Third Amendment to Credit Agreement, dated as of May 28, 2020, among Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc., the Subsidiary Guarantors named therein, the Lenders party thereto, and Bank of America, N.A., as Administrative Agent and Collateral Agent

(ii)          Upon the occurrence and during the continuance of any Default, (A) each Eurodollar Rate Advance will automatically, on the last day of the then existing Interest Period therefor, Convert into a Base Rate Advance and (B) the obligation of the Lenders to make, or to Convert Advances into, Eurodollar Rate Advances shall be suspended, unless in any such case the Required Lenders shall otherwise agree.

(ii)           subject any Lender or the Issuing Bank to any tax of any kind whatsoever on or with respect to this Agreement, any Letter of Credit, any participation in a Letter of Credit or any Eurodollar Rate Advance made by it, its deposits, reserves, other liabilities or capital attributable thereto or change the basis of taxation of payments to such Lender or the Issuing Bank in respect thereof (except for Indemnified Taxes or Other Taxes covered by Section 2.12 and the imposition of, or any change in the rate of, any Excluded Tax payable by such Lender or the Issuing Bank); or

 

(iii)         impose on any Lender or the Issuing Bank or the London interbank market any other condition, cost or expense affecting this Agreement or Eurodollar Rate Advances made by such Lender or any Letter of Credit or participation therein;

(iii)        (A) such Lender is an investment fund managed by a “Qualified Professional Asset Manager” (within the meaning of Part VI of PTE 84-14), (B) such Qualified Professional Asset Manager made the investment decision on behalf of such Lender to enter into, participate in, administer and perform the Advances, the Letters of Credit, the Commitments and this Agreement, (C) the entrance into, participation in, administration of and performance of the Advances, the Letters of Credit, the Commitments and this Agreement satisfies the requirements of sub-sections (b) through (g) of Part I of PTE 84-14 and (D) to the best knowledge of such Lender, the requirements of subsection (a) of Part I of PTE 84-14 are satisfied with respect to such Lender’s entrance into, participation in, administration of and performance of the Advances, the Letters of Credit, the Commitments and this Agreement, or

 

(iv)         such other representation, warranty and covenant as may be agreed in writing between the Administrative Agent, in its sole discretion, and such Lender.

 

(b)          In addition, unless subclause (i) in the immediately preceding clause (a) is true with respect to a Lender or such Lender has not provided another representation, warranty and covenant as provided in subclause (iv) in the immediately preceding clause (a), such Lender further (x) represents and warrants, as of the date such Person became a Lender party hereto, to, and (y) covenants, from the date such Person became a Lender party hereto to the date such Person ceases being a Lender party hereto, for the benefit of, the Administrative Agent and each Arranger, and their respective Affiliates, and not, for the avoidance of doubt, to or for the benefit of the Borrower or any other Loan Party, that:

 

(i)           none of the Administrative Agent, or any Arranger, or any of their respective Affiliates is a fiduciary with respect to the assets of such Lender (including in connection with the reservation or exercise of any rights by the Administrative Agent under this Agreement, any Loan Document or any documents related to hereto or thereto),

 

(ii)         the Person making the investment decision on behalf of such Lender with respect to the entrance into, participation in, administration of and performance of the Advances, the Letters of Credit, the Commitments and this Agreement is independent (within the meaning of 29 CFR § 2510.3-21) and is a bank, an insurance carrier, an investment adviser, a broker-dealer or other person that holds, or has under management or control, total assets of at least $50 million, in each case as described in 29 CFR § 2510.3-21(c)(1)(i)(A)-(E),

 

(iii)       the Person making the investment decision on behalf of such Lender with respect to the entrance into, participation in, administration of and performance of the Advances, the Letters of Credit, the Commitments and this Agreement is capable of evaluating investment risks independently, both in general and with regard to particular transactions and investment strategies (including in respect of the Obligations),

(iv)         the Person making the investment decision on behalf of such Lender with respect to the entrance into, participation in, administration of and performance of the Advances, the Letters of Credit, the Commitments and this Agreement is a fiduciary under ERISA or the Code, or both, with respect to the Advances, the Letters of Credit, the Commitments and this Agreement and is responsible for exercising independent judgment in evaluating the transactions hereunder, and

 

(v)         no fee or other compensation is being paid directly to the Administrative Agent, or any Arranger or any of their respective Affiliates for investment advice (as opposed to other services) in connection with the Advances, the Letters of Credit, the Commitments or this Agreement.

