EXHIBIT 10.1
Execution
Version
AMENDED AND RESTATED REVOLVING
CREDIT AND TERM LOAN AGREEMENT
dated as of February 13,
2007
among
TC PIPELINES, LP
as Borrower
THE LENDERS FROM TIME TO TIME
PARTY HERETO
SUNTRUST BANK
as Administrative Agent
UBS SECURITIES LLC AND ROYAL BANK
OF CANADA
as Co-Documentation
Agents
BMO CAPITAL MARKETS FINANCING
INC. AND THE ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND PLC
as Co-Syndication Agents
and
DEUTSCHE BANK AG NEW YORK BRANCH
AND THE BANK OF TOKYO-MITSUBISHI UFJ, LTD.
as Managing Agents
SUNTRUST CAPITAL MARKETS,
INC.,
as Arranger and Book
Manager
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Page
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ARTICLE I
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DEFINITIONS; CONSTRUCTION
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1
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Section 1.1.
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Definitions
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1
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Section 1.2.
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Classifications of Loans and
Borrowings
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24
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Section 1.3.
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Accounting Terms and Determination
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24
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Section 1.4.
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Terms Generally
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24
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ARTICLE II
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AMOUNT AND TERMS OF THE COMMITMENTS
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25
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Section 2.1.
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General Description of Facilities
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25
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Section 2.2.
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Revolving Loans
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25
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Section 2.3.
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Procedure for Borrowings
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25
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Section 2.4.
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Swingline Commitment
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26
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Section 2.5.
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Term Loan Commitments
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27
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Section 2.6.
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Funding of Borrowings
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28
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Section 2.7.
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Interest Elections
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28
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Section 2.8.
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Optional Reduction and Termination of
Commitments
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29
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Section 2.9.
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Repayment of Loans
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30
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Section 2.10.
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Evidence of Indebtedness
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30
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Section 2.11.
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Optional Prepayments
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31
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Section 2.12.
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Mandatory Prepayments
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31
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Section 2.13.
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Interest on Loans
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32
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Section 2.14.
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Fees
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32
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Section 2.15.
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Computation of Interest and Fees
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33
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Section 2.16.
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Inability to Determine Interest Rates
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34
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Section 2.17.
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Illegality
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34
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Section 2.18.
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Increased Costs
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35
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Section 2.19.
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Funding Indemnity
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36
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Section 2.20.
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Taxes
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36
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Section 2.21.
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Payments Generally; Pro Rata Treatment; Sharing
of Set-offs
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38
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Section 2.22.
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Letters of Credit
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40
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Section 2.23.
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Increase of Commitments; Additional
Lenders
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44
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Section 2.24.
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Mitigation of Obligations
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45
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Section 2.25.
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Replacement of Lenders
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45
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Section 2.26.
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Extensions of Maturity Date or Revolving
Commitment Termination Date
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46
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ARTICLE III
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CONDITIONS PRECEDENT TO LOANS AND LETTERS OF
CREDIT
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47
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Section 3.1.
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Conditions To Effectiveness
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47
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Section 3.2.
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Each Credit Event
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49
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Section 3.3.
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Delivery of Documents
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49
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ARTICLE IV
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REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES
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51
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Section 4.1.
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Existence; Power
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51
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Section 4.2.
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Organizational Power; Authorization
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51
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Section 4.3.
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Governmental Approvals; No Conflicts
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51
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Section 4.4.
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Financial Statements
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51
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Section 4.5.
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Litigation and Environmental Matters
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52
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Section 4.6.
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Compliance with Laws and Agreements
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52
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Section 4.7.
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Investment Company Act, Etc.
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52
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Section 4.8.
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Taxes
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52
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Section 4.9.
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Margin Regulations
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53
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Section 4.10.
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ERISA
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53
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Section 4.11.
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Ownership of Property
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53
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Section 4.12.
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Disclosure
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54
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Section 4.13.
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Labor Relations
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54
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Section 4.14.
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Subsidiaries
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54
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Section 4.15.
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Insolvency
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54
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Section 4.16.
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OFAC
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54
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Section 4.17.
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Patriot Act
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54
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ARTICLE V
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AFFIRMATIVE COVENANTS
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55
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Section 5.1.
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Financial Statements and Other
Information
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55
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Section 5.2.
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Notices of Material Events
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56
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Section 5.3.
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Existence; Conduct of Business
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56
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Section 5.4.
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Compliance with Laws, Etc.
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57
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Section 5.5.
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Payment of Obligations
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57
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Section 5.6.
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Books and Records
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57
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Section 5.7.
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Visitation, Inspection, Etc.
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57
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Section 5.8.
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Maintenance of Properties; Insurance
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57
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Section 5.9.
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Use of Proceeds and Letters of Credit
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58
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Section 5.10.
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Maintenance of Tax Status
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58
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ARTICLE VI
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FINANCIAL COVENANTS
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58
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Section 6.1.
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Leverage Ratio
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58
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Section 6.2.
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Interest Coverage Ratio
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59
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ii
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ARTICLE VII
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NEGATIVE COVENANTS
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59
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Section 7.2.
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Negative Pledge
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60
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Section 7.3.
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Fundamental Changes
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62
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Section 7.4.
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Investments, Loans, Etc.
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63
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Section 7.5.
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Restricted Payments
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64
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Section 7.6.
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Transactions with Affiliates
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64
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Section 7.7.
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Restrictive Agreements
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64
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Section 7.8.
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Sale and Leaseback Transactions
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65
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Section 7.9.
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Hedging Transactions
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65
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Section 7.10.
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Certain Amendments to Cash Distribution Policies
and Partnership Agreements
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65
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Section 7.11.
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Accounting Changes
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66
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ARTICLE VIII
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EVENTS OF DEFAULT
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66
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Section 8.1.
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Events of Default
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66
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ARTICLE IX
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THE ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
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69
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Section 9.1.
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Appointment of Administrative Agent
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69
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Section 9.2.
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Nature of Duties of Administrative
Agent
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69
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Section 9.3.
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Lack of Reliance on the Administrative
Agent
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70
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Section 9.4.
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Certain Rights of the Administrative
Agent
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70
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Section 9.5.
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Reliance by Administrative Agent
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70
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Section 9.6.
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The Administrative Agent in its Individual
Capacity
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71
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Section 9.7.
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Successor Administrative Agent
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71
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Section 9.8.
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Authorization to Execute other Loan
Documents
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71
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Section 9.9.
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Co-Documentation Agents; Co-Syndication Agents;
Managing Agents.
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71
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ARTICLE X
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MISCELLANEOUS
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72
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Section 10.1.
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Notices
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72
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Section 10.2.
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Waiver; Amendments
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74
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Section 10.3.
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Expenses; Indemnification
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75
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Section 10.4.
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Successors and Assigns
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77
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Section 10.5.
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Governing Law; Jurisdiction; Consent to Service
of Process
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80
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Section 10.6.
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WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL
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81
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Section 10.7.
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Right of Setoff
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81
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Section 10.8.
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Counterparts; Integration
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82
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Section 10.9.
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Survival
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82
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Section 10.10.
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Severability
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82
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Section 10.11.
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Confidentiality
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82
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Section 10.12.
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Interest Rate Limitation
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83
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Section 10.13.
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Patriot Act
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83
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iii
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Section 10.14.
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Location of Closing
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84
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Section 10.15.
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Non-Recourse
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84
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iv
Schedules
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Schedule I
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–
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Applicable Margin and Applicable Percentage
Revolving Loans
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Schedule II
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–
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Applicable Margin and Applicable Percentage Term
Loans
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Schedule III
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Commitment Amounts
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Schedule 4.5
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–
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Environmental Matters
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Schedule 4.14
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–
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Subsidiaries
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Schedule 7.1
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–
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Outstanding Indebtedness
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Schedule 7.2
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–
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Existing Liens
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Schedule 7.4
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–
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Existing Investments
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Schedule 7.6
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–
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Transactions with Affiliates
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Exhibits
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Exhibit A
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–
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Form of Revolving Credit Note
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Exhibit B
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–
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Form of Term Note
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Exhibit C
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–
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Form of Swingline Note
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Exhibit D
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–
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Form of Assignment and Acceptance
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Exhibit 2.3(a)
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–
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Form of Notice of Term Loan Borrowing
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Exhibit 2.3(b)
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–
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Form of Notice of Revolving Borrowing
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Exhibit 2.4
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–
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Form of Notice of Swingline Borrowing
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Exhibit 2.7
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–
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Form of Notice of
Continuation/Conversion
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Exhibit 3.1(b)(iv)
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–
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Form of Secretary’s Certificate
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Exhibit 3.1(b)(viii)
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–
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Form of Officer’s Certificate
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Exhibit 5.1(c)
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–
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Form of Compliance Certificate
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v
AMENDED AND RESTATED REVOLVING
CREDIT AND TERM LOAN AGREEMENT
THIS AMENDED AND RESTATED
REVOLVING CREDIT AND TERM LOAN AGREEMENT (this “ Agreement ”)is made
and entered into as of February 13, 2007, by and among TC
PIPELINES, LP, a Delaware limited partnership (the “
Borrower ”), the several banks and other financial
institutions and lenders from time to time party hereto (the
“ Lenders ”), and SUNTRUST BANK, in its
capacity as administrative agent for the Lenders (the “
Administrative Agent ”), as issuing bank (the “
Issuing Bank ”) and as swingline lender (the “
Swingline Lender ”).
W I T N E S S E T
H:
WHEREAS , Borrower, certain of the lenders and SunTrust
Bank as administrative agent, issuing bank and swingline lender are
parties to that certain Revolving Credit and Term Loan Credit
Agreement, dated as of December 12, 2006 (as amended, restated,
supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “
Existing Credit Agreement ”), pursuant to which the
Lenders established a $30,000,000 revolving credit facility and
made term loans in an aggregate principal amount equal to
$380,000,000 in favor of Borrower;
WHEREAS, the Borrower has requested that the lenders
party to the Existing Credit Agreement amend and restate the
Existing Credit Agreement in order to modify certain provisions
thereof;
WHEREAS , subject to the terms and conditions of this
Agreement, the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, the Swingline
Lender and the Issuing Bank to the extent of their respective
Commitments as defined herein, are willing to amend and restate the
Existing Credit Agreement and to severally establish a $250,000,000
revolving credit facility, a letter of credit subfacility and the
swingline subfacility in favor of and to make term loans in an
aggregate principal amount up to $700,000,000 in favor of the
Borrower.
NOW, THEREFORE
, in consideration of the premises
and the mutual covenants herein contained, the Borrower, the
Lenders, the Administrative Agent, the Issuing Bank and the
Swingline Lender agree that the Existing Credit Agreement is hereby
amended and restated as follows:
ARTICLE I
DEFINITIONS;
CONSTRUCTION
Section 1.1.
Definitions
. In
addition to the other terms defined herein, the following terms
used herein shall have the meanings herein specified (to be equally
applicable to both the singular and plural forms of the terms
defined):
“ Additional Commitment
Amount ” shall have the meaning given to such term in
Section 2.23.
“ Additional Lender
” shall have the meaning given to such term in Section
2.23 .
“ Adjusted Cash Flow
” shall mean, with reference to any period (i) the
consolidated net income (or loss) of the Borrower and its
Subsidiaries for such period calculated on a consolidated basis in
accordance with GAAP, plus (ii) to the extent taken into account in
determining such consolidated net income (or loss), the sum of
interest expense, expense for taxes paid or accrued, depreciation,
amortization and extraordinary losses incurred other than in the
ordinary course of business, minus (iii) to the extent taken into
account in determining such consolidated net income (or loss),
extraordinary gains realized other than in the ordinary course of
business, minus (iv) to the extent taken into account in
determining such consolidated net income (or loss), equity earnings
of any Person in which the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries has
an interest (which interest does not cause the net income of such
Person to be consolidated with the consolidated net income of the
Borrower and its Subsidiaries in accordance with GAAP), plus (v)
the aggregate amount of all cash dividends and other distributions
of cash actually received by the Borrower or any of its
consolidated Subsidiaries during such period from any Person in
which the Borrower or any of its consolidated Subsidiaries has an
interest (which interest does not cause the Consolidated Net Income
of such other Person to be consolidated with the Consolidated Net
Income of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries in accordance with
GAAP), plus (vi) any Material Project EBITDA Adjustment; provided
that for purposes of calculating consolidated net income for any
four fiscal quarter period, if at any time during that period the
Borrower or any Subsidiary shall have consummated an acquisition,
consolidated net income for such period shall be calculated after
giving pro forma effect thereto as if such
acquisition had occurred on the first day of such
period.
“ Adjusted LIBO Rate
” shall mean, with respect to each Interest Period for a
Eurodollar Borrowing, the rate per annum obtained by dividing
(i) LIBOR for such Interest Period by (ii) a percentage
equal to 1.00 minus the Eurodollar Reserve
Percentage.
“ Administrative Agent
” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in the opening
paragraph hereof.
“ Administrative
Questionnaire ” shall mean, with respect to each Lender,
an administrative questionnaire in the form prepared by the
Administrative Agent and submitted to the Administrative Agent duly
completed by such Lender.
“ Affiliate ”
means, as to any Person, any other Person that, directly or
indirectly, controls, is controlled by or is under common control
with such Person or is a director or officer of such Person.
