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MASTER NOTE PURCHASE AGREEMENT

Note Purchase Agreement

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REGIS CORP

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Title: MASTER NOTE PURCHASE AGREEMENT
Governing Law: Illinois     Date: 4/12/2005
Industry: Personal Services     Sector: Services

MASTER NOTE PURCHASE AGREEMENT, Parties: regis corp
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EXHIBIT 99.2

 

 

 

 

 

EXECUTION COPY

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

Series A, Tranche 1, PPN: 758932 F# 9

 

 

Series A, Tranche 2, PPN: 758932 G* 2

 

 

Series B, Tranche 1, PPN: 758932 G@ 0

 

 

Series B, Tranche 2, PPN: 758932 G# 8

 


 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Section

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Page

1.

 

AUTHORIZATION OF NOTES

 

 

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.1.

 

 

Description of Notes

 

 

1

 

 

 

 

1.2.

 

 

Additional Series of Notes

 

 

2

 

 

 

 

1.3.

 

 

Subsidiary Guaranty; Release

 

 

2

 

 

 

 

1.4.

 

 

Floating Interest Rate Provisions for Floating Rate Notes

 

 

3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.

 

SALE AND PURCHASE OF NOTES

 

 

4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.

 

CLOSING

 

 

4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4.

 

CONDITIONS TO CLOSING

 

 

5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4.1.

 

 

Representations and Warranties

 

 

5

 

 

 

 

4.2.

 

 

Performance; No Default

 

 

5

 

 

 

 

4.3.

 

 

Compliance Certificates

 

 

5

 

 

 

 

4.4.

 

 

Opinions of Counsel

 

 

6

 

 

 

 

4.5.

 

 

Purchase Permitted By Applicable Law, etc.

 

 

6

 

 

 

 

4.6.

 

 

Sale of Other Notes

 

 

6

 

 

 

 

4.7.

 

 

Payment of Special Counsel Fees

 

 

6

 

 

 

 

4.8.

 

 

Private Placement Numbers

 

 

6

 

 

 

 

4.9.

 

 

Changes in Corporate Structure

 

 

7

 

 

 

 

4.10.

 

 

Subsidiary Guaranty

 

 

7

 

 

 

 

4.11.

 

 

Intercreditor Agreement

 

 

7

 

 

 

 

4.12.

 

 

Funding Instructions

 

 

7

 

 

 

 

4.13.

 

 

Proceedings and Documents

 

 

7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5.

 

REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE COMPANY

 

 

7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5.1.

 

 

Organization; Power and Authority

 

 

7

 

 

 

 

5.2.

 

 

Authorization, etc.

 

 

8

 

 

 

 

5.3.

 

 

Disclosure

 

 

8

 

 

 

 

5.4.

 

 

Organization and Ownership of Shares of Subsidiaries; Affiliates

 

 

9

 

 

 

 

5.5.

 

 

Financial Statements

 

 

9

 

 

 

 

5.6.

 

 

Compliance with Laws, Other Instruments, etc.

 

 

10

 

 

 

 

5.7.

 

 

Governmental Authorizations, etc.

 

 

10

 

 

 

 

5.8.

 

 

Litigation; Observance of Statutes and Orders

 

 

10

 

 

 

 

5.9.

 

 

Taxes

 

 

11

 

 

 

 

5.10.

 

 

Title to Property; Leases

 

 

11

 

 

 

 

5.11.

 

 

Licenses, Permits, etc.

 

 

11

 

 

 

 

5.12.

 

 

Compliance with ERISA

 

 

12

 

 

 

 

5.13.

 

 

Private Offering by the Company

 

 

13

 

 

 

 

5.14.

 

 

Use of Proceeds; Margin Regulations

 

 

13

 

 

 

 

5.15.

 

 

Existing Debt

 

 

13

 

 

 

 

5.16.

 

 

Foreign Assets Control Regulations, etc.

 

 

14

 

 i

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Section

 

 

 

 

 

Page

 

 

 5.17.

 

Status under Certain Statutes

 

 

14

 

 

 

 5.18.

 

Environmental Matters

 

 

14

 

 

 

 5.19.

 

Solvency of Subsidiary Guarantors

 

 

15

 

 

 

 5.20.

