WAIVER AND AMENDMENT AGREEMENT
NO. 3
This WAIVER AND
AMENDMENT AGREEMENT NO. 3 TO THAT CERTAIN CREDIT AGREEMENT
(this “ Amendment ”) dated as of May 6,
2009, among (a) HARRIS INTERACTIVE INC. (the “
Borrower ”), (b) JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, NATIONAL
ASSOCIATION, as administrative agent (the “
Administrative Agent ”) for itself and the
other lenders (the “ Lenders ”) who are or may
become party to the Credit Agreement dated as of September 21,
2007 (as amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise modified, and
in effect from time to time, the “ Credit
Agreement ”) among the Borrower, the Administrative
Agent and the Lenders; and (c) the Lenders signatory
hereto.
WHEREAS ,
the Borrower, the Lenders and the Administrative Agent are parties
to the Credit Agreement, pursuant to which the Lenders, upon
certain terms and conditions, have agreed to make Loans to, and the
Issuing Bank, upon certain terms and conditions, has agreed to
issue Letters of Credit for the benefit of, the
Borrower;
WHEREAS,
Events of Default have occurred and continue as a result of the
Borrower’s failure to comply with the covenants contained in
Section 5.2(e) of the Credit Agreement (as to matters
disclosed to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders),
Section 5.3 of the Credit Agreement (with respect to the
articles of incorporation of GSBC Ohio Corporation),
Section 6.1(c) of the Credit Agreement (as a result of
intercompany loans made to Harris Decima Inc. and to Marketshare
Limited), Section 6.9(a) of the Credit Agreement for the
periods ended December 31, 2008 and March 31, 2009, and
Section 6.9(b) of the Credit Agreement for the periods ended
December 31, 2008 and March 31, 2009 (collectively, the
“Specified Events of Default”);
WHEREAS,
the Borrower has requested, among other things, that the Lenders
and Administrative Agent (a) waive the Specified Events of
Default, and (b) amend the Credit Agreement as provided more
fully herein below; and
WHEREAS,
the Lenders and the Administrative Agent are willing (a) to
waive the Specified Events of Default, subject to the terms,
conditions and other provisions hereof, and (b) to amend
certain provisions of the Credit Agreement as more fully provided
herein;
NOW,
THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual agreements contained
in the Credit Agreement, herein and for other good and valuable
consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby
acknowledged, the parties hereto agree as follows:
Section 1. Defined Terms .
Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the same
meanings herein as in the Credit Agreement.
-2-
Section 2. Limited Waiver. Effective as of
May 6, 2009, upon satisfaction of the conditions precedent set
forth in Section 7 hereof, and in reliance upon the
representations and warranties of the Loan Parties set forth in the
Credit Agreement and in this Amendment, the Administrative Agent
and the Lenders hereby waive the Specified Events of Default. The
foregoing waiver shall only apply to the Specified Events of
Default. The waiver shall not extend to or affect any other
obligations of any of the Loan Parties or their respective
Subsidiaries contained in the Credit Agreement or any other Loan
Documents and shall not impair or prejudice any rights consequent
thereon. Except to the extent of the aforementioned waiver, the
Administrative Agent and each of the Lenders hereby expressly
reserves all of its rights and remedies under the Credit Agreement,
the other related Loan Documents and applicable law in respect of
any and all Defaults or Events of Default under the Credit
Agreement and the related Loan Documents now existing or hereafter
arising. Failure of the Administrative Agent or any Lender to
exercise any right or remedy shall not constitute a waiver of that
or any other right or remedy.
Section 3. Amendments to the Credit
Agreement and Exhibits
.
(a)
Amendments to the Credit Agreement . The Credit Agreement is
hereby amended in its entirety and replaced with the document
attached hereto as Annex I .
(b)
Amendments to the Schedules to the Credit Agreement .
Schedule 2.1 to the Credit Agreement is hereby amended in its
entirety and replaced with the Schedule 2.1 attached hereto as
Annex II .
(c)
Amendments to the Exhibits to the Credit Agreement
.
(i) Exhibit D
to the Credit Agreement is hereby deleted and replaced in its
entirety with Exhibit D attached hereto as Annex III
.