For purposes of this definition the term “control”
(including the terms “controlling”, “controlled
by” and “under common control with”) of a Person
means the possession, direct or indirect, of the power to direct or
cause the direction of the management and policies of such Person,
whether through the ownership of voting stock, by contract or
otherwise, provided , that, for purposes of Section
7.6 , each of Northern Border and Tuscarora shall be deemed to
be an Affiliate of the Borrower as long as it qualifies as a
Significant Subsidiary.
“ Aggregate Revolving
Commitment Amount ” shall mean the aggregate principal
amount of the Aggregate Revolving Commitments from time to
time. On the Closing Date, the Aggregate Revolving Commitment
Amount is $250,000,000.
2
“ Aggregate Revolving
Commitments ” shall mean, collectively, all Revolving
Commitments of all Lenders at any time outstanding.
“ Applicable Lending
Office ” shall mean, for each Lender and for each Type of
Loan, the “Lending Office” of such Lender (or an
Affiliate of such Lender) designated for such Type of Loan in the
Administrative Questionnaire submitted by such Lender or such other
office of such Lender (or an Affiliate of such Lender) as such
Lender may from time to time specify to the Administrative Agent
and the Borrower as the office by which its Loans of such Type are
to be made and maintained.
“ Applicable Margin
” shall mean, as of any date and subject to Section
6.1(b) hereof, (a) with respect to interest on all Revolving
Loans outstanding on any date or the letter of credit fee, as the
case may be, a percentage per annum determined by reference to the
applicable Leverage Ratio in effect on such date as set forth on
Schedule I and (b) with respect to interest on all Term
Loans outstanding on any date a percentage per annum determined by
reference to the applicable Leverage Ratio in effect on such date
as set forth on Schedule II ; provided , that a
change in the Applicable Margin resulting from a change in the
Leverage Ratio shall be effective on the second Business Day after
which the Borrower delivers the financial statements required by
Section 5.1(a ) or ( b ) and the Compliance
Certificate required by Section 5.1(c ); provided
further , that if at any time the Borrower shall have failed to
deliver such financial statements and such Compliance Certificate
when so required, the Applicable Margin shall be at Level V as set
forth on Schedule I , in the case of Revolving Loans, and
Level V as set forth on Schedule II , in the case of Term
Loans, until such time as such financial statements and Compliance
Certificate are delivered, at which time the Applicable Margin
shall be determined as provided above. Notwithstanding the
foregoing but subject to Section 6.1(b) , the Applicable
Margin from the Closing Date until the financial statements and
Compliance Certificate for the Fiscal Quarter ending December 31,
2006 are required to be delivered shall be at Level IV as set forth
on Schedule I , in the case of Revolving Loans, and at Level
IV as set forth on Schedule II , in the case of Term
Loans. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained
herein, at any time that the Revolving Credit Exposure exceeds 50%
of the Aggregate Revolving Commitment Amount, then the Applicable
Margin for Eurodollar Loans for all pricing Levels listed on
Schedule I shall automatically increase by the Utilization
Premium set forth on Schedule I. In the event that any
financial statement or Compliance Certificate delivered pursuant to
Section 5.1(a) , (b) or (c) is shown to be
inaccurate (so long as such inaccuracy is discovered within the
first anniversary of the Termination Date), and such inaccuracy, if
corrected, would have led to the application of a higher Applicable
Margin as set forth on Schedule I , in the case of Revolving
Loans, and as set forth on Schedule II , in the case of Term
Loans, for any period rather than the Applicable Margin applied for
such period, then (i) the Borrower shall immediately deliver to the
Administrative Agent a correct Compliance Certificate for such
period, (ii) the Applicable Margin shall be determined on the basis
of the corrected Compliance Certificate and (iii) the Borrowers
shall immediately pay to the Administrative Agent, for the account
of the Lenders, the accrued additional interest owing as a result
of such increased Applicable Margin for such period. The
provisions of this definition shall not limit the rights of the
Administrative Agent and the Lenders with respect to Section
2.13(c) or Article VIII .
“ Applicable Percentage
” shall mean, as of any date and subject to Section
6.1(b) hereof, with respect to the facility fee or the
commitment fee as of any date, the percentage per
3
annum determined by reference to the
applicable Leverage Ratio in effect on such date as set forth on
Schedule I , in the case of Revolving Loans, and on
Schedule II , in the case of Term Loans; provided ,
that a change in the Applicable Percentage resulting from a change
in the Leverage Ratio shall be effective on the second Business Day
after which the Borrower delivers the financial statements required
by Section 5.1 ( a ) or ( b ) and the
Compliance Certificate required by Section 5.1(c );
provided further , that if at any time the Borrower
shall have failed to deliver such financial statements and such
Compliance Certificate, the Applicable Percentage shall be at Level
V as set forth on Schedule I , in the case of Revolving
Loans, and at Level V as set forth on Schedule II , in the
case of Term Loans until such time as such financial statements and
Compliance Certificate are delivered, at which time the Applicable
Percentage shall be determined as provided above.
Notwithstanding the foregoing but subject to Section 6.1(b)
, the Applicable Percentage for the facility fee or the commitment
fee from the Closing Date until the financial statements and
Compliance Certificate for the Fiscal Quarter ending December 31,
2006 are required to be delivered shall be at Level IV as set forth
on Schedule I , in the case of Revolving Loans, and at Level
IV as set forth on Schedule II , in the case of Term
Loans. In the event that any financial statement or
Compliance Certificate delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a)
, (b) or (c) is shown to be inaccurate (so long as
such inaccuracy is discovered within the first anniversary of the
Termination Date), and such inaccuracy, if corrected, would have
led to the application of a higher Applicable Percentage as set
forth on Schedule I , in the case of Revolving Loans, and as
set forth on Schedule II , in the case of Term Loans, for
any period rather than the Applicable Percentage applied for such
period, then (i) the Borrower shall immediately deliver to the
Administrative Agent a correct Compliance Certificate for such
period, (ii) the Applicable Percentage shall be determined based
upon the corrected Compliance Certificate and (iii) the Borrowers
shall immediately pay to the Administrative Agent, for the account
of the Lenders, the accrued additional interest owing as a result
of such increased Applicable Percentage for such period. The
provisions of this definition shall not limit the rights of the
Administrative Agent and the Lenders with respect to Section
2.13(c) or Article VIII .
“ Approved Fund
” shall mean any Person (other than a natural Person) that is
(or will be) engaged in making, purchasing, holding or otherwise
investing in commercial loans and similar extensions of credit in
the ordinary course of its business and that is administered or
managed by (i) a Lender, (ii) an Affiliate of a Lender or (iii) an
entity or an Affiliate of an entity that administers or manages a
Lender.
“ Assignment and
Acceptance ” shall mean an assignment and acceptance
entered into by a Lender and an assignee (with the consent of any
party whose consent is required by Section 10.4(b) ) and
accepted by the Administrative Agent, in the form of Exhibit
D attached hereto or any other form approved by the
Administrative Agent.
“ Availability Period
” shall mean the period from the Closing Date to but
excluding the Revolving Commitment Termination Date.
“ Base Rate ”
shall mean the higher of (i) the per annum rate which the
Administrative Agent publicly announces from time to time to be its
prime lending rate, as in effect from time to time, and
(ii) the Federal Funds Rate, as in effect from time to time,
plus one-half of one percent (0.50%). The
Administrative Agent’s prime lending rate is a reference rate
and does not necessarily represent the lowest or best rate charged
to customers. The
4
Administrative Agent may make
commercial loans or other loans at rates of interest at,
above or below the Administrative Agent’s prime lending
rate. Each change in the Administrative Agent’s prime
lending rate shall be effective from and including the date such
change is publicly announced as being effective.
“ Borrower ”
shall have the meaning in the introductory paragraph
hereof.
“ Borrower Partnership
Agreement ” shall mean that certain Amended and Restated
Agreement of Limited Partnership of TC PipeLines, LP dated May 28,
1999, as amended.
“ Borrowing
”shall mean a borrowing consisting of (i) Loans of the same
Class and Type, made, converted or continued on the same date and
in the case of Eurodollar Loans, as to which a single Interest
Period is in effect, or (ii) a Swingline Loan.
“ Business Day ”
shall mean (i) any day other than a Saturday, Sunday or other day
on which commercial banks in Atlanta, Georgia, Calgary, Canada and
New York, New York are authorized or required by law to close and
(ii) if such day relates to a Borrowing of, a payment or prepayment
of principal or interest on, a conversion of or into, or an
Interest Period for, a Eurodollar Loan or a notice with respect to
any of the foregoing, any day on which banks are not open for
dealings in dollar deposits are carried on in the London interbank
market.
“ Capital Lease
Obligations ” of any Person shall mean all obligations of
such Person to pay rent or other amounts under any lease (or other
arrangement conveying the right to use) of real or personal
property, or a combination thereof, which obligations are required
to be classified and accounted for as capital leases on a balance
sheet of such Person under GAAP, and the amount of such obligations
shall be the capitalized amount thereof determined in accordance
with GAAP.
“ Capital Stock ”
shall mean any non-redeemable capital stock (or in the case of a
partnership or limited liability company, the partners’ or
members’ equivalent equity interest) of the Borrower or any
of its Subsidiaries (to the extent issued to a Person other than
the Borrower), whether common or preferred.
“ Change in Control
” shall mean the occurrence of one or more of the following
events: (i) any Person or two or more Persons acting in concert
(other than TransCanada Corporation or any of its Subsidiaries)
shall have acquired beneficial ownership (within the meaning of
Rule 13d-3 of the Securities and Exchange Commission under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934), directly or indirectly, of voting
stock of the General Partner (or other securities convertible into
such voting stock ) (A) representing 50% or more of the combined
voting power of all voting stock of the General Partner or (B)
representing the combined voting power of all voting stock of the
General Partner more than that owned, directly or indirectly, by
TransCanada Corporation; or (ii) any Person or two or more Persons
acting in concert (other than TransCanada Corporation or any of its
Subsidiaries or any other Person reasonably acceptable to the
Required Lenders) shall have acquired by contract or otherwise, or
shall have entered into a contract or arrangement that, upon
consummation, will result in its or their acquisition of the power
to exercise, directly or indirectly, a controlling influence over
the management or policies
5
of the General Partner; (iii) the
General Partner shall for any reason cease to be the managing
general partner of the Borrower, (iv) the failure of the Borrower
to own, directly or indirectly, free and clear of all Liens, at
least 50% of the partnership interests in Northern Border, (v) the
failure of the Borrower to own, directly or indirectly, free and
clear of all Liens, at least 98% of the partnership interests in
Tuscarora or (vi) after the consummation of the GLGT Acquisition,
the failure of the Borrower to own, directly or indirectly, free
and clear of all Liens, at least 46.45% of the partnership
interests in GLGT.
“ Change in Law ”
shall mean (i) the adoption of any applicable law, rule or
regulation after the date of this Agreement, (ii) any change in any
applicable law, rule or regulation, or any change in the
interpretation or application thereof, by any Governmental
Authority after the date of this Agreement, or (iii) compliance by
any Lender (or its Applicable Lending Office) or the Issuing Bank
(or for purposes of Section 2.18(b ), by such Lender’s
or the Issuing Bank’s parent corporation, if applicable) with
any request, guideline or directive (whether or not having the
force of law) of any Governmental Authority made or issued after
the date of this Agreement.
“ Class ”,when
used in reference to any Loan or Borrowing, refers to whether such
Loan, or the Loans comprising such Borrowing, are Revolving Loans,
Swingline Loans or Term Loans and when used in reference to any
Commitment, refers to whether such Commitment is a Revolving
Commitment, a Swingline Commitment or a Term Loan
Commitment.
“ Closing Date ”
shall mean the date on which the conditions precedent set forth in
Section 3.1 and Section 3.2 have been satisfied or
waived in accordance with Section 10.2 .
“ Code ” shall
mean the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended and in effect
from time to time.
“ Commercial Operation
Date ” means the date on which a Material Project is
substantially complete and commercially operable.
“ Commitment ”
shall mean a Revolving Commitment, a Swingline Commitment or a Term
Loan Commitment or any combination thereof (as the context shall
permit or require).
“ Compliance
Certificate ” shall mean a certificate executed by the
principal executive officer, the principal financial officer or the
controller of the Borrower in the form of, and containing the
certifications set forth in, the certificate attached hereto as
Exhibit 5.1(c) .
“ Consolidated Interest
Expense ” shall mean, for the Borrower and its
Subsidiaries for any period determined on a consolidated basis in
accordance with GAAP, without duplication, the sum of (i) total
interest expense, including without limitation the interest
component of any payments in respect of Capital Lease Obligations
capitalized or expensed during such period (whether or not actually
paid during such period) plus (ii) the net amount payable
(or minus the net amount receivable) with respect to Hedging
Transactions during such period (whether or not actually paid or
received during such period).
“ Consolidated Net
Worth ” shall mean, for the Borrower and its Subsidiaries
for any period, the aggregate amount of Capital Stock, minority
interests, and other equity accounts
6
(including, without limitation,
retained earnings, paid in capital and accumulated other
comprehensive income or loss (but without giving effect to any
non-cash pension and other post-retirement benefits liability
adjustments recorded in accordance with GAAP)) of Borrower and its
Subsidiaries at such date determined on a consolidated basis in
accordance with GAAP.
