Exhibit 10.12
SUBORDINATED PLEDGE
AGREEMENT
THIS SUBORDINATED PLEDGE AGREEMENT
dated as of December 17, 2008 (this “ Pledge
Agreement ”) is by and among CANO PETROLEUM, INC., a
Delaware corporation (“ Borrower ”), each
subsidiary of the Borrower signatory hereto (together with the
Borrower, the “ Pledgors ” and individually,
each a “ Pledgor ”) and UnionBanCal
Equities, Inc. as Administrative Agent (in such capacity the
“ Administrative Agent ”) under the Credit
Agreement (as hereinafter defined), for its benefit and the benefit
of the Lenders (as hereinafter defined).
RECITALS
A.
The Borrower, the lenders party
thereto from time to time (the “ Lenders ”;
together with the Administrative Agent, the “
‘Secured Parties ”), and the Administrative
Agent have entered into that certain Subordinated Credit Agreement
dated of even date herewith (as it may be amended, restated,
supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “
Credit Agreement ”).
B.
It is a condition precedent to the
extension of credit to the Borrower under the Credit Agreement that
the Pledgors and the Administrative Agent, on behalf of the
Lenders, execute and deliver this Pledge Agreement.
C.
Each Pledgor (other than the
Borrower) is a subsidiary of the Borrower, and therefore shall
derive direct and indirect benefits from the transactions
contemplated by the Credit Agreement.
AGREEMENT
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of
the foregoing and other good and valuable consideration, the
receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged and
confessed, each Pledgor hereby agrees with the Administrative Agent
for the benefit of the Secured Parties as follows:
Section 1.
Definitions . All capitalized terms not otherwise
defined in this Pledge Agreement that are defined in the Credit
Agreement shall have the meanings assigned to such terms by the
Credit Agreement. Any terms used in this Pledge Agreement
that are defined in the Uniform Commercial Code in effect in the
State of Texas from time to time (the “UCC”) and not
otherwise defined herein or in the Credit Agreement, shall have the
meanings assigned to those terms by the UCC. All meanings to
defined terms, unless otherwise indicated, are to be equally
applicable to both the singular and plural forms of the terms
defined. Article, Section, Schedule, and
Exhibit references are to Articles and Sections of and
Schedules and Exhibits to this Pledge Agreement, unless otherwise
specified. All references to instruments, documents,
contracts, and agreements are references to such instruments,
documents, contracts, and agreements as the same may be amended,
supplemented, and otherwise modified from time to time, unless
otherwise specified. The words “hereof”,
“herein” and “hereunder” and words of
similar import when used in this Pledge Agreement shall refer to
this Pledge Agreement as a whole and not to any particular
provision of this Pledge Agreement. As used herein, the term
“including” means “including, without
limitation,”. Paragraph headings have been inserted in this
Pledge Agreement as a matter of convenience for reference only and
it is agreed that such paragraph headings are
1
not a part of this Pledge Agreement and shall
not be used in the interpretation of any provision of this Pledge
Agreement.
Section 2. Pledge
.
2.01.
Grant of Pledge
.
(a)
Each Pledgor hereby pledges to the
Administrative Agent, and grants to the Administrative Agent, for
the benefit of the Secured Parties, a continuing security interest
in, the Pledged Collateral, as defined in Section 2.02
below. This Pledge Agreement shall secure (i) all
Obligations (as defined in the Credit Agreement) now or hereafter
existing (ii) all other amounts now or hereafter owed by the
Borrower, any Pledgor, or any of their respective Subsidiaries
under this Pledge Agreement or the other Loan Documents to the
Administrative Agent or any other Lender, and (iii) any
increases, extensions, modifications, substitutions, amendments,
restatements and renewals of any of the foregoing obligations,
whether for principal, interest, fees, expenses, indemnification or
otherwise. All such obligations shall be referred to in this
Pledge Agreement as the “ Secured Obligations
”.