(ii)
Exhibit E to the Credit Agreement is hereby deleted and
replaced in its entirety with Exhibit E attached hereto as
Annex IV .
Section 4. Affirmation and
Acknowledgment of the
Borrower . The Borrower hereby ratifies and confirms
all of its Obligations to the Lenders, Issuing Bank and the
Administrative Agent, including, without limitation, the Loans, and
the Borrower hereby affirms its absolute and unconditional promise
to pay to the Lenders, the Issuing Bank and the Administrative
Agent the Loans and all other amounts due under the Credit
Agreement as amended hereby. The Borrower hereby confirms that the
Obligations are secured pursuant to the Collateral Documents and
pursuant to all other instruments and documents executed and
delivered by the Borrower as security for the
Obligations.
Section 5. Representations and
Warranties . Each Loan Party hereby represents and
warrants to the Lenders and Administrative Agent as
follows:
-3-
(a) The
execution and delivery by such Loan Party of this Amendment and the
Loan Documents to which it is a party, and the performance by such
Loan Party of its obligations and agreements under this Amendment,
the Credit Agreement as amended hereby, and the other Loan
Documents, are within the corporate authority of such Loan Party,
have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate proceedings on
behalf of such Loan Party, and do not and will not contravene any
provision of law, statute, rule or regulation to which such Loan
Party is subject or any of such Loan Party’s charter, other
incorporation papers, by-laws or any stock provision or any
amendment thereof or of any agreement or other instrument binding
upon such Loan Party.
(b) This
Amendment, the Credit Agreement as amended hereby, and the other
Loan Documents constitute legal, valid and binding obligations of
such Loan Party, enforceable in accordance with their respective
terms, except as limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization,
moratorium or other laws relating to or affecting generally the
enforcement of creditors’ rights.
(c) No
approval or consent of, or filing with, any governmental agency or
authority is required to make valid and legally binding the
execution, delivery or performance by such Loan Party of this
Amendment, the Credit Agreement as amended hereby, or the other
Loan Documents.
(d) The
representations and warranties contained in Article III of the
Credit Agreement are true and correct at and as of the date made
and as of the date hereof, except (i) to the extent of changes
resulting from transactions contemplated or permitted by this
Amendment, the Credit Agreement and the other Loan Documents,
(ii) to the extent relating to the representation contained in
Section 3.4(b) of the Credit Agreement, (iii) to the
extent relating to the representations contained in
Section 3.14 of the Credit Agreement as it applies to the
pledge of Equity Interests of Harris Interactive SAS, and
(iv) to the extent relating to representations that expressly
relate to an earlier date.
(e) Such Loan
Party has performed and complied in all material respects with all
terms and conditions herein required to be performed or complied
with by it prior to or at the time hereof, and as of the date
hereof, after giving effect to the provisions hereof, there exists
no Event of Default or Default.
(f) As of the
date hereof, the outstanding principal amount of the Loans are as
follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
0
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
8,400,000
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
15,837,500
|
|
Section 6. Release . In order to induce the
Administrative Agent and the Lenders to enter into this Amendment,
each Loan Party acknowledges and agrees that: (a) such Loan
Party does not have any claim or cause of action against the
Administrative Agent, the Issuing Bank or any Lender (or any of its
respective directors, officers, employees or
-4-
agents);
(b) such Loan Party does not have any offset right,
counterclaim or defense of any kind against any of its respective
obligations, indebtedness or liabilities to the Administrative
Agent, the Issuing Bank or any Lender; and (c) the
Administrative Agent, the Issuing Bank and each Lender have
heretofore properly performed and satisfied in a timely manner all
of its obligations to the Loan Parties. Each Loan Party wishes to
eliminate any possibility that any past conditions, acts,
omissions, events, circumstances or matters would impair or
otherwise adversely affect the Administrative Agent’s, the
Issuing Bank’s or any Lender’s rights, interests,
contracts, collateral security or remedies. Therefore, each Loan
Party unconditionally releases, waives and forever discharges (i)
any and all liabilities, obligations, duties, promises or
indebtedness of any kind of the Administrative Agent, the Issuing
Bank or any Lender to such Loan Party, except the obligations to be
performed by any Administrative Agent, the Issuing Bank or any
Lender on or after the date hereof as expressly stated in this
Amendment, the Credit Agreement and the other Loan Documents, and
(ii) all claims, offsets, causes of action, suits or defenses
of any kind whatsoever (if any), whether arising at law or in
equity, whether known or unknown, which such Loan Party might
otherwise have against the Administrative Agent, the Issuing Bank,
any Lender or any of its directors, officers, employees or agents,
in either case (i) or (ii), on account of any past or
presently existing condition, act, omission, event, contract,
liability, obligation, indebtedness, claim, cause of action,
defense, circumstance or matter of any kind.
