519) (or
any comparable successor publication) for actively traded U.S.
Treasury securities having a constant maturity equal to the
Remaining Average Life of such Called Principal as of such
Settlement Date. Such implied yield will be determined, if
necessary, by (a) converting U.S. Treasury bill quotations to
bond-equivalent yields in accordance with accepted financial
practice and (b) interpolating linearly between (1) the
actively traded U.S. Treasury security with the maturity closest to
and greater than the Remaining Average Life and (2) the
actively traded U.S. Treasury security with the maturity closest to
and less than the Remaining Average Life.
“Remaining Average
Life” means, with respect to any Called Principal, the
number of years (calculated to the nearest one-twelfth year)
obtained by dividing (i) such
23
Called
Principal into (ii) the sum of the products obtained by
multiplying (a) the principal component of each Remaining
Scheduled Payment with respect to such Called Principal by (b) the
number of years (calculated to the nearest one-twelfth year) that
will elapse between the Settlement Date with respect to such Called
Principal and the scheduled due date of such Remaining Scheduled
Payment.
“Remaining Scheduled
Payments” means, with respect to the Called Principal of
any fixed rate Note, all payments of such Called Principal and
interest thereon that would be due after the Settlement Date with
respect to such Called Principal if no payment of such Called
Principal were made prior to its scheduled due date, provided that
if such Settlement Date is not a date on which interest payments
are due to be made under the terms of the Notes, then the amount of
the next succeeding scheduled interest payment will be reduced by
the amount of interest accrued to such Settlement Date and required
to be paid on such Settlement Date pursuant to Section 8.2 or
12.1.
“Settlement Date”
means, with respect to the Called Principal of any fixed rate Note,
the date on which such Called Principal is to be prepaid pursuant
to Section 8.2 or has become or is declared to be immediately
due and payable pursuant to Section 12.1, as the context
requires.
| 8.7. |
LIBOR Breakage Amount. |
The
term “LIBOR Breakage Amount” means any loss,
cost or expense reasonably incurred by any holder of a floating
rate Note as a result of any payment or prepayment of such Note
(whether voluntary, mandatory, automatic, by reason of acceleration
or otherwise) on a day other than an interest payment date or at
scheduled maturity thereof, and any loss or expense arising from
the liquidation or reemployment of funds obtained by such holder or
from fees payable to terminate the deposits from which such funds
were obtained. Any such loss, cost or expense shall be limited to
the time period from the date of such prepayment through the
earlier of the next interest payment date or the maturity of such
floating rate Note. Each holder of a floating rate Note shall
determine the LIBOR Breakage Amount with respect to the principal
amount of its floating rate Notes then being paid or prepaid (or
required to be paid or prepaid) by written notice to the Company
setting forth such determination in reasonable detail not less than
two Business Days prior to the date of prepayment. Each such
determination shall be conclusive absent manifest error.
| 9. |
AFFIRMATIVE COVENANTS. |
The
Company covenants that so long as any of the Notes are
outstanding:
| 9.1. |
Compliance with Law. |
The
Company will, and will cause each Subsidiary to, comply with all
laws, ordinances or governmental rules or regulations to which each
of them is subject, including ERISA, the USA Patriot Act and
Environmental Laws, and will obtain and maintain in effect all
licenses, certificates, permits, franchises and other governmental
authorizations necessary to the ownership of their respective
properties or to the conduct of their respective businesses, in
each
24
case to the extent
necessary to ensure that non-compliance with such laws, ordinances
or governmental rules or regulations or failures to obtain or
maintain in effect such licenses, certificates, permits, franchises
and other governmental authorizations could not, individually or in
the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse
Effect.
