Exhibit 10.1
SIXTH AMENDMENT TO AMENDED AND
RESTATED CREDIT AGREEMENT AND
FOURTH AMENDMENT TO AMENDED
AND RESTATED SECURITY AGREEMENT
THIS SIXTH AMENDMENT
TO AMENDED AND RESTATED CREDIT AGREEMENT AND FOURTH AMENDMENT TO
AMENDED AND RESTATED SECURITY AGREEMENT (this “
Amendment ”) is made and entered into this 26
th
day of February,
2009, by and among CARAUSTAR INDUSTRIES, INC. , a North
Carolina corporation (“ Caraustar ”), each
subsidiary of Caraustar listed on the signature pages hereto as a
“Borrower” (Caraustar and each such subsidiary shall be
referred to herein, collectively, as the “ Borrowers
” and each individually as a “ Borrower
”), each subsidiary of Caraustar listed on the signature
pages hereto as a “Guarantor” (each such subsidiary
shall be referred to herein, collectively, as the “
Guarantors ” and each individually as a “
Guarantor ”), the financial institutions party to the
Credit Agreement (as defined below) from time to time as lenders
(such financial institutions, together with their respective
successors and assigns, shall be referred to herein, collectively,
as “ Lenders ” and each individually as a
“ Lender ”), and BANK OF AMERICA, N.A. ,
a national banking association, in its capacity as agent for the
Lenders (together with its successors and assigns in such capacity,
“ Agent ”).
Recitals
:
The Borrowers, the Guarantors, the
Lenders and the Agent are parties to (i) that certain Amended
and Restated Credit Agreement dated as of March 30, 2006 (as
at any time amended, restated, modified or supplemented, the
“ Credit Agreement ”), pursuant to which the
Agent and the Lenders have made certain revolving credit and term
loans and other financial accommodations to the Borrowers, and
(ii) that certain Amended and Restated Security Agreement
dated as of March 30, 2006 (as at any time amended, restated,
modified or supplemented, the “ Security Agreement
”), pursuant to which the Borrowers and the Guarantors have
granted to the Agent, for the benefit of the Lenders, a continuing
Lien on the Collateral to secure the Obligations.
The parties desire to amend the
Credit Agreement and the Security Agreement as hereinafter set
forth.
NOW, THEREFORE, for TEN DOLLARS
($10.00) in hand paid and other good and valuable consideration,
the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby severally
acknowledged, the parties hereto, intending to be legally bound
hereby, agree as follows:
1. Definitions
. All capitalized terms
used in this Amendment, unless otherwise defined herein, shall have
the meanings ascribed to such terms in the Credit
Agreement.
2. Amendments to Credit
Agreement . The
Credit Agreement is hereby amended as follows:
(a) By deleting
Section 2.5 of the Credit Agreement in its entirety and
by substituting in lieu thereof the following new Section
2.5 :
2.5 Unused Line Fee. On the first
day of each month, and on the Termination Date, the Borrowers agree
to pay to the Agent, for the account of the Lenders, in accordance
with their respective Pro Rata Shares, an unused line fee (the
“ Unused Line Fee ”) equal to 0.50% per
annum times the Unused Line Amount for the month of February, 2009,
and 0.75% per annum times the Unused Line Amount for each
month thereafter. As used herein, the term “ Unused Line
Amount ” shall mean the amount by which the Maximum
Revolver Amount exceeded the sum of the average daily outstanding
amount of Revolving Loans and the average daily undrawn face amount
of outstanding Letters of Credit during the immediately preceding
month or shorter period if calculated on the Termination Date. The
Unused Line Fee shall be computed on the basis of a 360-day year
for the actual
number of days elapsed. For purposes
of calculating the Unused Line Fee pursuant to this
Section 2.5 , all principal payments received by the
Agent which have been credited to the Borrowers’ Loan Account
shall be deemed to be credited to the Borrowers’ Loan Account
on the date that such credit actually occurs.
(b) By deleting clause (f) of
Section 7.9 of the Credit Agreement and by substituting
in lieu thereof the following new clause (f):
(f) Reserved; and
(c) By deleting clause (c) of
Section 7.14 of the Credit Agreement and by
substituting in lieu thereof the following new clause
(c):
(c) No later than April 30,
2009, the Borrowers shall provide the Agent (i) evidence of
the repayment or redemption in full of the Senior Notes
(2009) through a Permitted Senior Note Refinancing or pursuant
to Section 7.14(a)(iii) or of the defeasance of the
Borrowers’ obligations under the covenants under the Senior
Note Indenture (2009) in accordance with the terms thereof or
(ii) notice of the principal amount of the Senior Notes
(2009) that remain or will remain outstanding on
April 30, 2009, in which event the Agent may (and upon the
written request of Required Lenders shall) establish Reserves in an
amount equal to the outstanding principal amount of the Senior
Notes (2009), which Reserves will be released by the Agent on the
date of any repayment or redemption in full of the Senior Notes
(2009) (or defeasance of the Borrowers’ obligations
under the covenants under the Senior Note Indenture
(2009)) permitted hereunder.