(b)
Notwithstanding anything contained
herein to the contrary, it is the intention of each Pledgor, the
Administrative Agent and the Lenders that the amount of the Secured
Obligation secured by each Pledgor’s interests in any of its
property or assets (whether real or personal, or mixed, tangible or
intangible) (“ Property ”) shall be in, but not
in excess of, the maximum amount permitted by fraudulent
conveyance, fraudulent transfer and other similar law, rule or
regulation of any Governmental Authority applicable to such
Pledgor. Accordingly, notwithstanding anything to the
contrary contained in this Pledge Agreement or in any other
agreement or instrument executed in connection with the payment of
any of the Secured Obligations, the amount of the Secured
Obligations secured by each Pledgor’s interests in any of its
Property pursuant to this Pledge Agreement shall be limited to an
aggregate amount equal to the largest amount that would not render
such Pledgor’s obligations hereunder or the liens and
security interest granted to the Administrative Agent hereunder
subject to avoidance under Section 548 of the United States
Bankruptcy Code or any comparable provision of any other applicable
law.
2.02.
Pledged Collateral
. “ Pledged
Collateral ” shall mean all of each Pledgor’s
right, title, and interest in the following, whether now owned or
hereafter acquired:
(a)
(i) all of the membership
interests listed in the attached Schedule 2.02(a) issued to
such Pledgor and all such additional membership interests of any
issuer of such interests hereafter acquired by such Pledgor (the
“ Membership Interests ”), (ii) the
certificates representing the Membership Interests, if any, and
(iii) all rights to money or Property which such Pledgor now
has or hereafter acquires in respect of the Membership
Interests, including, without limitation, (A) any
proceeds from a sale by or on behalf of such Pledgor of any of the
Membership Interests, and (B) any distributions, dividends,
cash, instruments and other property from time-to-time received or
otherwise distributed in respect of the Membership Interests,
whether regular, special or made in connection
2
with the partial or total
liquidation of the issuer and whether attributable to profits, the
return of any contribution or investment or otherwise attributable
to the Membership Interests or the ownership thereof (collectively,
the “ Membership Interests Distributions
”);
(b)
(i) all of the general and
limited partnership interests listed in the attached Schedule
2.02(b) issued to such Pledgor and all such additional limited
or general partnership interests of any issuer of such interests
hereafter acquired by such Pledgor (the “ Partnership
Interests ”), and (ii) all rights to money or
Property which such Pledgor now has or hereafter acquires in
respect of the Partnership Interests, including, without
limitation, (A) any proceeds from a sale by or on behalf of
such Pledgor of any of the Partnership Interests, and (B) any
distributions, dividends, cash, instruments and other property from
time-to-time received or otherwise distributed in respect of the
Partnership Interests, whether regular, special or made in
connection with the partial or total liquidation of the issuer and
whether attributable to profits, the return of any contribution or
investment or otherwise attributable to the Partnership Interests
or the ownership thereof (collectively, the “ Partnership
Interests Distributions ”);
(c)
(i) all of the shares of stock
listed in the attached Schedule 2.02(c) issued to such Pledgor
and all such additional shares of stock of any issuer of such
shares of stock hereafter issued to such Pledgor (the “
Pledged Shares ”), (ii) the certificates
representing the Pledged Shares, and (iii) all rights to money
or Property which such Pledgor now has or hereafter acquires in
respect of the Pledged Shares, including, without limitation,
(A) any proceeds from a sale by or on behalf of such Pledgor
of any of the Pledged Shares, and (B) any distributions,
dividends, cash, instruments and other property from time-to-time
received or otherwise distributed in respect of the Pledged Shares,
whether regular, special or made in connection with the partial or
total liquidation of the issuer and whether attributable to
profits, the return of any contribution or investment or otherwise
attributable to the Pledged Shares or the ownership thereof
(collectively, the “ Pledged Shares Distributions
”; together with the Membership Interests Distributions and
the Partnership Interest Distributions, the “
Distributions ”); and
(d)
all proceeds from the Pledged
Collateral described in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of
this Section 2.02.
2.03.
Delivery of Pledged
Collateral . All
certificates or instruments, if any, representing the Pledged
Collateral shall be delivered to the Administrative Agent and shall
be in suitable form for transfer by delivery, or shall be
accompanied by duly executed instruments of transfer or assignment
in blank, all in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the
Administrative Agent. After the occurrence and during the
continuance of an Event of Default, the Administrative Agent shall
have the right, upon prior written notice to the applicable
Pledgor, to transfer to or to register in the name of the
Administrative Agent or any of its nominees any of the Pledged
Collateral, subject to the rights specified in
Section 2.04. In addition, after the occurrence and
during the continuance of an Event of Default, the Administrative
Agent shall have the right at any time to exchange the certificates
or instruments representing the Pledged Collateral for certificates
or instruments of smaller or larger denominations.