The
Company will, and will cause each Restricted Subsidiary to,
maintain, with financially sound and reputable insurers, insurance
with respect to their respective properties and businesses against
such casualties and contingencies, of such types, on such terms and
in such amounts (including deductibles, co-insurance and
self-insurance, if adequate reserves are maintained with respect
thereto) as is customary in the case of entities of established
reputations engaged in the same or a similar business and similarly
situated, except for any non-maintenance that could not,
individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a
Material Adverse Effect.
| 9.3. |
Maintenance of Properties. |
The
Company will and will cause each Restricted Subsidiary to maintain
and keep, or cause to be maintained and kept, their respective
properties in good repair, working order and condition (other than
ordinary wear and tear), so that the business carried on in
connection therewith may be properly conducted at all times,
provided that this Section shall not prevent the Company or any
Restricted Subsidiary from discontinuing the operation and the
maintenance of any of its properties if such discontinuance is
desirable in the conduct of its business and the Company has
concluded that such discontinuance could not, individually or in
the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse
Effect.
| 9.4. |
Payment of Taxes and Claims. |
The
Company will, and will cause each Subsidiary to, file all income
tax or similar tax returns required to be filed in any jurisdiction
and to pay and discharge all taxes shown to be due and payable on
such returns and all other taxes, assessments, governmental
charges, or levies imposed on them or any of their properties,
assets, income or franchises, to the extent such taxes and
assessments have become due and payable and before they have become
delinquent and all claims for which sums have become due and
payable that have or might become a Lien on properties or assets of
the Company or any Subsidiary, provided that neither the Company
nor any Subsidiary need pay any such tax or assessment or claims if
(i) the amount, applicability or validity thereof is contested
by the Company or such Subsidiary on a timely basis in good faith
and in appropriate proceedings, and the Company or a Subsidiary has
established adequate reserves therefor in accordance with GAAP on
the books of the Company or such Subsidiary or (ii) the
nonpayment of all such taxes and assessments in the aggregate could
not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
| 9.5. |
Corporate Existence, etc. |
Subject
to Section 10.7, the Company will at all times preserve and
keep in full force and effect its corporate existence. Subject to
Sections 10.6 and 10.7, inclusive, the
25
Company will at all times
preserve and keep in full force and effect the corporate existence
of each of its Restricted Subsidiaries (unless merged into the
Company or a Restricted Subsidiary) and all rights and franchises
of the Company and its Restricted Subsidiaries unless, in the good
faith judgment of the Company, the termination of or failure to
preserve and keep in full force and effect such corporate
existence, right or franchise could not, individually or in the
aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect.
| 9.6. |
Additional Subsidiary Guarantors. |
The
Company will cause any Subsidiary that (whether or not required by
the terms of the Credit Agreement) is to become a party to, or
guarantee, Debt in respect of the Credit Agreement, to enter into
the Subsidiary Guaranty concurrently therewith and as a part
thereof to deliver to each of the holders:
(a) a copy of an executed joinder to
the Subsidiary Guaranty;
(b) a certificate signed by a
Responsible Officer of the Company confirming the accuracy of the
representations and warranties in Sections 5.2, 5.6, 5.7 and
5.19, with respect to such Subsidiary and the Subsidiary Guaranty,
as applicable; and
(c) if a comparable opinion is
required by the Banks, an opinion of counsel (who may be counsel
for the Company) reasonably satisfactory to the Required Holders
addressed to each holder of the Notes to the effect that the
Subsidiary Guaranty of such Person has been duly authorized,
executed and delivered and that the Subsidiary Guaranty constitutes
the legal, valid and binding contract and agreement of such Person
enforceable in accordance with its terms, except as an enforcement
of such terms may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent
conveyance and similar laws affecting the enforcement of
creditors’ rights generally and by general equitable
principles.
The
Debt evidenced by the Notes will at all times rank at least pari
passu with all of the Company’s outstanding unsecured
Senior Debt.
The
Company will, and will cause each of its Subsidiaries to, maintain
proper books of record and account in conformity with GAAP (or, in
the case of foreign Subsidiaries, other applicable accounting
principles) and all applicable requirements of any Governmental
Authority having legal or regulatory jurisdiction over the Company
or such Subsidiary, as the case may be.
The
Company covenants that so long as any of the Notes are
outstanding:
26
| 10.1. |
Consolidated Net Worth. |
The
Company will not permit Consolidated Net Worth to be less than
$600,000,000 at any time.
| 10.2. |
Consolidated Net Debt. |
The
Company will not permit the ratio of Consolidated Net Debt (as of
the last day of the most recently completed fiscal quarter) to
Consolidated EBITDA (for the Company’s then most recently
completed four fiscal quarters) to be greater than 3.00 to 1.00 at
any time. If, during the period for which Consolidated EBITDA is
being calculated, the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary has (i)
acquired one or more Persons (or the assets thereof) or
(ii) disposed of one or more Restricted Subsidiaries (or
substantially all of the assets thereof), Consolidated EBITDA shall
be calculated on a pro forma basis as if all of such acquisitions
(other than acquisitions by or resulting in Unrestricted
Subsidiaries) and all such dispositions had occurred on the first
day of such period.
| 10.3. |
Fixed Charge Coverage. |
The
Company will not permit the ratio (calculated as of the end of each
fiscal quarter) of Consolidated EBITDAR to Consolidated Fixed
Charges for the period of four quarters ending as of each fiscal
quarter to be less than 1.50 to 1.00.