“ Consolidated Total Funded
Debt ” shall mean, as of any date, all Indebtedness of
the Borrower and its Subsidiaries measured on a consolidated basis
as of such date, but excluding Indebtedness of the type described
in subsection (xi) of the definition thereto.
“ Contractual
Obligation ” of any Person shall mean any provision of
any security issued by such Person or of any agreement, instrument
or undertaking under which such Person is obligated or by which it
or any of the property in which it has an interest is
bound.
“ Default ” shall
mean any condition or event that, with the giving of notice or the
lapse of time or both, would constitute an Event of
Default.
“ Defaulting Lender
” shall mean a Lender that (a) has failed to fund its portion
of any Borrowing or any participations in Letters of Credit or
Swingline Loans that it is required to fund under this Agreement
and has continued in such failure for three (3) Business Days after
written notice from the Administrative Agent, (b) has otherwise
failed to pay over to the Administrative Agent or any other Lender
any other amount required to be paid by it hereunder within three
(3) Business Days of the date when due, unless the subject of a
good faith dispute, or (c) has been deemed insolvent or become the
subject of a bankruptcy or insolvency proceeding.
“ Default Interest
” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 2.13 (
c ).
“ Dollar(s) ” and
the sign “$” shall mean lawful money of the United
States of America.
“ Environmental Laws
” shall mean all laws, rules, regulations, codes, ordinances,
orders, decrees, judgments, injunctions, notices or binding
agreements issued, promulgated or entered into by or with any
Governmental Authority, relating in any way to the environment,
preservation or reclamation of natural resources, the management,
Release or threatened Release of any Hazardous Material or to
health and safety matters.
“ Environmental
Liability ” shall mean any liability, contingent or
otherwise (including any liability for damages, costs of
environmental investigation and remediation, costs of
administrative oversight, fines, natural resource damages,
penalties or indemnities), of the Borrower or any Subsidiary
directly or indirectly resulting from or based upon (i) any actual
or alleged violation of any Environmental Law, (ii) the generation,
use, handling, transportation, storage, treatment or disposal of
any Hazardous Materials, (iii) any actual or alleged exposure to
any Hazardous Materials, (iv) the Release or threatened Release of
any Hazardous Materials or (v) any contract, agreement or other
consensual arrangement pursuant to which liability is assumed or
imposed with respect to any of the foregoing.
“ ERISA ” shall
mean the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as
amended from time to time, and any successor statute.
7
“ ERISA Affiliate
” shall mean any trade or business (whether or not
incorporated), which, together with the Borrower, is treated as a
single employer under Section 414(b) or (c) of the Code or, solely
for the purposes of Section 302 of ERISA and Section 412 of the
Code, is treated as a single employer under Section 414 of the
Code.
“ ERISA Event
”shall mean (i) any “reportable event”, as
defined in Section 4043 of ERISA or the regulations issued
thereunder with respect to a Plan (other than an event for which
the 30-day notice period is waived); (ii) the existence with
respect to any Plan of an “accumulated funding
deficiency” (as defined in Section 412 of the Code or Section
302 of ERISA), whether or not waived; (iii) the filing pursuant to
Section 412(d) of the Code or Section 303(d) of ERISA of an
application for a waiver of the minimum funding standard with
respect to any Plan; (iv) the incurrence by the Borrower or any of
its ERISA Affiliates of any liability under Title IV of ERISA with
respect to the termination of any Plan; (v) the receipt by the
Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate from the PBGC or a plan
administrator appointed by the PBGC of any notice relating to an
intention to terminate any Plan or Plans or to appoint a trustee to
administer any Plan; (vi) the incurrence by the Borrower or any of
its ERISA Affiliates of any liability with respect to the
withdrawal or partial withdrawal from any Plan or Multiemployer
Plan; or (vii) the receipt by the Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate
of any notice, or the receipt by any Multiemployer Plan from the
Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate of any notice, concerning the
imposition of Withdrawal Liability or a determination that a
Multiemployer Plan is, or is expected to be, insolvent or in
reorganization, within the meaning of Title IV of ERISA.
“ Eurodollar ”
when used in reference to any Loan or Borrowing, refers to whether
such Loan, or the Loans comprising such Borrowing, bears interest
at a rate determined by reference to the Adjusted LIBO
Rate.
“ Eurodollar Reserve
Percentage ” shall mean the aggregate of the maximum
reserve percentages (including, without limitation, any emergency,
supplemental, special or other marginal reserves) expressed as a
decimal (rounded upwards to the next 1/100 th of
1%) in effect on any day to which the Administrative Agent is
subject with respect to the Adjusted LIBO Rate pursuant to
regulations issued by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
System (or any Governmental Authority succeeding to any of its
principal functions) with respect to eurocurrency funding
(currently referred to as “eurocurrency liabilities”
under Regulation D). Eurodollar Loans shall be deemed to
constitute eurocurrency funding and to be subject to such reserve
requirements without benefit of or credit for proration, exemptions
or offsets that may be available from time to time to any Lender
under Regulation D. The Eurodollar Reserve Percentage shall
be adjusted automatically on and as of the effective date of any
change in any reserve percentage.
“ Event of Default
” shall have the meaning provided in Article VIII
.
“ Existing Credit
Agreement ” shall have the meaning set forth in the
recitals hereto.
“ Existing Lenders
” shall mean each of the lenders party to the Existing Credit
Agreement.
8
“
Excluded Taxes
”
shall mean with respect to the
Administrative Agent, any Lender, the Issuing Bank or any other
recipient of any payment to be made by or on account of any
obligation of the Borrower hereunder, (a) income or franchise taxes
in each case imposed on (or measured by) its net income by the
United States of America, any state or local taxing authority in
the United States of America or by the jurisdiction under the laws
of which such recipient is organized or in which its principal
office is located or, in the case of any Lender, in which its
Applicable Lending Office is located, (b) any branch profits taxes
imposed by the United States of America or any similar tax imposed
by any other jurisdiction in which any Lender is located, (c) in
the case of a Foreign Lender, any withholding tax that (i) is
imposed on amounts payable to such Foreign Lender under the law
applicable at the time such Foreign Lender becomes a party to this
Agreement, (ii) is imposed on amounts payable to such Foreign
Lender under the law applicable at any time that such Foreign
Lender designates a new lending office, other than taxes that have
accrued prior to the designation of such lending office that are
otherwise not Excluded Taxes, or (iii) is attributable to such
Foreign Lender’s failure to comply with Section
2.20(e) , and (d) any backup withholding tax imposed under
Section 3406 of the Code.
“ Federal Funds Rate
” shall mean, for any day, the rate per annum (rounded
upwards, if necessary, to the next 1/100 th of
1%) equal to the weighted average of the rates on overnight Federal
funds transactions with member banks of the Federal Reserve System
arranged by Federal funds brokers, as published by the Federal
Reserve Bank of New York on the next succeeding Business Day or if
such rate is not so published for any Business Day, the Federal
Funds Rate for such day shall be the average rounded upwards, if
necessary, to the next 1/100th of 1% of the quotations for such day
on such transactions received by the Administrative Agent from
three Federal funds brokers of recognized standing selected by the
Administrative Agent.
“ Fee Letter ”
shall mean that certain fee letter, dated as of January 18, 2007,
executed by SunTrust Capital Markets, Inc. and SunTrust Bank and
accepted by Borrower.
“ Fiscal Quarter
” shall mean any fiscal quarter of the Borrower.
“ Fiscal Year ”
shall mean any fiscal year of the Borrower.
“ Foreign Lender
”shall mean any Lender that is not a United States person
under Section 7701(a)(30) of the Code.
“ General Partner
” shall mean TC PipeLines GP, Inc. a Delaware
corporation.
“ GAAP ” shall
mean generally accepted accounting principles in the United
States applied on a consistent basis and subject to the terms of
Section 1.3 .
“ GLGT ” shall
mean Great Lakes Gas Transmission Limited Partnership, a Delaware
limited partnership.
“ GLGT Acquisition
” means that acquisition described in detail in the GLGT
Purchase and Sale Agreement.
9
“ GLGT Partnership
Agreement ” shall mean that certain Amended and Restated
Agreement of Limited Partnership of Great Lakes Gas Transmission
Limited Partnership to be dated as of the closing date of the GLGT
Acquisition, 2007, as amended and restated from time to
time.
“ GLGT Purchase and
Sale Agreement ” means that certain Purchase and Sale
Agreement, dated as of December 22, 2006, among El Paso Great Lakes
Company, L.L.C., as seller, and TC GL ILP and TransCanada PipeLine
USA Ltd., as buyers.
“ Governmental
Authority ” shall mean the government of the United
States of America, any other nation or any political subdivision
thereof, whether state or local, and any agency, authority,
instrumentality, regulatory body, court, central bank or other
entity exercising executive, legislative, judicial, taxing,
regulatory or administrative powers or functions of or pertaining
to government.
“ Guarantee ” of
or by any Person (the “ guarantor ”) shall mean
any obligation, contingent or otherwise, of the guarantor
guaranteeing or having the economic effect of guaranteeing any
Indebtedness or other obligation of any other Person (the “
primary obligor ”) in any manner, whether directly or
indirectly and including any obligation, direct or indirect, of the
guarantor (i) to purchase or pay (or advance or supply funds for
the purchase or payment of) such Indebtedness or other obligation
or to purchase (or to advance or supply funds for the purchase of)
any security for the payment thereof, (ii) to purchase or lease
property, securities or services for the purpose of assuring the
owner of such Indebtedness or other obligation of the payment
thereof, (iii) to maintain working capital, equity capital or any
other financial statement condition or liquidity of the primary
obligor so as to enable the primary obligor to pay such
Indebtedness or other obligation or (iv) as an account party in
respect of any letter of credit or letter of guaranty issued in
support of such Indebtedness or obligation; provided , that
the term “Guarantee” shall not include endorsements for
collection or deposit in the ordinary course of business. The
amount of any Guarantee shall be deemed to be an amount equal to
the stated or determinable amount of the primary obligation in
respect of which Guarantee is made or, if not so stated or
determinable, the maximum reasonably anticipated liability in
respect thereof (assuming such Person is required to perform
thereunder) as determined by such Person in good faith. The
term “Guarantee” used as a verb has a corresponding
meaning.
“ Hazardous Materials
” shall mean all explosive or radioactive substances or
wastes and all hazardous or toxic substances, wastes or other
pollutants, including petroleum or petroleum distillates, asbestos
or asbestos containing materials, polychlorinated biphenyls, radon
gas, infectious or medical wastes and all other substances or
wastes of any nature regulated pursuant to any Environmental
Law.
“ Hedging Obligations
” of any Person shall mean any and all obligations of such
Person, whether absolute or contingent and howsoever and whensoever
created, arising, evidenced or acquired under (i) any and all
Hedging Transactions, (ii) any and all cancellations, buy backs,
reversals, terminations or assignments of any Hedging Transactions
and (iii) any and all renewals, extensions and modifications of any
Hedging Transactions and any and all substitutions for any Hedging
Transactions.
10
“ Hedging Transaction
” of any Person shall mean any transaction (including an
agreement with respect thereto) now existing or hereafter entered
into by such Person that is a rate swap, basis swap, forward rate
transaction, commodity swap, interest rate option, foreign exchange
transaction, cap transaction, floor transaction, collateral
transaction, forward transaction, currency swap transaction,
cross-currency rate swap transaction, currency option or any other
similar transaction (including any option with respect to any of
these transactions) or any combination thereof, whether linked to
one or more interest rates, foreign currencies, commodity prices,
equity prices or other financial measures.
“ Hybrid Securities
” shall mean any trust preferred securities, or deferrable
interest subordinated debt with a maturity of at least 20 years,
which provides for the optional or mandatory deferral of interest
or distributions, issued by the Borrower, or any business trusts,
limited liability companies, limited partnerships or similar
entities (i) substantially all of the common equity, general
partner or similar interests of which are owned (either directly or
indirectly through one or more wholly owned Subsidiaries) at all
times by the Borrower or any Subsidiaries, (ii) that have been
formed for the purpose of issuing such securities or deferrable
interest subordinated debt, and (iii) substantially all the assets
of which consist of (A) subordinated debt of the Borrower or any
Subsidiary, and (B) payments made from time to time on the
subordinated debt.
“ Indebtedness ”
of any Person shall mean, without duplication, (i) all obligations
of such Person for borrowed money, (ii) all obligations of such
Person evidenced by bonds, debentures, notes or other similar
instruments, (iii) all obligations of such Person in respect of the
deferred purchase price of property or services (other than trade
payables incurred in the ordinary course of business), (iv) all
obligations of such Person under any conditional sale or other
title retention agreement(s) relating to property acquired by such
Person, (v) all Capital Lease Obligations of such Person, (vi) all
obligations, contingent or otherwise, of such Person in respect of
letters of credit, acceptances or similar extensions of credit,
(vii) all Guarantees of such Person of the type of Indebtedness
described in clauses (i) through (vi) above, (viii) all
Indebtedness of a third party secured by any Lien on property owned
by such Person, whether or not such Indebtedness has been assumed
by such Person, (ix) all obligations of such Person to purchase,
redeem, retire or otherwise acquire for value any common stock of
such Person, (x) Off-Balance Sheet Liabilities and (xi) all Hedging
Obligations. The Indebtedness of any Person shall include the
Indebtedness of any partnership or joint venture in which such
Person is a general partner or a joint venturer, except to the
extent that the terms of such Indebtedness provide that such Person
is not liable therefor.