Section 7. Conditions to
Effectiveness . This Amendment shall become effective
subject to:
(a) the
receipt by the Administrative Agent (or its counsel) from each of
the Borrower, the Administrative Agent and the Required Lenders, of
either (i) an original counterpart of this Amendment signed on
behalf of such party or (ii) written evidence satisfactory to
the Administrative Agent (which may include facsimile transmission
of a signed signature page of this Amendment) that such party has
signed a counterpart of this Amendment;
(b) the
receipt by the Administrative Agent (or its counsel) from each of
the Loan Parties, of either (i) an original counterpart of the
Loan Parties’ acknowledgment attached to this Amendment
signed on behalf of such party or (ii) written evidence
satisfactory to the Administrative Agent (which may include
facsimile transmission of a signed signature page of this
Amendment) that such party has signed a counterpart of the Loan
Parties’ acknowledgement;
(c) the
receipt by the Administrative Agent of such documents, resolutions
and certificates as the Administrative Agent or its counsel may
reasonably request relating to the organization, existence and good
standing of the Loan Parties, the authorization of the entering
into and execution of this Amendment, and any other legal matters
relating to the Loan Parties, this Amendment or the other Loan
Documents, all in form and substance satisfactory to the
Administrative Agent and its counsel;
(d) the
receipt by the Administrative Agent of all fees due and payable to
the Administrative Agent and the Lenders signatory hereto in
immediately available funds,
-5-
including a fee
equal to twenty five basis points (0.25%) on the aggregate amount
of the Revolving Credit Commitment (determined immediately
following the effectiveness of this Amendment), the Outstanding
Amount of the Term A Loans on the date hereof, and the Outstanding
Amount of the Term B Loans on the date hereof;
(e) the
payment of all reasonable legal fees and disbursements for which
invoices have been presented which have been incurred or sustained
by the Administrative Agent in connection with this Amendment and
the Credit Agreement, the Loan Documents and any other related
documents executed and/or delivered in connection therewith;
and
(f) the
delivery to the Administrative Agent of such other items,
documents, agreements, items or actions as the Administrative Agent
may reasonably request.
Section 8. Miscellaneous
Provisions .
(a) Except as
otherwise expressly provided by this Amendment, all of the terms,
conditions and provisions of the Credit Agreement shall remain the
same. It is declared and agreed by each of the parties hereto that
the Credit Agreement, as amended hereby, shall continue in full
force and effect, and that this Amendment and the Credit Agreement
shall be read and construed as one instrument.
(b) This
Amendment shall be construed in accordance with and governed by the
internal law of the State of New York (including
Section 5-1401 and Section 5-1402 of the General
Obligations laws of the State of New York).
(c) This
Amendment shall constitute a Loan Document under the Credit
Agreement and all obligations included in this Amendment
(including, without limitation, all obligations for the payment of
principal, interest, fees and other amounts and expenses) shall
constitute Obligations under the Credit Agreement and be secured by
the Collateral Documents securing the Obligations.
(d) Any
failure by the Borrower or the Loan Parties to comply with any of
the terms and conditions of this Amendment shall constitute an
immediate Event of Default.
(e) This
Amendment may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of
which shall constitute an original, but all such counterparts shall
together constitute but one contract. In making proof of this
Amendment it shall not be necessary to produce or account for more
than one counterpart signed by each party hereto by and against
which enforcement hereof is sought. Delivery of an executed
counterpart of a signature page of this Amendment by telecopy or
other electronic method of transmission shall be effective as
delivery of a manually executed counterpart of this
Amendment.