The
Company will not permit Priority Debt at any time to exceed 20% of
Consolidated Net Worth (as of the end of the most recently
completed fiscal quarter).
The
Company will not, and will not permit any Restricted Subsidiary to,
permit to exist, create, assume or incur, directly or indirectly,
any Lien on its properties or assets, whether now owned or
hereafter acquired, except:
(a) Liens for taxes, assessments or
governmental charges not then due and delinquent or the nonpayment
of which is permitted by Section 9.4;
(b) Liens incidental to the conduct
of business or the ownership of properties and assets (including
landlords’, lessors’, carriers’,
warehousemen’s, mechanics’, materialmen’s and
other similar Liens) and Liens to secure the performance of bids,
tenders, leases or trade contracts, or to secure statutory
obligations (including obligations under workers compensation,
unemployment insurance and other social security legislation),
surety or appeal bonds or other Liens of like general nature
incurred in the ordinary course of business and not in connection
with the borrowing of money;
(c) any attachment or judgment Lien,
unless the judgment it secures has not, within 60 days after the
entry thereof, been discharged or execution thereof stayed
27
pending
appeal, or has not been discharged within 60 days after the
expiration of any such stay;
(d) Liens securing Debt of a
Restricted Subsidiary to the Company or to a Wholly Owned
Restricted Subsidiary;
(e) Liens securing Debt existing on
property or assets of the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary as
of the date of this Agreement that are described in
Schedule 10.4;
(f) encumbrances in the nature of
leases, subleases, zoning restrictions, easements, rights of way,
minor survey exceptions and other rights and restrictions of record
on the use of real property and defects in title arising or
incurred in the ordinary course of business, which, individually
and in the aggregate, do not materially impair the use or value of
the property or assets subject thereto or which relate only to
assets that in the aggregate are not material;
(g) Liens (i) existing on
property at the time of its acquisition by the Company or a
Restricted Subsidiary and not created in contemplation thereof,
whether or not the Debt secured by such Lien is assumed by the
Company or a Restricted Subsidiary; or (ii) on property
created contemporaneously with its acquisition or within
365 days of the acquisition or completion of construction
thereof to secure or provide for all or a portion of the purchase
price or cost of construction of such property after the date of
Closing; or (iii) existing on property of a Person at the time
such Person is merged or consolidated with, or becomes a Restricted
Subsidiary of, or substantially all of its assets are acquired by,
the Company or a Restricted Subsidiary and not created in
contemplation thereof; provided that in the case of clauses (i),
(ii) and (iii) such Liens do not extend to additional
property of the Company or any Restricted Subsidiary (other than
property that is an improvement to or is acquired for specific use
in connection with the subject property) and, in the case of clause
(ii) only, that the aggregate principal amount of Debt secured
by each such Lien does not exceed the lesser of cost of acquisition
or construction or the fair market value (determined in good faith
by one or more officers of the Company to whom authority to enter
into the transaction has been delegated by the board of directors
of the Company) of the property subject thereto;
(h) Liens resulting from extensions,
renewals or replacements of Liens permitted by paragraphs
(e) and (g), provided that (i) there is no increase in
the principal amount or decrease in maturity of the Debt secured
thereby at the time of such extension, renewal or replacement,
(ii) any new Lien attaches only to the same property
theretofore subject to such earlier Lien and (iii) immediately
after such extension, renewal or replacement no Default or Event of
Default would exist; and
(i) Liens securing Debt not otherwise
permitted by paragraphs (a) through (h) above, provided
that Priority Debt does not at any time exceed 20% of Consolidated
Net Worth (as of the end of the most recently ended fiscal
quarter).
