Confidential Treatment Requested
by Cash America International, Inc.
Confidential Portions of this document have been redacted and filed
separately with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
CASH AMERICA INTERNATIONAL,
INC.
Dated as
of December 28, 2005
$40,000,000 6.12% Senior
Notes due December 28, 2015
[**Confidential Treatment Requested]
indicates that portions of this
document have been deleted and have been separately filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
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Page
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1. PURCHASE AND SALE OF NOTES
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1
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1.01 Authorization of Notes
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1
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1.02 Sale and Purchase of Notes
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1
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1
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2. DEFINITIONS AND
INTERPRETATIONS
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2
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2
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18
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20
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3.01 Representations and Warranties
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3.02 Performance; No Default
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3.03 Compliance Certificate
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21
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3.06 Purchase Permitted by Applicable Laws,
Etc.
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3.07 Payment of Closing Fees
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3.08 Private Placement Number
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3.10 Guaranty; Subrogation and Contribution
Agreement
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22
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3.11 Other Loan Documents
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22
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23
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23
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5.01 Required Prepayments of the
Notes
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23
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5.02 Optional Prepayments of the
Notes
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23
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5.03 Notice of Optional Prepayments;
Officers’ Certificate
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24
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5.04 Allocation of Partial
Prepayments
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24
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5.05 Maturity; Surrender, Etc.
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24
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24
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6. REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE
COMPANY
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25
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25
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6.02 Organization, Qualification, Authorization,
Etc
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25
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6.03 Disclosure Documents
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26
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27
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6.05 Tax Returns and Payments
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27
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6.06 Indebtedness; Solvency
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27
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28
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i
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Page
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28
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6.09 Title to Property, Etc.
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28
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6.10 Condition of Property
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29
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6.11 Compliance with Applicable Laws, Permits
and Contracts
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29
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30
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30
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6.14 No Governmental Consents Required for
Overall Transaction
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30
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30
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31
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6.17 Foreign Assets Control Regulations,
Etc.
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31
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6.18 Status Under Certain Federal
Statutes
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31
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6.19 Environmental Matters
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34
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6.24 Patents, Trademarks, Etc.
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35
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6.25 Chief Executive Office
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35
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6.26 Permitted Investments
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7. PURCHASE FOR INVESTMENT; SOURCE OF
FUNDS
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36
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7.01 Representations of the
Purchasers
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8.01 Financial Statements, Reports and
Documents
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38
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8.02 Payment of Principal, Interest and
Premium
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41
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8.03 Payment of Taxes, Claims and
Indebtedness
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41
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8.04 Maintenance of Existence and Rights;
Conduct of Business
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41
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8.05 Compliance with Loan Documents
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8.08 Compliance with Legal
Requirements
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8.10 Maintenance of Properties
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9.01 Consolidated Indebtedness for Money
Borrowed
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9.02 Consolidated Net Worth
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9.03 Fixed Charge Coverage
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9.05 Limitation on Indebtedness
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9.08 Limitation on Investments
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48
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ii
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9.09 Alteration of Contracts, Etc.
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49
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9.10 Transactions with Affiliates
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49
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9.11 Limitation on Sale or Issuance of
Subsidiary Stock
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50
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9.12 Limitation on Sale of Properties
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50
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9.13 Dissolution; Liquidation; Merger;
Consolidation
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50
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9.14 Change of Name, Fiscal Year and Method of
Accounting
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51
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51
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9.16 Amendment of Organizational
Documents
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51
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9.17 Limitation on Acquisition of New
Subsidiaries
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51
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54
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9.19 No Inconsistent Agreements
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58
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11.03 Consent to Waivers and
Amendments
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60
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11.04 Solicitation of Holders
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60
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11.05 Form, Registration, Transfer and Exchange
of Notes; Lost Notes
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61
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11.06 Persons Deemed Owners
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61
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11.07 Reliance on and Survival of
Representations and Warranties
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11.08 Successors and Assigns
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11.10 Substitution of Purchasers
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11.11 Satisfaction Requirement
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11.12 Independence of Covenants
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11.13 Remedies Cumulative
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11.14 Reproduction of Documents
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11.15 Notes as Securities
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11.16 Severability of Provisions
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11.18 Representations, Etc.
Cumulative
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11.19 Submission to Jurisdiction
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11.22 Survival of Indemnities, Etc.
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11.24 Liabilities of Holders
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iii
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–
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Purchaser
Information
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–
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List of
Subsidiaries
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–
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List of
Jurisdictions Where Company is Qualified to Do Business
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as a Foreign
Corporation
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–
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Permitted
Liens
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–
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Material
Contracts
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–
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Description of
Company Financials
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–
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Description of
Projections
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–
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Indebtedness
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–
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Labor
Contracts
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–
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Tradenames
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–
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Investments
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–
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Transferee
Representations
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–
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Outstanding
Indebtedness for Money Borrowed
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–
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Form of
Note
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–
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Form of Opinion
of Company Counsel
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–
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Form of Opinion
of General Counsel
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–
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Form of Opinion
of Purchasers’ Counsel
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–
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Form of
Guaranty
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–
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Form of
Subrogation and Contribution Agreement
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–
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Form of
Existing Bank Loan Agreement
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iv
CASH AMERICA INTERNATIONAL,
INC.
To each of the
Persons listed on Schedule I
attached hereto (collectively, the “ Purchasers
”)
Cash America
International, Inc. (the “ Company ”), a Texas
corporation, hereby agrees with each of you as follows:
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1.
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PURCHASE AND SALE OF
NOTES.
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1.01
Authorization of Notes.
The Company will
duly authorize the issue and sale of a series of its senior notes
designated “6.12% Senior Notes due December 28,
2015” and limited in aggregate original principal amount to
$40,000,000 (the “ Notes ”). The Notes will
(a) be issuable as registered notes, without coupons, in
denominations permitted by Section 11.05, (b) be dated
the date of issue thereof, (c) mature December 28, 2015,
(d) bear interest on the unpaid balance thereof from the date
thereof to, but excluding, the date the principal thereof shall
have become due and payable at the rate of 6.12% per annum,
(e) bear interest on overdue principal, premium and (to the
extent permitted by law) interest at the Default Rate, (f) be
entitled to the benefits of the Guaranty and (g) be in the
form of Exhibit A.
1.02 Sale and
Purchase of Notes.
Subject to the
terms and conditions of this Agreement, the Company agrees to sell
to the Purchasers, and the Purchasers agree to purchase from the
Company, the Notes at 100% of the principal amount thereof. Such
sale and purchase is sometimes herein referred to as the “
Private Placement .” The Purchasers’ obligations
hereunder are several and not joint obligations and no Purchaser
shall have any liability to any Person for the performance or
non-performance of any obligation by any other Purchaser
hereunder.
The closing of the
Private Placement (the “ Closing ”) shall take
place at the offices of Bingham McCutchen LLP, at 399 Park Avenue,
New York, NY 10022 on such Business Day as may be agreed upon by
the Company and the Purchasers (the “ Closing Date
”). At the Closing, the Company will deliver the Notes in the
form of one or more Notes dated the date of the Closing, payable to
the respective Purchasers or their registered assigns as specified
on Schedule I against payment of the purchase price therefor
by electronic funds transfer to account number 4761053503 at Wells
Fargo Bank for credit to such account as the Company may designate
in writing delivered to the Purchasers at least three Business Days
prior to the Closing Date for use in accordance with
Section 4.01. By delivering payment on the Closing Date for
the Notes, each
Purchaser shall
be deemed to have confirmed as of the Closing Date that the
representations and warranties made by such Purchaser in
Section 7 remains accurate as of the Closing Date. If, at the
Closing, the Company shall fail to tender the Notes to the
Purchasers as provided above, or any of the conditions specified in
Section 3 shall not have been fulfilled to the satisfaction of
the Purchasers, the Purchasers shall, at their election, be
relieved of all further obligations under this Agreement, without
thereby waiving any other rights it may have by reason of such
failure or such nonfulfillment.
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2.
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DEFINITIONS AND
INTERPRETATIONS.
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For purposes of
this Agreement, except as otherwise expressly provided or unless
the context otherwise requires, the following terms shall have the
following respective meanings:
“
Affiliate ” means (a) when used with reference to
any corporation, any Person that, directly or indirectly, owns or
controls 5% or more of any class of Voting Stock of such
corporation or is a director or officer of such corporation or is a
Person in which such corporation has a 10% or greater direct or
indirect equity interest, (b) when used with reference to any
partnership, any Person that, directly or indirectly, owns or
controls 5% or more of either the capital or profit interests of
such partnership or is a partner of such partnership or is a Person
in which such partnership has a 5% or greater direct or indirect
equity interest, (c) when used with reference to any
individual, any Person that is related to such individual by blood
or marriage or is a present or former ward or, guardian of such
individual or is a trust or estate in which such individual owns a
10% or greater beneficial interest or of which such individual
serves as trustee, executor or in any similar capacity and
(d) when used with reference to a trust or an estate, any
Person that is a trustee, executor, administrator or beneficiary
thereof. Moreover, the term “Affiliate”, when used with
reference to any Person, shall also mean any other Person that,
directly or indirectly, controls or is controlled by or is under
common control with such Person. As used in the preceding sentence,
the term “control” means the possession, directly or
indirectly, of the power to direct or to cause the direction of the
management and policies of the entity referred to, whether through
ownership of voting securities, by contract or otherwise, and the
terms “controlling” and “controls” shall
have meanings correlative to the foregoing.
“
Agreement ” means this Note Agreement, as amended,
supplemented or modified from time to time.
“
Anti-Terrorism Order ” means United States Executive
Order 13224, effective as of September 24, 2001, Blocking
Property and Prohibiting Transactions with Persons Who Commit,
Threaten to Commit, or Support Terrorism, 66 U.S. Fed. Reg. 49,079
(2001), as amended.
“
Applicable Contract ” means any contract or agreement
to which the Company or any Subsidiary is a party or by which it or
any of its Properties is bound or under or
2
pursuant to
which it owns, maintains or operates any of its Properties or
conducts business.
“
Applicable Percentage ” shall have the meaning set
forth in §9.01 hereof.
“
Applicable Permit ” means any Permit to which the
Company or any Subsidiary is a party or by which it or any of its
Properties is bound or under or pursuant to which it owns,
maintains or operates any of its Properties or conducts
business.
“
Assurance ” means, as to any Person, any contract,
agreement or understanding to guarantee, or in effect guarantee,
any indebtedness or obligation (the “ Primary
Obligation ”) of any other Person (the “ Primary
Obligor ”) in any manner, whether directly or indirectly,
including agreements:
(a) to purchase
the Primary Obligation or any Property constituting security
therefor;
(b) to advance or
supply funds (i) for the purchase or payment of the Primary
Obligation or (ii) to maintain working capital or other
balance sheet conditions, or otherwise to advance or make available
funds for the purchase or payment of the Primary Obligation;
or
(c) to purchase
Property, securities or services primarily for the purpose of
assuring the holder of the Primary Obligation of the ability of the
Primary Obligor to make payment of the Primary
Obligation;
provided,
however, that
“Assurance” shall not include the endorsement by any
Person, in the ordinary course of business, of negotiable
instruments or documents for deposit or collection. The amount of
any Assurance shall be deemed to be an amount equal to the stated
or determinable amount of the Primary Obligation in respect of
which such Assurance is made or, if not stated or determinable, the
maximum reasonably anticipated liability in respect thereof
(assuming the Person giving such Assurance is required to perform
in respect thereof) as determined by such Person in good
faith.
“
Bankruptcy Law ” has the meaning specified in
Section 10.01(j).
“ Benefit
Arrangement ” means an employee benefit plan (within the
meaning of Section 3(3) of ERISA) which is not a Plan and with
respect to which the Company or a member of the ERISA Group has an
obligation or liability, whether or not current or contingent, to
make contributions or pay benefits.
“
Business Day ” means any day other than a Saturday,
Sunday or other day on which commercial banking institutions in New
York, New York or Fort Worth, Texas are authorized or required by
law, regulation or executive order to be closed.
“ Called
Principal ” means, with respect to any Note, the
principal of such Note that is to be prepaid pursuant to
Section 5.02 (any partial prepayment being applied in
satisfaction of required payments of principal in inverse order of
their scheduled due
3
dates) or is
declared to be or becomes immediately due and payable pursuant to
Section 10.01, as the context requires.
“
CERCLA ” means the Federal Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation and Liability Act, as amended from time to
time, together with all regulations and rulings thereunder and all
interpretations thereof by the Environmental Protection
Agency.
“
Closing ” has the meaning specified in
Section 1.03.
“ Closing
Date ” has the meaning specified in
Section 1.03.
“
Code ” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as
amended from time to time, together with all regulations and
rulings thereunder and all interpretations thereof by the Internal
Revenue Service.
“
Company ” has the meaning specified in the opening
paragraph of this Agreement.
“ Company
Financials ” has the meaning specified in
Section 6.03(a)(5).
“
Consolidated Adjusted Net Income ” means, with respect
to any period, consolidated net income (after income taxes) of the
Company and the Consolidated Subsidiaries for such period,
determined in accordance with GAAP (excluding, (i) any gain or
loss in excess of $1,000,000 (before income taxes) arising from the
sale of capital assets during such period and (ii) any other
items during such period which would be considered extraordinary
items, in accordance with GAAP).
“Consolidated Assets” means, as of any date, the
total assets as would be reflected on a consolidated balance sheet
of the Company and the Consolidated Subsidiaries prepared as of
such date in accordance with GAAP.
“
Consolidated EBITDA ” means, in respect of any period,
Consolidated Adjusted Net Income for such period plus , to
the extent deducted in calculating such Consolidated Adjusted Net
Income, interest, income taxes, depreciation, amortization and any
non-cash gains or losses attributable to market fluctuations in the
value of derivative contracts provided that, with respect to any
period during which a Person shall have become, or ceased to be, a
Subsidiary, or during which the Company or any Subsidiary shall
have acquired or disposed of an On-Going Business, the calculation
of Consolidated EBITDA shall (a) include the EBITDA (as
defined below) for such period of each Person who shall have become
a Subsidiary, and of each On-Going Business acquired by the Company
or any Subsidiary, during such period as if such Person had been a
Subsidiary or such On-Going Business had been owned by the Company
or a Subsidiary for the entire period, or (b) exclude the
EBITDA for such period of each Person who shall have ceased to be a
Subsidiary, and of each On-Going Business disposed of by the
Company or any Subsidiary, during such period as if such Person had
not been a Subsidiary at any time during the entire period or such
On-Going Business had not been owned or operated by the Company or
any Subsidiary at any time during such period. As used in
this
4
definition,
“EBITDA” with respect to any Person or On-Going
Business for any period shall mean, the net income (after income
taxes) of such Person or On-Going Business for such period,
determined in accordance with GAAP plus , to the extent
deducted in calculating such net income, interest, income taxes,
depreciation, amortization and any non-cash gains or losses
attributable to market fluctuations in the value of derivative
contracts.
“
Consolidated Indebtedness for Money Borrowed ” means,
at any date, the Indebtedness for Money Borrowed of the Company and
the Consolidated Subsidiaries consolidated as of such date in
accordance with GAAP.
“
Consolidated Net Worth ” means, as of any date, the
total shareholders’ equity which would appear on a
consolidated balance sheet of the Company and the Consolidated
Subsidiaries prepared as of such date in accordance with
GAAP.
“
Consolidated Subsidiary ” means, at any date, any
Subsidiary the accounts of which would, in accordance with GAAP, be
consolidated with those of the Company in its consolidated
financial statements as of such date.
“Consumer Obligations” [means any Assurance by
the Company or any Subsidiary entered into in the ordinary course
of business described in Section 9.15 pursuant to which the
Company or such Subsidiary guaranties financial commitments or
obligations of its customers to third party funding sources
pursuant to an established customer financing program.
