Exhibit 10.3
July 22, 2009
Ford-UAW
Holdings LLC
15041 Commerce
Drive South
Rotunda Court
#4
Dearborn,
MI 48120
Ladies and
Gentlemen:
Reference is
made to that certain Note Purchase Agreement dated as of April 7,
2008 (the "Note Purchase Agreement") by and among, Ford Motor
Company, as Issuer ("Ford"), you, as Purchaser, and the Subsidiary
Guarantors named therein relating to the $3 billion principal
amount 9.5% Guaranteed Secured Note due January 1, 2018 ("Second
Lien Note") issued by Ford to you. (Capitalized terms used herein
and not otherwise defined shall have the meaning ascribed to them
in the Note Purchase Agreement.)
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Second Lien
Debt Limitation. Section 8.6 of the Note Purchase Agreement
restricts Ford from having more than $4 billion of second lien debt
secured by its assets outstanding at any time, subject to certain
exceptions. To permit Ford to borrow funds from the U.S.
Department of Energy or other federal governmental authorities (or
a commercial bank and guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Energy
or other federal governmental authority) in excess of $4 billion
secured on a second lien basis with the Collateral pledged under
the Credit Agreement and the Loan Documents, including the
Collateral Trust Agreement and the Security Agreement, the parties
to the Note Purchase Agreement wish to amend this restriction.
Accordingly, the parties to the Note Purchase Agreement hereby
agree to amend Section 8.6 of the Note Purchase Agreement to read
in its entirety as set forth in Attachment A hereto.
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Additional
Covenants. Consistent with the terms of the amendment set
forth in paragraph 1 above, the parties to the Note Purchase
Agreement hereby agree to amend the Note Purchase Agreement by
amending Section 8.5 of the Note Purchase Agreement and adding new
sections 8.9 through 8.23 as additional covenants of Ford, each as
set forth in Attachment B hereto. Capitalized terms used in
Attachment B and not otherwise defined in the Note Purchase
Agreement shall have the meanings ascribed to them in the Credit
Agreement and the Loan Documents.
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Additions
and Deletions of Guarantors . The parties to the Note Purchase
Agreement hereby agree to amend Schedule 1 thereto to read in its
entirety as set forth in Attachment C hereto to reflect the
deletion of Land Rover North America, Inc. as a Subsidiary
Guarantor and the addition of Ford BH1 Ltd, Ford BH2 Ltd and Volvo
Holding Company Inc. as Subsidiary Guarantors and Non-Recourse
Parties under the Note Purchase Agreement and the Guaranty endorsed
on the Note, such deletions and additions having been made in
accordance with the terms of the Credit Agreement.
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Amendment to
Sections 9(c) and (h). The parties to the Note Purchase
Agreement hereby agree to amend the Note Purchase Agreement by
changing Section 9(c) and Section 9(h) to read as
follows:
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"(c) the Issuer
or any Significant Guarantor (as defined in the Credit Agreement)
shall default in the observance or performance of (i) its
agreements under Section 8.2, (ii) its agreements under Section
8.13 or Section 8.14 for a period of 20 consecutive days or (iii)
any other agreement contained in this Agreement and, with respect
to clause (iii) only, such default shall continue unremedied for a
period of 30 days after notice thereof to the Issuer by the holder
of the Note; or"
“(h)(i)
an Event of Default under clause (d), (e), (g), (h) or (k) of
Section 8 of the Credit Agreement shall have occurred and be
continuing; or (ii) an Event of Default under any other clause of
Section 8 of the Credit Agreement shall have occurred and be
continuing that has resulted in any outstanding indebtedness or
other obligations thereunder to be declared immediately due and
payable;”.
Other than as
amended hereby, the Note Purchase Agreement shall remain unchanged
and in full force and effect.
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Sincerely,
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FORD MOTOR
COMPANY, as Issuer
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By:
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/s/ Neil M.
Schloss
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Name: Neil M. Schloss
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Title: Vice President and
Treasurer
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3000 SCHAEFER
ROAD COMPANY
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FORD GLOBAL
TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
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FORD MOTOR
SERVICE COMPANY
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FORD MOTOR
VEHICLE ASSURANCE COMPANY, LLC
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FORD TRADING
COMPANY, LLC
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LAND ROVER
NORTH AMERICA, INC.