28
Except
as permitted by Section 10.7, the Company will not, and will
not permit any Restricted Subsidiary to, sell, lease, transfer or
otherwise dispose of, including by way of merger (collectively a
“Disposition”), any assets, including capital stock of
Restricted Subsidiaries, in one or a series of transactions, to any
Person, other than:
(a) Dispositions in the ordinary
course of business;
(b) Dispositions by the Company to a
Wholly Owned Restricted Subsidiary or by a Restricted Subsidiary to
the Company or a Wholly Owned Restricted Subsidiary; or
(c) Dispositions not otherwise
permitted by Section 10.6(a) or (b), provided that:
(i) each such Disposition is made in
an arm’s length transaction for a consideration at least
equal to the fair market value of the property subject thereto;
(ii) the aggregate net book value of
all assets disposed of in any period of 365 consecutive days
pursuant to this Section 10.6(c) does not exceed 10% of
Consolidated Total Assets as of the end of the immediately
preceding fiscal quarter; and
(iii) at the time of such Disposition
and after giving effect thereto no Default or Event of Default
shall have occurred and be continuing.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company may, or may permit any
Restricted Subsidiary to, make a Disposition and the assets subject
to such Disposition shall not be subject to or included in the
foregoing limitation and computation contained in
Section 10.6(c)(ii) of the preceding sentence to the extent
that (i) each such Disposition is for a consideration at least
equal to the fair market value of the property subject thereto, and
(ii) the net proceeds from such Disposition are within
365 days of such Disposition (A) reinvested in productive
assets used or useful in carrying on the business of the Company
and its Restricted Subsidiaries or (B) applied to the payment
or prepayment of any outstanding Debt of the Company or any
Restricted Subsidiary that is pari passu with or senior to
the Notes, including the Notes. Any prepayment of Notes pursuant to
this Section 10.6 shall be in accordance with
Sections 8.2 and 8.3, without regard to the minimum prepayment
requirements of Section 8.2.
| 10.7. |
Mergers, Consolidations, etc. |
The
Company will not, and will not permit any Restricted Subsidiary to,
consolidate with or merge with any other Person or convey,
transfer, sell or lease all or substantially all of its assets in a
single transaction or series of transactions to any Person except
that:
29
(a) the Company may consolidate or
merge with any other Person or convey, transfer, sell or lease all
or substantially all of its assets in a single transaction or
series of transactions to any Person, provided that:
(i) the successor formed by such
consolidation or the survivor of such merger or the Person that
acquires by conveyance, transfer, sale or lease all or
substantially all of the assets of the Company as an entirety, as
the case may be, is a solvent corporation organized and existing
under the laws of the United States or any state thereof (including
the District of Columbia), and, if the Company is not such
corporation, such corporation (y) shall have executed and
delivered to each holder of any Notes its assumption of the due and
punctual performance and observance of each covenant and condition
of this Agreement and the Notes and (z) shall have caused to be
delivered to each holder of any Notes an opinion of independent
counsel reasonably satisfactory to the Required Holders, to the
effect that all agreements or instruments effecting such assumption
are enforceable in accordance with their terms and comply with the
terms hereof; and
(ii) immediately before and after
giving effect to such transaction, no Default or Event of Default
shall exist; and
(b) Any Restricted Subsidiary may
(x) merge into the Company (provided that the Company is the
surviving corporation) or a Wholly Owned Restricted Subsidiary or
(y) sell, transfer or lease all or any part of its assets to
the Company or a Wholly Owned Restricted Subsidiary, or
(z) merge or consolidate with, or sell, transfer or lease all
or substantially all of its assets to, any Person in a transaction
that is permitted by Section 10.6 or, as a result of which, such
Person becomes a Restricted Subsidiary; provided in each instance
set forth in clauses (x) through (z) that, immediately
before and after giving effect thereto, there shall exist no
Default or Event of Default;
No such conveyance,
transfer, sale or lease of all or substantially all of the assets
of the Company shall have the effect of releasing the Company or
any successor corporation that shall theretofore have become such
in the manner prescribed in this Section 10.7 from its
liability under this Agreement or the Notes.
| 10.8. |
Disposition of Stock of Restricted Subsidiaries. |
(a) The Company will not permit any
Restricted Subsidiary to issue its capital stock, or any warrants,
rights or options to purchase, or securities convertible into or
exchangeable for, such capital stock, to any Person other than the
Company or a Wholly Owned Restricted Subsidiary, except
(i) for directors’ qualifying shares or (ii) to
satisfy local ownership requirements.