“
Default ” means, with respect to any Loan Document,
any event or condition that constitutes, or with the giving of
notice or the lapse of time or both would constitute, a default
thereunder or breach thereof. Without limitation of the foregoing,
“Default” shall include any Event of Default as well as
any event, act or condition which with notice or lapse of time, or
both, would constitute an Event of Default.
“ Default
Rate ” means, at any time, a rate of interest per annum
equal to the lesser of (a) 2% above the interest rate then
payable on the Notes and (b) the Highest Lawful
Rate.
“
Discounted Value ” means, with respect to the Called
Principal of any 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 a
semiannual basis) equal to the Reinvestment Yield with respect to
such Called Principal.
“ Dollar
Equivalent ” shall have the meaning set forth in
§11.23 hereof.
“
Dollars ” and the sign “ $ ” means
lawful currency of the United States of America.
5
“Domestic Subsidiary” means any Subsidiary other
than a Non-Domestic Subsidiary.
“
Environmental Claim ” shall mean any investigation,
notice, violation, demand, allegation, action, suit, injunction,
judgment, order, consent decree, penalty, fine, lien, proceeding or
claim (whether administrative, judicial or private in nature)
arising (a) pursuant to, or in connection with an actual or alleged
violation of, any Environmental Law, (b) in connection with
any Hazardous Material, (c) from any abatement, removal,
remedial, corrective or other response action in connection with a
Hazardous Material, Environmental Law or other order of a
Governmental Authority or (d) from any actual or alleged
damage, injury, threat or harm to health, safety, natural resources
or the environment.
“
Environmental Laws ” means applicable laws (including
the common law), regulations or rules, and any applicable judicial
or administrative interpretations thereof, as well as any
applicable judicial or administrative orders, decrees or judgments,
relating to pollution, environmental, health, safety, industrial
hygiene or similar matters.
“
Environmental Permit ” means any Permit required under
applicable Environmental Laws.
“
ERISA ” means the Employee Retirement Income Security
Act of 1974, as amended from time to time, and all rules,
regulations, rulings and interpretations adopted by the Internal
Revenue Service or the Department of Labor thereunder.
“ ERISA
Group ” means all corporations, trades or businesses
(whether or not incorporated) and other persons or entities which,
together with the Company, are treated as a single employer under
Section 414(b), (c), (m) or (o) of the
Code.
“ Event
of Default ” has the meaning specified in
Section 10.01.
“
Exchange Act ” means the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as amended from time to time, and the rules and regulations
promulgated thereunder from time to time in effect.
“
Executive Officer ” means (a) the chairman of the
board, the chief executive officer, the chief operating officer(s),
the chief financial officer, the chief accounting officer or the
chief legal officer of the Company or (b) any other officer of
the Company who has been elected by the Board of Directors of the
Company and designated as an executive officer in any Form 10-K or
successor Form filed by the Company with the SEC.
“
Existing Bank Loan Agreement ” means that certain
First Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated as of
February 24, 2005, among the Company, the banks party thereto,
Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as administrative agent and
JPMorgan Chase, N.A., as syndication agent, as in effect on the
Closing Date.
“Existing Notes” means the 1995 Notes, the 1997
Notes and the 2002 Notes.
6
“ Fiscal
Quarter ” means a fiscal quarter of the
Company.
“ Fiscal
Year ” means the fiscal year of the Company.
“ Funded
Debt ” means, in respect of any Person, all Indebtedness
for Money Borrowed of such Person (other than Indebtedness for
Money Borrowed described in clauses (h), (i) and (k) of
the definition thereof).
“
GAAP ” means generally accepted accounting principles
as in effect from time to time as set forth in the opinions,
statements and pronouncements of the Accounting Principles Board of
the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the
Financial Accounting Standards Board and such other Persons who
shall be approved by a significant segment of the accounting
profession and concurred in by the Independent Registered Public
Accounting Firm.
“
Governmental Authority ” means any foreign
governmental authority, the United States of America, any State of
the United States or any political subdivision, agency or
instrumentality of any of the foregoing, and any agency,
department, commission, board, bureau, court or other tribunal
having jurisdiction over any Loan Party, the Purchasers or any
other Holder or their respective Property, including the Texas
Consumer Credit Commissioner, the United States Department of the
Treasury, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and any other
governmental authority charged with the enforcement of the
Regulatory Acts or otherwise having authority with respect to the
regulation, supervision and licensing of pawnshop activities in any
jurisdiction in which the Company or any of the Subsidiaries
conducts business.
“
Guarantors ” means the Subsidiaries listed in
Schedule II and each other Person that becomes bound by the
Guaranty as contemplated by Section 9.17(a).
“
Guaranty ” has the meaning specified in
Section 3.10.
“
Hazardous Materials ” means any hazardous substance,
hazardous or toxic waste, pollutant, contaminant, oil, petroleum
product or other substance (a) which is listed, regulated or
designated as toxic or hazardous (or words of similar meaning and
regulatory effect), or with respect to which remedial obligations
may be imposed, under any Environmental Laws or (b) exposure
to which may pose a health or safety hazard.
“Hedging
Obligations” means, in respect to any Person, the
obligations of such Person in respect of options, warrants, caps,
floors, collars, swaps, swaptions, forwards and futures which is
entered into and at all times maintained to reduce: (a) the
risk of economic loss due to a change in the value, yield, price,
cash flow or quantity of assets or liabilities which such Person
has acquired or incurred or anticipates acquiring or incurring or
(b) the risk of economic loss due to changes in the currency
exchange rate or the degree of exposure as to assets or liabilities
denominated in a foreign currency which such Person has acquired or
incurred or anticipates acquiring or incurring.
“ Highest
Lawful Rate ” means the maximum nonusurious rate of
interest permitted to be charged by applicable federal or state law
(whichever shall permit the
7
higher lawful
rate, without conflict with other applicable federal or state laws)
from time to time in effect. The parties agree that, insofar as the
provisions of Chapter 306 of the Texas Finance Code are at any
time applicable to the determination of the Highest Lawful Rate,
the Highest Lawful Rate shall be the “applicable
ceiling” (as such term is used in such Chapter 306) from
time to time in effect, provided that, to the extent
permitted by such Chapter 306, each Holder may from time to
time by notice to the Company revise the election of such interest
rate ceiling as such ceiling affects the then current or future
amounts outstanding under the Notes held by such Holder.
“
Holder ” means (a) the Purchasers so long as any
such Purchaser is obligated to purchase the Notes hereunder or
holds any outstanding Note and (b) any other holder from time
to time of any outstanding Note.
“
Indebtedness for Money Borrowed ” means, with respect
to any Person and without duplication:
(a) the principal
amount of all indebtedness of such Person, current or funded,
secured or unsecured, incurred in connection with borrowings
(including the sale of debt securities),
(b) all
indebtedness of such Person created or arising under any
conditional sale or other title retention agreement with respect to
any Property acquired by such Person,
(c) all
indebtedness of such Person issued, incurred or assumed in respect
of the purchase price of Property or services except for accounts
payable incurred in the ordinary course of business,
(d) all
obligations of such Person evidenced by a note, bond, debenture or
similar instrument,
(e) the present
value (determined in accordance with GAAP) of all obligations of
such Person under leases which shall have been or should be
recorded as capitalized leases in accordance with GAAP or under any
Synthetic Lease of such Person,
(f) all Assurances
(other than Consumer Obligations) of such Person in respect of
indebtedness of any other Person of any of the types described in
the preceding clauses (a) through (e), provided that,
when calculating the amount of any Person’s Indebtedness for
Money Borrowed, no Assurance of such Person of the type described
in this clause (f) shall be included in such calculation
unless, and then only to the extent that, the indebtedness relating
to such Assurance, when aggregated with the total indebtedness
relating to all other outstanding Assurances of the Loan Parties of
the type described in this clause (f), exceeds
$1,000,000,
(g) the amount of
all sinking fund payments or other mandatory redemption or payments
on any class of capital stock of such Person,
8
(h) the maximum
stated amount from time to time available for drawing under any
letters of credit issued at the request of such Person,
(i) the amount of
any unreimbursed drawings under letters of credit issued at the
request of such Person,
(j) Receivables
Facility Attributed Indebtedness of such Person, and
(k) accrued
obligations of such Person in respect of earnout or similar
payments which (i) are due and payable or (ii) constitute
“Indebtedness” under the Existing Bank Loan
Agreement.
For all purposes
hereof, the Indebtedness for Money Borrowed of any Person shall
include the Indebtedness for Money Borrowed of any partnership or
joint venture in which such person is a general partner or a joint
venturer, unless such Indebtedness for Money Borrowed is
non-recourse to such Person.
“
Indemnified Liabilities ” has the meaning specified in
§11.21 hereof.
“
Indemnitees ” means, collectively, the Purchasers,
each Transferee and each Holder and their respective successors and
assigns, and the officers, trustees, directors and employees of
each of the foregoing.
“
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm ” means
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP or another firm of independent public
accountants of recognized national standing and registered with the
Public Company Accounting Oversight Board selected by the
Company.
“
Investment ” means, as applied to any Person,
(i) any direct or indirect purchase or other acquisition by
such Person of stocks, bonds, notes, debentures or other securities
of any other Person, (ii) any direct or indirect loan,
advance, extension of credit or capital contribution by such Person
to any other Person, (iii) any Assurance by such Person of any
indebtedness of any other Person, (iv) the subordination by
such Person of any claim against any other Person to other
indebtedness of such other Person and (v) any other item which
would be classified as an “investment” on a balance
sheet of such Person prepared in accordance with GAAP, including
any direct or indirect contribution by such Person of Property to a
joint venture, partnership or other business entity in which such
Person retains an interest.
“
Judgment Currency ” and “ Judgment Currency
Conversion Date ” have the meanings set forth in
§11.23 hereof.
“ Legal
Requirements ” means any and all (a) applicable
constitutional provisions, laws (statutory, administrative,
judicial or otherwise, including those established pursuant to
common law or equity) ordinances, treaties, rules, codes, standards
and regulations (or any interpretation of any of the foregoing),
whether foreign or domestic, including, without limitation, the
Anti-Terrorism Order, the USA Patriot Act and Environmental Laws,
(b) judgments, orders, injunctions and decrees, (c) Permits
and
9
(d) contracts with Governmental Authorities
relating to compliance with the items described in (a), (b) or
(c) above.
“
Lien ” means any mortgage, pledge, charge,
encumbrance, security interest, collateral assignment, conditional
sale or title retention arrangement or other lien or restriction of
any kind, whether based on common law, constitutional provision,
statute or contract.
“ Loan
Documents ” means, collectively, this Agreement, the
Notes, the Guaranty, the Subrogation and Contribution Agreement and
all other instruments and documents executed and delivered to the
Purchasers by the Loan Parties, or any of them, pursuant to this
Agreement.
“ Loan
Parties ” means, collectively, the Company and the
Guarantors.
“
Make-Whole Premium ” means, with respect to the Called
Principal of any Note, a premium equal to the excess, if any, of
the Discounted Value of such Called Principal over such Called
Principal. The Make-Whole Premium shall in no event be less than
zero.
“
Material Adverse Effect ” means any circumstance or
event of whatever nature which (a) could reasonably be expected to
have a material adverse effect on the financial condition,
business, operations or Properties of the Company and the
Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, (b) could reasonably be
expected to diminish or impair in any material respect the ability
of the Company to perform any of its obligations under the Loan
Documents to which it is a party, (c) could reasonably be
expected to diminish or impair in any material respect the ability
of the Purchasers or any other Holder to enforce any of the
Obligations or to exercise or enforce any of their rights and
remedies under the Loan Documents, (d) causes an Event of
Default, (e) causes a Default which could reasonably be
expected to become an Event of Default or (f) could reasonably
be expected to subject the Purchasers or any other Holder to civil
or criminal liability.
“
Material Contract ” means any contract, agreement or
instrument to which the Company or any Subsidiary is a party
(a) which calls for payments to or from the Company or such
Subsidiary of more than $10,000,000 (or its equivalent in other
currencies) during any 12-month period or (b) pursuant to
which the Company or such Subsidiary acquires any right to an
interest in Property or a right to obtain services if the
Company’s or such Subsidiary’s inability to obtain such
interest or services, as the case may be, could reasonably be
expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, provided that
“Material Contract” shall not include any Loan Document
or any agreement creating or evidencing Indebtedness for Money
Borrowed.
“ Net
Equity Proceeds ” means the proceeds, after payment of
all underwriters fees and other expenses, received by the Company
in consideration of its sale of its equity securities, provided
that the gross amount of such proceeds shall be deemed to be the
amount of cash received or the fair value of any property received
or obligations satisfied in connection with such sale.
10
“ New
Entity ” has the meaning specified in §9.17
hereof.
“ 1995
Guaranty ” means that certain Joint and Several Guaranty
dated as of July 7, 1995 delivered by the Company and certain
of its Subsidiaries in connection with the issuance and sale of the
1995 Notes.
“ 1995
Loan Documents ” means the “ Loan Documents
” — as defined in the 1995 Note Agreement.
“ 1995
Note Agreement ” means that certain Note Agreement dated
as of July 7, 1995 between the Company and Teachers Insurance
and Annuity Association of America, as amended.
“ 1995
Notes ” means those certain 8.14% Senior Notes due
July 7, 2007 issued by the Company under and pursuant to the
1995 Note Agreement.
“ 1997
Guaranty ” means that certain Joint and Several Guaranty
dated as of December 1, 1997 delivered by the Company and
certain of its Subsidiaries in connection with the issuance and
sale of the 1997 Notes.
“ 1997
Loan Documents ” means the “ Loan Documents
” as defined in the 1997 Note Agreement.
“ 1997
Note Agreement ” means that certain Note Agreement dated
as of December 1, 1997 between the Company and the purchasers
listed on Schedule I thereto, as amended.
“ 1997
Notes ” means those certain 7.10% Senior Notes due
January 2, 2008 issued by the Company under and pursuant to
the 1997 Note Agreement.
“
Non-Domestic Indebtedness ” means Indebtedness for
Money Borrowed of one or more Non-Domestic Subsidiaries.
“Non-Domestic Subsidiary” means a Subsidiary
which is incorporated in, or conducts a significant portion of its
business activities in, any one or more jurisdictions outside of
the United States.
“
Non-Wholly-Owned Subsidiary ” means any Subsidiary
(other than a Wholly-Owned Subsidiary).
“
Notes ” has the meaning specified in
Section 1.01.
“
Obligations ” means all obligations, liabilities and
indebtedness of every nature of the Loan Parties from time to time
owing to the Purchasers and the other Holders under the Loan
Documents, including, without limitation, (a) all obligations
of the Company under the Loan Documents to pay principal, premium
and interest in respect of the Notes, (b) all obligations of
the Guarantors in respect of the Guaranty, (c) all obligations
of the Loan Parties under the Loan Documents to reimburse or
indemnify the
11
Purchasers or
any other Indemnitee and (d) all obligations of the Loan
Parties to pay fees and expenses pursuant to Section 11.02 and
similar sections of the other Loan Documents.
“
Officers’ Certificate ” means a certificate
executed on behalf of the Company by at least two of its
Responsible Officers (in their representative capacities and not in
their individual capacities).
“
On-Going Business ” means a distinct operating
business, whether operated as a division of a larger business
operation or operated independently, which regardless of the form
of legal entity, owns or operates the assets and has the
liabilities, of such business.
“
Organizational Documents ” means (i) with
reference to any Person that is a corporation, its articles or
certificate of incorporation and its bylaws and (ii) with
reference to any Person that is a partnership, its partnership
agreement and all other instruments relating to its formation,
existence or governance.
“ Overall
Transaction ” means the Private Placement and the
guarantees and other transactions and activities contemplated by
the Loan Documents.
“
Permits ” means any and all permits, authorizations,
certificates, approvals, registrations, variances, licenses,
franchises, exemptions or orders issued, granted or otherwise made
available by any Governmental Authority.