(d) By deleting clause (a) of
Section 8.2 of the Credit Agreement and by substituting
in lieu thereof the following new clause (a):
(a) The following statements shall
be true, and the acceptance by any Borrower of any extension of
credit shall be deemed to be a statement to the effect set forth in
clauses (i) , (ii) , (iii) , and (iv)
with the same effect as the delivery to the Agent and the
Lenders of a certificate signed by a Responsible Officer, dated the
date of such extension of credit, stating that:
(i) The representations and
warranties contained in this Agreement and the other Loan Documents
are correct in all material respects on and as of the date of such
extension of credit as though made on and as of such date, other
than any such representation or warranty which relates to a
specified prior date and except to the extent the Agent and the
Lenders have been notified in writing by the Obligors that any
representation or warranty is not correct and the Required Lenders
have explicitly waived in writing compliance with such
representation or warranty; and
(ii) No event has occurred and is
continuing, or would result from such extension of credit, which
constitutes a Default or an Event of Default; and
(iii) No event has occurred and is
continuing, or would result from such extension of credit, which
has had or could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse
Effect; and
(iv) Obligors in the aggregate hold
less than $1,000,000 in unrestricted cash or liquid
investments.
(e) By adding the following new
definitions of “Federal Funds Rate”, “Prime
Rate”, and “Sixth Amendment Date” to Annex
A to the Credit Agreement in proper alphabetical
sequence:
“ Federal Funds Rate
” means (a) the weighted average of interest rates on
overnight federal funds transactions with members of the Federal
Reserve System arranged by federal funds brokers on the applicable
Business Day (or on the preceding Business Day, if the applicable
day is not a Business Day), as published by the Federal Reserve
Bank of New York on the next Business Day; or (b) if no such
rate is published on the next Business Day, the average rate
(rounded up, if necessary, to the nearest 1/8 of 1%) charged to the
Bank on the applicable day on such transactions, as determined by
Agent.
“ Prime Rate ”
means the rate of interest announced by the Bank from time to time
as its prime rate. Such rate is set by the Bank on the basis of
various factors, including its costs and desired return, general
economic conditions and other factors, and is used as a reference
point for pricing some loans, which may be priced at, above or
below such rate. Any change in such rate announced by the Bank
shall take effect at the opening of business on the day specified
in the public announcement of such change.
“ Sixth Amendment Date
” means February 26, 2009.
(f) By deleting the definitions of
“Applicable Margin,” “Average
Availability”, “Base Rate”, “Letter of
Credit Subfacility”, “Maximum Revolver Amount”,
“Permitted Distribution” and “Unused Letter of
Credit Subfacility” contained in Annex A to the Credit
Agreement and by substituting in lieu thereof the following new
definitions:
“ Applicable Margin
” means, from the Sixth Amendment Date until March 1,
2009:
(i) with respect to Base Rate
Revolving Loans and all other Obligations (other than LIBOR
Revolving Loans), 4.00%;
(ii) with respect to LIBOR Revolving
Loans, 5.00%.
The “Applicable Margin”
shall thereafter be adjusted (up or down) prospectively according
to the pricing grid set forth below on the first day of each
calendar month (beginning on March 1, 2009), as determined on
each such adjustment date by the Average Availability for the
calendar month most recently ended:
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LEVEL
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AVERAGE
AVAILABILITY (measured
for the fiscal month
most
recently ended)
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LIBOR
REVOLVING
LOANS
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BASE RATE
REVOLVING
LOANS
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I
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Less than $20 million
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5.50
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%
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4.50
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%
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II
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Greater than or equal to $20 million
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5.00
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%
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4.00
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%
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If a Default or Event of Default has
occurred and is continuing at the time any reduction in the
Applicable Margin is to be implemented, no reduction may occur
until the first day of the first calendar month following the date
on which such Default or Event of Default is waived or
cured.
“ Average Availability
” means, (a) in the case of any calculation as of the
last day of any fiscal quarter, the average daily Availability
during the fiscal quarter then ended, or (b) in the case of
any calculation as of the last day of any other fiscal month for
purposes of Section 7.4(b), the average daily Availability
during the three fiscal month period then ended, or (c) in the
case of any calculation as of the last day of any other fiscal
month for purposes of determining the Applicable Margin, the
average daily Availability during the fiscal month then
ended.
“ Base Rate ”
means, for any day, a per annum rate equal to the greater of
(a) the Prime Rate for such day; (b) the Federal Funds
Rate for such day, plus 0.50%; or (c) the LIBOR Rate for a 30
day interest period as determined on such day, plus 1.0%. Each
Interest Rate based upon the Base Rate shall be adjusted
simultaneously with any change in the Base Rate.
“ Letter of Credit
Subfacility ” means $22,000,000.
“ Maximum Revolver
Amount ” means $70,000,000, as reduced from time to time
in accordance with Section 3.2(a) .
“
Permitted Distributions ” means Distributions by
any Subsidiary of an Obligor to such Obligor.