“ Indemnified Taxes
” shall mean Taxes other than Excluded Taxes.
“ Information
Memorandum ” shall mean the Confidential Information
Memorandum dated January 2007 (as amended) relating to the Borrower
and the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and the other
Loan Documents.
“ Interest Coverage
Ratio ” shall mean, as of any date, the ratio of (i)
Adjusted Cash Flow for the four consecutive Fiscal Quarters ending
on or immediately prior to such date to (ii) Consolidated Interest
Expense for the four consecutive Fiscal Quarters ending on or
immediately prior to such date.
11
“ Interest Period
” shall mean with respect to (i) any Swingline
Borrowing, such period as the Swingline Lender and the Borrower
shall mutually agree and (ii) any Eurodollar Borrowing, a period of
one, two, three, six and, subject to clause (iii) of this
definition, nine or twelve months; provided,
that:
(i)
the initial
Interest Period for such Borrowing shall commence on the date of
such Borrowing (including the date of any conversion from a
Borrowing of another Type), and each Interest Period occurring
thereafter in respect of such Borrowing shall commence on the day
on which the next preceding Interest Period expires;
(ii)
if any Interest
Period would otherwise end on a day other than a Business Day, such
Interest Period shall be extended to the next succeeding
Business Day, unless such Business Day falls in another calendar
month, in which case such Interest Period would end on the next
preceding Business Day;
(iii)
the Borrower
shall not be entitled to select an Interest Period having duration
of nine or twelve months unless, by 2:00 P.M. (New York City time)
on the third Business Day prior to the first day of such Interest
Period, each Lender notifies the Administrative Agent that such
Lender will be providing funding for such Borrowing with such
Interest Period (the failure of any Lender to so respond by such
time being deemed for all purposes of this Agreement as an
objection by such Lender to the requested duration of such Interest
Period); provided that, if any or all of the Lenders object to the
requested duration of such Interest Period, the duration of the
Interest Period for such Borrowing shall be one, two, three or six
months, as specified by the Borrower requesting such Borrowing in
the applicable Notice of Borrowing as the desired alternative to an
Interest Period of nine or twelve months;
(iv)
any Interest
Period which begins on the last Business Day of a calendar month or
on a day for which there is no numerically corresponding day
in the calendar month at the end of such Interest Period shall end
on the last Business Day of such calendar month;
(v)
no Interest
Period may extend beyond the Revolving Commitment Termination Date,
unless on the Revolving Commitment Termination Date the aggregate
outstanding principal amount of Term Loans is equal to or greater
than the aggregate principal amount of Eurodollar Loans with
Interest Periods expiring after such date, and no Interest Period
may extend beyond the Maturity Date.
“ Issuing Bank ”
shall mean SunTrust Bank or any other Lender, each in its capacity
as an issuer of Letters of Credit pursuant to Section 2.22
.
“ LC Commitment ”
shall mean that portion of the Aggregate Revolving Commitment
Amount that may be used by the Borrower for the issuance of Letters
of Credit in an aggregate face amount not to exceed
$30,000,000.
“ LC Disbursement
” shall mean a payment made by the Issuing Bank pursuant to a
Letter of Credit.
12
“ LC Documents ”
shall mean the Letters of Credit and all applications, agreements
and instruments relating to the Letters of Credit.
“ LC Exposure ”
shall mean, at any time, the sum of (i) the aggregate undrawn
amount of all outstanding Letters of Credit at such time,
plus (ii) the aggregate amount of all LC Disbursements
that have not been reimbursed by or on behalf of the Borrower at
such time. The LC Exposure of any Lender shall be its Pro
Rata Share of the total LC Exposure at such time.
“ Lenders ” shall
have the meaning assigned to such term in the opening paragraph of
this Agreement and shall include, where appropriate, the Swingline
Lender and each Additional Lender that joins this Agreement
pursuant to Section 2.23 .
“ Letter of Credit
” shall mean any stand-by letter of credit issued pursuant to
Section 2.22 by the Issuing Bank for the account of the
Borrower pursuant to the LC Commitment.
“ Leverage Ratio
” shall mean, as of any date, the ratio of (i) Consolidated
Total Funded Debt as of such date to (ii) Adjusted Cash Flow for
the four consecutive Fiscal Quarters ending on or immediately prior
to such date.
“ LIBOR ” shall
mean, for any applicable Interest Period with respect to any
Eurodollar Loan, the British Bankers’ Association Interest
Settlement Rate per annum for deposits in Dollars for a period
equal to such Interest Period appearing on the display designated
as Page 3750 on the Dow Jones Markets Service (or such other page
on that service or such other service designated by the British
Bankers’ Association for the display of such
Association’s Interest Settlement Rates for Dollar deposits)
as of 11:00 a.m. (London, England time) on the day that is two
Business Days prior to the first day of the Interest Period or if
such Page 3750 is unavailable for any reason at such time,
the rate which appears on the Reuters Screen ISDA Page as of such
date and such time; provided , that if the Administrative
Agent determines that the relevant foregoing sources are
unavailable for the relevant Interest Period, LIBOR shall mean the
rate of interest determined by the Administrative Agent to be the
average (rounded upward, if necessary, to the nearest 1/100
th of 1%) of the rates per annum at which
deposits in Dollars are offered to the Administrative Agent two (2)
Business Days preceding the first day of such Interest Period by
leading banks in the London interbank market as of 10:00 a.m. (New
Yorktime) for delivery on the first day of such Interest Period,
for the number of days comprised therein and in an amount
comparable to the amount of the Eurodollar Loan of the
Administrative Agent.
“ Lien ” shall
mean any mortgage, pledge, security interest, lien (statutory
or otherwise), charge, encumbrance, hypothecation, assignment,
deposit arrangement, or other arrangement having the practical
effect of the foregoing or any preference, priority or other
security agreement or preferential arrangement of any kind or
nature whatsoever (including any conditional sale or other title
retention agreement and any capital lease having the same economic
effect as any of the foregoing).
13
“ Loan Documents
” shall mean, collectively, this Agreement, the Notes
(if any), the LC Documents, the Fee Letter, the Subordination
Agreement, all Notices of Borrowing, all Notices of
Conversion/Continuation, and all Compliance
Certificates.
“ Loans ”
shall mean all Revolving Loans, Swingline Loans and Term Loans in
the aggregate or any of them, as the context shall
require.
“ Material Adverse
Effect ” shall mean, with respect to any event, act,
condition or occurrence of whatever nature (including any adverse
determination in any litigation, arbitration, or governmental
investigation or proceeding), whether singularly or in conjunction
with any other event or events, act or acts, condition or
conditions, occurrence or occurrences whether or not related, a
material adverse change in, or a material adverse effect on,
(i) the business, results of operations, financial condition,
assets, or liabilities of the Borrower, its Subsidiaries, Northern
Border and Tuscarora, taken as a whole, (ii) the ability of
the Borrower to perform any of its obligations under the Loan
Documents, (iii) the rights and remedies of the Administrative
Agent, the Issuing Bank, Swingline Lender, and the Lenders under
any of the Loan Documents or (iv) the legality, validity or
enforceability of any of the Loan Documents.
“ Material Indebtedness
” shall mean Indebtedness (other than the Loans and Letters
of Credit) of the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries, individually
or in an aggregate principal amount exceeding
$15,000,000.
“ Material Project
” means the construction or expansion of any capital project
of the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries, the aggregate capital
cost of which exceeds $25,000,000.
“ Material Project EBITDA
Adjustment ” means, with respect to each Material
Project:
(A)
prior to the Commercial Operation
Date of a Material Project (but including the fiscal quarter in
which such Commercial Operation Date occurs), a percentage (based
on the then-current completion percentage of such Material Project)
of an amount to be approved by the Administrative Agent as the
projected EBITDA of Borrower and its Subsidiaries attributable to
such Material Project for the first 12-month period following the
scheduled Commercial Operation Date of such Material Project (such
amount to be determined based on customer contracts or tariff-based
customers relating to such Material Project, the creditworthiness
of the other parties to such contracts or such tariff-based
customers, and projected revenues from such contracts, tariffs,
capital costs and expenses, scheduled Commercial Operation Date,
oil and gas reserve and production estimates, commodity price
assumptions and other factors deemed appropriate by Administrative
Agent), which may, at the Borrower’s option, be added to
actual EBITDA for the Borrower and its Subsidiaries for the fiscal
quarter in which construction of such Material Project commences
and for each fiscal quarter thereafter until the Commercial
Operation Date of such Material Project (including the fiscal
quarter in which such Commercial Operation Date occurs, but net of
any actual EBITDA of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries attributable
to such Material Project following such Commercial Operation Date);
provided that if the actual Commercial Operation Date does
not occur by the scheduled Commercial Operation Date, then the
foregoing amount shall be reduced, for quarters ending after the
scheduled Commercial Operation Date to (but excluding) the
first
14
full quarter after its Commercial
Operation Date, by the following percentage amounts depending on
the period of delay (based on the period of actual delay or
then-estimated delay, whichever is longer): (i) 90 days or
less, 0%, (ii) longer than 90 days, but not more than 180 days,
25%, (iii) longer than 180 days but not more than 270 days, 50%,
and (iv) longer than 270 days, 100%; and
(B)
beginning with the first full fiscal
quarter following the Commercial Operation Date of a Material
Project and for the three immediately succeeding fiscal quarters,
an amount to be approved by the Administrative Agent as the
projected EBITDA of Borrower and its Subsidiaries attributable to
such Material Project (determined in the same manner as set forth
in clause (A) above) for the balance of the four full fiscal
quarter period following such Commercial Operation Date, which may,
at the Borrower’s option, be added to actual EBITDA for the
Borrower and its Subsidiaries for such fiscal quarters.
Notwithstanding the
foregoing:
(i)
no such additions shall be allowed
with respect to any Material Project unless:
(a)
not later than 30 days prior to the
delivery of any certificate required by the Reporting Requirements
to the extent Material Project EBITDA Adjustments will be made to
EBITDA in determining compliance with the Leverage Ratio, the
Borrower shall have delivered to the Administrative Agent written
pro forma projections of EBITDA of the Borrower and its
Subsidiaries attributable to such Material Project, and
(b)
prior to the date such certificate
is required to be delivered, the Administrative Agent shall have
approved (such approval not to be unreasonably withheld) such
projections and shall have received such other information and
documentation as the Administrative Agent may reasonably request,
all in form and substance satisfactory to the Administrative Agent,
and
(ii)
the aggregate amount of all Material
Project EBITDA Adjustments during any period shall be limited to
20% of the total actual EBITDA of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries
for such period (which total actual EBITDA shall be determined
without including any Material Project EBITDA
Adjustments).
“ Maturity Date ”
shall mean, with respect to the Term Loans, the earlier of (i)
December 12, 2011 or such later date approved by the Required
Lenders in accordance with Section 2.26 or (ii) the date on which
the principal amount of all outstanding Term Loans have been
declared or automatically have become due and payable (whether by
acceleration or otherwise).
“ Moody’s ”
shall mean Moody’s Investors Service, Inc.
“ Moody’s Equity
Credit ” shall mean the percentage of equity credit
ascribed to a Hybrid Security by Moody’s as demonstrated by
the Borrower to the reasonable satisfaction of the Administrative
Agent.
15
“ Multiemployer Plan
” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 4001(a)(3)
of ERISA.
“ Northern Border
” shall mean Northern Border Pipeline Company, a Texas
general partnership.
“ Northern Border
Partnership Agreement ” means that certain First Amended
and Restated General Partnership Agreement relating to the
formation of Northern Border effective as of August 6, 2006, as
amended, supplemented, restated or otherwise modified from time to
time.
“ Notes ” shall
mean, collectively, the Revolving Credit Notes, the Swingline Note
and the Term Notes.
“ Notices of Borrowing
” shall mean, collectively, the Notices of Revolving
Borrowing and the Notices of Swingline Borrowing.
“ Notice of
Conversion/Continuation ”shall mean the notice given by
the Borrower to the Administrative Agent in respect of the
conversion or continuation of an outstanding Borrowing as provided
in Section 2.7 ( b ).
“ Notice of Revolving
Borrowing ” shall have the meaning as set forth in
Section 2.3 .
“ Notice of Swingline
Borrowing ”shall have the meaning as set forth in
Section 2.4 .
“ Notice of Term Loan
Borrowing ” shall have the meaning as set forth in
Section 2.3 .