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VOLVO CARS OF
NORTH AMERICA, LLC, as Subsidiary Guarantors
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By:
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/s/ Neil M.
Schloss
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Name: Neil M.
Schloss
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Title: Treasurer or Assistant
Treasurer
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FORD BH1
LTD
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FORD BH2
LTD
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FORD EUROPEAN
HOLDINGS LLC
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FORD HOLDINGS
LLC
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FORD
INTERNATIONAL CAPITAL LLC
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FORD MEXICO
HOLDINGS, INC.
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FORD COMPONENT
SALES, L.L.C.
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VOLVO HOLDING
COMPANY INC., as Subsidiary
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Guarantors
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By:
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/s/ David M.
Brandi
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Name: David M. Brandi
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Title: Assistant Treasurer
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FORD SOUTH
AMERICA HOLDINGS, LLC, as Subsidiary Guarantor
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By: Ford Motor Company, as sole
member
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/s/ Neil M.
Schloss
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Title: Vice President and
Treasurer
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GRUPO FORD, S.
de R.L. de C.V., as Subsidiary Guarantor
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By:
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/s/ David M
Brandi
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Name: David M. Brandi
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Title: Attorney-in-Fact
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The foregoing
agreement is hereby accepted as of the date first written
above:
FORD-UAW
HOLDINGS LLC
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By:
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/s/ Peter J.
Daniel
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Name: Peter J. Daniel
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Title: Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer
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ATTACHMENT A
8.6
Limitation on Secured Debt . Other than Permitted
Liens (as defined below), the Issuer shall not at any time have
outstanding more than $20,485,000,000 principal amount of
indebtedness for borrowed money secured on a first lien basis with
its assets nor more than $14,400,000,000 principal amount of
indebtedness for borrowed money secured on a second or junior lien
basis with its assets; provided, however, that (i) any such
indebtedness for borrowed money secured on a second or junior lien
basis in excess of $4 billion (including the Note) ("Junior Lien
Debt") shall consist only of loans from or obligations to the U.S.
Department of Energy or other federal governmental authorities (or
a commercial bank and guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Energy
or other federal governmental authority) , (ii) any Junior Lien
Debt shall be secured by a lien on Collateral pledged
under the Credit Agreement and the Loan Documents, including the
Collateral Trust Agreement and the Security Agreement that,
although constituting Permitted Second Lien Debt thereunder, will,
as between the Purchaser or any subsequent holder of the Note and
the lenders of such Junior Lien Debt, be junior to the
second lien securing the Note, and the priority of which will be
governed by an intercreditor agreement among the parties hereto and
the lenders of such Junior Lien Debt substantially similar to the
intercreditor provisions of Section 8 of the Collateral Trust
Agreement (as if the second lien securing the Note were a first
priority secured obligation and the Junior Lien Debt were a second
priority secured obligation), and (iii) this Agreement shall be
amended to reflect the benefit of any terms contained in existing
and future Junior Lien Debt if such terms, taken as whole, are more
favorable to the lenders thereof than those contained herein for
the benefit of the Purchaser or any subsequent holder of the Note
(other than in respect of interest rates, fees, call protection or
the absence of a call feature, premiums or maturity dates),
provided, however, that to the extent the future Junior Lien Debt
provides for specified project financing, this clause (iii) shall
not apply to any terms that relate to such project or its
eligibility for financing; provided further that any such
amendments shall have effect only for so long as is necessary to
comply with this clause (iii). For avoidance of doubt,
such amendments shall no longer have effect after any such Junior
Lien Debt is no longer outstanding or its terms, taken as whole,
are no longer more favorable from a lender’s perspective than
the terms of the Note without such amendments.