“ Unused Letter of Credit
Subfacility ” means an amount equal to $22,000,000
minus the sum of (a) the aggregate undrawn amount of
all outstanding Letters of Credit plus , without
duplication, (b) the aggregate unpaid reimbursement
obligations with respect to all Letters of Credit.
(g) By deleting the lead-in clause
at the beginning of the definition of “LIBOR Rate”
contained in Annex A to the Credit Agreement, and by
substituting in lieu thereof the following new lead-in
clause:
“ LIBOR Rate ”
means, for any Interest Period, with respect to LIBOR Rate Loans,
the greater of (i) a rate of interest per annum equal to 2.0%
or (ii) the rate of interest per annum determined pursuant to
the following formula:
(h) By deleting clause (q) of
the definition of “Restricted Investment” contained in
Annex A to the Credit Agreement, and by adding the word
“and” immediately preceding clause (p) of such
definition.
3. Amendments to Security
Agreement . The
Security Agreement is hereby amended by deleting the definitions of
“Dominion Date” contained in Section 1 of
the Security Agreement and by substituting in lieu thereof the
following new definition:
“ Dominion Date ”
means April 30, 2009, on which date Agent shall, in accordance
with the terms of each Blocked Account Agreement, give notice to
the applicable Clearing Bank that Agent is exercising dominion over
the applicable Payment Account and that withdrawals by Grantors are
no longer permitted from such Payment Account, provided that
, Agent may exercise such dominion prior to April 30, 2009 if,
at any time prior to such date, (a) the unpaid balance of Revolving
Loans is greater than $0 or (b) an Event of Default
occurs.
4. Consent to Delivery of
Audited Financial Statements for 2008 Fiscal Year Subject to
Certain Qualification . At the request of Borrowers, notwithstanding the
requirement of Section 5.2(a) of the Credit Agreement that the
financial statements to be delivered thereunder be accompanied by
an unqualified report from Obligors’ independent certified
public accountants, Agent and the Required Lenders hereby consent
and agree that, in connection with the delivery by Borrowers to
Agent and Lenders of such financial statements pursuant to
Section 5.2(a) of the Credit Agreement for the 2008 Fiscal
Year, such statements, when delivered, shall be accompanied by a
report thereon of independent certified public accountants selected
by the Obligors and reasonably satisfactory to the Agent, which may
be qualified as to going concern, but only as a result of the
requirement for payment upon maturity of the Senior Notes
(2009) on June 1, 2009.
5. Ratification and
Reaffirmation . Each
Obligor hereby ratifies and reaffirms the Obligations, each of the
Loan Documents and all of such Obligor’s covenants, duties,
indebtedness and liabilities under the Loan Documents.
6. Interest Rate
Disclosure . The Base
Rate on the date hereof is 3.25% per annum and, therefore,
after giving effect to the amendments set forth in this Amendment,
the rate of interest in effect hereunder on the date hereof,
expressed in simple interest terms, is 7.25% per annum with
respect to any portion of the Revolving Loans bearing interest as a
Base Rate Loan. The 30-day LIBOR Rate on the date hereof is
2.00% per annum and, therefore, after giving effect to the
amendments set forth in this Amendment, the rate of interest in
effect hereunder on the date hereof, expressed in simple interest
terms, is 7.00% per annum with respect to any portion of the
Revolving Loans bearing interest as a LIBOR Loan with a 30-day
Interest Period.
7. Additional Covenants
. To induce Agent and
Lenders to enter into this Amendment, each of the Obligors hereby
covenants and agrees to (a) execute and deliver, or cause to
be executed and delivered, to the Agent, within thirty
(30) days after the date hereof (or such greater period as the
Agent may otherwise agree in writing), such documents and
agreements, and shall take or cause to be taken such actions, as
the Agent may reasonably request, to properly record and reflect of
record with the United States Patent and Trademark Office or the
United States Copyright Office, as applicable,
(i) Obligors’ title and ownership of all of their
patents, trademarks and copyrights and other Proprietary Rights,
and (ii) Agent’s Liens with respect thereto,
(b) use commercially reasonably efforts to promptly take or
cause to be taken such other steps as are reasonably deemed
necessary or desirable by Agent to maintain and protect
Agent’s first priority Liens in the Collateral, and
(c) prepare and deliver to Agent on or before March 6,
2009 (or such later date as the Agent may otherwise agree in
writing) updates to Schedules 6.11, 7.13, and 7.18 of the Credit
Agreement, Schedules I and II to the Security Agreement, and any
other Schedules to the Credit Agreement and Security Agreement that
Agent may request during such period, and to execute and deliver to
Agent and Lenders any documents or instruments necessary to amend
the Credit Agreement and Security Agreement in order to give effect
to any updating changes to the Schedules thereto, in each case in
form and substance satisfactory to Agent.
8. Acknowledgments and
Stipulations . Each
Obligor acknowledges and stipulates that the Credit Agreement, the
Security Agreement and the other Loan Documents executed by such
Obligor are legal, valid and binding obligations of such Obligor
that are enforceable against such Obligor in accordance with the
terms thereof; all of the Obligations are owing and payable without
defense, offset or counterclaim (and