(f) The
Borrower hereby agrees to pay to the Administrative Agent, on
demand by the Administrative Agent, all reasonable out-of-pocket
costs and expenses incurred or sustained by the Administrative
Agent in connection with the preparation of this
-6-
Amendment and
any documentation executed in connection with this Amendment
(including reasonable legal fees).
[REMAINDER OF PAGE INTENTIONALLY
LEFT BLANK]
IN WITNESS
WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Amendment as of
the date first written above.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
HARRIS
INTERACTIVE INC.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
By:
|
|
/s/ Deborah
Rieger-Paganis
|
|
|
|
|
|
Deborah
Rieger-Paganis
|
|
|
|
|
|
Interim Chief
Financial Officer
|
[Signature page to Waiver and
Amendment Agreement No. 3]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
JPMORGAN
CHASE BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, as
|
|
|
|
Administrative
Agent
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
By:
|
|
/s/
|
|
Thomas C.
Strasenburgh
|
|
|
|
|
|
Name:
|
|
Thomas C.
Strasenburgh
|
|
|
|
|
|
Title:
|
|
Vice
President
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
JPMORGAN
CHASE BANK, NATIONAL
ASSOCIATION, as
Lender
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
By:
|
|
/s/
|
|
Thomas C.
Strasenburgh
|
|
|
|
|
|
Name:
|
|
Thomas C.
Strasenburgh
|
|
|
|
|
|
Title:
|
|
Vice
President
|
[Signature page to Waiver and
Amendment Agreement No. 3]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NATIONAL
CITY BANK, as
Lender
|
|
|
|
By: /s/ Charles
J. Pascarella
|
|
|
|
Name: Charles
J. Pascarella
Title: Assistant Vice President
|
[Signature page to Waiver and
Amendment Agreement No. 3]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
HSBC BANK
USA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, as Lender
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
By: /s/ Joseph
E. Salonia
|
|
|
|
Name: Joseph E.
Salonia
Title: Senior Vice President
|
[Signature page to Waiver and
Amendment Agreement No. 3]
Loan Parties’
Acknowledgement
Each of the
undersigned Loan Parties hereby (a) acknowledges and consents
to the foregoing Amendment and the Borrower’s execution
thereof; (b) joins the foregoing Amendment for the sole
purpose of consenting to and being bound by the provisions of
Sections 5 and 6 thereof; (c) ratifies and confirms all of
their respective obligations and liabilities under the Loan
Documents to which any of them is a party and ratifies and confirms
that such obligations and liabilities extend to and continue in
effect with respect to, and continue to guarantee and secure, as
applicable, the Obligations of each other Loan Party under the Loan
Documents; (d) acknowledges and confirms that the liens and
security interests granted pursuant to the Loan Documents are and
continue to be valid and perfected first priority liens and
security interests (subject only to Permitted Encumbrances) that
secure all of the Obligations on and after the date hereof; and (e)
acknowledges, affirms and agrees that, as of the date hereof, such
Loan Party does not have any defense, claim, cause of action,
counterclaim, offset or right of recoupment of any kind or nature
against any of their respective obligations, indebtedness or
liabilities to the Administrative Agent, the Issuing Bank or any
Lender.
[REMAINDER OF PAGE INTENTIONALLY
LEFT BLANK]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Loan
Parties :
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
HARRIS
INTERACTIVE INTERNATIONAL INC.
|
|
|
|
WIRTHLIN
WORLDWIDE, LLC
|
|
|
|
THE WIRTHLIN
GROUP INTERNATIONAL, L.L.C.
|
|
|
|
LOUIS HARRIS
& ASSOCIATES, INC.
|
|
|
|
HARRIS
INTERACTIVE ASIA, LLC
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
By:
|
|
/s/ Deborah
Rieger-Paganis
|
|
|
|
|
|
Deborah
Rieger-Paganis
Interim Chief Financial Officer
|
[Signature page to Waiver and
Amendment Agreement No. 3]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
GSBC OHIO
CORPORATION
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
By:
|
|
/s/ Kimberly
Till
|
|
|
|
|
|
Kimberly
Till
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chief Executive
Officer
|
|