(b) The Company will not, and will
not permit any Restricted Subsidiary to, sell, transfer or
otherwise dispose of any shares of capital stock of a Restricted
Subsidiary if such sale would be prohibited by Section 10.6,
except (i) for directors’ qualifying shares or
(ii) to satisfy local ownership requirements.
30
(c) If a Restricted Subsidiary at any
time ceases to be such as a result of a sale or issuance of its
capital stock, any Liens on property of the Company or any other
Restricted Subsidiary securing Debt owed to such Restricted
Subsidiary, which is not contemporaneously repaid, together with
such Debt, shall be deemed to have been incurred by the Company or
such other Restricted Subsidiary, as the case may be, at the time
such Restricted Subsidiary ceases to be a Restricted
Subsidiary.
| 10.9. |
Designation of Restricted and Unrestricted
Subsidiaries. |
The
Company may designate any Restricted Subsidiary as an Unrestricted
Subsidiary and any Unrestricted Subsidiary as a Restricted
Subsidiary; provided that,
(a) if such Subsidiary initially is
designated a Restricted Subsidiary, then such Restricted Subsidiary
may be subsequently designated as an Unrestricted Subsidiary and
such Unrestricted Subsidiary may be subsequently designated as a
Restricted Subsidiary, but no further changes in designation may be
made;
(b) if such Subsidiary initially is
designated an Unrestricted Subsidiary, then such Unrestricted
Subsidiary may be subsequently designated as a Restricted
Subsidiary and such Restricted Subsidiary may be subsequently
designated as an Unrestricted Subsidiary, but no further changes in
designation may be made;
(c) the Company may not designate a
Restricted Subsidiary as an Unrestricted Subsidiary unless:
(i) such Restricted Subsidiary does not own, directly or
indirectly, any Debt or capital stock of the Company or any other
Restricted Subsidiary, (ii) such designation, considered as a
sale of assets, is permitted pursuant to Sections 10.6 and
10.7, (iii) immediately before and after such designation there
exists no Default or Event of Default; and
(d) a Subsidiary Guarantor may not be
designated an Unrestricted Subsidiary.
| 10.10. |
Transactions with Affiliates. |
The
Company will not and will not permit any Restricted Subsidiary to
enter into directly or indirectly any Material transaction or
Material group of related transactions (including without
limitation the purchase, lease, sale or exchange of properties of
any kind or the rendering of any service) with any Affiliate (other
than the Company or another Restricted Subsidiary), except in the
ordinary course of the Company’s or such Restricted
Subsidiary’s business and upon fair and reasonable terms no
less favorable to the Company or such Restricted Subsidiary than
would be obtainable in a comparable arm’s-length transaction
with a Person not an Affiliate.
An
“Event of Default” shall exist if any of the following
conditions or events shall occur and be continuing:
31
(a) the Company defaults in the
payment of any principal, Make-Whole Amount, if any, prepayment
premium, if any, or LBOR Breakage amount, if any, on any Note when
the same becomes due and payable, whether at maturity or at a date
fixed for prepayment or by declaration or otherwise; or
(b) the Company defaults in the
payment of any interest on any Note for more than five Business
Days after the same becomes due and payable; or
(c) the Company defaults in the
performance of or compliance with any term contained in
Section 7.1(e) or Sections 10.1 through 10.10; or
(d) the Company defaults in the
performance of or compliance with any term contained herein (other
than those referred to in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of
this Section 11) and such default is not remedied within
30 days after the earlier of (i) a Responsible Officer
obtaining actual knowledge of such default and (ii) the
Company receiving written notice of such default from any holder of
a Note; or
(e) any representation or warranty
made in writing by or on behalf of the Company or any Subsidiary
Guarantor or by any officer of the Company or a Subsidiary
Guarantor in this Agreement, the Subsidiary Guaranty or in any
writing furnished in connection with the transactions contemplated
hereby or thereby proves to have been false or incorrect in any
material respect on the date as of which made; or
(f) (i) the Company or any
Restricted Subsidiary is in default (as principal or as guarantor
or other surety) in the payment of any principal of or premium or
make-whole amount or interest (in an amount of at least $100,000)
on any Debt that is outstanding in an aggregate principal amount of
at least $10,000,000 beyond any period of grace provided with
respect thereto, or (ii) the Company or any Restricted
Subsidiary is in default in the performance of or compliance with