"Permitted
Liens" for purposes hereof shall mean:
(a) liens for
taxes, assessments, governmental charges and utility charges, in
each case that are not yet subject to penalties for non-payment or
that are being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings;
provided that adequate reserves with respect thereto are
maintained on the books of the Issuer in conformity with United
States generally accepted accounting principles
("GAAP");
(b)
carriers’, warehousemen’s, mechanics’,
materialmen’s, repairmen’s, construction or other like
liens arising in the ordinary course of business;
(c) permits,
servitudes, licenses, easements, rights-of-way, restrictions and
other similar encumbrances imposed by applicable law or incurred in
the ordinary course of business or minor
imperfections in title to real property that do not in the
aggregate materially interfere with the ordinary conduct of the
business of the Issuer and its subsidiaries taken as a
whole;
(d) leases,
licenses, subleases or sublicenses of assets (including, without
limitation, real property and intellectual property rights) granted
to others that do not in the aggregate materially interfere with
the ordinary conduct of the business of the Issuer and its
subsidiaries taken as a whole and licenses of trademarks and
intellectual property rights in the ordinary course of
business;
(e) pledges or
deposits made in the ordinary course of business or statutory liens
imposed in connection with worker’s compensation,
unemployment insurance or other types of social security or pension
benefits or liens incurred or pledges or deposits made to secure
the performance of bids, tenders, sales, contracts (other than for
the repayment of borrowed money), statutory obligations, and
surety, appeal, customs or performance bonds and similar
obligations, or deposits as security for contested taxes or import
or customs duties or for the payment of rent, in each case incurred
in the ordinary course of business;
(f) liens
arising from UCC financing statement filings (or similar filings)
regarding or otherwise arising under leases entered into by the
Issuer or any of its subsidiaries or in connection with sales of
accounts, payment intangibles, chattel paper or
instruments;
(g) purchase
money liens on property (other than shares of capital stock or
indebtedness) existing at the time of acquisition (including
acquisition through amalgamation, merger or consolidation) or to
secure the payment of any part of the purchase price thereof or to
secure any indebtedness incurred prior to, at the time of, or
within 60 days after, the acquisition of such property for the
purpose of financing all or any part of the purchase price thereof
or to secure indebtedness provided, or guaranteed, by a
governmental authority to finance research and development, limited
in each case to the property purchased (or developed) with the
proceeds thereof;
(h) other than
liens existing pursuant to the Credit Agreement and the Loan
Documents (as defined therein), liens in existence on the Closing
Date; provided that no such lien is spread to cover any
additional property after the Closing Date and that the
amount of indebtedness for borrowed money
secured thereby
is not increased;
(i) liens on
property or capital stock of a person at the time such person
becomes a subsidiary of the Issuer; provided however
, that such liens are not created, incurred or assumed in
connection with, or in contemplation of, such other person becoming
a subsidiary; provided further , however ,
that any such lien may not extend to any other property owned by
the Issuer or any subsidiary of the Issuer;
(j) liens on
property at the time the Issuer acquires the property, including
any acquisition by means of a merger or consolidation with or into
the Issuer; provided , however , that such liens are
not created, incurred or assumed in connection with, or in
contemplation of, such acquisition; provided further
, however , that such liens may not extend to any other
property owned by the Issuer or any subsidiary of the
Issuer;
(k) any lien
securing the renewal, refinancing, replacing, refunding, amendment,
extension or modification, as a whole or in part, of any
indebtedness secured by any lien permitted by clause (g), (h), (i),
(j), and (u) of this definition or this paragraph
(k) without any change in the assets subject to such
lien;
(l) any lien
arising out of claims under a judgment or award rendered or claim
filed, so long as such judgments, awards or claims do not
constitute an event of default under the Credit
Agreement;
(m) any lien
consisting of rights reserved to or vested in any governmental
authority by any statutory provision;
(n) liens
created in the ordinary course of business in favor of banks and
other financial institutions over credit balances of any bank
accounts held at such banks or financial institutions or over
investment property held in a securities account, as the case may
be, to facilitate the operation of cash pooling and/or interest
set-off arrangements in respect of such bank accounts or securities
accounts in the ordinary course of business;
(o) liens in
favor of lessors pursuant to sale and leaseback transactions to the
extent the disposition of the asset subject to any such sale and
leaseback transaction is permitted under the Credit
Agreement;
(p) liens under
industrial revenue, municipal or similar bonds;
(q) liens on
securities accounts (other than liens to secure indebtedness for
borrowed money);
(r) statutory
liens incurred or pledges or deposits made in favor of a
governmental authority to secure the performance of obligations of
the Issuer or any of its subsidiaries under environmental laws to
which any assets of the Issuer or any such subsidiaries are
subject;
(s) liens
granted by the Issuer or any of its subsidiaries to a landlord to
secure the payment of arrears of rent in respect of leased
properties in the Province of Quebec leased from such landlord,
provided that any such lien is limited to the assets located at or
about such leased properties;
(t) servicing
agreements, development agreements, site plan agreements and other
agreements with governmental authorities pertaining to the use or
development of any of the property and assets of the Issuer
consisting of real property, provided same are complied
with; and
(u) liens not
otherwise permitted by the foregoing clauses securing obligations
or other liabilities of the Issuer; provided that the
outstanding amount of all such obligations and liabilities shall
not exceed $500,000,000 at any time.