 

(c)          The Administrative Agent and each Arranger hereby informs the Lenders that each such Person is not undertaking to provide impartial investment advice, or to give advice in a fiduciary capacity, in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby, and that such Person has a financial interest in the transactions contemplated hereby in that such Person or an Affiliate thereof (i) may receive interest or other payments with respect to the Advances, the Letters of Credit, the Commitments and this Agreement, (ii) may recognize a gain if it extended the Advances, the Letters of Credit or the Commitments for an amount less than the amount being paid for an interest in the Advances, the Letters of Credit or the Commitments by such Lender or (iii) may receive fees or other payments in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby, the Loan Documents or otherwise, including structuring fees, commitment fees, arrangement fees, facility fees, upfront fees, underwriting fees, ticking fees, agency fees, administrative agent or collateral agent fees, utilization fees, minimum usage fees, letter of credit fees, fronting fees, deal-away or alternate transaction fees, amendment fees, processing fees, term out premiums, banker’s acceptance fees, breakage or other early termination fees or fees similar to the foregoing.

 

 

 

SECTION 8.01    Guaranty; Limitation of Liability.

 

(a)          Each Guarantor jointly and severally, hereby absolutely, unconditionally and irrevocably guarantees the punctual payment when due, whether at scheduled maturity or on any date of a required prepayment or by acceleration, demand or otherwise, of all Secured Obligations of each other Loan Party now or hereafter existing (including, without limitation, any extensions, modifications, substitutions, amendments or renewals of any or all of the Secured Obligations) whether direct or indirect, absolute or contingent, and whether for principal, reimbursement obligations, interest (including Post Petition Interest), premiums, fees, indemnities, contract causes of action, costs, expenses or otherwise (all of the foregoing being hereafter collectively referred to as the “Guaranteed Obligations”), and agrees to pay any and all expenses (including, without limitation, fees and expenses of counsel) incurred by the Administrative Agent or any other Secured Party in enforcing any rights under this Guaranty or any other Loan Document or any Secured Hedge Agreement or Secured Cash Management Agreement.  Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, each Guarantor’s liability shall extend to all amounts that constitute part of the Guaranteed Obligations and would be owed by any other Loan Party to any Secured Party under or in respect of the Loan Documents, the Secured Cash Management Agreements or the Secured Hedge Agreements but for the fact that they are unenforceable or not allowable due to the existence of a bankruptcy, reorganization or similar proceeding involving such other Loan Party.

(b)        Each Guarantor, and by its acceptance of this Guaranty, the Administrative Agent and each other Secured Party, hereby confirms that it is the intention of all such Persons that this Guaranty and the Obligations of each Guarantor hereunder not constitute a fraudulent transfer or conveyance for purposes of any Debtor Relief Law, the Uniform Fraudulent Conveyance Act, the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act or any similar foreign, federal or state law to the extent applicable to this Guaranty and the Obligations of each Guarantor hereunder.  To effectuate the foregoing intention, the Administrative Agent, the other Secured Parties and the Guarantors hereby irrevocably agree that the Obligations of each Guarantor under this Guaranty at any time shall be limited to the maximum amount as will result in the Obligations of such Guarantor under this Guaranty not constituting a fraudulent transfer or conveyance (after taking into account the provisions of Section 8.01(c)).

 

(c)         Each Guarantor hereby unconditionally and irrevocably agrees that in the event any payment shall be required to be made to any Secured Party under this Guaranty or any other guaranty, such Guarantor will contribute, to the maximum extent permitted by law, such amounts to each other Guarantor and each other guarantor so as to maximize the aggregate amount paid to the Secured Parties under or in respect of the Loan Documents.  This Guaranty constitutes a guaranty of payment and performance when due and not merely a guaranty of collection, and each Guarantor specifically agrees that it shall not be necessary or required that any Secured Party exercise any right, assert any claim or demand or enforce any remedy whatsoever against any Loan Party or any other Person before or as a condition to the obligations of such Guarantor hereunder.