3
2.04.
Rights Retained by
Pledgor .
Notwithstanding the pledge in Section 2.01,
(a)
so long as no Event of Default shall
have occurred and remain uncured or unwaived and except as
otherwise provided in the Credit Agreement, (i) each Pledgor
shall be entitled to receive and retain any dividends and other
Distributions paid on or in respect of the Pledged Collateral and
the proceeds of any sale of the Pledged Collateral; and
(ii) each Pledgor shall be entitled to exercise any voting and
other consensual rights pertaining to its Pledged Collateral for
any purpose not inconsistent with the terms of this Pledge
Agreement or the Credit Agreement; provided , however
, that no Pledgor shall exercise nor shall it refrain from
exercising any such right if such action or inaction, as
applicable, would have a materially adverse effect on the value of
the Pledged Collateral; and
(b)
if an Event of Default shall have
occurred and remain uncured or unwaived,
(i)
until such time thereafter as the
Administrative Agent gives written notice of its election to
exercise such voting and other consensual rights pursuant to
Section 5.02 hereof, each Pledgor shall be entitled to
exercise any voting and other consensual rights pertaining to its
Pledged Collateral for any purpose not inconsistent with the terms
of this Pledge Agreement or the Credit Agreement; provided ,
however , that no Pledgor shall exercise nor shall it
refrain from exercising any such right if such action or inaction,
as applicable, would have a materially adverse effect on the value
of the Pledged Collateral; and
(ii)
at and after such time as the
Administrative Agent gives written notice of its election to
exercise such voting and other consensual rights pursuant to
Section 5.02 hereof, each Pledgor shall execute and deliver
(or cause to be executed and delivered) to the Administrative Agent
all proxies and other instruments as the Administrative Agent may
reasonably request to enable the Administrative Agent to
(A) exercise the voting and other rights which such Pledgor is
entitled to exercise pursuant to paragraph (a) or
paragraph (b)(i) of this Section 2.04, and
(B) receive any Distributions and proceeds of sale of the
Pledged Collateral which such Pledgor is authorized to receive and
retain pursuant to paragraph (a)(i) of this
Section 2.04.
Section 3.
Pledgor’s Representations and Warranties . Each
Pledgor represents and warrants to the Administrative Agent and the
Lenders as follows:
(a)
The Pledged Collateral applicable to
such Pledgor listed on the attached Schedules 2.02(a),
2.02(b) and 2.02(c) have been duly authorized and validly
issued to such Pledgor and are fully paid and
nonassessable.
(b)
Such Pledgor is the legal and
beneficial owner of the Pledged Collateral free and clear of any
Lien or option, except for (i) the security interest created
by this Pledge Agreement and (ii) other Liens permitted under
the Credit Agreement ( the “ Permitted Liens
”).
4
(c)
No authorization, authentication,
approval, or other action by, and no notice to or filing with, any
Governmental Authority or regulatory body is required either
(a) for the pledge by such Pledgor of the Pledged Collateral
pursuant to this Pledge Agreement or for the execution, delivery,
or performance of this Pledge Agreement by such Pledgor or
(b) for the exercise by the Administrative Agent or any
Secured Party of the voting or other rights provided for in this
Pledge Agreement or the remedies in respect of the Pledged
Collateral pursuant to this Pledge Agreement (except as may be
required in connection with such disposition by laws affecting the
offering and sale of securities generally).
(d)
Such Pledgor has the full right,
power and authority to deliver, pledge, assign and transfer the
Pledged Collateral to the Administrative Agent.
(e)
The Membership Interests listed on
the attached Schedule 2.02(a) constitute the percentage of the
issued and outstanding membership interests of the respective
issuer thereof set forth on Schedule 2.02(a) and all of the
Equity Interest in such issuer in which the Pledgor has any
ownership interest.
(f)
The Partnership Interests listed on
the attached Schedule 2.02(b) constitute the percentage of the
issued and outstanding general and limited partnership interests of
the respective issuer thereof set forth on Schedule
2.02(b) and all of the Equity Interest in such issuer in which
the Pledgor has any ownership interest.
(g)
The Pledged Shares list on the
attached Schedule 2.02(c) constitute the percentage of the
issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of the respective
issuer thereof set forth on Schedule 2.02(c) and all of the
Equity Interest in such issuer in which the Pledgor has any
ownership interest.