any term of any evidence of any Debt that is outstanding in an
aggregate principal amount of at least $10,000,000 or of any
mortgage, indenture or other agreement relating thereto or any
other condition exists, and as a consequence of such default or
condition such Debt has become, or has been declared, due and
payable before its stated maturity or before its regularly
scheduled dates of payment, or (iii) as a consequence of the
occurrence or continuation of any event or condition (other than
the passage of time or the right of the holder of Debt to convert
such Debt into equity interests), the Company or any Restricted
Subsidiary has become obligated to purchase or repay Debt before
its regular maturity or before its regularly scheduled dates of
payment in an aggregate outstanding principal amount of at least
$10,000,000; or
(g) the Company or any Material
Subsidiary (i) is generally not paying, or admits in writing
its inability to pay, its debts as they become due,
(ii) files, or consents by answer or otherwise to the filing
against it of, a petition for relief or reorganization or
arrangement or any other petition in bankruptcy, for liquidation or
to take advantage of any bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization,
moratorium or other similar law of any jurisdiction,
(iii) makes an assignment for the benefit of its creditors,
(iv) consents to the appointment of a custodian, receiver,
trustee or other officer with similar powers with
32
respect to
it or with respect to any substantial part of its property,
(v) is adjudicated as insolvent or to be liquidated, or
(vi) takes corporate action for the purpose of any of the
foregoing; or
(h) a court or governmental authority
of competent jurisdiction enters an order appointing, without
consent by the Company or any Material Subsidiary, a custodian,
receiver, trustee or other officer with similar powers with respect
to it or with respect to any substantial part of its property, or
constituting an order for relief or approving a petition for relief
or reorganization or any other petition in bankruptcy or for
liquidation or to take advantage of any bankruptcy or insolvency
law of any jurisdiction, or ordering the dissolution, winding-up or
liquidation of the Company or any Material Subsidiary, or any such
petition shall be filed against the Company or any Material
Subsidiary and such petition shall not be dismissed within
60 days; or
(i) a final judgment or judgments for
the payment of money aggregating at least $10,000,000 are rendered
against one or more of the Company and its Restricted Subsidiaries,
which judgments are not, within 60 days after entry thereof,
bonded, discharged, dismissed or stayed pending appeal, or are not
discharged within 60 days after the expiration of such stay;
or
(j) if (i) any Plan shall fail
to satisfy the minimum funding standards of ERISA or the Code for
any plan year or part thereof or a waiver of such standards or
extension of any amortization period is sought or granted under
section 412 of the Code, (ii) a notice of intent to terminate
any Plan shall have been or is reasonably expected to be filed with
the PBGC or the PBGC shall have instituted proceedings under ERISA
section 4042 to terminate or appoint a trustee to administer any
Plan or the PBGC shall have notified the Company or any ERISA
Affiliate that a Plan may become a subject of any such proceedings,
(iii) the aggregate “amount of unfunded benefit
liabilities” (within the meaning of section 4001(a)(18) of
ERISA) under all Plans determined in accordance with Title IV of
ERISA, shall be at least $5,000,000, (iv) the Company or any
ERISA Affiliate shall have incurred or is reasonably expected to
incur any liability pursuant to Title I or IV of ERISA or the
penalty or excise tax provisions of the Code relating to employee
benefit plans, (v) the Company or any ERISA Affiliate
withdraws from any Multiemployer Plan, or (vi) the Company or
any Subsidiary establishes or amends any employee welfare benefit
plan that provides post-employment welfare benefits in a manner
that would increase the liability of the Company or any Subsidiary
thereunder; and any such event or events described in clauses (i)
through (vi) above, either individually or together with any
other such event or events, could reasonably be expected to have a
Material Adverse Effect; or
(k) the Subsidiary Guaranty ceases to
be in full force and effect as a result of acts taken by the
Company or any Subsidiary Guarantor (except as provided in
Section 1.3(b)) or is declared to be null and void in whole or
in material part by a court or other governmental or regulatory
authority having jurisdiction or the validity or enforceability
thereof shall be contested by any of the Company or any Subsidiary
Guarantor or any of them renounces any of the same or denies that
it has any or further liability thereunder.