“ Obligations ”
shall mean all amounts owing by the Borrower to the Administrative
Agent, the Issuing Bank or any Lender (including the Swingline
Lender) pursuant to or in connection with this Agreement or any
other Loan Document, including without limitation, all principal,
interest (including any interest accruing after the filing of any
petition in bankruptcy or the commencement of any insolvency,
reorganization or like proceeding relating to the Borrower, whether
or not a claim for post-filing or post-petition interest is allowed
in such proceeding), all reimbursement obligations, fees, expenses,
indemnification and reimbursement payments, costs and expenses
(including all reasonable fees and expenses of counsel to the
Administrative Agent, the Issuing Bank and any Lender (including
the Swingline Lender) incurred pursuant to this Agreement or any
other Loan Document), whether direct or indirect, absolute or
contingent, liquidated or unliquidated, now existing or hereafter
arising hereunder or thereunder, and all obligations and
liabilities incurred in connection with collecting and enforcing
the foregoing, together with all renewals, extensions,
modifications or refinancings thereof.
“ Off-Balance Sheet
Liabilities ” of any Person shall mean (i) any repurchase
obligation or liability of such Person with respect to accounts or
notes receivable sold by such
16
Person, (ii) any liability of such
Person under any sale and leaseback transactions that do not create
a liability on the balance sheet of such Person, (iii) any
Synthetic Lease Obligation or (iv) any obligation arising with
respect to any other transaction which is the functional equivalent
of or takes the place of borrowing but which does not constitute a
liability on the balance sheet of such Person.
“ OSHA ” shall
mean the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, as amended
from time to time, and any successor statute.
“ Other Taxes ”
shall mean any and all present or future stamp or documentary taxes
or any other excise or property taxes, charges or similar levies
arising from any payment made hereunder or from the execution,
delivery or enforcement of, or otherwise with respect to, this
Agreement or any other Loan Document.
“ Participant ”
shall have the meaning set forth in Section 10.4(d
).
“ Payment Office
” shall mean the office of the Administrative Agent located
at 303 Peachtree Street, N.E., Atlanta, Georgia 30308, or such
other location as to which the Administrative Agent shall have
given written notice to the Borrower and the other
Lenders.
“ PBGC ”shall
mean the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation referred to and
defined in ERISA, and any successor entity performing similar
functions.
“ Permitted
Encumbrances ” shall mean:
(i)
Liens imposed by
law for taxes, assessments or governmental charges not yet due or
which are being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings
diligently conducted and with respect to which adequate reserves
are being maintained in accordance with GAAP;
(ii)
statutory Liens
of landlords, carriers, warehousemen, mechanics, materialmen and
similar Liens arising by operation of law in the ordinary course of
business for amounts overdue for a period of more than 30 days or
which are being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings
and with respect to which adequate reserves are being maintained in
accordance with GAAP;
(iii)
pledges and
deposits made in the ordinary course of business in compliance with
workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance and other
social security laws or regulations;
(iv)
deposits to
secure the performance of bids, trade contracts, leases, statutory
obligations, surety and appeal bonds, performance bonds and other
obligations of a like nature, in each case in the ordinary
course of business;
(v)
judgment and
attachment liens not giving rise to an Event of Default or Liens
created by or existing from any litigation or legal proceeding that
are currently being contested in good faith by appropriate
proceedings and with respect to which adequate reserves are being
maintained in accordance with GAAP;
17
(vi)
customary rights
of set-off, revocation, refund or chargeback under deposit
agreements or under the Uniform Commercial Code or common law of
banks or other financial institutions where Borrower or any of its
Subsidiaries maintains deposits (other than deposits intended as
cash collateral) in the ordinary course of business;
and
(vii)
easements, zoning
restrictions, rights-of-way and similar encumbrances on real
property imposed by law or arising in the ordinary course of
business that do not secure any monetary obligations and do not
materially detract from the value of the affected property or
materially interfere with the ordinary conduct of business of the
Borrower and its Subsidiaries taken as a whole;
provided , that the term “Permitted
Encumbrances” shall not include any Lien securing
Indebtedness.
“ Permitted Investments
” shall mean:
(i)
direct
obligations of, or obligations the principal of and interest on
which are unconditionally guaranteed by, the United States or
Canada (or by any agency thereof to the extent such obligations are
backed by the full faith and credit of the United States or
Canada), in each case maturing within one year from the date of
acquisition thereof;
(ii)
commercial paper
rated at least A-1 (or its equivalent) by S&P or P-1 (or its
equivalent) by Moody’s at the time of acquisition thereof,
and in either case maturing within 360 daysfrom the date of
acquisition thereof;
(iii)
certificates of
deposit, bankers’ acceptances and time deposits maturing
within 180 days of the date of acquisition thereof issued or
guaranteed by or placed with, and money market deposit accounts
issued or offered by, any domestic office of any commercial bank
organized under the laws of the United States or any state thereof
which has (a) a combined capital and surplus and undivided profits
of not less than $500,000,000 or (b) has certificates of deposit or
other debt obligations rated at least A-1 (or its equivalent) by
S&P or P-1 (or its equivalent) by Moody’s;
(iv)
fully
collateralized repurchase agreements with a term of not more than
30 days for securities described in clause (i) above and entered
into with a financial institution satisfying the criteria described
in clause (iii) above;
(v)
mutual funds or
similar funds that have at least 95% of their assets invested in
any one or more of the Permitted Investments described in clauses
(i) through (iv) above;
(vi)
demand deposit accounts maintained
in the ordinary course of business at a bank or trust company
satisfying the requirements specified in (a) or (b) of clause (iii)
above;
(vii)
any other securities issued or
directly and fully guaranteed or insured by the United States
government or any agency or instrumentality thereof, in each case,
maturing within one year from the date of acquisition
thereof;
18
(viii)
investments in any fund that invests
exclusively in investments of the type described in clauses (vii)
which fund may also hold immaterial amounts of cash pending
investment and/or distribution; and
(ix)
other cash equivalents and
securities reasonably acceptable to the Administrative
Agent.
“ Permitted Subordinated
Debt ” shall mean any Indebtedness of the Borrower or any
Subsidiary (i) that is expressly subordinated to the Obligations
and any Hedging Obligations entered into with the Administrative
Agent or any Lender on terms satisfactory to the Administrative
Agent and the Required Lenders in their sole discretion, (ii) that
matures by its terms no earlier than six months after the later of
the Revolving Commitment Termination Date or the Maturity Date then
in effect with no scheduled principal payments permitted prior to
such maturity and (iii) that is evidenced by an indenture or other
similar agreement that is in a form satisfactory to the
Administrative Agent and the Required Lenders.
“ Permitted Tax
Distributions ” shall mean cash dividends or
distributions to the partners of the Borrower with respect to each
taxable year during which the Borrower is a partnership in an
amount not to exceed the aggregate of the maximum federal and state
income tax liability of the partners of the Borrower (assuming that
all of such partners are taxed at the maximum permissible federal
and state rates of such partners or members) attributable to the
taxable income of the Borrower for such taxable year, computed in
accordance with the Code.
“ Person ” shall
mean any individual, partnership, firm, corporation, association,
joint venture, limited liability company, trust or other entity, or
any Governmental Authority.
“ Plan ” shall
mean any employee pension benefit plan (other than a Multiemployer
Plan) subject to the provisions of Title IV of ERISA or Section 412
of the Code or Section 302 of ERISA, and in respect of which the
Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate is (or, if such plan were
terminated, would under Section 4069 of ERISA be deemed to be) an
“employer” as defined in Section 3(5) of
ERISA
“ Pro Rata Share
” shall mean (i) with respect to any Commitment of any Lender
at any time, a percentage, the numerator of which shall be such
Lender’s Commitment (or if such Commitments have been
terminated or expired or the Loans have been declared to be due and
payable, such Lender’s Revolving Credit Exposure or Term
Loan, as applicable), and the denominator of which shall be the sum
of such Commitments of all Lenders (or if such Commitments have
been terminated or expired or the Loans have been declared to be
due and payable, all Revolving Credit Exposure or Term Loans, as
applicable, of all Lenders) and (ii) with respect to all
Commitments of any Lender at any time, the numerator of which shall
be the sum of such Lender’s Revolving Commitment (or if such
Revolving Commitments have been terminated or expired or the Loans
have been declared to be due and payable, such Lender’s
Revolving Credit Exposure) and Term Loan and the denominator of
which shall be the sum of all Lenders’ Revolving Commitments
(or if such Revolving Commitments have been terminated or expired
or the Loans have been declared to be due and payable, all
Revolving Credit Exposure of all Lenders funded under such
Commitments) and Term Loans.
19
“ Regulation D
” shall mean Regulation D of the Board of Governors of
the Federal Reserve System, as the same may be in effect from time
to time, and any successor regulations.
“ Related Parties
” shall mean, with respect to any specified Person, such
Person’s Affiliates and the respective directors, officers,
employees, agents and advisors of such Person and such
Person’s Affiliates.
“ Release ” shall
mean any release, spill, emission, leaking, dumping, injection,
pouring, deposit, disposal, discharge, dispersal, leaching or
migration into the environment (including ambient air, surface
water, groundwater, land surface or subsurface strata) or within
any building, structure, facility or fixture.
“ Required Lenders
” shall mean, at any time, Lenders holding more than 50% of
the aggregate outstanding Revolving Commitments and Term Loans at
such time or if the Lenders have no Commitments outstanding, then
Lenders holding more than 50% of the Revolving Credit Exposure and
Term Loans. In each case, at any time any Lender is a
Defaulting Lender, all Defaulting Lenders shall be excluded in
determining “Required Lenders” and “Required
Lenders” shall mean non-Defaulting Lenders otherwise meeting
the criteria set forth in this definition.
“ Requirement of Law
” for any Person shall mean the articles or certificate of
incorporation, bylaws, partnership certificate and agreement, or
limited liability company certificate of organization and
agreement, as the case may be, and other organizational and
governing documents of such Person, and any law, treaty, rule or
regulation, or determination of a Governmental Authority, in each
case applicable to or binding upon such Person or any of its
property or to which such Person or any of its property is
subject.
“ Responsible Officer
” shall mean any of the president, the chief executive
officer, the chief operating officer, the chief financial officer,
the treasurer or a vice president of the Borrower or such other
representative of the Borrower as may be designated in writing by
any one of the foregoing with the consent of the Administrative
Agent; and, with respect to the financial covenants only, the chief
financial officer, treasurer, vice president of finance or
controller of the Borrower.
“ Restricted Payment
” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 7.5
.
“ Revolving Commitment
” shall mean, with respect to each Lender, the commitment of
such Lender to make Revolving Loans to the Borrower and to acquire
participations in Letters of Credit and Swingline Loans in an
aggregate principal amount not exceeding the amount set forth with
respect to such Lender on Schedule III , as such schedule
may be amended pursuant to Section 2.23 , or in the case of
a Person becoming a Lender after the Closing Date, the amount of
the assigned “Revolving Commitment” as provided in the
Assignment and Acceptance executed by such Person as an
assignee, or the joinder executed by such Person, in each
case as such commitment may subsequently be increased or deceased
pursuant to terms hereof.
20
“ Revolving Commitment
Termination Date ” shall mean the earliest of (i)
December 12, 2011 or such later date approved by the Required
Lenders in accordance with Section 2.26, (ii) the date on which the
Revolving Commitments are terminated pursuant to Section 2.8
and (iii) the date on which all amounts outstanding under this
Agreement have been declared or have automatically become due and
payable (whether by acceleration or otherwise).
“ Revolving Credit
Exposure ” shall mean, with respect to any Lender at any
time, the sum of the outstanding principal amount of such
Lender’s Revolving Loans, LC Exposure and Swingline
Exposure.
“ Revolving Credit Note
” shall mean a promissory note of the Borrower payable to the
order of a requesting Lender in the principal amount of such
Lender’s Revolving Commitment, in substantially the form of
Exhibit A .
“ Revolving Loan
” shall mean a loan made by a Lender (other than the
Swingline Lender) to the Borrower under its Revolving Commitment,
which may either be a Base Rate Loan or a Eurodollar
Loan.
“ S&P ” shall
mean Standard & Poor’s, a Division of the McGraw-Hill
Companies.
“ Significant
Subsidiary ” has the meaning specified in Article 1, Rule
1-02(w) of Regulation S-X of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as
of the Effective Date, provided , that, even if Northern
Border and GLGT would not otherwise constitute a Subsidiary of the
Borrower, each of Northern Border and GLGT shall be deemed to be a
Significant Subsidiary of the Borrower if it would otherwise
qualify as a Significant Subsidiary under Article 1, Rule 1-02(w)
of Regulation S-X as of the Closing Date.
“ Subsidiary ”
shall mean, with respect to any Person (the “ parent
”), any corporation, partnership, joint venture, limited
liability company, association or other entity the accounts of
which would be consolidated with those of the parent in the
parent’s consolidated financial statements if such financial
statements were prepared in accordance with GAAP as of such date,
as well as any other corporation, partnership, joint venture,
limited liability company, association or other entity (i) of which
securities or other ownership interests representing more than 50%
of the equity or more than 50% of the ordinary voting power, or in
the case of a partnership, more than 50% of the general partnership
interests are, as of such date, owned, controlled or held, or (ii)
that is, as of such date, otherwise controlled, by the parent or
one or more subsidiaries of the parent or by the parent and one or
more subsidiaries of the parent. Unless otherwise indicated,
all references to “Subsidiary” hereunder shall mean a
Subsidiary of the Borrower. For the avoidance of doubt,
Northern Border is not a Subsidiary of the Borrower as of the
Closing Date and GLGT will not be a Subsidiary of the Borrower as
of the closing of the GLGT Acquisition.