 

Pari Passu Ranking

 

 

15

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6.

 

 REPRESENTATIONS OF THE PURCHASERS

 

 

15

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 6.1.

 

Purchase for Investment

 

 

15

 

 

 

 6.2.

 

Source of Funds

 

 

15

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7.

 

 INFORMATION AS TO COMPANY

 

 

17

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 7.1.

 

Financial and Business Information

 

 

17

 

 

 

 7.2.

 

Officer’s Certificate

 

 

20

 

 

 

 7.3.

 

Visitation

 

 

20

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8.

 

 PREPAYMENT OF THE NOTES

 

 

21

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 8.1.

 

No Scheduled Prepayments

 

 

21

 

 

 

 8.2.

 

Optional Prepayments

 

 

21

 

 

 

 8.3.

 

Allocation of Partial Prepayments

 

 

22

 

 

 

 8.4.

 

Maturity; Surrender, etc.

 

 

22

 

 

 

 8.5.

 

Purchase of Notes

 

 

22

 

 

 

 8.6.

 

Make-Whole Amount

 

 

23

 

 

 

 8.7.

 

LIBOR Breakage Amount

 

 

24

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9.

 

 AFFIRMATIVE COVENANTS

 

 

24

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 9.1.

 

Compliance with Law

 

 

24

 

 

 

 9.2.

 

Insurance

 

 

25

 

 

 

 9.3.

 

Maintenance of Properties

 

 

25

 

 

 

 9.4.

 

Payment of Taxes and Claims

 

 

25

 

 

 

 9.5.

 

Corporate Existence, etc.

 

 

25

 

 

 

 9.6.

 

Additional Subsidiary Guarantors

 

 

26

 

 

 

 9.7.

 

Ranking

 

 

26

 

 

 

 9.8.

 

Books and Records

 

 

26

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10.

 

 NEGATIVE COVENANTS

 

 

26

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 10.1.

 

Consolidated Net Worth

 

 

27

 

 

 

 10.2.

 

Consolidated Net Debt

 

 

27

 

 

 

 10.3.

 

Fixed Charge Coverage

 

 

27

 

 

 

 10.4.

 

Priority Debt

 

 

27

 

 

 

 10.5.

 

Liens

 

 

27

 

 

 

 10.6.

 

Sale of Assets

 

 

29

 

 

 

 10.7.

 

Mergers, Consolidations, etc.

 

 

29

 

 

 

 10.8.

 

Disposition of Stock of Restricted Subsidiaries

 

 

30

 

 

 

 10.9.

 

Designation of Restricted and Unrestricted Subsidiaries

 

 

31

 

 

 

 10.10.

 

Transactions with Affiliates

 

 

31

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11.

 

 EVENTS OF DEFAULT

 

 

31

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12.

 

 REMEDIES ON DEFAULT, ETC.

 

 

34

 

 ii

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Section

 

 

 

 

 

Page

 

 

 12.1.

 

Acceleration

 

 

34

 

 

 

 12.2.

 

Other Remedies

 

 

34

 

 

 

 12.3.

 

Rescission

 

 

35

 

 

 

 12.4.

 

No Waivers or Election of Remedies, Expenses, etc.

 

 

35

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

13.

 

 REGISTRATION; EXCHANGE; SUBSTITUTION OF NOTES

 

 

35

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 13.1.

 

Registration of Notes

 

 

35

 

 

 

 13.2.

 

Transfer and Exchange of Notes

 

 

36

 

 

 

 13.3.

 

Replacement of Notes

 

 

36

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

14.

 

 PAYMENTS ON NOTES

 

 

36

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 14.1.

 

Place of Payment

 

 

36

 

 

 

 14.2.

 

Home Office Payment

 

 

37

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

15.

 

 EXPENSES, ETC.

 

 

37

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 15.1.

 

Transaction Expenses

 

 

37

 

 

 

 15.2.

 

Survival

 

 

38

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

16.

 

 SURVIVAL OF REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES; ENTIRE AGREEMENT

 

 

38

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

17.

 

 AMENDMENT AND WAIVER

 

 

38

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 17.1.

 

Requirements

 

 

38

 

 

 

 17.2.

 

Solicitation of Holders of Notes

 

 

38

 

 

 

 17.3.