“
Permitted Liens ” means:
(a) Liens (if any)
granted to, or for the benefit of, all of the Holders to secure the
Obligations;
(b) Liens in
existence on the date hereof and described in
Schedule IV;
(c) bonds, pledges
or deposits made to secure payment of worker’s compensation
(or to participate in any fund in connection with worker’s
compensation), unemployment insurance, pensions or social security
programs;
(d) Liens imposed
by mandatory provisions of law such as for materialmen’s,
mechanics, warehousemen’s and other like Liens arising in the
ordinary course of business, securing indebtedness whose payment is
not yet due, and landlords liens, whether arising through contract
or by operation by law, but only if the same are not yet due and
payable or if the same are being contested in good faith and the
payment of which is not at the time required by
Section 8.03,
(e) Liens for
taxes, assessments and governmental charges or levies imposed upon
a Person or upon such Person’s income or profits or property,
but only if the same are not yet due and payable or if the same are
being contested in good faith and the payment of which is not at
the time required by Section 8.03;
12
(f) good faith
deposits in connection with tenders, leases, real estate bids or
contracts (other than contracts involving the borrowing of money),
bonds, pledges or deposits to secure insurance policies or to
secure public or statutory obligations, deposits to secure (or in
lieu of) surety, stay, appeal or customs bonds and deposits to
secure the payment of taxes, assessments, customs duties or other
similar charges;
(g) encumbrances
consisting of zoning restrictions, easements, or other restrictions
on the use of real property, provided that such do not
materially impair the use of such property for the uses intended,
and none of which is violated by existing or proposed structures or
land use;
(h) Liens on
Property of any Consolidated Subsidiary securing obligations of
such Consolidated Subsidiary owing to the Company or to any
Wholly-Owned Subsidiary;
(i) Liens created
to secure (A) purchase money indebtedness incurred to finance
the purchase price of the Property acquired in the ordinary course
of business, but only if each such Lien shall secure only the
purchase money indebtedness incurred to purchase the Property so
acquired and shall be confined solely to such Property and
(B) the indebtedness permitted by Section 9.05(b)(11);
provided, however, that the aggregate amount, without
duplication, of all obligations at any time secured by all Liens
referred to in this clause (i) and Liens referred to in clause
(l) and clause (m) of this definition of Permitted Liens
does not exceed the greater of $10,000,000 or 2% of Consolidated
Assets];
(j) Liens on
Temporary Cash Investments, but only if (A) such Liens secure
short-term indebtedness owed by the Company or a Consolidated
Subsidiary to the broker or investment banking firm which is
holding such Temporary Cash Investments for the account of the
Company or a Consolidated Subsidiary and (B) such indebtedness
is to be repaid, in the ordinary course of business, by the
collection or liquidation of such Temporary Cash Investments at the
maturity of such Temporary Cash Investments;
(k) Liens arising
by operation of law (and not by contract) in connection with
judgments being appealed to the extent such judgment or judgments
would not otherwise result in an Event of Default described in
Section 10.01(p)
(l) Liens on
property of a Person existing at the time such Person is merged
with or into or consolidated with the Company or any Subsidiary of
the Company; provided that (i) such Liens were not
incurred in contemplation of such merger or consolidation and do
not extend to any assets other than those of the Person merged into
or consolidated with the Company or the Subsidiary and
(ii) the aggregate amount, without duplication, of all
obligations at any time secured by Liens referred to in this clause
(l) and Liens referred to in clause (i) and
clause
13
(m) of this
definition of Permitted Liens does not exceed the greater of (i)
$10,000,000 or (ii) 2% of Consolidated Assets;
(m) Liens on
property existing at the time of acquisition thereof by the Company
or any Subsidiary of the Company, provided (i) that
such Liens were not incurred in contemplation of such acquisition
and (ii) the aggregate amount, without duplication, of all
obligations at any time secured by Liens referred to in this clause
(m) and Liens referred to in clause (i) and clause
(l) of this definition of Permitted Liens does not exceed the
greater of (i) $10,000,000 or (ii) 2% of Consolidated
Assets;
(n) Liens securing
Permitted Refinancing Indebtedness in respect of any Indebtedness
for Money Borrowed secured by Liens referred to in the foregoing
clauses (b), (i), (l) and (m) of this definition,
provided that such Liens do not extend to any other property
of the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company and the principal
amount of the Permitted Refinancing Indebtedness secured by such
Lien is not increased; and
(r) Liens securing
other Indebtedness for Money Borrowed not exceeding $2,500,000 at
any time outstanding.
“Permitted Refinancing Indebtedness” means any
Indebtedness for Money Borrowed of the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries issued in exchange for, or the net proceeds of which
are used to extend, refinance, renew, replace, defease or refund
other Indebtedness for Money Borrowed of the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries (other than intercompany indebtedness); provided that:
(i) the principal amount (or accreted value, if applicable) of
such Permitted Refinancing Indebtedness does not exceed the
principal amount of (or accreted value, if applicable), plus
accrued interest or premium (including any make-whole premium), if
any, on, the Indebtedness for Money Borrowed so extended,
refinanced, renewed, replaced, defeased or refunded (plus the
amount of reasonable expenses incurred in connection therewith),
(ii) such Permitted Refinancing Indebtedness has a final maturity
date later than the final maturity date of, and has a Weighted
Average Life to Maturity equal to or greater than the Weighted
Average Life to Maturity of, the Indebtedness for Money Borrowed
being extended, refinanced, renewed, replaced, defeased or
refunded; provided that if the original maturity date of
such Indebtedness for Money Borrowed is after the stated maturity
of the Notes, then such Permitted Refinancing Indebtedness shall
have maturity at least 180 days after the Notes, (iii) if
the Indebtedness for Money Borrowed being extended, refinanced
renewed, replaced, defeased or refunded is subordinated in right of
payment to the Notes, such Permitted Refinancing Indebtedness has a
final maturity date later than the final maturity date of the Notes
and is subordinated in right of payment to the Notes on terms at
least as favorable to the Holders as those contained in the
documentation governing the Indebtedness for Money Borrowed being
extended, refinanced, renewed, replaced, defeased or refunded, and
(iv) such Indebtedness for Money Borrowed is incurred either
by the Company or by the Subsidiary who is the obligor on the
Indebtedness for Money Borrowed being extended, refinanced,
renewed, replaced, defeased or refunded.
14
“
Person ” means and includes an individual, a
partnership, a joint venture, a corporation, a trust, an
unincorporated organization and a Governmental
Authority.
“
Plan ” means an employee pension benefit plan (within
the meaning of Section 3(3) of ERISA) which is or has been
established or maintained, or to which contributions are or have
been made, by the Company, any Subsidiary or any Related Person or
as to which the Company, any Subsidiary or any Related Person would
be treated as a contributing sponsor under Section 4069 of
ERISA if such plan were to be terminated.
“ Private
Placement ” has the meaning specified in
Section 1.02.
“
Projections ” has the meaning specified in
Section 6.03(a)(6).
“
Property ” means any interest in any kind of property
or asset, whether real, personal or mixed, tangible or
intangible.
“
Purchasers ” has the meaning specified in the opening
paragraph of this Agreement.
“
Receivables Facility Attributed Indebtedness ” means,
in respect of any Person, the amount of obligations outstanding
under a receivables purchase facility on any date of determination
that would be characterized as principal payment obligations of
such Person if such facility were structured under GAAP as a
secured lending transaction other than a purchase.
“
Regulatory Acts ” means (a) the Texas Pawnshop
Act and (b) all other foreign, Federal or state laws
(statutory, administrative, judicial or otherwise) relating to
pawnshops and activities incidental thereto in any jurisdiction in
which the Company or any Subsidiary conducts business.
“
Reinvestment Yield ” means with respect to the Called
Principal of any Note, the sum of 50 basis points (0.50%) over the
yield to maturity implied by (a) the yields reported, as of
10:00 A.M. (New York City time) two Business Days next
preceding the Settlement Date with respect to such Called
Principal, on the display designated as page PX1 as reported by the
Bloomberg Financial Markets (or such other display as may replace
page PX1 on Bloomberg Financial Markets), or if Page PX1 (or its
successor screen on Bloomberg Financial Markets) is unavailable,
the Telerate Access Service screen which corresponds most closely
to Page PX1, for the most recently issued traded U.S. Treasury
securities having a maturity equal to the Remaining Average Life of
such Called Principal as of such Settlement Date, or, if such
yields shall not be reported as of such time or the yields reported
as of such time shall not be ascertainable, (b) the Treasury
Constant Maturity Series yields reported, for the latest day for
which such yields shall have been so reported as of the Business
Day next 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 shall be determined, if
necessary, by (i) converting U.S. Treasury bill quotations to
bond equivalent yields in
15
accordance with
accepted financial practice and (ii) interpolating linearly
between reported yields. The Reinvestment Yield shall be rounded to
the number of decimal places as appears in the interest rate of the
applicable Note.
“ Related
Person ” means any trade or business, whether or not
incorporated, which, together with the Company, would be treated as
a single employer under Section 414 of the Code.
“
Release ” has the meaning specified in CERCLA §
101(22) (42 U.S.C. § 9601(22)).
“
Remaining Average Life ” means, with respect to the
Called Principal of any Note, the number of years (calculated to
the nearest one-twelfth year) obtained by dividing (a) such
Called Principal into (b) the sum of the products obtained by
multiplying (i) the principal component of each Remaining
Scheduled Payment of such Called Principal (but not of interest
thereon) by (ii) the number of years (calculated to the
nearest one-twelfth year) which will elapse between the Settlement
Date with respect to such Called Principal and the respective
scheduled due date of such Remaining Scheduled Payment of such
Called Principal.
“Remaining Dollar-Years” means, with respect to
any Indebtedness for Money Borrowed at any time, the amount
obtained by (1) multiplying the amount of each then remaining
required repayment, including repayment at final maturity, by the
number of years (calculated at the nearest one-twelfth) which shall
elapse between such time and the date of that required repayment,
and (2) totaling all the products obtained in (1).
“
Remaining Scheduled Payments ” means, with respect to
the Called Principal of any Note, all payments of such Called
Principal and interest thereon that would be due on or 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,
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 5.02 or Section 10.01, as the case may
be.
“
Required Holders ” means, at any time, the Holder or
Holders of at least 51% of the aggregate principal amount of the
Notes then outstanding.
“
Responsible Officer ” means, as to any Loan Party, the
chairman of the board, the chief executive officer, the president,
the chief operating officer(s), the chief financial officer, the
principal accounting officer, the chief legal officer, the vice
president of finance or the treasurer of such Loan
Party.
“ SEC
” means the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“
Securities Act ” means the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended from time to time, and the rules and regulations
promulgated thereunder from time to time in effect.
16
“
Settlement Date ” means, with respect to the Called
Principal of any Note, the date on which such Called Principal is
to be prepaid pursuant to Section 5.02 or is declared to be or
becomes immediately due and payable pursuant to Section 10, as
the context requires.
“
Stock ” means (i) in the case of any corporation,
capital stock of any class of such corporation (however designated)
and warrants or options to purchase such capital stock,
(ii) in the case of any partnership, partnership interests of
such partnership (however designated) and warrants or options to
purchase such partnership interests and (iii) in the case of
any other entity, equity interests of such entity (however
designated) and warrants or options to purchase such equity
interests.
“
Subrogation and Contribution Agreement ” means the
Subrogation and Contribution Agreement of even date herewith among
the Company and the Guarantors substantially in the form of
Exhibit F.
“
Subsidiary ” means, at any time, (a) any
corporation 50% or more of the outstanding Voting Stock of which is
owned, directly or indirectly, by the Company at such time and (b)
any partnership, association, joint venture or other entity in
which the Company owns, directly or indirectly, a 50% or greater
equity interest (however designated) at such time.
“
Synthetic Lease ” means, in respect of any Person, the
monetary obligation of such Person under (a) a so-called
synthetic, off-balance sheet or tax retention lease, or (b) an
agreement for the use or possession of property creating
obligations that do not appear on the balance sheet of such Person
but which, upon the insolvency or bankruptcy of such Person, would
be characterized as the indebtedness of such Person (without regard
to accounting treatment).
“
Temporary Cash Investment ” mean any of the following
investments: (a) Investments in open market commercial paper
maturing within 180 days after acquisition thereof and rated
at least A-1 (or the equivalent thereof) by Standard &
Poor’s Ratings Group (or any successor thereto which is a
nationally recognized rating agency) or at least P-1 (or the
equivalent thereof) by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (or
any successor thereto which is a nationally recognized rating
agency), (b) Investments in marketable obligations, maturing
within 180 days after acquisition thereof, issued or
unconditionally guaranteed by the United States of America or an
instrumentality or agency thereof and entitled to the full faith
and credit of the United States of America, (c) Investments in
money market funds that invest solely in the types of Investments
permitted under clauses (a) and (b) above,
(d) Investments in repurchase agreements of any financial
institution or brokerage firm acceptable to the Required Holders
which are fully secured by securities described in clause
(b) above, (e) certificates of deposit and time deposits
(including Eurodollar deposits), maturing within 180 days from
the date of deposit thereof, with a domestic office of (i) any
national or state bank or trust company organized under the laws of
the United States of America or any state therein and having
capital, surplus and undivided profits of at least $100,000,000 or
(ii) any other national or state bank so long as all such
deposits are federally insured and (f) in the case of
any
17
Non-Domestic
Subsidiary, certificates of deposit and other instruments
substantially equivalent to a certificate of deposit maturing
within 180 days from the date of acquisition and issued by a
bank or trust company organized and located in the jurisdiction
where such Non-Domestic Subsidiary maintains its headquarters
having capital, surplus and undivided profits of at least
$100,000,000 (or its equivalent in other currencies).
“
Transferee ” means any direct or indirect transferee
of all or any part of any Note purchased by the Purchasers under
this Agreement.
“ 2002
Guaranty ” means that certain Joint and Several Guaranty
dated as of August 12, 2002, delivered by the Company and
certain of its Subsidiaries in connection with the issuance and
sale of the 2002 Notes.
“ 2002
Loan Documents ” means the “Loan Documents”
as defined in the 2002 Note Agreement.
“ 2002
Note Agreement ” means that certain Note Agreement dated
as of August 12, 2002 between the Company and the purchasers
listed on Schedule I thereto, as amended.
“ 2002
Notes ” means those certain 7.20% Senior Notes due
August 12, 2009 issued by the Company under and pursuant to
the 2002 Note Agreement.
“ USA
Patriot Act ” means United States Public Law 107-56,
Uniting and Strengthening America By Providing Appropriate Tools
Required To Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA Patriot Act) Act
of 2001, as amended from time to time, and the rules and
regulations promulgated thereunder from time to time in
effect.
“ Voting
Stock ” means, when used with respect to any Person, any
Stock of such Person having general voting power under ordinary
circumstances to elect a majority of the board of directors (or
other governing body) of such Person (irrespective of whether at
the time any Stock of such Person shall have or might have voting
power by reason of the happening of any contingency).
“Weighted Average Life to Maturity” means, with
respect to any Indebtedness for Money Borrowed, as at the time of
the determination thereof the number of years obtained by dividing
the then Remaining Dollar-Years of such indebtedness at such time
by the then outstanding principal amount of such
indebtedness.
“
Wholly-Owned Subsidiary ” means a Consolidated
Subsidiary, all of the outstanding Stock (other than
directors’ qualifying shares, if required by law) of which
are at the time owned directly by the Company or by one or more
Wholly-Owned Subsidiaries or by the Company and one or more
Wholly-Owned Subsidiaries.