33
As used in
Section 11(j), the terms “employee benefit plan”
and “employee welfare benefit plan” shall have the
respective meanings assigned to such terms in Section 3 of
ERISA.
| 12. |
REMEDIES ON DEFAULT, ETC. |
(a) If an Event of Default with
respect to the Company described in paragraph (g) or
(h) of Section 11 (other than an Event of Default
described in clause (i) of paragraph (g) or described in
clause (vi) of paragraph (g) by virtue of the fact that
such clause encompasses clause (i) of paragraph (g)) has
occurred, all the Notes then outstanding shall automatically become
immediately due and payable.
(b) If any other Event of Default has
occurred and is continuing, holders of a majority or more in
principal amount of the Notes at the time outstanding may at any
time at its or their option, by notice or notices to the Company,
declare all the Notes then outstanding to be immediately due and
payable.
(c) If any Event of Default described
in paragraph (a) or (b) of Section 11 has occurred
and is continuing, any holder or holders of Notes at the time
outstanding affected by such Event of Default may at any time, at
its or their option, by notice or notices to the Company, declare
all the Notes held by it or them to be immediately due and
payable.
Upon
any Notes becoming due and payable under this Section 12.1,
whether automatically or by declaration, such Notes will forthwith
mature and the entire unpaid principal amount of such Notes, plus
(w) all accrued and unpaid interest thereon, (x) any
applicable Make-Whole Amount determined in respect of such
principal amount (to the full extent permitted by applicable law),
(y) any applicable prepayment premium (to the full extent
permitted by applicable law), and (z) any LIBOR Breakage
Amount determined in respect of such principal amount, shall all be
immediately due and payable, in each and every case without
presentment, demand, protest or further notice, all of which are
hereby waived. The Company acknowledges, and the parties hereto
agree, that each holder of a Note has the right to maintain its
investment in the Notes free from repayment by the Company (except
as herein specifically provided for) and that the provision for
payment of a Make-Whole Amount, prepayment premium or LIBOR
Breakage Amount by the Company, if any, in the event that the Notes
are prepaid or are accelerated as a result of an Event of Default,
is intended to provide compensation for the deprivation of such
right under such circumstances.
If any
Default or Event of Default has occurred and is continuing, and
irrespective of whether any Notes have become or have been declared
immediately due and payable under Section 12.1, the holder of
any Note at the time outstanding may proceed to protect and enforce
the rights of such holder by an action at law, suit in equity or
other appropriate proceeding, whether for the specific performance
of any agreement contained herein or in any Note, or for an
34
injunction against a
violation of any of the terms hereof or thereof, or in aid of the
exercise of any power granted hereby or thereby or by law or
otherwise.
12.3.
Rescission.
At any
time after any Notes have been declared due and payable pursuant to
clause (b) or (c) of Section 12.1, the holders of more
than 50% in principal amount of the Notes then outstanding, by
written notice to the Company, may rescind and annul any such
declaration and its consequences if (a) the Company has paid
all overdue interest on the Notes, all principal of and any
applicable Make-Whole Amount, prepayment premium and LIBOR Breakage
Amount on any Notes that are due and payable and are unpaid other
than by reason of such declaration, and all interest on such
overdue principal and any Make-Whole Amount, prepayment premium and
LIBOR Breakage Amount and (to the extent permitted by applicable
law) any overdue interest in respect of the Notes, at the Default
Rate, (b) all Events of Default and Defaults, other than
non-payment of amounts that have become due solely by reason of
such declaration, have been cured or have been waived pursuant to
Section 17, and (c) no judgment or decree has been entered for
the payment of any monies due pursuant hereto or to the Notes. No
rescission and annulment under this Section 12.3 will extend
to or affect any subsequent Event of Default or Default or impair
any right consequent thereon.
12.4. No Waivers or
Election of Remedies, Expenses, etc.