 

SECTION 8.02    Guaranty Absolute.  Each Guarantor guarantees that the Guaranteed Obligations will be paid strictly in accordance with the terms of the Loan Documents, regardless of any law, regulation or order now or hereafter in effect in any jurisdiction affecting any of such terms or the rights of any Secured Party with respect thereto.  The Obligations of each Guarantor under or in respect of this Guaranty are independent of the Guaranteed Obligations or any other Obligations of any other Loan Party under or in respect of the Loan Documents, any Secured Hedge Agreement or any Secured Cash Management Agreement and a separate action or actions may be brought and prosecuted against each Guarantor to enforce this Guaranty, irrespective of whether any action is brought against the Borrower or any other Loan Party or whether the Borrower or any other Loan Party is joined in any such action or actions.  The liability of each Guarantor under this Guaranty shall be irrevocable, absolute and unconditional irrespective of, and each Guarantor hereby irrevocably waives any defenses it may now have or hereafter acquire in any way relating to, any or all of the following:

 

(a)         any lack of validity or enforceability of any Loan Document, any Secured Hedge Agreement, any Secured Cash Management Agreement or any other agreement, document or instrument to which the Borrower, any Guarantor or any of their respective Subsidiaries or Affiliates is or may become a party;

 

(b)          any change in the time, manner or place of payment of, or in any other term of, all or any of the Guaranteed Obligations or any other Obligations of any other Loan Party under or in respect of the Loan Documents, any Secured Hedge Agreement or any Secured Cash Management Agreement or any other amendment or waiver of or any consent to departure from any Loan Document, any Secured Hedge Agreement or any Secured Cash Management Agreement, including, without limitation, any increase in the Guaranteed Obligations resulting from the extension of additional credit to any Loan Party or any of its Subsidiaries or otherwise;

 

(c)          any taking, exchange, release or non-perfection of any Collateral or any other collateral, or any taking, release or amendment or waiver of, or consent to departure from, any other guaranty, for all or any of the Guaranteed Obligations;

(d)          any manner of application of Collateral or any other collateral, or proceeds thereof, to allow any of the Guaranteed Obligations, or any manner of sale or other disposition of any Collateral or any other collateral for all or any of the Guaranteed Obligations or any other Obligations of any Loan Party under the Loan Documents or any other assets of any Loan Party or any of its Subsidiaries;

 

(e)          any change, restructuring or termination of the corporate structure or existence of any Loan Party or any of its Subsidiaries;

 

(f)         any failure of any Secured Party to disclose to any Loan Party any information relating to the business, condition (financial or otherwise), operations, performance, properties or prospects of any other Loan Party now or hereafter known to such Secured Party (each Guarantor waiving any duty on the part of the Secured Parties to disclose such information);

 

(g)          the failure of any other Person to execute or deliver this Guaranty, any Guaranty Supplement or any other guaranty or agreement or the release or reduction of liability of any Guarantor or other guarantor or surety with respect to the Guaranteed Obligations; or

 

(h)         any other circumstance (including, without limitation, any statute of limitations) or any existence of or reliance on any representation by any Secured Party that might otherwise constitute a defense available to, or a discharge of, any Loan Party or any other guarantor or surety.

 

This Guaranty shall continue to be effective or be reinstated, as the case may be, if at any time any payment of any of the Guaranteed Obligations is rescinded or must otherwise be returned by any Secured Party or any other Person upon the insolvency, bankruptcy or reorganization of the Borrower or any other Loan Party or otherwise, all as though such payment had not been made.

 

SECTION 8.03    Waivers and Acknowledgments.

 

(a)          Each Guarantor hereby unconditionally and irrevocably waives promptness, diligence, notice of acceptance, presentment, demand for performance, notice of nonperformance, default, acceleration, protest or dishonor and any other notice with respect to any of the Guaranteed Obligations and this Guaranty and any requirement that any Secured Party protect, secure, perfect or insure any Lien or any property subject thereto or exhaust any right or take any action against any Loan Party or any other Person or any Collateral.

 

(b)          Each Guarantor hereby unconditionally and irrevocably waives any right to revoke this Guaranty and acknowledges that this Guaranty is continuing in nature and applies to all Guaranteed Obligations, whether existing now or in the future.

 

(c)         Each Guarantor hereby unconditionally and irrevocably waives (i) any defense arising by reason of any claim or defense based upon an election of remedies by any Secured Party that in any manner impairs, reduces, releases or otherwise adversely affects the subrogation, reimbursement, exoneration, contribution or indemnification rights of such Guarantor or other rights of such Guarantor to proceed against any of the other Loan Parties, any other guarantor or any other Person or any Collateral and (ii) any defense based on any right of set-off or counterclaim against or in respect of the Obligations of such Guarantor hereunder.

 

(d)        Each Guarantor acknowledges that the Collateral Agent may, without notice to or demand upon such Guarantor and without affecting the liability of such Guarantor under this Guaranty, foreclose under any mortgage by nonjudicial sale, and each Guarantor hereby waives any defense to the recovery by the Collateral Agent and the other Secured Parties against such Guarantor of any deficiency after such nonjudicial sale and any defense or benefits that may be afforded by applicable law.