(a) In this
Agreement, unless a clear contrary intention appears:
18
(1) the singular
number includes the plural number and vice versa;
(2) reference to
any gender includes each other gender;
(3) the words
“herein,” “hereof” and
“hereunder” and other words of similar import
refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular
Section or other subdivision;
(4) reference to
any Person includes such Person’s successors and assigns but,
if applicable, only if such successors and assigns are permitted by
this Agreement, and reference to a Person in a particular capacity
excludes such Person in any other capacity or individually,
provided that nothing in this clause (4) is intended to
authorize any assignment not otherwise permitted by this
Agreement;
(5) reference to
any agreement, document, instrument or report means, unless the
context otherwise requires, such agreement, document, instrument or
report as in effect when delivered to the Purchasers pursuant to
this Agreement and as the same may thereafter be amended,
supplemented or modified in accordance with the terms thereof and
hereof, and reference to any Note includes any note issued pursuant
hereto in renewal, rearrangement, reinstatement, enlargement,
amendment, modification, extension, substitution or replacement
therefor;
(6) reference to
any Section, Schedule or Exhibit means such Section hereof or such
Schedule or Exhibit hereto;
(7) the words
“including” (and with correlative meaning
“include”) means including, without limiting the
generality of any description preceding such term;
(8) with respect
to the determination of any period of time, the word
“from” means “from and
including” and the word “ to ” means
“ to but excluding” ;
(9) reference to
any Legal Requirement means such Legal Requirement as amended,
modified, codified or reenacted, in whole or in part, and in effect
from time to time;
(10) accounting
terms used but not defined herein shall be construed in accordance
with GAAP, and whenever the character or amount of any asset or
liability or item of income or expense is required to be
determined, or any consolidation or accounting computation is
required to be made, for purposes hereof, such determination or
computation shall be made in accordance with GAAP;
(11) the word
“knowledge”, when used in any representation or
warranty of the Company contained herein, means the actual
knowledge of any Responsible Officer;
19
(12) where any
provision of this Agreement refers to action to be taken by any
Person, or which such Person is prohibited from taking, such
provision shall be applicable whether such action is taken directly
or indirectly by such Person; and
(13) if any action
or failure to act by the Company violates any covenant or
obligation of the Company contained herein, such violation shall
not be excused by the fact that such action or failure to act is
permitted by any other covenant or obligation of the Company
contained herein.
(b) Should there
be a change in GAAP following the date of this Agreement and should
either (i) the Company determine (in good faith) that the
requirements of one or more of the covenants contained in
Section 9 are materially increased or made more severe as a
result thereof or (ii) the Required Holders determine (in good
faith) that the requirements of one or more of the covenants
contained in Section 9 are materially reduced or relaxed as a
result thereof, then the Company and such Required Holders shall
enter into good faith negotiations with the desired result being
that such covenant(s) shall be amended in such a way that the
criteria therein set forth for evaluating the financial condition
of the Company and/or the Subsidiaries shall be the same after such
amendment as if such change in GAAP had not been made.
(c) The Section
headings herein and the Table of Contents are for convenience only
and shall not affect the construction hereof.
(d) No provision
of this Agreement shall be interpreted or construed against any
Person solely because that Person or its legal representative
drafted such provision.
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3.
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CONDITIONS OF
CLOSING.
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The obligation of
the Purchasers to purchase and pay for the Notes hereunder is
subject to the satisfaction of the following conditions:
3.01
Representations and Warranties.
The
representations and warranties of the Loan Parties contained in the
following instruments shall be true and correct at the time of
Closing: (i) this Agreement, (ii) the other Loan
Documents and (iii) the instruments delivered by one or more
of the Loan Parties pursuant to this Section 3.
3.02
Performance; No Default.
The Loan Parties
shall have performed and complied with all agreements and
conditions contained in this Agreement or in the other Loan
Documents required to be performed or complied with by them prior
to or at the Closing. At the time of Closing, no Default shall have
occurred and be continuing or would result from the consummation of
the Overall Transaction.
20
3.03
Compliance Certificate.
The Purchasers
shall have received an Officers’ Certificate, dated the
Closing Date and satisfactory in form and substance to the
Purchasers, certifying that the conditions specified in
Sections 3.01 and 3.02 have been fulfilled. If required by the
Purchasers, such Officers’ Certificate will also certify as
to such matters of fact as the Purchasers may reasonably request to
enable the Purchasers to determine compliance with such
conditions.
3.04 Opinions
of Counsel.
The Purchasers
shall have received (a) a favorable opinion from Jenkens &
Gilchrist, a Professional Corporation, counsel for the Company and
the Guarantors, in the form of Exhibit B, (b) a favorable
opinion of J. Curtis Linscott, General Counsel to the Company and
the Guarantors, in the form of Exhibit C and (c) a
favorable opinion from Bingham McCutchen LLP, special counsel for
the Purchasers, in the form of Exhibit D. Each such opinion
shall (i) be addressed to the Purchasers, (ii) be dated
the Closing Date and (iii) state that all Transferees are
entitled to rely thereon as though it were addressed to
them.
The Purchasers
shall have received (a) copies of resolutions of the Board of
Directors of each Loan Party, certified as of the Closing Date by
the Secretary or an Assistant Secretary of such Loan Party, duly
authorizing the Overall Transaction, (b) a certificate as to
the incumbency and authority of the Person or Persons executing and
delivering Loan Documents on behalf of such Loan Party and
(c) such other documents and evidence as the Purchasers or its
special counsel may request with respect to any Loan Party or the
Overall Transaction, including the taking of all corporate
proceedings in connection therewith and compliance with the
conditions set forth herein, in each case in form and substance
satisfactory to the Purchasers.
3.06 Purchase
Permitted by Applicable Laws, Etc.
The consummation
of the Private Placement on the terms and conditions herein
provided (including the use of the proceeds of such Notes by the
Company) shall (i) not violate any Legal Requirement
(including, without limitation, section 5 of the Securities Act or
Regulation U, T or X of the Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System), (ii) not subject the Purchasers to any tax
(other than routine income taxes), penalty, liability or other
onerous condition under or pursuant to any Legal Requirement and
(iii) constitute a legal investment under the laws and
regulations of each jurisdiction to which the Purchasers are
subject, but without resort to provisions (such as
Section 1405(a)(8) of the New York Insurance Law) which permit
the making of an investment without restriction as to the character
of the particular investment being made. If required by the
Purchasers, the Purchasers shall have received an Officers’
Certificate, dated the Closing Date, certifying as to such matters
of fact as the Purchasers may reasonably specify to enable the
Purchasers to determine compliance with the conditions set forth in
the preceding sentence.
21
3.07 Payment
of Closing Fees.
The Company shall
have paid the fees and disbursements which it is obligated to pay
pursuant to Section 11.02 and which have been invoiced to the
Company prior to the time of Closing.
3.08 Private
Placement Number.
The CUSIP Service
Bureau of Standard & Poor’s Information Group shall have
issued to the Purchasers a private placement number with respect to
the Notes.
The Purchasers
shall have received the Notes complying with the requirements of
Section 1.03.
3.10 Guaranty;
Subrogation and Contribution Agreement.
Each Guarantor and
the Company shall have duly authorized, executed and delivered to
the Purchasers a Joint and Several Guaranty, dated the Closing
Date, in the form of Exhibit E (as may be amended from time to
time, the “ Guaranty ”) and a Subrogation and
Contribution Agreement.
3.11 Other
Loan Documents.
Each of the other
Loan Documents shall (a) have been duly authorized, executed,
acknowledged (if appropriate) and delivered by the respective Loan
Parties thereto, (b) be dated as of the Closing Date,
(c) be in form and substance satisfactory to the Purchasers
and (d) be in full force and effect on the Closing Date
without any default existing thereunder. A counterpart of each Loan
Document executed by the Loan Parties thereto shall have been
delivered to the Purchasers or its special counsel. Each Loan
Document shall constitute the valid and binding obligation of each
Loan Party thereto, enforceable against such Loan Party in
accordance with the terms thereof.
All proceedings
taken or to be taken in connection with the Overall Transaction
prior to or on the Closing Date (and all documents incident
thereto) shall be satisfactory in substance and form to the
Purchasers, and the Purchasers and its special counsel shall have
received all such counterpart originals or certified or other
copies of such documents as the Purchasers may reasonably
request.
The Company will
apply the proceeds of the Private Placement solely to pay the costs
and expenses described in Section 11.02 and to repay
indebtedness of the Company. Nothing in
22
this
Section 4.01 is intended to prohibit the Company from
borrowing or re-borrowing under the Existing Bank Loan
Agreement.
The Company will
not, directly or indirectly, use any of the proceeds of the Private
Placement for the purpose, whether immediate, incidental or
ultimate, of buying a “margin stock” or of maintaining,
reducing or retiring any indebtedness originally incurred to
purchase a stock that is currently a “margin stock”, or
for any other purpose which might constitute the private placement
of a “purpose credit,” in each case within the meaning
of Regulation U (12 C.F.R. 221, as amended) or
Regulation T (12 C.F.R. 220, as amended) of the Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve System, or otherwise take or
permit to be taken any action which would involve a violation of
such Regulation U or T or of Regulation X (12 C.F.R. 224,
as amended) of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
or any other regulation of such Board.
5.01 Required
Prepayments of the Notes.
(a) Unless the
aggregate principal amount of the then outstanding Notes shall have
become due and payable pursuant to Section 10.01, the Company
shall apply to the prepayment of the Notes, without premium, and
there shall become due and payable, the sum of $6,666,666.67 on
December 28 in each of the years 2010 through 2014 (or, in the
case of any such prepayment, such lesser principal amount of the
Notes as shall then be outstanding), leaving $6,666,666.67
principal amount (or such other principal amount thereof as then
remains unpaid) of the Notes for payment at their stated maturity
on December 28, 2015. Each such prepayment shall be at 100% of
the principal amount of the Notes so prepaid, together with all
accrued and unpaid interest thereon to the date of prepayment. No
partial prepayment of the Notes pursuant to Section 5.02 shall
relieve the Company from its obligation to make the required
prepayments provided for in this Section 5.01.
(b) Whenever any
prepayment to be made under this Section 5.01 shall be stated
to be due on a day which is not a Business Day, the due date
thereof shall be extended to the next succeeding Business Day and
the amount of such prepayment shall bear interest at the applicable
rate during such extension.
5.02 Optional
Prepayments of the Notes.
The Company may,
at its option, upon notice as provided in Section 5.03, at any
time or from time to time, prepay any part (in a principal amount
of at least $1,000,000 or an integral multiple of $100,000 in
excess thereof) or all of the Notes at 100% of the principal amount
so prepaid, together with all accrued and unpaid interest thereon
to the date of prepayment, plus a premium equal to the Make-Whole
Premium, if any, on the amount so prepaid, determined as of two
Business Days prior to the date of such prepayment pursuant to this
Section 5.02.
23
5.03 Notice of
Optional Prepayments; Officers’ Certificate.
The Company shall
give each Holder irrevocable written notice of each optional
prepayment of Notes made under Section 5.02 not less than 30
nor more than 60 days prior to the date fixed for such
prepayment (which shall be a Business Day), in each case specifying
(a) such prepayment date, (b) the aggregate principal
amount of the Notes to be prepaid, (c) the aggregate principal
amount of the Notes held by such Holder to be prepaid,
(d) that a Make-Whole Premium may be payable, (e) the date
when such Make-Whole Premium will be calculated, (f) the
estimated Make-Whole Premium together with a reasonably detailed
calculation of such Make-Whole Premium and (g) the accrued
interest applicable to the prepayment. The Company will give each
Holder, one Business Day prior to the date scheduled for any such
prepayment, an Officers’ Certificate certifying that the
conditions of Section 5.02 have been fulfilled and specifying
the particulars of such fulfillment, and setting forth the
calculations used in computing such Make-Whole Premium, or stating
that no Make-Whole Premium is due and including the reason for such
statement.
5.04
Allocation of Partial Prepayments.
Any partial
prepayment of the Notes shall be allocated among all Notes at the
time outstanding in proportion, as nearly as practicable, to the
respective unpaid principal amounts of the Notes so outstanding,
with adjustments, to the extent practicable, to compensate for any
prior payments not made exactly in such proportion. All partial
prepayments shall be applied to the Notes in anticipation and
satisfaction of the prepayments required to be made by the
provisions of Section 5.01, in inverse order of the maturity
thereof.
5.05 Maturity;
Surrender, Etc.
In the case of any
prepayment of the Notes pursuant to this Section 5, 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 Premium, if any. From and after such date,
unless the Company shall fail to pay such principal amount when due
and payable, together with the interest and Make-Whole Premium, if
any, as aforesaid, interest on such principal amount shall cease to
accrue. Any Note paid or prepaid in full shall, after such payment
or prepayment in full, be surrendered to the Company and be
cancelled and shall not be reissued, and no Note shall be issued in
lieu of any prepaid principal amount of any Note.
5.06
Retirement of Notes.
The Company shall
not, and shall not permit any of its Affiliates to, prepay or
otherwise retire, in whole or in part, prior to their stated final
maturity (other than by prepayment pursuant to this Section 5
or upon acceleration of such final maturity pursuant to
Section 10.01), or purchase or otherwise acquire, directly or
indirectly, Notes held by any Holder unless the Company or such
Affiliate shall have offered to prepay or otherwise retire or
purchase or otherwise acquire, as the case may be, the same
proportion of the aggregate principal amount of Notes held by each
other Holder at the time outstanding upon the same terms and
conditions. Any Notes prepaid pursuant to this Section 5 or
Section 10.01 or otherwise retired or purchased
24
or otherwise
acquired by the Company or any of its Affiliates shall not be
deemed to be outstanding for any purpose under this Agreement,
provided that, with respect to each prepayment pursuant to
this Section 5, all Notes then held by the Company and its
Affiliates shall nonetheless be entitled to participate in such
prepayment the same as if such Notes were deemed
outstanding.
6.
REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE COMPANY
The Company
represents and warrants that:
(a) The Company
has no Subsidiaries on the date hereof except those listed in
Schedule II, each of which is a Consolidated Subsidiary, other than
RATI Holding, Inc., a Wholly-Owned Subsidiary.
(b)
Schedule II sets forth, with respect to each of the
Subsidiaries listed therein, (i) whether such Subsidiary is a
corporation or partnership, (ii) the jurisdiction of its
incorporation or formation (as the case may be) and (iii) each
jurisdiction in which it is qualified to do business as a foreign
Person.
(c) All of the
issued and outstanding Stock or partnership interests of each
Subsidiary is validly issued, fully-paid and is nonassessable and,
except for directors’ qualifying shares of partnership
interests (if any), is owned (beneficially and of record) by the
Company or other Subsidiaries free and clear of any
Lien.
(d) No Subsidiary
owns any Stock of the Company.
6.02
Organization, Qualification, Authorization, Etc.
(a) The Company
and each Subsidiary (i) is a corporation or partnership (as
the case may be) duly organized or formed (as the case may be) and
existing in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its
organization or formation (as the case may be), (ii) is duly
qualified or registered and in good standing as a foreign Person in
each jurisdiction in which the nature of such qualification or
registration is necessary and in which the failure to so qualify or
register could have a Material Adverse Effect and (iii) has
the corporate or partnership (as the case may be) power (A) to
own its Properties, (B) to carry on its business as now being
conducted and (C) to consummate the Overall Transaction.
Schedule III sets forth each jurisdiction in which the Company
is qualified or registered to do business as a foreign
corporation.
(b) The execution,
delivery and performance by each Loan Party of the Loan Documents
to which it is a party have been duly authorized by all necessary
corporate or partnership (as the case may be) action on the part of
such Loan Party. This Agreement constitutes, and the Notes and such
other Loan Documents (when executed and delivered as contemplated
hereby) will each constitute, a legal, valid and binding obligation
of each Loan Party thereto, enforceable in accordance with its
terms, except as the enforceability
25
thereof may be
limited by bankruptcy, insolvency or other laws of general
application relating to the enforcement of creditors’
rights.
6.03
Disclosure Documents.