ATTACHMENT B
8.5
Consolidations, Mergers and Conveyances . (a) Each of the
Issuer and the Subsidiary Guarantors may consolidate with, or sell
or convey all or substantially all its assets to, or merge with or
into, (1) any entity if the Issuer or such Subsidiary Guarantor or
another Subsidiary Guarantor shall be the continuing entity or (2)
any entity existing under the laws of (i) the United States, any
state thereof, or the District of Columbia, in the case of the
Issuer, and (ii) any jurisdiction, in the case of a Significant
Guarantor in connection with an asset sale permitted under Section
7.5 of the Credit Agreement; provided, however , that in the
case of clause (1) there shall be no default or event of default
continuing after giving effect to such transaction; and provided
further that in the case of clause (2) that is not in
connection with an asset sale that is permitted under Section 7.5
of the Credit Agreement, (x) the successor entity shall expressly
assume the due and punctual payment of the principal of and
interest on the Note, in the case of the Issuer, in accordance with
its terms and the due and punctual performance and observance of
all the covenants and conditions of this Agreement and the Note, in
the case of the Issuer, or this Agreement and the Guaranty, in the
case of a Subsidiary Guarantor, by an instrument satisfactory to
the Purchaser in its reasonable judgment, executed and delivered to
the Purchaser by such entity, and (y) such successor entity shall
not, immediately after such merger or consolidation or such sale or
conveyance, be in default in the performance of any such covenant
or condition.
(b) Upon any consolidation by the Issuer or a
Subsidiary Guarantor with or merger by the Issuer or a Subsidiary
Guarantor into any other person or any conveyance, transfer or
lease of the properties and assets of the Issuer or a Subsidiary
Guarantor substantially as an entirety in accordance with Section
8.5(a) hereof, (x) the successor Person formed by such
consolidation or into which the Issuer or Subsidiary Guarantor, as
the case may be, is merged or to which such conveyance, transfer or
lease is made, shall succeed to, and be substituted for, and may
exercise every right and power of, the Issuer hereunder and under
the Note, or of such Subsidiary Guarantor under the Guaranty, as
the case may be, with the same effect as if such successor had been
named as the Issuer or such Subsidiary Guarantor, as the case may
be, and (y) thereafter, the predecessor entity shall be relieved of
all obligations and covenants hereunder and under the
Note.
(c) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary
contained herein or in the Note, if a Subsidiary Guarantor is
released from its guaranty under the Credit Agreement, such
Subsidiary Guarantor shall automatically be released from the
Guaranty (without requirement of notice to or consent of the
Purchaser or any holder of the Note). If requested by
the Issuer, the holders of the Note agree to take promptly any
action reasonably requested by the Issuer to evidence the release
of such Subsidiary Guarantor from its guaranty.
8.9 Maintenance of
Business; Existence . The Issuer will continue to
engage primarily in the automotive business and preserve, renew and
keep in full force and effect its corporate existence and take all
reasonable actions to maintain all rights necessary for the normal
conduct of its business, except to the extent that failure to do so
would not have a Material Adverse Effect.
8.10
Maintenance of Property; Insurance . The
Issuer will, and will cause each Significant Guarantor
to, maintain, as appropriate, with insurance companies that the
Issuer believes (in the good faith judgment of the management of
the Issuer) are financially sound and responsible at the time the
relevant coverage is placed or renewed, insurance in amounts (after
giving effect to any self-insurance which the Issuer believes (in
the good faith judgment of management of the Issuer) is reasonable
and prudent in light of the size and nature of its business) and
against at least such risks (and with such risk retentions) as the
Issuer believes (in the good faith judgment of the management of
the Issuer) are reasonable in light of the size and nature of its
business.
8.11
Notices . Promptly upon a Responsible Officer of
t