(h)
Schedule 3 sets forth its sole
jurisdiction of formation, type of organization, federal tax
identification number, the organizational number, and all names
used by it during the last five years prior to the date of this
Pledge Agreement.
Section 4.
Pledgor’s Covenants . During the term of this
Pledge Agreement and until all of the Secured Obligations have been
fully and finally paid and discharged in full, the Commitments
under the Credit Agreement have been terminated or expired, and the
Credit Agreement has been terminated in writing, each Pledgor
covenants and agrees with the Administrative Agent that:
4.01.
Protect Collateral; Further
Assurances . Each
Pledgor will warrant and defend the rights and title herein granted
unto the Administrative Agent in and to the Pledged Collateral (and
all right, title, and interest represented by the Pledged
Collateral) against the claims and demands of all Persons
whomsoever. Each Pledgor agrees that, at the expense of such
Pledgor, such Pledgor will promptly execute and deliver all further
instruments and documents, and take all further action, that may be
reasonably necessary and that the Administrative Agent or any
Secured Party may reasonably request, in order to perfect and
protect any security interest granted or purported to be granted
hereby or to enable the Administrative Agent or any Secured Party
to exercise and enforce its rights and remedies hereunder with
respect to any Pledged
5
Collateral. Each Pledgor hereby authorizes
the Administrative Agent to file any financing statements,
amendments or continuations without the signature of such Pledgor
to the extent permitted by applicable law in order to perfect or
maintain the perfection of any security interest granted under this
Pledge Agreement.
4.02.
Transfer, Other Liens, and
Additional Shares .
Each Pledgor agrees that it will not (a) except as otherwise
permitted by the Credit Agreement, sell or otherwise dispose of, or
grant any option with respect to, any of the Pledged Collateral or
(b) create or permit to exist any Lien upon or with respect to
any of the Pledged Collateral, except for Permitted Liens.
Each Pledgor agrees that it will (i) cause each issuer of the
Pledged Collateral that is a Subsidiary of such Pledgor not to
issue any other Equity Interests in addition to or in substitution
for the Pledged Collateral issued by such issuer, except to such
Pledgor or any other Pledgor and (ii) pledge hereunder,
immediately upon its acquisition (directly or indirectly) thereof,
any additional Equity Interests of an issuer acquired by such
Pledgor. No Pledgor shall approve any amendment or
modification of any of the Pledged Collateral without the
Administrative Agent’s prior written consent.
4.03.
Jurisdiction of Formation; Name
Change. Each
Pledgor shall give the Administrative Agent at least 30 days’
prior written notice before it (i) in the case of a Pledgor
that is not a “registered organization” (as defined in
Section 9-102 of the UCC) changes the location of its
principal place of business and chief executive office, or
(ii) uses a trade name other than its current name used on the
date hereof. Other than as permitted by Section 6.11 of
the respective Credit Agreement, no Pledgor shall amend,
supplement, modify or restate its articles or certificate of
incorporation, bylaws, limited liability company agreements, or
other equivalent organizational documents, nor amend its name or
change its jurisdiction of incorporation, organization or
formation.
Section 5. Remedies
upon Default . If any Event of Default shall have
occurred and be continuing:
5.01.
UCC Remedies
. To the extent permitted by
law, the Administrative Agent may exercise in respect of the
Pledged Collateral, in addition to other rights and remedies
provided for in this Pledge Agreement or otherwise available to it,
all the rights and remedies of a Administrative Agent under the UCC
(whether or not the UCC applies to the affected Pledged
Collateral).
5.02.
Dividends and Other
Rights .
(a)
All rights of the Pledgors to
exercise the voting and other consensual rights which it would
otherwise be entitled to exercise pursuant to
Section 2.04(a) may be exercised by the Administrative
Agent if the Administrative Agent so elects and gives written
notice of such election to the affected Pledgor and all rights of
the Pledgors to receive any Distributions on or in respect of the
Pledged Collateral and the proceeds of sale of the Pledged
Collateral which it would otherwise be authorized to receive and
retain pursuant to Section 2.04(b) shall
cease.
6
(b)
All Distributions on or in respect
of the Pledged Collateral and the proceeds of sale of the Pledged
Collateral which are received by any Pledgor shall be received in
trust for the benefit of the Administrative Agent, shall be
segregated from other funds of such Pledgor, and shall be promptly
paid over to t