(a) The Company
has heretofore furnished the Purchasers with true, correct and
complete copies of the following documents, and each of the
Purchasers has acknowledged receipt of same:
(1) the
Organizational Documents of the Company and each Subsidiary as in
effect on the date hereof;
(2) the
Company’s Annual Reports to Stockholders for the Fiscal Years
ended December 31, 2000 through 2004 (inclusive);
(3) the
Company’s Annual Reports on Form 10-K for the Fiscal Years
ended December 31, 2000 through 2004 (inclusive), as filed
with the SEC;
(4) the
Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the Fiscal
Quarter ended September 30, 2005 as filed with the
SEC;
(5) the
consolidated financial statements of the Company and the
Consolidated Subsidiaries described in Schedule VI (the
“ Company Financials ”);
(6) the
projections described in Schedule VII (the “
Projections ”); and
(7) the Existing
Bank Loan Agreement (in the form of Exhibit G).
(b) The Company
Financials (including any related schedules and/or notes)
(i) were true and correct in all material respects as at the
dates thereof, (ii) were prepared in accordance with GAAP
consistently followed throughout the periods involved and
(iii) show all liabilities, direct and contingent, of the
Company and the Consolidated Subsidiaries required to be shown in
accordance with GAAP. The balance sheets included in the Company
Financials fairly present the consolidated financial condition of
the Company and the Consolidated Subsidiaries as at the dates
thereof, and the statements of operations and statements of cash
flows included in the Company Financials fairly present the
consolidated results of operations and cash flows of the Company
and the Consolidated Subsidiaries for the periods
indicated.
(c) The
Projections are based on good faith estimates and assumptions
believed by the Company to be reasonable at the time made, it being
recognized by the Purchasers that the Projections, insofar as they
relate to future events, are not to be viewed as facts and that
actual results during the period or periods covered by the
Projections may differ materially from the projected results. Since
the preparation of the Projections, nothing has occurred to cause
the Company to believe that the estimates and assumptions on which
the Projections are based are no longer reasonable.
26
(a) Since
December 31, 2004, (i) neither the Company nor any
Subsidiary has entered into any material transactions not in the
ordinary course of business, nor incurred any material liabilities
or obligations, direct or contingent, except for the Loan
Documents, the Existing Bank Loan Agreement and Material Contracts
listed on Schedule V hereto entered into subsequent to
December 31, 2004 and (ii) except as has been disclosed
in Company’s public filings with the SEC, no events have
occurred which, individually or in the aggregate, have had, or in
the future could reasonably be expected to have, a Material Adverse
Effect.
(b) Neither the
business nor the Properties of the Company or any of the
Subsidiaries are presently affected by any fire, explosion,
accident, labor controversy, strike, lockout or other labor
dispute, drought, storm, hail, earthquake, embargo, act of God or
of the public enemy or other casualty which could reasonably be
expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
6.05 Tax
Returns and Payments.
(a) The Company
and each Subsidiary has filed all tax returns required by law to be
filed by it (or obtained extensions with respect thereto) and has
paid all taxes, assessments and other governmental charges levied
upon it or any of its Properties, income or franchises which are
shown to be due and payable on such returns and all other taxes and
assessments payable by it, other than (i) those which are not
past due, (ii) those which are presently being contested in
good faith by appropriate proceedings diligently conducted for
which such reserves or other appropriate provisions, if any, as
shall be required by GAAP have been made and (iii) those not
reflected on such returns the non-payment of which could not
reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. No
contest referred to in the foregoing clause (ii) could
reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse
Effect.
(b) After due
inquiry, the Company knows of no proposed tax assessment against
the Company or any Subsidiary which could reasonably be expected to
have a Material Adverse Effect. In the opinion of the Company, all
tax liabilities of the Company and the Subsidiaries are adequately
provided for on their respective books. The Federal income tax
returns of the Company and the Subsidiaries for 2002 and subsequent
Fiscal Years are open to examination by the IRS.
6.06
Indebtedness; Solvency.
(a) The Company
and the Subsidiaries have no outstanding Indebtedness for Money
Borrowed other than (i) the indebtedness evidenced by the
Notes and the Guaranty, (ii) the indebtedness evidenced by the
1995 Notes and the 1995 Guaranty, (iii) the indebtedness
evidenced by the 1997 Notes and the 1997 Guaranty, (iv) the
indebtedness evidenced by the 2002 Notes and the 2002 Guaranty,
(v) indebtedness outstanding under the Existing Bank Loan
Agreement, (vi) the indebtedness described in
27
Schedule XIII, and (vii) other
indebtedness permitted under Section 9.05 which indebtedness
does not exceed $500,000 in the aggregate.
(b) Each of the
Loan Parties (i) has, and after giving effect to the Overall
Transaction will have, capital sufficient to carry on its business
and transactions and all the business and transactions in which it
is about to engage, (ii) is, and after giving effect to the
Overall Transaction will be, solvent and able to pay its debts as
they mature and (iii) owns, and after giving effect to the
Overall Transaction will own, Property having a value, both at fair
valuation and present fair salable value, greater than the amount
required to pay the probable liability on its debts.
The Company and
each Subsidiary possess all Permits that are necessary or desirable
in connection with the ownership, use or operation by it of its
Properties and the conduct by it, in the ordinary course, of its
business as now conducted and as currently proposed to be
conducted, except those Permits the absence of which would not have
a Material Adverse Effect. None of such Permits impose any material
burden or restriction on the Company or any Subsidiary. The Company
and the Subsidiaries are in compliance with all terms of such
Permits. All such Permits are valid and in full force and effect
and, to the Company’s knowledge (after due inquiry), none are
threatened to be revoked, cancelled, suspended or modified for any
reason.
Schedule V
describes all Material Contracts existing on the date hereof. Each
of such Material Contracts (a) has been duly executed and
delivered by, and constitutes the legal, valid and binding
obligation of, each Loan Party thereto, enforceable against each
such Loan Party in accordance with its terms, (b) is in full
force and effect and (c) except as reflected in Schedule V,
has not been amended or modified, nor any provision thereof waived,
in any respect. The Company and each Subsidiary has, and, to the
Company’s knowledge, all other parties to such Material
Contracts have, performed and complied in all material respects
with all of the terms and conditions set forth therein. No default
by the Company, any Subsidiary or, to the Company’s
knowledge, any such other party exists under any such Material
Contract, which individually, or in the aggregate for all such
defaults, could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse
Effect.
6.09 Title to
Property, Etc.
(a) The Company
and each Subsidiary has good and indefeasible fee simple title to
its real property and good and defensible title to all of its other
Property, including the Property reflected in the balance sheets
included in the Company Financials (other than Properties disposed
of in the ordinary course of business), subject to no Lien of any
kind except Permitted Liens which do not, individually or in the
aggregate, materially affect or interfere with, or if used or
availed of will not materially affect or interfere with, the
occupancy, use or operation of such item of Property for its
intended purpose or the peaceful and quiet use and enjoyment
thereof by the Company or such Subsidiary, as the case may
be.
28
(b) No lease under
which the Company or any Subsidiary is the lessee or is operating
contains any provision which individually or in the aggregate
interferes with the ordinary conduct of the business of the Company
or such Subsidiary or otherwise could reasonably be expected to
have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company and each Subsidiary
enjoys peaceful and undisturbed possession under all leases under
which it is the lessee or is operating, except where the absence of
such possession would not have a Material Adverse Effect. All of
such leases are valid and subsisting and no default by the Company,
such Subsidiary or, to the Company’s knowledge, any such
other party exists thereunder, which individually, or in the
aggregate for all such defaults, could reasonably be expected to
have a Material Adverse Effect.
6.10 Condition
of Property.
The facilities of
the Company and the Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, are in a
condition and state of repair which are sufficient and adequate to
operate their respective businesses in a proper and efficient
manner.
6.11
Compliance with Applicable Laws, Permits and
Contracts.
(a) Neither the
Company nor any Subsidiary is in violation of (i) any
provision of its Organizational Documents, (ii) any Applicable
Permit or Applicable Contract (including the Existing Bank Loan
Agreement, the 1995 Note Agreement, the 1997 Note Agreement and the
2002 Note Agreement) or (iii) any instrument evidencing or
otherwise relating to Indebtedness for Money Borrowed (other than,
in the case of the foregoing clauses (ii) and (iii),
violations which, individually or collectively, could not
reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect), and the
execution, delivery and performance of the Loan Documents and the
consummation of the Overall Transaction will not result in any
violation of or constitute a default under any of the foregoing or
result in the creation of (or impose any obligation on the Company
or any Subsidiary to create) any Lien that is not a Permitted Lien
upon any Property of the Company or any Subsidiary.
(b) Neither the
Company nor any Subsidiary is in violation of any Legal Requirement
other than violations which, individually or collectively, will not
have a Material Adverse Effect, and the execution, delivery and
performance of the Loan Documents and the consummation of the
Overall Transaction will not result in a violation of any Legal
Requirement.
(c) Except for
this Agreement, the Existing Bank Loan Agreement, the 1995 Note
Agreement, the 1997 Note Agreement and the 2002 Note Agreement,
neither the Company nor any Subsidiary is a party to or bound by
any Permit, agreement or instrument (including its Organizational
Documents) which contains any restrictions or limitations on the
incurrence by the Company or such Subsidiary of any Indebtedness
for Money Borrowed.
29
(d) 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 Indebtedness for Money Borrowed of the Company or such
Subsidiary.
No action, suit,
investigation or proceeding is pending or, to the knowledge of the
Company (after due inquiry), threatened against or affecting the
Company or any Subsidiary or any Property of the Company or any
Subsidiary which (a) individually or collectively, could
reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect or
(b) questions the validity of any Loan Document or any action
taken or to be taken pursuant thereto.
Each Benefit
Arrangement is (and has been) maintained and operated in compliance
in all material respects with the applicable provisions of ERISA,
the Code and other Legal Requirements. Neither the Company nor any
member of the ERISA Group has failed to timely make any required
contribution or payment to or in respect of any Benefit
Arrangement. No Benefit Arrangement provides post employment health
benefits except as required by Part 6 of Subtitle B of ERISA.
No litigation, investigation or claim (other than a routine claim
for benefits) is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company (after
due inquiry), threatened or anticipated concerning any Benefit
Arrangement. The Company and/or the members of its ERISA Group may
at any time unilaterally, without the consent of any Person,
terminate any and/or all Benefit Arrangement(s) without incurring
any material liability. The execution and delivery of this
Agreement and the other Loan Documents and the issue and sale of
the Notes will not involve any transaction which is subject to the
prohibitions of section 406 of ERISA or in connection with which a
tax could be imposed pursuant to section 4975 of the Code. The
representation by the Company in the next preceding sentence is
made in reliance upon and subject to the accuracy of the
representation of the Purchasers in Section 7 as to the source
of the funds to be used to pay the purchase price of the
Notes.
6.14 No
Governmental Consents Required for Overall
Transaction.
Neither the nature
of the Company nor any Subsidiary, nor the business or Properties
of the Company or any Subsidiary, nor any relationship between the
Company or any Subsidiary and any other Person, nor any
circumstance in connection with the offering, issuance, sale or
delivery of the Notes is such as to require any authorization,
consent, approval, exemption or other action by or notice to or
filing with any Governmental Authority in connection with the
execution and delivery of this Agreement, the other Loan Documents
or the consummation of the Overall Transaction other than routine
SEC filings by the Company under the Exchange Act.
Neither the
Company nor its Affiliates nor anyone acting on its or their behalf
has, directly or indirectly, (a) offered the Notes or any
similar security of the Company for sale to, or solicited any
offers to buy the Notes or any similar security of the Company
from, or otherwise approached or negotiated with respect thereto
with, any Person other than the Purchasers and not more than 70
other institutional investors, each of which has been offered the
Notes at a private
30
sale for
investment or (b) taken or will take any action which would
require the issuance or sale of the Notes to be registered pursuant
to the provisions of section 5 of the Securities Act or pursuant to
the provisions of any securities or Blue Sky law of any
jurisdiction.
The Company will
apply the proceeds of the sale of the Notes in accordance with
Section 4. No indebtedness being reduced or retired, directly
or indirectly, out of the proceeds of the sale of the Notes was
incurred for the purpose of purchasing or carrying any stock which
is currently a “margin stock” (as defined in
Section 4.02), and the Company neither owns nor has any
present intention of acquiring any amount of “margin
stock.” None of the proceeds of the sale of the Notes will be
used to acquire any security in any transaction which is subject to
section 13 or 14 of the Exchange Act, including particularly
sections 13(d) and 14(d) thereof.
6.17 Foreign
Assets Control Regulations, Etc.
(a) Neither the
issue and sale of the Notes by the Company nor its use of the
proceeds thereof as contemplated by this Agreement will violate the
Trading with the Enemy Act, (50 U.S.C. App. §§1 et
seq ., 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) No Loan Party
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) knowingly 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, for any payments to any governmental
official or employee, political party, official of a political
party, candidate for political office, or anyone else acting in an
official capacity, in order to obtain, retain or direct business or
obtain any improper advantage, 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.
6.18 Status
Under Certain Federal Statutes.
No Loan Party is
(a) an “investment company” or a Person
“controlled” by or acting on behalf of an
“investment company,” in each case within the meaning
of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, (b) a
“holding company” or a “subsidiary company”
of a “holding company” or an “affiliate” of
a “holding company” or of a “subsidiary
company” of a “holding company,” as such terms
are defined in the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935, as
amended, (c) subject to regulation under the Federal Power
Act, as amended, (d) subject to the ICC Termination Act of
1995, as amended, or (e) a “rail carrier” or a
“person controlled by or affiliated with a rail
carrier”, within the meaning of Title 49, U.S.C.
31
6.19
Environmental Matters.
(a) The Company
and each Subsidiary has all Environmental Permits necessary for the
conduct of its business and for the ownership, use, maintenance and
operation of its assets, and is in compliance with all material
terms thereof. All such Environmental Permits are valid and in full
force and effect and, to the Company’s knowledge, none are
threatened to be revoked, cancelled, suspended or modified
adversely for any reason. As to any such Environmental Permit that
is about to expire or is needed for the proposed conduct of its
business, the Company or such Subsidiary, as the case may be, has
timely and properly applied for renewal or receipt of the same or,
if such Permit is not reasonably expected to be renewed, such
nonrenewal will not have a Material Adverse Effect.