“ Subordination
Agreement ” shall mean that certain Subordination and
Intercreditor Agreement dated as of the date hereof among
TransCanada PipeLines Limited, the Borrower and the Administrative
Agent.
21
“ Swingline Commitment
” shall mean the commitment of the Swingline Lender to make
Swingline Loans in an aggregate principal amount at any time
outstanding not to exceed$5,000,000.
“ Swingline Exposure
” shall mean, with respect to each Lender, the principal
amount of the Swingline Loans in which such Lender is legally
obligated either to make a Base Rate Loan or to purchase a
participation in accordance with Section 2.4 , which shall
equal such Lender’s Pro Rata Share of all outstanding
Swingline Loans.
“ Swingline Lender
” shall mean SunTrust Bank, or any other Lender that may
agree to make Swingline Loans hereunder.
“ Swingline Loan
” shall mean a loan made to the Borrower by the Swingline
Lender under the Swingline Commitment.
“ Swingline Note
” shall mean the promissory note of the Borrower payable to
the order of the Swingline Lender in the principal amount of the
Swingline Commitment, substantially the form of Exhibit C
.
“ Swingline Rate
” shall mean the Base Rate, or such other interest rate (and
with respect to a Swingline Loan that is a Eurodollar Loan, for any
Interest Period) as may be mutually agreed between the Swingline
Lender and the Borrower.
“ Synthetic Lease
” shall mean a lease transaction under which the parties
intend that (i) the lease will be treated as an “operating
lease” by the lessee pursuant to Statement of Financial
Accounting Standards No. 13, as amended and (ii) the lessee will be
entitled to various tax and other benefits ordinarily available to
owners (as opposed to lessees) of like property.
“ Synthetic Lease
Obligations ” shall mean, with respect to any Person, the
sum of (i) all remaining rental obligations of such Person as
lessee under Synthetic Leases which are attributable to principal
and, without duplication, (ii) all rental and purchase price
payment obligations of such Person under such Synthetic Leases
assuming such Person exercises the option to purchase the lease
property at the end of the lease term.
“ Taxes ” shall
mean any and all present or future taxes, levies, imposts, duties,
deductions, charges or withholdings imposed by any Governmental
Authority.
“ TC GL ILP ”
means TC GL Intermediate Limited Partnership, a Delaware limited
partnership.
“ TC PipeLines
ILP ” means TC PipeLines Intermediate Limited
Partnership, a Delaware limited partnership.
“ TC PipeLines ILP
Agreement ” means that certain Amended and Restated
Agreement of Limited Partnership relating to the formation of TC
PipeLines ILP effective as of May 28, 1999, as amended,
supplemented, restated or otherwise modified from time to
time.
22
“ Termination Date
” the date that no Loan, Note or LC Exposure remains
outstanding and unpaid, no amount remains available to be drawn
under any Letter of Credit (unless such Letter of Credit is cash
collateralized or supported by a letter of credit on terms and in
amount acceptable to the Administrative Agent), no other amount is
owing to any Lender or the Administrative Agent hereunder or under
any of the other Loan Documents and the Revolving Commitments and
Term Loan Commitments have been terminated.
“ Term Loan
” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 2.5
.
“ Term Loan Commitment
”shall mean, with respect to each Lender, the obligation of
such Lender to make a Term Loan hereunder in a principal amount not
exceeding the amount set forth with respect to such Lender on
Schedule III . The aggregate principal amount of all
Lenders’ Term Loan Commitments is $700,000,000.
“ Term Loan Commitment
Availability Period ” shall mean the period from
the Closing Date through the sixth month anniversary of the Closing
Date.
“ Term Note ”
shall mean a promissory note of the Borrower payable to the order
of a requesting Lender in the principal amount of such
Lender’s Term Loan Commitment, in substantially the form of
Exhibit B .
“ Total Capitalization
” shall mean at any date, the sum of Consolidated Net Worth
and Consolidated Total Funded Debt of the Borrower and its
Subsidiaries at such date, determined on a consolidated basis in
accordance with GAAP.
“ TransCanada Subordinated
Debt ” shall mean all Indebtedness arising under the
TransCanada Credit Agreement and the other TransCanada Subordinated
Debt Documents.
“ TransCanada Credit
Agreement ” shall mean that certain Subordinated Loan
Agreement dated as of February 13, 2007 between the Borrower and
TransCanada Pipelines Limited.
“ TransCanada Subordinated
Debt Documents” shall mean the TransCanada Credit
Agreement and all other Subordinated Loan Documents (as defined in
the TransCanada Credit Agreement).
“ Tuscarora ”
shall mean Tuscarora Gas Transmission Company, a Nevada general
partnership.
“ Tuscarora Acquisition
” means that acquisition described in detail in the General
Partnership Interest Purchase Agreement dated as of November 1,
2006 by and between Tuscarora and Tuscarora ILP.
“ Tuscarora ILP
” shall mean TC Tuscarora Intermediate Limited Partnership, a
Delaware limited partnership.
23
“ Tuscarora ILP Partnership
Agreement ” means that certain Agreement of Limited
Partnership relating to the formation of Tuscarora Intermediate
Partnership effective as of July 19, 2000, as amended supplemented,
restated or otherwise modified from time to time.
“ Tuscarora Partnership
Agreement ” means that certain General Partnership
Agreement relating to the formation of Tuscarora effective as of
June 11, 1993, as amended, supplemented, restated or otherwise
modified from time to time.
“ Type ”, when
used in reference to a Loan or Borrowing, refers to whether the
rate of interest on such Loan, or on the Loans comprising such
Borrowing, is determined by reference to the Adjusted LIBO Rate or
the Base Rate.
“ Withdrawal Liability
” shall mean liability to a Multiemployer Plan as a result of
a complete or partial withdrawal from such Multiemployer Plan, as
such terms are defined in Part I of Subtitle E of Title IV of
ERISA.
Section 1.2.
Classifications of Loans and
Borrowings . For purposes of this
Agreement, Loans may be classified and referred to by Class (e.g. a
“Revolving Loan” or “Term Loan”) or by Type
(e.g. a “Eurodollar Loan” or “Base Rate
Loan”) or by Class and Type (e.g. “Revolving Eurodollar
Loan”). Borrowings also may be classified and referred
to by Class (e.g. “Revolving Borrowing”) or by Type
(e.g. “Eurodollar Borrowing”) or by Class and Type
(e.g. “Revolving Eurodollar Borrowing”).
Section 1.3.
Accounting Terms and
Determination . Unless otherwise
defined or specified herein, all accounting terms used herein shall
be interpreted, all accounting determinations hereunder shall be
made, and all financial statements required to be delivered
hereunder shall be prepared, in accordance with GAAP as in effect
from time to time, applied on a basis consistent with the most
recent audited consolidated financial statement of the Borrower
delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a ); provided ,
that if the Borrower notifies the Administrative Agent that the
Borrower wishes to amend any covenant in Article VI to
eliminate the effect of any change in GAAP on the operation of such
covenant (or if the Administrative Agent notifies the Borrower that
the Required Lenders wish to amend Article VI for such
purpose), then the Borrower’s compliance with such covenant
shall be determined on the basis of GAAP in effect immediately
before the relevant change in GAAP became effective, until either
such notice is withdrawn or such covenant is amended in a manner
satisfactory to the Borrower and the Required Lenders.
Section 1.4.
Terms Generally
.
The definitions of terms
herein shall apply equally to the singular and plural forms of the
terms defined. Whenever the context may require, any pronoun
shall include the corresponding masculine, feminine and neuter
forms. The words “include”,
“includes” and “including” shall be deemed
to be followed by the phrase “without
limitation”. The word “will” shall be
construed to have the same meaning and effect as the word
“shall”. In the computation of periods of time
from a specified date to a later specified date, the word
“from” means “from and including” and the
word “to” means “to but excluding”.
Unless the context requires otherwise (i) any definition of or
reference to any agreement, instrument or other document herein
shall be construed as referring to such agreement, instrument or
other document as it was originally executed or as it may from time
to time be amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise modified
(subject to any restrictions on such amendments, supplements or
modifications
24
set forth
herein), (ii) any reference herein to any Person shall be construed
to include such Person’s successors and permitted assigns,
(iii) the words “hereof”, “herein” and
“hereunder” and words of similar import shall be
construed to refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any
particular provision hereof, (iv) all references to Articles,
Sections, Exhibits and Schedules shall be construed to refer
to Articles, Sections, Exhibits and Schedules to this
Agreement and (v) all references to a specific time shall be
construed to refer to the time in the city and state of the
Administrative Agent’s principal office, unless otherwise
indicated. All actions required to be undertaken by the
Borrower under the Loan Documents shall be undertaken by the
Borrower through the General Partner.
ARTICLE II
AMOUNT AND TERMS OF THE
COMMITMENTS
Section 2.1.
General Description of
Facilities . Subject to and upon
the terms and conditions herein set forth, (i) the Lenders
hereby establish in favor of the Borrower a revolving credit
facility pursuant to which each Lender severally agrees (to the
extent of such Lender’s Revolving Commitment) to make
Revolving Loans to the Borrower in accordance with Section
2.2 , (ii) the Issuing Bank agrees to issue Letters of Credit
in accordance with Section2.22 , (iii) the Swingline Lender
agrees to make Swingline Loans in accordance with Section
2.4 , (iv) each Lender agrees to purchase a participation
interest in the Letters of Credit and the Swingline Loans pursuant
to the terms and conditions hereof; provided , that in no
event shall the aggregate principal amount of all outstanding
Revolving Loans, Swingline Loans and outstanding LC Exposure exceed
at any time the Aggregate Revolving Commitment Amount from time to
time in effect; and (v) each Lender severally agrees to make a Term
Loan to the Borrower in a principal amount not exceeding such
Lender’s Term Loan Commitment on the Closing
Date.
Section 2.2.
Revolving Loans
. Subject
to the terms and conditions set forth herein, each Lender severally
agrees to make Revolving Loans, ratably in proportion to its Pro
Rata Share, to the Borrower, from time to time during
theAvailability Period, in an aggregate principal amount
outstanding at any time that will not result in (a) such
Lender’s Revolving Credit Exposure exceeding such
Lender’s Revolving Commitment or (b) the aggregate Revolving
Credit Exposures of all Lenders exceeding the Aggregate Revolving
Commitment Amount. During the Availability Period, the
Borrower shall be entitled to borrow, prepay and reborrow Revolving
Loans in accordance with the terms and conditions of this
Agreement; provided , that the Borrower may not borrow or
reborrow should there exist a Default or Event of Default or any of
the other conditions in Section 3.2 shall not have been
satisfied.
Section 2.3.
Procedure for
Borrowings .
The Borrower shall give the
Administrative Agent written notice (or telephonic notice promptly
confirmed in writing) of each Term Loan Borrowing substantially in
the form of Exhibit 2.3(a) (a “ Notice of Term Loan
Borrowing ”) and each Revolving Borrowing substantially
in the form of Exhibit 2.3(b) (a “ Notice of
Revolving Borrowing ”, and with the Notice of Term Loan
Borrowing, each a “ Notice of Borrowing ”), each
such Notice of Borrowing to be delivered (x) prior to 11:00 a.m.
(New York time) on the requested date of each Base Rate
25
Borrowing and (y) prior to 11:00
a.m. (New York time) three (3) Business Days prior to the requested
date of each Eurodollar Borrowing. Each Notice of Borrowing
shall be irrevocable and shall specify: (i) the aggregate principal
amount of such Borrowing, (ii) the date of such Borrowing (which
shall be a Business Day), (iii) the Type of such Revolving Loan
comprising such Borrowing and (iv) in the case of a Eurodollar
Borrowing, the duration of the initial Interest Period applicable
thereto (subject to the provisions of the definition of Interest
Period). Each Revolving Borrowing shall consist entirely of
Base Rate Loans or Eurodollar Loans, as the Borrower may
request. The aggregate principal amount of each Eurodollar
Borrowing shall be not less than $5,000,000 or a larger multiple of
$1,000,000, and the aggregate principal amount of each Base Rate
Borrowing shall not be less than $1,000,000 or a larger multiple of
$100,000; provided , that Base Rate Loans made pursuant to
Section 2.4 or Section 2.22(d ) may be made in lesser
amounts as provided therein. At no time shall the total
number of Eurodollar Borrowings outstanding at any time exceed
six. Promptly following the receipt of a Notice of Borrowing
in accordance herewith, the Administrative Agent shall advise each
Lender of the details thereof and the amount of such Lender’s
Revolving Loan to be made as part of the requested Revolving
Borrowing.
Section 2.4.
Swingline Commitment
.
(a)
Subject to the terms and conditions
set forth herein, the Swingline Lender agrees to make Swingline
Loans to the Borrower, from time to time during the Availability
Period, in an aggregate principal amount outstanding at any time
not to exceed the lesser of (i) the Swingline Commitment then in
effect and (ii) the difference between the Aggregate Revolving
Commitment Amount and the aggregate Revolving Credit Exposures of
all Lenders; provided , that the Swingline Lender shall not
be required to make a Swingline Loan to refinance an outstanding
Swingline Loan. The Borrower shall be entitled to borrow,
repay and reborrow Swingline Loans in accordance with the terms and
conditions of this Agreement.