No
course of dealing and no delay on the part of any holder of any
Note in exercising any right, power or remedy shall operate as a
waiver thereof or otherwise prejudice such holder’s rights,
powers or remedies. No right, power or remedy conferred by this
Agreement or by any Note upon any holder thereof shall be exclusive
of any other right, power or remedy referred to herein or therein
or now or hereafter available at law, in equity, by statute or
otherwise. Without limiting the obligations of the Company under
Section 15, the Company will pay to the holder of each Note on
demand such further amount as shall be sufficient to cover all
costs and expenses of such holder incurred in any enforcement or
collection under this Section 12, including reasonable
attorneys’ fees, expenses and disbursements.
13. REGISTRATION;
EXCHANGE; SUBSTITUTION OF NOTES.
13.1. Registration of
Notes.
The
Company shall keep at its principal executive office a register for
the registration and registration of transfers of Notes. The name
and address of each holder of one or more Notes, each transfer
thereof and the name and address of each transferee of one or more
Notes shall be registered in such register. Prior to due
presentment for registration of transfer, the Person in whose name
any Note shall be registered shall be deemed and treated as the
owner and holder thereof for all purposes hereof, and the Company
shall not be affected by any notice or knowledge to the contrary.
The Company shall give to any holder of a Note that is an
Institutional Investor, promptly upon request therefor, a complete
and correct copy of the names and addresses of all registered
holders of Notes.
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13.2. Transfer and
Exchange of Notes.
Upon
surrender of any Note at the principal executive office of the
Company for registration of transfer or exchange (and in the case
of a surrender for registration of transfer, duly endorsed or
accompanied by a written instrument of transfer duly executed by
the registered holder of such Note or his attorney duly authorized
in writing and accompanied by the address for notices of each
transferee of such Note or part thereof), the Company shall execute
and deliver, at the Company’s expense (except as provided
below), one or more new Notes (as requested by the holder thereof)
of the same series and tranche in exchange therefor, in an
aggregate principal amount equal to the unpaid principal amount of
the surrendered Note. Each such new Note shall be payable to such
Person as such holder may request and shall be substantially in the
form of Exhibit 1.1(a) or 1(b), as appropriate. Each such new
Note shall be dated and bear interest from the date to which
interest shall have been paid on the surrendered Note or dated the
date of the surrendered Note if no interest shall have been paid
thereon. The Company may require payment of a sum sufficient to
cover any stamp tax or governmental charge imposed in respect of
any such transfer of Notes. Notes shall not be transferred in
denominations of less than $500,000, provided that if necessary to
enable the registration of transfer by a holder of its entire
holding of Notes, one Note may be in a denomination of less than
$500,000. Any transferee, by its acceptance of a Note registered in
its name (or the name of its nominee), shall be deemed to have made
the representation set forth in Section 6.2.
13.3. Replacement of
Notes.
Upon
receipt by the Company of evidence reasonably satisfactory to it of
the ownership of and the loss, theft, destruction or mutilation of
any Note (which evidence shall be, in the case of an Institutional
Investor, notice from such Institutional Investor of such ownership
and such loss, theft, destruction or mutilation), and
(a) in the case of loss, theft or
destruction, of indemnity reasonably satisfactory to it (provided
that if the holder of such Note is, or is a nominee for, an
original Purchaser or another Institutional Investor holder of a
Note with a minimum net worth of at least $50,000,000 or a
Qualified Institutional Buyer, such Person’s own unsecured
agreement of indemnity shall be deemed to be satisfactory), or
(b) in the case of mutilation, upon
surrender and cancellation thereof,
the Company at its own
expense shall execute and deliver, in lieu thereof, a new Note of
the same series and tranche, dated and bearing interest from the
date to which interest shall have been paid on such lost, stolen,
destroyed or mutilated Note or dated the date of such lost, stolen,
destroyed or mutilated Note if no interest shall have been paid
thereon.
14. PAYMENTS ON
NOTES.
14.1. Place of
Payment.
Subject
to Section 14.2, payments of principal, Make-Whole Amount, if
any, prepayment premium, if any, LIBOR Breakage Amount, if any, and
interest becoming due and
36
payable on the Notes shall
be made in Chicago, Illinois at the principal office of Bank of
America in such jurisdiction. The Company may at any time, by
notice to each holder of a Note, change the place of payment of the
Notes so long as such place of payment shall be either the
principal office of the Company in such jurisdiction or the
principal office of a bank or trust company in such
jurisdiction.
14.2. Home Office
Payment.
So long
as you or your nominee shall be the holder of any Note, and
notwithstanding anything
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