(b) Without in any
manner limiting any other representations and warranties set forth
in this Agreement:
(i) neither the
Company nor any Subsidiary, nor any real property or facility
presently owned, used, maintained or operated by the Company or any
Subsidiary, nor any of the other assets of the Company or any
Subsidiary is in violation of or is in noncompliance with, any
Environmental Laws, except for violations or noncompliances which,
individually or in the aggregate, could not reasonably be expected
to have a Material Adverse Effect; and
(ii) without in
any manner limiting the generality of clause
(i) above:
(A) no Hazardous
Materials have been used, generated, manufactured, transported,
stored or treated, or disposed of, landfilled or in any other way
Released by or on behalf of the Company or any Subsidiary, except
for those of the foregoing activities which, individually or in the
aggregate, could not have a Material Adverse Effect;
(B) to the
Company’s knowledge, no Hazardous Materials have been used,
generated, manufactured, stored or treated, or disposed of,
landfilled or in any other way Released (and no Release is
threatened), by any Person other than the Company or any Subsidiary
on, under, about or from any Property now or previously owned,
used, maintained or operated by the Company or any Subsidiary or
any Property adjacent to any such Property except for those of the
foregoing activities (including Releases and threatened Releases)
which, individually or in the aggregate, could not have a Material
Adverse Effect;
(C) neither the
Company nor any Subsidiary is subject, as a result of the operation
or condition of its business or assets prior to or at Closing, to
any (1) contingent liability in connection with any Release or
threatened Release of any Hazardous Materials into the
environment
32
whether on or
off any Property owned, used, maintained or operated by the Company
or such Subsidiary or (2) reclamation or remediation
requirements under Environmental Laws, or any reporting
requirements related thereto, except for liabilities or
requirements which, individually or in the aggregate, could not
have a Material Adverse Effect;
(D) neither the
Company nor any Subsidiary has been named as a potentially
responsible party under, and none of its Property has been
nominated or identified as a facility which is subject to an
existing or potential claim under, CERCLA or comparable
Environmental Laws, and no such Property is subject to any Lien
arising under Environmental Laws;
(E) to the
Company’s knowledge, the Company and each Subsidiary has all
environmental and pollution control equipment necessary for (1)
compliance in all material respects with all Environmental Laws
(including all applicable Permits) and (2) operation of the
business of the Company or such Subsidiary as it is presently
conducted;
(F) no Hazardous
Materials have been incorporated into or contained in any of the
personal property or improvements to real property owned, used,
maintained or operated by the Company or any Subsidiary such that
such Hazardous Materials could reasonably be expected to have a
Material Adverse Effect;
(G) none of the
locations where Hazardous Materials have been used, generated,
manufactured, stored, treated, recycled, disposed of or Released by
or on behalf of the Company or any Subsidiary has been nominated or
identified as a facility which may be subject to an existing or
potential claim under CERCLA or comparable Environmental
Laws;
(H) to the
knowledge of the Company, none of the offsite locations where
Hazardous Materials from any of the assets of the Company or any
Subsidiary have been stored, treated, recycled, disposed of or
Released has been nominated or identified as a facility which may
be subject to an existing or potential claim under CERCLA or
comparable Environmental Laws;
(I) neither the
Company nor any Subsidiary has received any written notices of
(1) any violation of, noncompliance with or remedial
obligation under Environmental Laws relating to the ownership, use,
maintenance, operation of, or conduct of business related to, any
Property of the Company or such Subsidiary or (2) any Release
or threatened Release of Hazardous Materials, except for
violations, noncompliances, obligations, Releases or threatened
Releases which,
33
individually or
in the aggregate, could not reasonably be expected to have a
Material Adverse Effect;
(J) there are no
writs, injunctions, decrees, orders or judgments outstanding, or
lawsuits, claims, proceedings or investigations pending or, to the
knowledge of the Company, threatened relating to the ownership,
use, maintenance, operation of, or conduct of business related to,
any Property of the Company or any Subsidiary arising out of or
relating to Environmental Laws, nor does the Company or any
Subsidiary have knowledge (after due inquiry) of any basis for any
of the foregoing, except for writs, injunctions, decrees, orders,
judgments, lawsuits, claims, proceedings or investigations which,
individually or in the aggregate, could not reasonably be expected
to have a Material Adverse Effect;
(K) no underground
or aboveground storage tanks or surface impoundments are located at
any Property owned, used, maintained or operated by the Company or
any Subsidiary other than those which, individually or in the
aggregate, could not reasonably be expected to have a Material
Adverse Effect; and
(L) there are no
material obligations, undertakings or liabilities arising out of or
relating to Environmental Laws which the Company or any Subsidiary
has agreed to, assumed or retained, by contract or
otherwise.
The Company
maintains books, records and accounts with respect to itself and
the Subsidiaries which, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly
reflect their transactions and dispositions of their assets, and
maintains a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to
provide reasonable assurances that (a) transactions are
executed in accordance with management’s general or specific
authorization, (b) transactions are recorded as necessary
(i) to permit preparation of financial statements in
accordance with GAAP, and (ii) to maintain accountability for
assets, (c) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with
management’s general or specific authorization and
(d) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with
the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action
is taken with respect to any differences.
The fiscal year of
the Company and each Subsidiary coincides with the calendar
year.
All negotiations
relative to this Agreement, the other Loan Documents and the
transactions contemplated hereby have been carried on by the
Company and the other Loan
34
Parties without
the intervention of any Person which might give rise to a valid
claim against the Purchasers for a brokerage commission or other
like payment.
Schedule IX
lists each employment, consultant or similar agreement and all
labor contracts and collective bargaining agreements to which the
Company or any Subsidiary is a party or by which it is bound.
Except as otherwise listed on Schedule IX, no strikes or other
labor disputes are pending or threatened against the Company or any
Subsidiary. All payments due from the Company or any Subsidiary on
account of employee health and welfare insurance have been paid or,
if not due, have been accrued as liabilities on the books of the
Company or such Subsidiary.
6.24 Patents,
Trademarks, Etc.
The Company and
each Subsidiary owns, or is licensed or otherwise has the lawful
right to use, all patents, trademarks, tradenames, copyrights,
technology, know-how and processes necessary for the conduct of its
business as now conducted and as proposed to be conducted. All
tradenames used by the Company or any Subsidiary are listed on
Schedule X. Assumed name certificates have been duly filed of
record with appropriate Governmental Authorities for each of such
tradenames, except where the failure to do so could not reasonably
be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect..
6.25 Chief
Executive Office.
The chief
executive office of the Company and the office where it maintains
its records is located at 1600 West 7 th Street, Fort Worth, Texas 76102-2599.
6.26 Permitted
Investments.
Schedule XI
specifies the aggregate amount of each investment held by the
Company and any of its Subsidiaries on the date hereof other than
those permitted by clauses (a) through (k) of
Section 9.08.
None of the
Properties of the Company or any Subsidiary is subject to any Lien
other than Permitted Liens.
(a) Neither this
Agreement (including the Schedules and Exhibits hereto), the other
Loan Documents, the Company Financials, the instruments described
in Section 6.03(a) nor any document delivered by the Company
or any of its Affiliates pursuant to Section 3 contains any
untrue statement of a material fact or omits to state a material
fact necessary in order to make the statements contained herein or
therein not misleading in light of the circumstances under which
the same were made.
35
(b) There is no
fact (excluding general economic or industry conditions not
peculiar to the Company or any Subsidiary) which (i) has had a
Material Adverse Effect or, in the opinion of any Responsible
Officer of the Company, could reasonably be expected in the future
to have a Material Adverse Effect and (ii) has not been set
forth in this Agreement (including the Schedules and Exhibits
hereto) or in the Company Financials.
|
7.
|
|
PURCHASE FOR INVESTMENT; SOURCE OF
FUNDS
|
7.01
Representations of the Purchasers.
(a) Each of the
Purchasers hereby represents to the Company that it (i) is
purchasing the Notes for its own account for investment and not
with a view to, or for sale in connection with, the distribution
thereof or with any present intention of distributing or selling
any of the Notes, provided that the disposition of the
Purchaser’s property shall at all times be within its
control, (ii) is an “accredited investor”, as
defined in Regulation D under the Securities Act, and (iii)
(x) has knowledge and experience in financial and business
matters such that it is capable of evaluating the merits and risks
of the investment in the Notes and (y) is able to bear the
economic risk of such investment. Each of the Purchasers
understands that the Notes have not been registered under the
Securities Act and may not be sold or otherwise transferred by the
Purchasers except pursuant to an effective registration statement
under such Act or pursuant to an available exemption therefrom
under such Act.
(b) Each of the
Purchasers further represents to the Company that at least one of
the following statements is an accurate representation as to each
source of funds (a “ Source”) to be used by it
to pay the purchase price of the Notes to be purchased by it
hereunder:
(i) 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 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; or
(ii) 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
36
of such plan
(including any annuitant)) are not affected in any manner by the
investment performance of the separate account; or
(iii) the Source
is either (1) an insurance company pooled separate account,
within the meaning of PTE 90-1 or (2) a bank collective
investment fund, within the meaning of the PTE 91-38 and, except as
disclosed by such Purchaser to the Company in writing pursuant to
this clause (iii), 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;
or
(iv) (1) 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), (2) 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 Section 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, (3) the conditions of Part I(c) and
(g) of the QPAM Exemption are satisfied, (4) neither the
QPAM nor a person controlling or controlled by the QPAM (applying
the definition of “control” in Section V(e) of the
QPAM Exemption) owns a 5% or more interest in the Company and
(5) the identity of such QPAM and 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 (iv); or
(v) the Source
constitutes assets of a “plan(s)” (within the meaning
of Section 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
1NHAM 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 Section IV(d) of the
INHAM Exemption) owns a 5% or more interest in the Company and
(1) the identity of such INHAM and (2) 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
(v); or
(vi) the Source is
a governmental plan; or
(vii) 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 clause (vii); or
(viii) the Source
does not include assets of any employee benefit plan, other than a
plan exempt from the coverage of ERISA.
37
As used in this
Section 7.01(b), the terms “employee benefit
plan,” “governmental plan,” and
“separate account” shall have the respective
meanings assigned to such terms in section 3 of ERISA.
(c) Purchasers
have received all of the items described in
Section 6.03.
8.01 Financial
Statements, Reports and Documents.
The Company shall
deliver to each Holder (in duplicate):
(a) as soon as
available, and in any event within 45 days, after the end of
each Fiscal Quarter (other than the last Fiscal Quarter in any
Fiscal Year), a consolidated balance sheet of the Company and the
Consolidated Subsidiaries (in reasonable detail) as of the end of
such Fiscal Quarter and the related consolidated statements of
income, stockholders’ equity and cash flows of the Company
and the Consolidated Subsidiaries (in reasonable detail) for such
Fiscal Quarter and for the portion of the current Fiscal Year
ending on the last day of such Fiscal Quarter, in each case
(i) prepared in accordance with GAAP and (ii) setting forth in
comparative form the figures for the corresponding period of the
preceding Fiscal Year, which financial statements shall be
certified (subject to normal year-end audit adjustments) as to
fairness of presentation, compliance with GAAP and consistency with
prior periods by a Responsible Officer of the Company, it being
understood that no such statement need be accompanied by complete
footnotes;
(b) as soon as
available, and in any event within 90 days, after the end of
each Fiscal Year, a consolidated balance sheet of the Company and
the Consolidated Subsidiaries (in reasonable detail) as of the end
of such Fiscal Year and the related consolidated statements of
income, stockholders’ equity and cash flows of the Company
and the Consolidated Subsidiaries (in reasonable detail) for such
Fiscal Year, in each case (i) prepared in conformity with GAAP
and (ii) setting forth in comparative form the figures for the
preceding Fiscal Year, which financial statements shall be
accompanied by an opinion thereon (which shall not be qualified by
reason of any limitation imposed by the Company) of the Independent
Registered Public Accounting Firm stating that such financial
statements, in the opinion of the Independent Registered Public
Accounting Firm, present fairly, in all material respects, the
consolidated financial position of the Company and the Consolidated
Subsidiaries as at the end of such year, and the results of their
operations and their cash flows for such period in conformity with
accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of
America (except for noted changes in which the Independent
Registered Public Accounting Firm concurs) and that the examination
of the Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm in connection
with such financial statements has been made in accordance with the
standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United
States), and such examination includes examining, on a test basis,
evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the
38
financial
statements, assessing the accounting principles used and
significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the
overall financial statement presentation;
(c) simultaneously
with the delivery of each set of financial statements referred to
in clauses (a) and (b) above, an Officers’
Certificate (i) setting forth in reasonable detail the
calculations required to establish whether the Company was in
compliance with the requirements of Sections 9.01, 9.02, 9.03
and 9.04, on the date of such financial statements,
(ii) stating that the signers have reviewed this Agreement and
the other Loan Documents and have made, or caused to be made under
their supervision, a review of the transactions and condition of
the Company during the accounting period covered by such financial
statements and (iii) stating that such review did not disclose
the existence during or at the end of such accounting period of any
Default or, if any Default exists, specifying the nature and period
of existence thereof and what action the Company has taken, is
taking or proposes to take with respect thereto;
(d) so long as the
Existing Notes are outstanding, simultaneously with the delivery of
each set of financial statements referred to in clause
(b) above, a written statement by the Independent Registered
Public Accounting Firm giving the opinion thereon stating
(i) that their audit has included a review of the terms of
this Agreement and that such review is sufficient to enable them to
make the statement referred to in clause (iv) of this
paragraph (d) (it being understood that such Independent Registered
Public Accounting Firm shall not be required to conduct or make any
special or additional audit procedures or examinations for purposes
of such written statement, other than those required by generally
accepted auditing standards, and that their audit will not have
been directed primarily toward obtaining knowledge of any Default),
(ii) whether, in the course of their audit, they obtained
knowledge (and whether, as of the date of such written statement,
they have knowledge) of the existence and continuance of any
Default and, if so, specifying the nature and period of existence
thereof, (iii) that they have examined the Officers’
Certificate delivered in connection therewith pursuant to clause
(c) above and (iv) that the matters set forth in such
Officers’ Certificate pursuant to subclause (i) of
clause (c) above have been properly stated in accordance with
this Agreement;
(e) so long as the
Existing Notes are outstanding, promptly upon receipt thereof, a
copy of each management letter submitted to the Company by the
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (and each response of
the Company thereto), it being understood and agreed that all
material items which are furnished to the Holders pursuant to this
clause (e) shall be treated as confidential if such items are
not previously known to any Holder and if, and so long as, such
items are not generally available to the public, but nothing herein
contained shall limit or impair the right of any Holder to
(i) disclose such items to any other Holder, any prospective
Transferee, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners or
any Governmental Authority pursuant to an applicable legal
requirement or agreement, (ii) disclose such items in
connection with any litigation, investigation or similar
proceeding, (iii) use such information to the extent pertinent
to an evaluation of the Obligations or to enforce compliance with
the terms and conditions of this Agreement, (iv) take any
action required by law or (v) take any lawful action which
such Holder deems necessary to protect its interests under this
Agreement or any other
39
Loan Document
provided that such Holder shall use reasonable efforts to
provide to the Company notice of such disclosure and a reasonable
opportunity to contest or limit such disclosure;
(f) so long as the
Existing Notes are outstanding, promptly upon becoming available, a
copy of each consolidating balance sheet and income statement of
the Company and the Consolidated Subsidiaries prepared by or on
behalf of the Company after the date hereof;
(g) promptly upon
transmission thereof, a copy of each (i) financial statement,
proxy statement, notice and report sent or made available by the
Company to its security holders in compliance with the Exchange Act
or any comparable federal or state laws relating to the disclosure
by any Person of information to its security holders,
(ii) regular and periodic report, registration statement
(excluding exhibits) and prospectus filed by the Company with any
securities exchange or with the SEC or any Governmental Authority
succeeding to any of its functions (other than any such reports,
registration statements or prospectuses transmitted after the
Existing Notes are no longer outstanding and which are not material
to the business of the Company) and (iii) press release or
other statement made available by the Company to the public
concerning material developments in the business of the
Company;
(h) as soon as
practicable, and in any event within two Business Days, after the
Company obtains knowledge of any Default, an Officers’
Certificate specifying the nature and period of existence thereof
and what action the Company has taken, is taking or proposes to
take with respect thereto;
(i) as soon as
practicable, and in any event within ten Business Days, after the
Company obtains knowledge of any condition (excluding general
economic or industry conditions not peculiar to the Company or any
Subsidiary), happening or event which, in the opinion of the Board
of Directors or any Responsible Officer of the Company, could
reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, an
Officers’ Certificate specifying the nature and period of
existence thereof and what action the Company has taken, is taking
or proposes to take with respect thereto;
(j) promptly, a
copy of each Material Contract entered into or assumed by the
Company after the date hereof and each material amendment,
supplement or modification entered into after the date hereof in
respect of any Material Contract; and
(k) such other
information concerning the business, financial condition, results
of operation, prospects or Properties of the Company or any
Subsidiary as any Holder shall reasonably request.
Documents required
to be delivered pursuant to Sections 8.01(a), 8.01(b), 8.01(c)
or 8.01(g) (to the extent any such documents are included in
materials otherwise filed with the SEC) may be delivered
electronically and if so delivered, shall be deemed to have been
delivered on the date (i) on which the Company posts such
documents, or provides a link thereto on the Company’s
website on the Internet at
40
http://www.cashamerica.com
or any other website on the Internet
designated in writing to each of the Holders or (ii) on which
such documents are posted on the Company’s behalf on
http://www.sec.gov ; provided that, in each case, the
Company (A) shall have notified each Holder (by telecopier or
to an electronic mail address provided to the Company by such
Holder) of the posting of each of such documents and (B) shall
deliver paper copies of such documents to any Holder that requests
the Company to deliver such paper copies until a written request to
cease delivering paper copies is given by such Holder.
8.02 Payment
of Principal, Interest and Premium.