(b)
The Borrower shall give the
Administrative Agent written notice (or telephonic notice promptly
confirmed in writing) of each Swingline Borrowing substantially in
the form of Exhibit 2.4 attached hereto (“ Notice
of Swingline Borrowing ”) prior to 12:00 p.m. (New
Yorktime) on the requested date of each Swingline Borrowing.
Each Notice of Swingline Borrowing shall be irrevocable and shall
specify: (i) the principal amount of such Swingline Loan, (ii) the
date of such Swingline Loan (which shall be a Business Day) and
(iii) the account of the Borrower to which the proceeds of such
Swingline Loan should be credited. The Administrative Agent
will promptly advise the Swingline Lender of each Notice of
Swingline Borrowing. Each Swingline Loan shall accrue
interest at the Swingline Rate and shall have an Interest Period
(subject to the definition thereof) as agreed between the Borrower
and the Swingline Lender. The aggregate principal amount of
each Swingline Loan shall be not less than$100,000 or a larger
multiple of $50,000, or such other minimum amounts agreed to by the
Swingline Lender and the Borrower. The Swingline Lender will
make the proceeds of each Swingline Loan available to the Borrower
in Dollars in immediately available funds at the account specified
by the Borrower in the applicable Notice of Swingline Borrowing not
later than 1:00 p.m. (New Yorktime) on the requested date of such
Swingline Loan.
(c)
The Swingline Lender, at any time
and from time to time in its sole discretion, may, on behalf of the
Borrower (which hereby irrevocably authorizes and directs
the
26
Swingline Lender
to act on its behalf), give a Notice of Revolving Borrowing to the
Administrative Agent requesting the Lenders (including the
Swingline Lender) to make Base Rate Loans in an amount equal to the
unpaid principal amount of any Swingline Loan. Each Lender
will make the proceeds of its Base Rate Loan included in such
Borrowing available to the Administrative Agent for the account of
the Swingline Lender in accordance with Section 2.6 , which
will be used solely for the repayment of such Swingline
Loan.
(d)
If for any reason a Base Rate
Borrowing may not be (as determined in the sole discretion of the
Administrative Agent), or is not, made in accordance with the
foregoing provisions, then each Lender (other than the Swingline
Lender) shall purchase an undivided participating interest in such
Swingline Loan in an amount equal to its Pro Rata Share thereof on
the date that such Base Rate Borrowing should have occurred.
On the date of such required purchase, each Lender shall promptly
transfer, in immediately available funds, the amount of its
participating interest to the Administrative Agent for the account
of the Swingline Lender. If such Swingline Loan bears
interest at a rate other than the Base Rate, such Swingline Loan
shall automatically become a Base Rate Loan on the effective date
of any such participation and interest shall become payable on
demand.
(e)
Each Lender’s obligation to
make a Base Rate Loan pursuant to Section 2.4 (
c ) or to purchase the participating interests pursuant to
Section 2.4 ( d ) shall be absolute and unconditional
and shall not be affected by any circumstance, including without
limitation (i) any setoff, counterclaim, recoupment, defense or
other right that such Lender or any other Person may have or claim
against the Swingline Lender, the Borrower or any other Person for
any reason whatsoever, (ii) the existence of a Default or an Event
of Default or the termination of any Lender’s Revolving
Commitment, (iii) the existence (or alleged existence) of any event
or condition which has had or could reasonably be expected to have
a Material Adverse Effect, (iv) any breach of this Agreement or any
other Loan Document by the Borrower, the Administrative Agent or
any Lender or (v) any other circumstance, happening or event
whatsoever, whether or not similar to any of the foregoing.
If such amount is not in fact made available to the Swingline
Lender by any Lender, the Swingline Lender shall be entitled to
recover such amount on demand from such Lender, together with
accrued interest thereon for each day from the date of demand
thereof (i) at the Federal Funds Rate until the second Business Day
after such demand and (ii) at the Base Rate at all times
thereafter. Until such time as such Lender makes its required
payment, the Swingline Lender shall be deemed to continue to have
outstanding Swingline Loans in the amount of the unpaid
participation for all purposes of the Loan Documents. In
addition, such Lender shall be deemed to have assigned any and all
payments made of principal and interest on its Loans and any other
amounts due to it hereunder, to the Swingline Lender to fund the
amount of such Lender’s participation interest in such
Swingline Loans that such Lender failed to fund pursuant to this
Section 2.4 , until such amount has been purchased in
full.
Section 2.5.
Term Loan Commitments
. As of the
date hereof, Term Loans in the aggregate principal amount of
$380,000,000 are outstanding under this Agreement. Subject to
the terms and conditions set forth herein, each Lender having a
Term Loan Commitment severally agrees to make additional Term
Loans, ratably in proportion to its Pro Rata Share, to the
Borrower, on one date during theTerm Loan CommitmentAvailability
Period, in an aggregate principal amount outstanding at any time
that will not result in (a) such Lender’s aggregate Term
Loans
27
exceeding such
Lender’s Term Loan Commitment or (b) the aggregate Term Loans
of all Lenders exceeding the aggregate Term Loan Commitment
Amount. During the Term Loan Commitment Availability Period,
the Borrower shall be entitled to borrow and prepay Term Loans in
accordance with the provisions hereof, but once repaid or prepaid,
Term Loans may not be reborrowed. The Term Loans may be, from
time to time, Base Rate Loans or Eurodollar Loans or a combination
thereof.
Section 2.6.
Funding of Borrowings
.
(a)
Each Lender will make available each
Loan to be made by it hereunder on the proposed date thereof by
wire transfer in immediately available funds by 11:00 a.m. (New
Yorktime) to the Administrative Agent at the Payment Office;
provided , that the Swingline Loans will be made as set
forth in Section 2.4 . The Administrative Agent will
make such Loans available to the Borrower by promptly crediting the
amounts that it receives, in like funds by 1:00 pm (New York time)
on such proposed date, to an account maintained by the Borrower
with the Administrative Agent or at the Borrower’s option, by
effecting a wire transfer of such amounts to an account designated
by the Borrower to the Administrative Agent.
(b)
Unless the Administrative Agent
shall have been notified by any Lender prior to 5:00 p.m. (New
Yorktime) one (1) Business Day prior to the date of a Borrowing in
which such Lender is to participate that such Lender will not make
available to the Administrative Agent such Lender’s share of
such Borrowing, the Administrative Agent may assume that such
Lender has made such amount available to the Administrative Agent
on such date, and the Administrative Agent, in reliance on such
assumption, may make available to the Borrower on such date a
corresponding amount. If such corresponding amount is not in
fact made available to the Administrative Agent by such Lender on
the date of such Borrowing, the Administrative Agent shall be
entitled to recover such corresponding amount on demand from such
Lender together with interest at the Federal Funds Rate until the
second Business Day after such demand and thereafter at the Base
Rate. If such Lender does not pay such corresponding amount
forthwith upon the Administrative Agent’s demand therefor,
the Administrative Agent shall promptly notify the Borrower, and
the Borrower shall immediately pay such corresponding amount to the
Administrative Agent together with interest at the rate specified
for such Borrowing. Nothing in this subsection shall be
deemed to relieve any Lender from its obligation to fund its Pro
Rata Share of any Borrowing hereunder or to prejudice any rights
which the Borrower may have against any Lender as a result of any
default by such Lender hereunder.
(c)
All Revolving Borrowings shall be
made by the Lenders on the basis of their respective Pro Rata
Shares. No Lender shall be responsible for any default by any
other Lender in its obligations hereunder, and each Lender shall be
obligated to make its Loans provided to be made by it hereunder,
regardless of the failure of any other Lender to make its Loans
hereunder.
Section 2.7.
Interest Elections
.
(a)
Each Borrowing initially shall be of
the Type specified in the applicable Notice of Borrowing, and in
the case of a Eurodollar Borrowing, shall have an initial Interest
Period as specified in such Notice of Borrowing. Thereafter,
the Borrower may elect to convert
28
such Borrowing
into a different Type or to continue such Borrowing, and in the
case of a Eurodollar Borrowing, may elect Interest Periods
therefor, all as provided in this Section 2.8 . The
Borrower may elect different options with respect to different
portions of the affected Borrowing, in which case each such portion
shall be allocated ratably among the Lenders holding Loans
comprising such Borrowing, and the Loans comprising each such
portion shall be considered a separate Borrowing. This
Section shall NOT apply to Swingline Borrowings, which may not be
converted or continued.
(b)
To make an election pursuant to this
Section 2.7 , the Borrower shall give the Administrative
Agent prior written notice (or telephonic notice promptly confirmed
in writing) of each Borrowing substantially in the form of
Exhibit 2.7 attached hereto (a “ Notice of
Conversion/Continuation ”) that is to be converted or
continued, as the case may be, (x) prior to 10:00 a.m. (New
Yorktime) on the requested date of a conversion into a Base Rate
Borrowing and (y) prior to 11:00 a.m. (New Yorktime) three (3)
Business Days prior to a continuation of or conversion into a
Eurodollar Borrowing. Each such Notice of
Conversion/Continuation shall be irrevocable and shall specify (i)
the Borrowing to which such Notice of Continuation/Conversion
applies and if different options are being elected with respect to
different portions thereof, the portions thereof that are to be
allocated to each resulting Borrowing (in which case the
information to be specified pursuant to clauses (iii) and (iv)
shall be specified for each resulting Borrowing); (ii) the
effective date of the election made pursuant to such Notice of
Continuation/Conversion, which shall be a Business Day, (iii)
whether the resulting Borrowing is to be a Base Rate Borrowing or a
Eurodollar Borrowing; and (iv) if the resulting Borrowing is to be
a Eurodollar Borrowing, the Interest Period applicable thereto
after giving effect to such election, which shall be a period
contemplated by the definition of “Interest
Period”. If any such Notice of Continuation/Conversion
requests a Eurodollar Borrowing but does not specify an Interest
Period, the Borrower shall be deemed to have selected an Interest
Period of one month. The principal amount of any resulting
Borrowing shall satisfy the minimum borrowing amount for Eurodollar
Borrowings and Base Rate Borrowings set forth in Section 2.3
.
(c)
If, on the expiration of any
Interest Period in respect of any Eurodollar Borrowing, the
Borrower shall have failed to deliver a Notice of Conversion/
Continuation, then, unless such Borrowing is repaid as provided
herein, the Borrower shall be deemed to have elected to convert
such Borrowing to a Base Rate Borrowing. No Borrowing may be
converted into, or continued as, a Eurodollar Borrowing if a
Default or an Event of Default exists, unless the Administrative
Agent and each of the Lenders shall have otherwise consented in
writing. No conversion of any Eurodollar Loans shall be
permitted except on the last day of the Interest Period in respect
thereof.
(d)
Upon receipt of any Notice of
Conversion/Continuation, the Administrative Agent shall promptly
notify each Lender of the details thereof and of such
Lender’s portion of each resulting Borrowing.
Section 2.8.
Optional Reduction and
Termination of Commitments .
(a)
Unless previously terminated, all
Revolving Commitments, Swingline Commitments and LC Commitments
shall terminate on the Revolving Commitment Termination Date.
The Term Loan Commitments (i) previously terminated with respect to
$380,000,000 of
29
the Term Loan
Commitments upon the making of the Term Loans pursuant to
Section 2.5 in such amount on December 19, 2006 and (ii)
shall terminate on the sixth month anniversary of the Closing Date,
with respect to $320,000,000of the Term Loan
Commitments.
(b)
Upon at least three (3) Business
Days’ prior written notice (or telephonic notice promptly
confirmed in writing) to the Administrative Agent (which notice
shall be irrevocable), the Borrower may reduce the Aggregate
Revolving Commitments or the Term Loan Commitments in part or
terminate the Aggregate Revolving Commitments or the Term Loan
Commitments in whole; provided , that (i) any partial
reduction shall apply to reduce proportionately and permanently the
Revolving Commitment or the Term Loan Commitment of each Lender,
(ii) any partial reduction pursuant to this Section 2.8
shall be in an amount of at least $5,000,000 and any larger
multiple of $1,000,000, and (iii) no such reduction shall be
permitted which would reduce the Aggregate Revolving Commitment
Amount or the Term Loan Commitment to an amount less than the
outstanding Revolving Credit Exposures or the Term Loans of all
Lenders. Any such reduction in the Aggregate Revolving
Commitment Amount below the sum of the principal amount of the
Swingline Commitment and the LC Commitment shall result in a
proportionate reduction (rounded to the next lowest integral
multiple of $100,000) in the Swingline Commitment and the LC
Commitment.
Section 2.9.
Repayment of Loans
.
(a)
The outstanding principal amount of
all Revolving Loans shall be due and payable (together with accrued
and unpaid interest thereon) on the Revolving Commitment
Termination Date.
(b)
The principal amount of each
Swingline Borrowing shall be due and payable (together with accrued
and unpaid interest thereon) on the earlier of (i) the last day of
the Interest Period applicable to such Borrowing and (ii) the
Revolving Commitment Termination Date.
(c)
The outstanding balance of all Term
Loans shall be due and payable (together with accrued and unpaid
interest thereon) on the Maturity Date.
Section 2.10.