 

Binding Effect, etc.

 

 

39

 

 

 

 17.4.

 

Notes held by Company, etc.

 

 

39

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

18.

 

 NOTICES

 

 

39

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

19.

 

 REPRODUCTION OF DOCUMENTS

 

 

40

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

20.

 

 CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

 

 

40

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

21.

 

 SUBSTITUTION OF PURCHASER

 

 

41

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

22.

 

 MISCELLANEOUS

 

 

42

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 22.1.

 

Successors and Assigns

 

 

42

 

 

 

 22.2.

 

Payments Due on Non-Business Days

 

 

42

 

 

 

 22.3.

 

Accounting Terms

 

 

42

 

 

 

 22.4.

 

Severability

 

 

42

 

 

 

 22.5.

 

Construction

 

 

42

 

 

 

 22.6.

 

Counterparts

 

 

43

 

 

 

 22.7.

 

Governing Law

 

 

43

 

 

 

 22.8.

 

Jurisdiction and Process; Waiver of Jury Trial

 

 

43

 

 iii

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

SCHEDULE A

 

 

Information Relating to Purchasers

SCHEDULE B

 

 

Defined Terms

 

 

 

 

 

SCHEDULE 4.9

 

 

Changes in Corporate Structure

SCHEDULE 5.3

 

 

Disclosure Materials

SCHEDULE 5.4

 

 

Subsidiaries; Affiliates

SCHEDULE 5.5

 

 

Financial Statements

SCHEDULE 5.14

 

 

Use of Proceeds

SCHEDULE 5.15

 

 

Existing Debt

SCHEDULE 10.4

 

 

Liens

 

 

 

 

 

EXHIBIT 1.1(a)

 

 

Form of Series 2005-A, Tranche 1, Senior Note

EXHIBIT 1.1(b)

 

 

Form of Series 2005-A, Tranche 2, Senior Note

EXHIBIT 1.1(c)

 

 

Form of Series 2005-B, Tranche 1, Senior Note

EXHIBIT 1.1(d)

 

 

Form of Series 2005-B, Tranche 2, Senior Note

EXHIBIT 1.2

 

 

Form of Supplement

EXHIBIT 1.3

 

 

Form of Subsidiary Guaranty

EXHIBIT 4.4(a)

 

 

Form of Opinion of Counsel for the Company

EXHIBIT 4.4(b)

 

 

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

 

TO EACH OF THE PURCHASERS LISTED IN
THE ATTACHED SCHEDULE A:

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.

3.   

CLOSING.

          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.

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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.

5.2.   

Authorization, etc.

          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).

5.3.   

Disclosure.

          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.

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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.

5.9.   

Taxes.

          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.

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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.

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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.

5.15.   

Existing Debt.

     (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.

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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.

6.2.   

Source of Funds.

          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.

7.3.   

Visitation.

          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.

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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.

8.5.   

Purchase of Notes.

          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

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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.

8.6.   

Make-Whole Amount.

          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.

9.2.   

Insurance.

          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.

9.7.   

Ranking.

          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.

9.8.   

Books and Records.

          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.

10.   

NEGATIVE COVENANTS.

          The Company covenants that so long as any of the Notes are outstanding:

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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.

10.4.   

Priority Debt.

          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).

10.5.   

Liens.

          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).

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10.6.   

Sale of Assets.

          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:

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     (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.

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     (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.

11.   

EVENTS OF DEFAULT.

          An “Event of Default” shall exist if any of the following conditions or events shall occur and be continuing:

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     (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

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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.

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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.

 

12.1.   

Acceleration.

     (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.

12.2.   

Other Remedies.

          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

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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 contained in Section 14.1 or in such Note to the contrary, the Company will pay all sums becoming due on such Note for principal, Make-Whole Amount, if any, prepayment premium, if any, LIBOR Breakage Amount, if any, and interest by the method and at the address specified for such purpose below your name in Schedule A, or by such other method or at such other address as you shall have from time to time specified to the Company in writing for such purpose, without the presentation or surrender of such Note or the making of any notation thereon, except that upon written request of the Company made concurrently with or reasonably promptly after payment or prepayment in full of any Note, you shall surrender such Note for cancellation, reasonably promptly after any such request, to the Company at its principal executive office or at


 
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