The Company will
duly and punctually pay the principal of, and interest and premium
(if any) on, the Notes in accordance with the terms of the Notes
and this Agreement.
8.03 Payment
of Taxes, Claims and Indebtedness.
The Company will,
and will cause each Subsidiary to, pay and discharge, as and when
due and payable, (a) all taxes, assessments and governmental
charges or levies imposed upon it or any of its Properties or in
respect of any of its franchises, business, income or profits,
(b) all claims (including claims for labor, services,
materials and supplies) for sums which, if unpaid, might become a
Lien upon any of its Property and (c) all of its other
indebtedness in excess of $5,000,000; provided, however,
that no such tax, assessment, charge or levy, claim or indebtedness
(other than the Obligations) need be paid if and so long as (i)
(A) no Default shall be in existence, (B) the amount,
applicability or validity thereof is being contested in good faith
by appropriate proceedings promptly initiated and diligently
conducted and (C) such reserves or other appropriate provision
(if any) as shall be required by GAAP shall have been made therefor
or (ii) the nonpayment of all such taxes, assessments, charges or
levies, claims or indebtedness in the aggregate could not
reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse
Effect.
8.04
Maintenance of Existence and Rights; Conduct of
Business.
The Company will,
and will cause each Subsidiary to, (a) preserve and keep in
full force and effect (except as permitted by Section 9.13)
its corporate or partnership, as the case may be, existence and all
of its rights, privileges and franchises necessary or desirable in
the normal conduct of its business, (b) qualify and remain
qualified as a foreign Person authorized to do business in each
jurisdiction in which such qualification is required except where
the failure to be so qualified could not reasonably be expected to
have a Material Adverse Effect and (c) carry on and conduct
its business (i) in the ordinary course, (ii) in an
orderly and efficient manner consistent with good business
practices and (iii) in accordance, in all material respects,
with all Legal Requirements.
41
8.05
Compliance with Loan Documents.
The Company will,
and will cause each Subsidiary to, promptly comply with any and all
covenants and provisions of each Loan Document to which it is a
party.
The Company will,
and will cause each Subsidiary to, permit any Person designated by
any Holder, at all reasonable times, to (i) visit and inspect
any of its Properties, (ii) examine, copy or make excerpts
from, any and all books, records, software, documents and other
information in the possession of the Company or such Subsidiary and
relating to its affairs and (iii) discuss its affairs,
finances and accounts with its directors, officers and its then
current Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm; and, by this
provision, the Company (on behalf of itself and each Subsidiary)
irrevocably authorizes such accountants to discuss with such Person
the affairs, finances and accounts of the Company and such
Subsidiary. All such visits and inspections shall be at the expense
of such Holder unless a Default shall exist, in which event the
reasonable costs and expenses associated with all such events and
inspections shall be at the expense of the Company.
The Company will,
and will cause each Subsidiary to, (a) maintain (in accordance
with good accounting practices and all Legal Requirements) complete
and accurate books, records and accounts accurately and fairly
reflecting its transactions in reasonable detail and
(b) maintain a system of internal accounting controls
sufficient to provide reasonable assurances that its transactions
are recorded as necessary (i) to permit preparation of
financial statements in accordance with GAAP and (ii) to
maintain accountability for its assets.
8.08
Compliance with Legal Requirements.
The Company will,
and will cause each Subsidiary to, comply with all Legal
Requirements applicable to it or any of its Properties, business,
operations or transactions except for noncompliances which,
individually or in the aggregate, could not reasonably be expected
to have a Material Adverse Effect.
The Company will,
and will cause each Subsidiary to, maintain in full force and
effect, with sound and reputable insurers, such insurance on its
Properties and business against such casualties, risks, liabilities
and contingencies, and in such types and amounts, as are consistent
with customary practices and standards of companies engaged in
similar businesses; provided, however, except as may be
required by any Legal Requirement, neither the Company nor any
Subsidiary shall be required to maintain (i) business
interruption insurance, (ii) insurance on its inventories,
(iii) plate glass insurance, or (iv) flood or earthquake
insurance.
42
8.10
Maintenance of Properties.
The Company will,
and will cause each of its Subsidiaries 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 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.
The Company will,
and will cause each Subsidiary to, promptly take all such actions
as the Required Holders may, at any time or from time to time,
reasonably request in order to (i) further carry out and
consummate the Overall Transaction or (ii) comply with or
accomplish the covenants and agreements of the Loan Parties in any
of the Loan Documents.
Until payment in
full of the Notes and all other Obligations, the Company covenants
and agrees as follows:
9.01
Consolidated Indebtedness for Money Borrowed.
(a) The Company
will not permit Consolidated Indebtedness for Money Borrowed, as of
the last day of any Fiscal Quarter ending on or after the Closing
Date, to be greater than the amount determined by multiplying the
Applicable Percentage times the sum of (a) Consolidated
Indebtedness for Money Borrowed as of such date and
(b) Consolidated Net Worth as of such date. As used in this
Section 9.01, “Applicable Percentage” means
75%.
(b) The Company
will not permit the ratio of
(i) Consolidated
Indebtedness for Money Borrowed, minus an amount equal to what
would be classified as cash or cash equivalents on a consolidated
balance sheet of the Company and the Consolidated Subsidiaries
prepared in accordance with GAAP, in each case determined as of the
end of each Fiscal Quarter, to
(ii) Consolidated
EBITDA for the period of four (4) consecutive Fiscal Quarters
ending with such Fiscal Quarter
to be greater than
3.0 to 1.00, as of each Fiscal Quarter ending after the Closing
Date.
43
9.02
Consolidated Net Worth.
The Company will
not permit Consolidated Net Worth at any time to be less than the
sum of (a) $270,000,000 plus (b) 50% of Consolidated Adjusted
Net Income (but only if positive) for each Fiscal Quarter ending on
or after September 30, 2005 plus (c) 100% of Net Equity
Proceeds received after the Closing Date.
9.03 Fixed
Charge Coverage.
The Company will
not at any time permit the ratio of (a) the sum of
Consolidated EBITDA for the period of four consecutive Fiscal
Quarters then most recently ended plus the aggregate amount
of all rents and leases deducted in the calculation of such
Consolidated EBITDA to (b) the aggregate amount of
(i) all such rents, leases and interest expenses deducted in
the calculation of such Consolidated EBITDA plus
(ii) all regularly scheduled principal payments on Funded Debt
of the Company and the Consolidated Subsidiaries (after elimination
of intercompany items) made in such period to be less than 1.75 to
1.
9.04
Restricted Payments.
(a) The Company
will not, and will not permit any Subsidiary to, (i) declare
or make any dividends or distributions on any of its Stock (other
than dividends payable in shares of its Stock), (ii) purchase,
redeem or acquire for value any of the Company’s or any
Subsidiary’s Stock, (iii) make any principal payment on
(or make any payment, transfer or deposit for the purpose of
canceling, extinguishing, satisfying or defeasing) any indebtedness
of the Company which is subordinate in right of payment to the
Notes or any other Obligation, (iv) set aside funds for any
such purposes or (v) become liable to do any of the foregoing
(in each case, a “ Restricted Payment ”) unless,
immediately after giving effect thereto, (A) no Default shall
exist and (B) the aggregate amount of all Restricted Payments
made by the Company and all Subsidiaries on or after
August 12, 2002 does not exceed the sum of $42,000,000 plus
50% of Consolidated Adjusted Net Income for the period (treated as
one accounting period) from August 12, 2002 to the end of the
calendar month then most recently ended.
(b)
Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section 9.04,
the Company may, so long as no Default shall be in existence or
shall result therefrom, purchase, redeem or acquire shares of the
Company’s capital stock with the net cash proceeds received
by the Company during the immediately preceding 18-month period
from the sale of other shares of the Company’s capital stock,
in which event both the receipt and expenditure of such proceeds
shall be excluded from any calculation under paragraph
(a) above.
(c) Nothing in
this Section 9.04 shall prohibit any Subsidiary from making
any Restricted Payment to the Company or any Wholly-Owned
Subsidiary, and no such Restricted Payment shall be taken into
account in any calculation under paragraph
(a) above.
44
9.05
Limitation on Indebtedness.
(a) The
Company will not incur, create, assume or have outstanding any
indebtedness, except:
(1)
(A) indebtedness of the Company arising out of this Agreement
and the other Loan Documents, (B) indebtedness of the Company
arising out of the 1995 Note Agreement and the other 1995 Loan
Documents, (C) indebtedness of the Company arising out of the
1997 Note Agreement and the other 1997 Loan Documents, and (D)
indebtedness of the Company arising out of the 2002 Note Agreement
and the other 2002 Loan Documents;
(2) indebtedness
of the Company arising out of the Existing Bank Loan Agreement or
any extension, renewal or refinancing of the Indebtedness for Money
Borrowed outstanding thereunder;
(3) purchase money
indebtedness (not to exceed the greater of $10,000,000 or 2% of
Consolidated Assets in the aggregate for the Company and all
Subsidiaries at any time outstanding);
(4) current
liabilities for taxes and assessments incurred in the ordinary
course of business and not yet due, and other liabilities for
unpaid taxes being contested in good faith by the obligor the
payment of which is not at the time required by
Section 8.03;
(5) current
indebtedness (other than Indebtedness for Money Borrowed) for
accounts payable or other claims (including claims for labor,
services, materials and supplies) incurred in the ordinary course
of business, provided that all such accounts and claims
shall be promptly paid and discharged when due or in conformity
with customary trade terms, except for those being contested in
good faith by the obligor and the payment of which is not at the
time required by Section 8.03;
(6) contingent
liabilities resulting from the endorsement of negotiable
instruments in the ordinary course of business;
(7) indebtedness
constituting Assurances of the Company permitted by Section
9.06;
(8) Indebtedness
for Money Borrowed of the Company owing to any Subsidiary, but only
if permitted by Section 9.08;
(9) indebtedness
secured by Liens described in clause (i), clause (l) and
clause (m) of the definition of “Permitted Liens”
in Section 2.01;
(10) Hedging
Obligations of the Company, provided that (i) such
obligations are (or were) entered into by the Company in the
ordinary course of business and not for purposes of speculation,
and (ii) the agreement or document
45
creating such
obligations does not contain any provision exonerating the
non-defaulting party from its obligation to make payments on
outstanding transactions to the defaulting party;
(11) Indebtedness
for Money Borrowed of the Company not otherwise permitted by the
foregoing provisions of this Section 9.05(a) if
(A) immediately after giving effect to the incurrence or
assumption thereof by the Company, the Company is in compliance
with Sections 9.01, 9.02 and 9.03 and (B) at the time of
the incurrence or assumption thereof by the Company and immediately
thereafter, no Default shall exist;
(12) Non-Domestic
Indebtedness, so long as the aggregate amount of all such
Non-Domestic Indebtedness together with the indebtedness described
in clause (10) and clause (11) of Section 9.05(b) does
not exceed the greater of $20,000,000 or 7.5% of Consolidated Net
Worth, and;
(13) Permitted
Refinancing Indebtedness with respect to Indebtedness for Money
Borrowed described in each of the other clauses of this
Section 9.05(a) so long as the Company shall be in compliance
with the specific limitations set forth in each of such
clauses.
(b) The
Company will not permit any Subsidiary to incur, create, assume or
have outstanding any indebtedness, except:
(1)
(A) indebtedness of Subsidiaries arising out of this Agreement
and the other Loan Documents, (B) indebtedness of Subsidiaries
arising out of the 1995 Guaranty, (C) indebtedness of
Subsidiaries arising out of the 1997 Guaranty, and (D) indebtedness
of Subsidiaries arising out of the 2002 Guaranty;
(2) Assurances
issued by the Subsidiaries pursuant to the Existing Bank Loan
Agreement;
(3) purchase money
indebtedness (not to exceed the greater of $10,000,000 or 2% of the
Consolidated Assets in the aggregate for the Company and all
Subsidiaries at any time outstanding);
(4) current
liabilities for taxes and assessments incurred in the ordinary
course of business and not yet due, and other liabilities for
unpaid taxes being contested in good faith by the obligor the
payment of which is not at the time required by
Section 8.03;
(5) current
indebtedness (other than Indebtedness for Money Borrowed) for
accounts payable or other claims (including claims for labor,
services, materials and supplies) incurred in the ordinary course
of business, provided that all such accounts and claims
shall be promptly paid and discharged when due or in conformity
with customary trade terms, except for those being contested in
good faith by the obligor and the payment of which is not at the
time required by Section 8.03;
46
(6) contingent
liabilities resulting from the endorsement of negotiable
instruments in the ordinary course of business;
(7) indebtedness
constituting Assurances of Subsidiaries permitted by Section
9.06;
(8) Indebtedness
for Money Borrowed of any Subsidiary owing to the Company or to any
other Subsidiary, but only if permitted by
Section 9.08;
(9) indebtedness
secured by Liens described in clause (i), clause (l) and
clause (m) of the definition of “Permitted Liens”
in Section 2.01;
(10) indebtedness
of Non-Domestic Subsidiaries or Non-Wholly-Owned Subsidiaries so
long as the aggregate amount of all such indebtedness together with
the indebtedness described in clause (11) of this
Section 9.05(b) does not at any time exceed the greater of
$20,000,000 or 7.5% of Consolidated Net Worth;
(11) in the case
of any Wholly-Owned Subsidiary acquired by the Company after the
date hereof in accordance with Section 9.17(a)(1), all
indebtedness of such Subsidiary outstanding on the date of its
acquisition by the Company, but only if (i) the amount of such
indebtedness, when aggregated with the total amount of all other
indebtedness of all Persons (including such Wholly-Owned
Subsidiary) outstanding pursuant to this clause (11), and all
indebtedness described in clause (10) of this
Section 9.05(b), does not exceed the greater of $20,000,000 or
7.5% of Consolidated Net Worth and (ii) such indebtedness was
incurred, created or assumed by such Subsidiary prior to its
acquisition by the Company and not in anticipation of, or in
connection with, such acquisition;
(12) Hedging
Obligations of any Subsidiary, provided that (i) such
obligations are (or were) entered into by such Subsidiary in the
ordinary course of business and not for purposes of speculation,
and (ii) the agreement or document creating such obligations
does not contain any provision exonerating the non-defaulting party
from its obligation to make payments on outstanding transactions to
the defaulting party;
(13) other
indebtedness of any Subsidiary not otherwise permitted by the
foregoing provisions of this Section 9.05(b), but only if such
indebtedness is outstanding on the date hereof and described in
Schedule VIII and (B) excluding any extensions, renewals
and rearrangements of such indebtedness; and
(14) Permitted
Refinancing Indebtedness with respect to Indebtedness for Money
Borrowed described in each of the other clauses of this
Section 9.05(b) so long as the Company shall be in compliance
with the specific limitations set forth in each of such
clauses.
47
The Company will
not, and will not permit any Subsidiary to, enter into, assume or
become or be liable in respect of any Assurance, except for
(i) Assurances by the Company of indebtedness of Subsidiaries
permitted by Section 9.05(b), (ii) Assurances by one or
more Guarantors of indebtedness (other than the Obligations) of the
Company permitted by Section 9.05(a) (including, without
limitation, Hedging Obligations) but only if and so long as the
Guaranty is in full force and effect, (iii) Assurances of the
Guarantors evidenced by the Guaranty, (iv) Assurances by the
Company and the Guarantors of the Non-Domestic Indebtedness,
(v) Assurances under any of the Material Contracts,
(vi) Consumer Obligations, and (vii) other Assurances not
otherwise permitted by this Section 9.06 but only to the
extent that the aggregate amount of all indebtedness relating to
such Assurances does not exceed $5,000,000.
The Company will
not, and will not permit any Subsidiary to, assume, create or
suffer to exist any Lien upon any of its Properties (whether now
owned hereafter acquired) except Permitted Liens.
9.08
Limitation on Investments.