(e)         Each Guarantor hereby unconditionally and irrevocably waives any duty on the part of any Secured Party to disclose to such Guarantor any matter, fact or thing relating to the business, condition (financial or otherwise), operations, performance, properties or prospects of any other Loan Party or any of its Subsidiaries now or hereafter known by such Secured Party.

 

(f)          Each Guarantor acknowledges that it will receive substantial direct and indirect benefits from the financing arrangements contemplated by the Loan Documents, the Secured Hedge Agreements and the Secured Cash Management Agreements and that the waivers set forth in Section 8.02 and this Section 8.03 are knowingly made in contemplation of such benefits.

 

SECTION 8.04   Payments Free and Clear of Taxes, Etc.  Any and all payments made by any Guarantor under or in respect of this Guaranty or any other Loan Document shall be made, in accordance with Section 2.12, free and clear of and without deduction for any and all present or future Taxes and subject to the limitations set forth herein.

 

SECTION 8.05   Continuing Guaranty; Assignments.  This Guaranty is a continuing guaranty and shall (a) remain in full force and effect until the latest of (i) the payment in full of the Guaranteed Obligations and all other amounts payable under this Guaranty, (ii) the Termination Date for all of the Facilities and (iii) the latest date of expiration or termination of all Letters of Credit, (b) be binding upon each Guarantor, its successors and assigns and (c) inure to the benefit of and be enforceable by the Lender Parties, the Administrative Agent and their successors, transferees and assigns.  Without limiting the generality of the preceding clause (c), any Lender Party may assign or otherwise transfer all or any portion of its rights and obligations hereunder (including, without limitation, all or any portion of its Commitment, the Advances owing to it and the Note or Notes held by it) to any other Person, and such other Person shall thereupon become vested with all the benefits in respect thereof granted to such Lender Party herein or otherwise, in each case as provided in Section 9.10.  No Guarantor shall have the right to assign its rights hereunder or any interest herein without the prior written consent of the Administrative Agent.

 

SECTION 8.06   Subrogation.  Each Guarantor hereby unconditionally and irrevocably agrees not to exercise any rights that it may now have or hereafter acquire against the Borrower, any other Loan Party or any other insider guarantor that arise from the existence, payment, performance or enforcement of such Guarantor’s Obligations under or in respect of this Guaranty or any other Loan Document, including, without limitation, any right of subrogation, reimbursement, exoneration, contribution or indemnification and any right to participate in any claim or remedy of any Secured Party against the Borrower, any other Loan Party or any other insider guarantor or any Collateral, whether or not such claim, remedy or right arises in equity or under contract, statute or common law, including, without limitation, the right to take or receive from the Borrower, any other Loan Party or any other insider guarantor, directly or indirectly, in cash or other property or by set-off or in any other manner, payment or security on account of such claim, remedy or right, unless and until all of the Guaranteed Obligations and all other amounts payable under this Guaranty shall have been paid in full in cash, all Letters of Credit, all Secured Cash Management Agreements and all Secured Hedge Agreements shall have expired or been terminated and the Commitments shall have expired or been terminated.  If any amount shall be paid to any Guarantor in violation of the immediately preceding sentence at any time prior to the latest of (a) the payment in full in cash of the Guaranteed Obligations and all other amounts payable under this Guaranty, (b) the Termination Date of all Facilities and (c) the latest date of expiration or termination of all Letters of Credit, all Secured Cash Management Agreements and all Secured Hedge Agreements, such amount shall be received and held in trust for the benefit of the Secured Parties, shall be segregated from other property and funds of such Guarantor and shall forthwith be paid or delivered to the Administrative Agent in the same form as so received (with any necessary endorsement or assignment) to be credited and applied to the Guaranteed Obligations and all other amounts payable under this Guaranty, whether matured or unmatured, in accordance with the terms of the Loan Documents, or to be held as Collateral for any Guaranteed Obligations or other amounts payable under this Guaranty thereafter arising.  If (i) any Guarantor shall make payment to any Secured Party of all or any part of the Guaranteed Obligations, (ii) all of the Guaranteed Obligations and all other amounts payable under this Guaranty shall have been paid in full in cash, (iii) the Termination Date for all Facilities shall have occurred and (iv) all Letters of Credit, all Secured Cash Management Agreements and all Secured Hedge Agreements shall have expired or been terminated, the Secured Parties will, at such Guarantor’s request and expense, execute and deliver to such Guarantor appropriate documents, without recourse and without representation or warranty, necessary to evidence the transfer by subrogation to such Guarantor of an interest in the Guaranteed Obligations resulting from such payment made by such Guarantor pursuant to this Guaranty.