Evidence of
Indebtedness . (a) Each Lender
shall maintain in accordance with its usual practice appropriate
records evidencing the Indebtedness of the Borrower to such Lender
resulting from each Loan made by such Lender from time to time,
including the amounts of principal and interest payable thereon and
paid to such Lender from time to time under this Agreement.
The Administrative Agent shall maintainappropriate recordsin which
shall be recorded (i) the Revolving Commitment and Term Loan
Commitment of each Lender, (ii) the amount of each Loan made
hereunder by each Lender, the Class and Type thereof and the
Interest Period applicable thereto, (iii) the date of each
continuation thereof pursuant to Section 2.7 , (iv) the date
of each conversion of all or a portion thereof to another Type
pursuant to Section 2.7 , (v) the date and amount of any
principal or interest due and payable or to become due and payable
from the Borrower to each Lender hereunder in respect of such Loans
and (vi) both the date and amount of any sum received by the
Administrative Agent hereunder from the Borrower in respect of the
Loans and each Lender’s Pro Rata Share thereof. The
entries made in such records shall be prima
facie
30
evidence of the
existence and amounts of the obligations of the Borrower therein
recorded; provided , that the failure or delay of any Lender
or the Administrative Agent in maintaining or making entries into
any such record or any error therein shall not in any manner affect
the obligation of the Borrower to repay the Loans (both principal
and unpaid accrued interest) of such Lender in accordance with the
terms of this Agreement.
(b)
At the request of any Lender
(including the Swingline Lender) at any time, the Borrower agrees
that it will execute and deliver to such Lender a Revolving Credit
Note and/or a Term Loan Note and, in the case of the
Swingline Lender only, a Swingline Note, payable to the order of
such Lender.
Section 2.11.
Optional Prepayments
. The Borrower shall have the
right at any time and from time to time to prepay any Borrowing, in
whole or in part, without premium or penalty, by giving irrevocable
written notice (or telephonic notice promptly confirmed in writing)
to the Administrative Agent no later than (i) in the case of
prepayment of any Eurodollar Borrowing, 11:00 a.m. (New York
time) not less than three (3) Business Days prior to any such
prepayment, (ii) in the case of any prepayment of any Base Rate
Borrowing, not less than one Business Day prior to the date of such
prepayment, and (iii) in the case of Swingline Borrowings, prior to
11:00 a.m. (New Yorktime) on the date of such prepayment.
Each such notice shall be irrevocable and shall specify the
proposed date of such prepayment and the principal amount of each
Borrowing or portion thereof to be prepaid. Upon receipt of
any such notice, the Administrative Agent shall promptly notify
each affected Lender of the contents thereof and of such
Lender’s Pro Rata Share of any such prepayment. If such
notice is given, the aggregate amount specified in such notice
shall be due and payable on the date designated in such notice,
together with accrued interest to such date on the amount so
prepaid in accordance with Section 2.13(d ); provided
, that if a Eurodollar Borrowing is prepaid on a date other than
the last day of an Interest Period applicable thereto, the Borrower
shall also pay all amounts required pursuant to
Section 2.19 . Each partial prepayment of any
Loan (other than a Swingline Loan) shall be in an amount that would
be permitted in the case of an advance of a Revolving Borrowing of
the same Type pursuant to Section 2.2 or in the case of a
Swingline Loan pursuant to Section 2.4 . Each
prepayment of a Borrowing shall be applied ratably to the Loans
comprising such Borrowing, and in the case of a prepayment of a
Term Loan Borrowing, to principal installments in inverse order of
maturity.
Section 2.12.
Mandatory Prepayments
. If at any
time the Revolving Credit Exposure of all Lenders exceeds the
Aggregate Revolving Commitment Amount, as reduced pursuant to
Section 2.8 or otherwise, the Borrower shall immediately
repay Swingline Loans and Revolving Loans in an amount equal to
such excess, together with all accrued and unpaid interest on such
excess amount and any amounts due under Section 2.19 .
Each prepayment shall be applied first to the Swingline Loans to
the full extent thereof, second to the Base Rate Loans to the full
extent thereof, and finally to Eurodollar Loans to the full extent
thereof. If after giving effect to prepayment of all
Swingline Loans and Revolving Loans, the Revolving Credit Exposure
of all Lenders exceeds the Aggregate Revolving Commitment Amount,
the Borrower shall deposit in an account with the Administrative
Agent, in the name of the Administrative Agent and for the benefit
of the Issuing Bank and the Lenders, an amount in cash equal to
such excess plus any accrued and unpaid fees thereon to be held as
collateral for the LC Exposure. Such account shall be
administered in accordance with Section 2.22(g)
hereof.
31
Section 2.13
Interest on Loans
.
(a)
The Borrower
shall pay interest on each Base Rate Loan at the Base Rate in
effect from time to time and on each Eurodollar Loan at the
Adjusted LIBO Rate for the applicable Interest Period in effect for
such Loan, plus , in each case, the Applicable Margin in
effect from time to time.
(b)
The Borrower
shall pay interest on each Swingline Loan at the Swingline Rate in
effect from time to time.
(c)
While an Event of
Default exists or after acceleration, at the option of the Required
Lenders, the Borrower shall pay interest (“ Default
Interest ”) with respect to all Eurodollar Loans at the
rate otherwise applicable for the then-current Interest Period
plus an additional 2% per annum until the last day of such
Interest Period, and thereafter, and with respect to all Base Rate
Loans and all other Obligations hereunder (other than Loans), at
the rate in effect for Base Rate Loans, plus an additional
2% per annum.
(d)
Interest on the
principal amount of all Loans shall accrue from and including the
date such Loans are made to but excluding the date of any repayment
thereof. Interest on all outstanding Base Rate Loans shall be
payable quarterly in arrears on the last day of each March, June,
September and December and on the Revolving Commitment Termination
Date or the Maturity Date, as the case may be. Interest on
all outstanding Eurodollar Loans shall be payable on the last day
of each Interest Period applicable thereto, and, in the case of any
Eurodollar Loans having an Interest Period in excess of three
months or 90 days, respectively, on each day which occurs every
three months or 90 days, as the case may be, after the initial date
of such Interest Period, and on the Revolving Commitment
Termination Date or the Maturity Date, as the case may be.
Interest on each Swingline Loan (other than a Swingline Loan that
is a Base Rate Loan which shall be payable as set forth above)
shall be payable on the maturity date of such Loan, which shall be
the last day of the Interest Period applicable thereto, and on the
Revolving Commitment Termination Date. Interest on any Loan
which is converted into a Loan of another Type or which is repaid
or prepaid shall be payable on the date of such conversion or on
the date of any such repayment or prepayment (on the amount repaid
or prepaid) thereof. All Default Interest shall be payable on
demand.
(e)
The
Administrative Agent shall determine each interest rate applicable
to the Loans hereunder and shall promptly notify the Borrower and
the Lenders of such rate in writing (or by telephone, promptly
confirmed in writing). Any such determination shall be
conclusive and binding for all purposes, absent manifest
error.
Section 2.14.
Fees
.
(a)
The Borrower
shall pay to the Administrative Agent for its own account fees in
the amounts and at the times previously agreed upon in writing by
the Borrower and the Administrative Agent.
(b)
The Borrower
agrees to pay to the Administrative Agent for the account of each
Lender a facility fee, which shall accrue at the Applicable
Percentage per annum (determined daily in accordance with
Schedule I ) on the daily amount of the
Revolving
32
Commitment
(whether used or unused) of such Lender during the Availability
Period; provided , that if such Lender continues to have any
Revolving Credit Exposure after the Revolving Commitment
Termination Date, then the facility fee shall continue to accrue on
the daily amount of such Revolving Credit Exposure from and after
the Revolving Commitment Termination Date to the date that all of
such Lender’s Revolving Credit Exposure has been paid in
full.
(c)
The Borrower
agrees to pay to the Administrative Agent for the account of each
Lender a commitment fee, which shall accrue at the Applicable
Percentage per annum (determined daily in accordance with
Schedule I ) on the daily amount of the unused Term
Loan Commitment of such Lender during the Term Loan Commitment
Availability Period.
(d)
The Borrower
agrees to pay (i) quarterly in arrears to the Administrative Agent,
for the account of each Lender, a letter of credit fee with respect
to its participation in each Letter of Credit, which shall accrue
at a rate per annum equal to the Applicable Margin for Eurodollar
Loans then in effect on the average daily amount of such
Lender’s LC Exposure attributable to such Letter of Credit
during the period from and including the date of issuance of such
Letter of Credit to but excluding the date on which such Letter of
Credit expires or is drawn in full (including without limitation
any LC Exposure that remains outstanding after the Revolving
Commitment Termination Date) and (ii) to the Issuing Bank for its
own account a fronting fee, which shall accrue at the rate of
0.125% per annum on the average daily amount of the LC Exposure
(excluding any portion thereof attributable to unreimbursed LC
Disbursements) during the Availability Period (or until the date
that such Letter of Credit is irrevocably cancelled, whichever is
later), as well as the Issuing Bank’s standard fees with
respect to issuance, amendment, renewal or extension of any Letter
of Credit or processing of drawings thereunder.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Required Lenders elect to
increase the interest rate on the Loans to the Default Interest
pursuant to Section 2.13(c) , the rate per annum used to
calculate the letter of credit fee pursuant to clause (i) above
shall automatically be increased by an additional 2% per
annum.
(e)
The Borrower
shall pay to the Administrative Agent, for the ratable benefit of
each Lender, the upfront fee previously agreed upon by the Borrower
and the Administrative Agent, which shall be due and payable on the
Closing Date.
(f)
Accrued fees
under paragraphs (b), (c) and above shall be payable quarterly in
arrears on the last day of each March, June, September and
December, commencing on March 31, 2007 and on the Revolving
Commitment Termination Date (and if later, the date the Loans and
LC Exposure shall be repaid in their entirety); provided
further , that any such fees accruing after the Revolving
Commitment Termination Date shall be payable on demand.
Section 2.15.
Computation of Interest and
Fees .
All computations of interest based
on the Base Rate shall be made by the Administrative Agent on the
basis of a year of 365 days, as the case may be, and all
computations of interest based on LIBOR or the Federal Funds Rate
and of fees hereunder shall be made on the basis of a year of
360 days for the actual number of days (including the first
day but excluding the last day) occurring in the period for which
such interest or fees are payable (to the extent computed on the
basis of days elapsed). Each determination by the
Administrative
33
Agent of an interest amount or fee
hereunder shall be made in good faith and, except for manifest
error, shall be final, conclusive and binding for all
purposes.
Section 2.16.
Inability to Determine Interest
Rates . If prior to the
commencement of any Interest Period for any Eurodollar
Borrowing,
(i)
the
Administrative Agent shall have determined (which determination
shall be conclusive and binding upon the Borrower) that, by reason
of circumstances affecting the relevant interbank market, adequate
means do not exist for ascertaining LIBOR for such Interest Period,
or
(ii)
the
Administrative Agent shall have received notice from the Required
Lenders that the Adjusted LIBO Rate does not adequately and fairly
reflect the cost to such Lenders (or Lender, as the case may be) of
making, funding or maintaining their (or its, as the case may
be) Eurodollar Loans for such Interest Period,
the Administrative Agent shall give
written notice (or telephonic notice, promptly confirmed in
writing) to the Borrower and to the Lenders as soon as practicable
thereafter. Until the Administrative Agent shall notify the
Borrower and the Lenders that the circumstances giving rise to such
notice no longer exist, (i) the obligations of the Lenders to make
Eurodollar Revolving Loans or to continue or convert outstanding
Loans as or into Eurodollar Loans shall be suspended and (ii) all
such affected Loans shall be converted into Base Rate Loans on the
last day of the then current Interest Period applicable thereto
unless the Borrower prepays such Loans in accordance with this
Agreement. Unless the Borrower notifies the Administrative
Agent at least one Business Day before the date of any Eurodollar
Revolving Borrowing for which a Notice of Revolving Borrowing has
previously been given that it elects not to borrow on such date,
then such Revolving Borrowing shall be made as a Base Rate
Borrowing.
Section 2.17.
Illegality
. If, after the date of this
Agreement, any Change in Law shall make it unlawful or impossible
for any Lender to make, maintain or fund any Eurodollar Loan and
such Lender shall so promptly notify the Administrative Agent, the
Administrative Agent shall promptly give notice thereof to the
Borrower and the other Lenders, whereupon until such Lender
notifies the Administrative Agent and the Borrower that the
circumstances giving rise to such suspension no longer exist, the
obligation of such Lender to make Eurodollar Revolving Loans, or to
continue or convert outstanding Loans as or into Eurodollar Loans,
shall be suspended. In the case of the making of a Eurodollar
Revolving Borrowing, such Lender’s Revolving Loan shall be
made as a Base Rate Loan as part of the same Revolving Borrowing
for the same Interest Period and if the affected Eurodollar Loan is
then outstanding, such Loan shall be converted to a Base Rate Loan
either (i) on the last day of the then current Interest Period
applicable to such Eurodollar Loan if such Lender may lawfully
continue to maintain such Loan to such date or (ii) immediately if
such Lender shall determine that it may not lawfully continue to
maintain such Eurodollar Loan to such date. Notwithstanding
the foregoing, the affected Lender shall, prior to giving such
notice to the Administrative Agent, designate a different
Applicable Lending