The Company will
not, and will not permit any Subsidiary to, make or have
outstanding any Investments in any Person, except for:
(a) pawn
transactions and pawn loans made in the ordinary course of
business;
(b) travel
advances and other similar advances made to employees in the
ordinary course of business;
(c) consumer
loans, advances and extensions of credit (in the form of accounts
receivable or otherwise) made to customers in the ordinary course
of business;
(d) advances and
deposits made by the Company or any Subsidiary in the ordinary
course of business in connection with products or services provided
to the Company or such Subsidiary, as the case may be, or in
connection with leases of real property;
(e) in the case of
the Company or any Subsidiary, Investments in Non-Domestic and
Non-Wholly Owned Subsidiaries (including Subsidiaries acquired
after the date hereof in accordance with Section 9.17(a)(1))
resulting from its acquisition or ownership of Stock of, or capital
contributions to, such Subsidiaries but, in each case, only to the
extent not prohibited by Section 9.17(a), provided that after
giving effect to each such Investment the aggregate book value of
all Investments of the Company and all Subsidiaries in Non-Domestic
Subsidiaries and Non-Wholly-Owned Subsidiaries at such time does
not exceed 10% of Consolidated Net Worth;
48
(f) in the case of
any Subsidiary, Investments in the Company;
(g) loans and
advances by the Company to any Wholly-Owned Subsidiary;
(h) loans and
advances made by any Subsidiary to the Company or to any
Wholly-Owned Subsidiary;
(i) Temporary Cash
Investments;
(j) to the extent
permitted by applicable law, loans to officers of the Company and
Subsidiaries in an aggregate amount not exceeding $5,000,000 at any
one time outstanding;
(k) Assurances
permitted in Section 9.06;
(l) other
Investments not otherwise permitted by this Section 9.08, but
only if owned by the Company and/or any Subsidiary on the date
hereof and described in Schedule XI; and
(m) other
Investments made after the date hereof and not otherwise permitted
by this Section 9.08, provided that neither the Company
nor any Subsidiary shall make any Investment under this clause
(m) if a Default shall be in existence immediately before or
after such Investment or if the amount of such Investment, when
aggregated with the total amount of all other Investments then
outstanding under this clause (m), exceeds 7.5% of Consolidated Net
Worth as of the date of such Investment.
9.09
Alteration of Contracts, Etc.
The Company will
not, and will not permit any Subsidiary to, (a) cancel,
terminate, surrender, release, alter, amend, modify or supplement
any Material Contract or Applicable Permit, (b) waive timely
performance of any of the provisions of any Material Contract or
Applicable Permit or (c) consent or agree to, or permit, any of the
foregoing, provided that any such action may be taken if the
Company shall determine in good faith that such action could not
reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse
Effect.
9.10
Transactions with Affiliates.
The Company will
not, and will not permit any Subsidiary to, enter into any
transaction with, or pay any management fees to, any of its
Affiliates except in the ordinary course of business and then only
upon terms that are no less favorable to Company or such
Subsidiary, as the case may be, than would be obtainable at the
time in arms’-length transactions with Persons which are not
Affiliates of the Company or such Subsidiary, as the case may be,
provided that this Section 9.10 shall not apply to
transactions between the Company and any Wholly-Owned Subsidiary or
to any management fees payable by any Subsidiary to the Company or
any Wholly-Owned Subsidiary.
49
9.11
Limitation on Sale or Issuance of Subsidiary Stock.
(a) The Company
will not permit any Subsidiary to issue or sell any shares of Stock
(or any securities convertible into or exchangeable for or carrying
rights to subscribe for shares of Stock) of such Subsidiary to
any Person if after giving effect thereto the Company would be in
violation of its obligations set forth in
Section 9.08.
(b) The Company
will not (i) sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of any shares
of Stock (or any securities convertible into or exchangeable for or
carrying rights to subscribe for shares of Stock) of any
Subsidiary or (ii) permit any Subsidiary to sell, transfer or
otherwise dispose of any shares of Stock (or any securities,
convertible into or exchangeable for or carrying rights to
subscribe for shares of Stock) of any other Subsidiary.
9.12
Limitation on Sale of Properties.
The Company will
not, and will not permit any Subsidiary to, sell, assign, convey,
exchange, lease or otherwise dispose of any of its Properties
(including accounts receivable and pawn loans), whether now owned
or hereafter acquired, except in the ordinary course of its
business; provided, however, that the Company and the
Subsidiaries may sell Properties during any Fiscal Year having an
aggregate net book value (at the time of the disposition thereof)
not in excess of 7.5% of Consolidated Net Worth as at the end of
the immediately previous Fiscal Year and, provided further,
that this Section 9.12 shall not operate to prevent the
transactions permitted by Section 9.11 or Section 9.13 or
any sale, transfer or lease of Property by a Wholly-Owned
Subsidiary to the Company or to another Wholly-Owned Subsidiary
and, provided further, that the Company will not, and will
not permit any Subsidiary to, sell, assign, discount or otherwise
dispose of any accounts receivable, except in the ordinary course
of business consistent with the Company’s collection
practices as in effect from time to time and not a part of a
financing.
9.13
Dissolution; Liquidation; Merger; Consolidation.
The Company will
not, and will not permit any Subsidiary to, dissolve or liquidate
or consolidate or merge with, or sell, assign, convey, exchange,
lease or otherwise dispose of its Properties as an entirety or
substantially as an entirety to, any other Person except
that:
(a) any
corporation may consolidate with or merge into the Company if
(i) the Company shall be the surviving corporation,
(ii) immediately after giving effect to such transaction,
(A) no Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and be
continuing, (B) the Company is solvent and no less creditworthy
than immediately prior to the consummation of such transaction and
(C) the consummation of such transaction did not have, and
could not reasonably be expected to have, a Material Adverse Effect
and (iii) each Holder shall have received an Officers’
Certificate, dated not more than 10 days prior to the
effective date of such transaction, describing such transaction and
stating that such transaction is permitted by this
Section 9.13;
(b) the Company
may consolidate with or merge into, or sell, assign, convey,
exchange, lease or otherwise dispose of its Properties as an
entirety or substantially as an
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entirety to,
any Person if (i) such Person shall be a solvent corporation
organized under the laws of any state of the United States of
America, (ii) such Person shall, by written instrument in form
and substance acceptable to the Required Holders, expressly and
unconditionally assume, agree to pay and perform all the
Obligations and to be bound by this Agreement and the other Loan
Documents the same as if such Person had originally executed this
Agreement in place of the Company and had been the original maker
of the Notes, (iii) immediately after giving effect to such
transaction, (A) no Default or Event of Default shall have
occurred and be continuing, (B) such Person is no less
creditworthy than was the Company immediately prior to the
consummation of such transaction and (C) the consummation of
such transaction did not have, and could not be reasonably expected
to have, a Material Adverse Effect and (iv) each Holder shall
have received an Officers’ Certificate, dated not more than
ten days prior to the effective date of such transaction,
describing such transaction and stating that such transaction is
permitted by this Section 9.13;
(c) any
Wholly-Owned Subsidiary may consolidate with or merge into, or
sell, assign, convey, exchange, lease or otherwise dispose of its
Properties as an entirety or substantially as an entirety to, the
Company or any other Wholly-Owned Subsidiary; and
(d) any
Wholly-Owned Subsidiary may consolidate or merge with any Person
solely for the purpose of the Company’s acquisition of such
Person in accordance with Section 9.17(a)(1).
9.14 Change of
Name, Fiscal Year and Method of Accounting.
The Company will
not, and will not permit any Subsidiary to, (i) change its
name, except for Subsidiary name changes that could not be
reasonably expected to have a Material Adverse Effect,
(ii) change its fiscal year, (iii) change its principal
accounting firm to an accounting firm other than an Independent
Registered Public Accounting Firm or (iv) change its method of
accounting unless required under GAAP.
The Company will
not, and will not permit any Subsidiary to, engage in any business
other than (i) the pawnshop business, (ii) the business
of cashing checks and conducting related cash dispensing
transactions, (iii) the business of offering consumer loans
and other consumer financial services, and (iv) activities
related to the above.
9.16 Amendment
of Organizational Documents.
The Company will
not, and will not permit any Subsidiary to, amend its
Organizational Documents if such action could reasonably be
expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
9.17
Limitation on Acquisition of New Subsidiaries.
(a) The
Company will not, and will not permit any Subsidiary to,
(i) acquire any Stock of any Person, (ii) enter into any
partnership or joint venture or (iii) take any
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action which
would result in the Company having any Subsidiary other than those
listed in Schedule II except that, from time to time, the
Company may:
(1) acquire
(whether by purchase, merger or other similar transaction) any
Person, but only if:
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(A)
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immediately after giving effect to
such acquisition, such Person shall constitute a Wholly-Owned
Subsidiary or, a Non-Wholly Owned Subsidiary subject to limits set
forth in Section 9.08(e) hereof;
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(B)
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immediately after giving effect to
such acquisition, no Default shall be in existence, and the
consummation of such acquisition did not have, and could not be
reasonably expected to have, a Material Adverse Effect;
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(C)
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each Holder shall have received an
Officers’ Certificate, dated not more than ten days prior to
the effective date of such acquisition, describing such acquisition
(including the name of such Person and the business conducted by
it) and stating that such acquisition is permitted by this
Section 9.17, which Officers’ Certificate shall be
accompanied by complete and accurate copies of the Organizational
Documents of such Person;
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(D)
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promptly (and in any event within
15 days) after the consummation of such acquisition, such
Person (if such Person is organized under the laws of the United
States of America or any state or political subdivision thereof)
shall duly authorize, execute and deliver to each Holder an
instrument in writing pursuant to which such Person agrees to
become a Guarantor under, and to be bound as a Guarantor by the
terms of, the Guaranty and the Subrogation and Contribution
Agreement; and
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(E)
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promptly (and in any event within
15 days) after the consummation of such acquisition, if an
opinion of counsel to the Company, any Subsidiary or such Person is
delivered to any other holder of Indebtedness for Money Borrowed of
the Company in connection with such acquisition, the Company shall
obtain or cause to be provided in favor of the Holders an opinion
of counsel satisfactory to the Required Holders that opines
(a) to such Person’s (i) existence and good
standing in its jurisdiction of formation, (ii) due authority
to become a Guarantor under, and to be bound as a Guarantor by the
terms of, the Guaranty and the Subrogation and Contribution
Agreement and (iii) due execution, delivery and performance of
the Guaranty and the Subrogation and Contribution Agreement, and
(b) to the enforceability of the Guaranty and the Subrogation
and Contribution Agreement against such Person; and
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(2) create or form
a new corporation or limited partnership (the “ New
Entity ”) and thereupon cause the New Entity to become a
Wholly-Owned Subsidiary, but only if:
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(A)
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no
Default shall exist immediately after the New Entity becomes a
Subsidiary;
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(B)
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subject to paragraph (b) below,
promptly (and in any event within 15 days) after its creation
or formation, the New Entity (if such New Entity is organized under
the laws of the United States of America or any state or political
subdivision thereof) shall duly authorize, execute and deliver to
each Holder an instrument in writing pursuant to which the New
Entity agrees to become a Guarantor under, and to be bound as a
Guarantor by the terms of, the Guaranty and the Subrogation and
Contribution Agreement;
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(C)
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except as required by clause
(B) above, the New Entity shall not conduct any business prior
to becoming a Subsidiary;
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(D)
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subject to paragraph (b) below,
promptly (and in any event within 15 days) after the creation
or formation of the New Entity, the Company shall deliver to each
Holder an Officers’ Certificate notifying the Holders of the
formation or creation of the New Entity, which Officers’
Certificate shall (i) specify the name of the New Entity and
the jurisdiction of its incorporation or formation,
(ii) describe, in reasonable detail, the business proposed to
be conducted by the New Entity, (iii) state that the Company
is authorized to form or create the New Entity and to cause it to
become a Subsidiary in accordance with this Section 9.17 and
(iv) be accompanied by complete and accurate copies of the
Organizational Documents of the New Entity; and
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(E)
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promptly (and in any event within
15 days) after the consummation of such acquisition, if an
opinion of counsel to the Company, any Subsidiary or such Person is
delivered to any other holder of Indebtedness for Money Borrowed of
the Company in connection with such acquisition, the Company shall
obtain or cause to be provided in favor of the Holders an opinion
of counsel satisfactory to the Required Holders that opines
(a) to such Person’s (i) existence and good
standing in its jurisdiction of formation, (ii) due authority
to become a Guarantor under, and to be bound as a Guarantor by the
terms of, the Guaranty and the Subrogation and Contribution
Agreement and (iii) due execution, delivery and performance of
the Guaranty and the Subrogation and Contribution Agreement, and
(b) to the enforceability of the Guaranty and the Subrogation
and Contribution Agreement against such Person; and
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(b) In no event
shall any New Entity created or formed pursuant to paragraph (a)(2)
above be required to execute and deliver a written instrument with
respect to the Guaranty as contemplated by clause (B) thereof
nor shall the Company be required to deliver the documents
described with respect to such New Entity in clause
(D) thereof until the earlier of (i) the date on which
the Company makes an Investment in such New Entity (other than the
incurrence of routine organizational expenses and other than
capital contributions totaling less than $250,000) and
(ii) the date on which such New Entity first conducts
business.
(c) Subject to
provisions of Sections 9.08(e), nothing in this
Section 9.17 shall operate to prevent any transaction
permitted by Section 9.08 or Section 9.13.
(d) If any Person
becomes a Subsidiary at any time after the date hereof, such Person
shall be deemed to have incurred or made, as the case may be, at
the time it becomes a Subsidiary (i) all Assurances,
indebtedness, loans, advances and Investments of such Person which
are outstanding at such time and (ii) all Liens then in effect
with respect to any of its Properties.
(e)
Notwithstanding the foregoing, in no event shall any Non-Domestic
Subsidiary be required to be or become a Guarantor so long as such
Non-Domestic Subsidiary is not obligated as a guarantor or obligor
for any Indebtedness for Money Borrowed of the Company or any
Subsidiary.
The Company will
not, and will not permit any Subsidiary or Related Person
to,
(a) engage in any
transaction in connection with which the Company or any Subsidiary
could be subject to either a civil penalty assessed pursuant to
section 502(i) of ERISA or a tax imposed by section 4975 of the
Code, terminate any Plan (other than a multiemployer plan) in a
manner, or take any other action with respect to any such Plan,
which could result in any liability of the Company or any
Subsidiary to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, fail to
make full payment when due of all amounts which, under the
provisions of applicable law, or the terms of any Plan or
collective bargaining agreement, the Company or any Subsidiary is
required to pay as contributions thereto, or permit to exist any
accumulated funding deficiency, whether or not waived, with respect
to any Plan (other than a multiemployer plan), if, in any such
case, such penalty or tax or such liability, or the failure to make
such payment, or the existence of such deficiency, as the case may
be, could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse
Effect;
(b) permit the
aggregate present value of all benefit liabilities under all Plans
maintained at such time by the Company, any Subsidiary and any
Related Persons (other than multiemployer plans) that are subject
to Title IV of ERISA to exceed the aggregate current value of the
assets of such Plans allocable to such benefit liabilities by more
than $500,000; or
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(c) permit the
aggregate complete or partial withdrawal liability under Title IV
of ERISA with respect to multiemployer plans incurred by the
Company, the Subsidiaries and Related Persons to exceed
$250,000.
As used in this
Section 9.18, (i) the term “accumulated funding
deficiency” has the meaning specified in section 302 of
ERISA and section 412 of the Code, (ii) the terms
“present value,” “benefit
liabilities” and “current value” have
the respective meanings specified in sections 3 and 4001 of ERISA
and (iii) “multiemployer plan” means a Plan
which is a “multiemployer plan” as defined in
section 4001(a)(3) of ERISA.
9.19 No
Inconsistent Agreements.
The Company will
not enter into, assume or otherwise become obligated under any
agreement or instrument which restricts the ability of the Company
to consummate the Private Placement or perform its obligations
under any Loan Document.
If any of the
following events (each such event being an “ Event of
Defaul
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