SECTION 8.07   Guaranty Supplements.  Upon the execution and delivery by any Person of a guaranty supplement in substantially the form of Exhibit D hereto (each, a “Guaranty Supplement”), (a) such Person shall be referred to as an “Additional Guarantor” and shall become and be a Guarantor hereunder, and each reference in this Guaranty to a “Guarantor” shall also mean and be a reference to such Additional Guarantor, and (b) each reference to “ this Guaranty”, “hereunder”, “hereof” or words of like import referring to this Guaranty, and each reference in any other Loan Document to the “Guaranty”, “thereunder”, “thereof” or words of like import referring to this Guaranty, shall mean and be a reference to this Guaranty as supplemented by such Guaranty Supplement.

 

SECTION 8.08    Subordination.  Each Guarantor hereby subordinates any and all debts, liabilities and other obligations owed to such Guarantor by each other Loan Party (the “Subordinated Obligations”) to the Guaranteed Obligations to the extent and in the manner hereinafter set forth below in this Section 8.08:

 

(a)         Prohibited Payments, Etc.  Except after the occurrence and during the continuance of an Event of Default (including the commencement and continuation of any proceeding under any Debtor Relief Law relating to any other Loan Party), each Guarantor may receive regularly scheduled payments from any other Loan Party on account of the Subordinated Obligations.  After the occurrence and during the continuance of any Event of Default (including the commencement and continuation of any proceeding under any Debtor Relief Law relating to any other Loan Party), however, unless the Required Lenders otherwise agree, no Guarantor shall demand, accept or take any action to collect any payment on account of the Subordinated Obligations.

 

(b)         Prior Payment of Guaranteed Obligations.  In any proceeding under any Debtor Relief Law relating to any other Loan Party, each Guarantor agrees that the Secured Parties shall be entitled to receive payment in full in cash of all Guaranteed Obligations (including all interest and expenses accruing after the commencement of a proceeding under any Debtor Relief Law, whether or not constituting an allowed claim in such proceeding (“Post Petition Interest”)) before such Guarantor receives payment of any Subordinated Obligations.

 

(c)          Turn-Over.  After the occurrence and during the continuance of any Event of Default (including the commencement and continuation of any proceeding under any Debtor Relief Law relating to any other Loan Party), each Guarantor shall, if the Administrative Agent so requests, collect, enforce and receive payments on account of the Subordinated Obligations as trustee for the Secured Parties and deliver such payments to the Administrative Agent on account of the Guaranteed Obligations (including all Post Petition Interest), together with any necessary endorsements or other instruments of transfer, but without reducing or affecting in any manner the liability of such Guarantor under the other provisions of this Guaranty.

(d)         Administrative Agent Authorization.  After the occurrence and during the continuance of any Event of Default (including the commencement and continuation of any proceeding under any Debtor Relief Law relating to any other Loan Party), the Administrative Agent is authorized and empowered (but without any obligation to so do), in its discretion, (i) in the name of each Guarantor, to collect and enforce, and to submit claims in respect of, Subordinated Obligations and to apply any amounts received thereon to the Guaranteed Obligations (including any and all Post Petition Interest), and (ii) to require each Guarantor (A) to collect and enforce, and to submit claims in respect of, Subordinated Obligations and (B) to pay any amounts received on such obligations to the Administrative Agent for application to the Guaranteed Obligations (including any and all Post Petition Interest).

 

SECTION 8.09   Keepwell.  Each Loan Party that is a Qualified ECP Guarantor at the time the Guarantee or the grant of a Lien under the Loan Documents, in each case, by any Specified Loan Party becomes effective with respect to any Swap Obligation, hereby jointly and severally, absolutely, unconditionally and irrevocably undertakes to provide such funds or other support to each Specified Loan Party with respect to such Swap Obligation as may be needed by such Specified Loan Party from time to time to honor all of its obligations under the Loan Documents in respect of such Swap Obligation (but, in each case, only up to the maximum amount of such liability that can be hereby incurred without rendering such Qualified ECP Guarantor’s obligations and undertakings under this Section 8.09 voidable under applicable law relating to fraudulent conveyance or fraudulent transfer, and not for any greater amount).  The obligations and undertakings of each Qualified ECP Guarantor under this Section shall remain in full force and effect until the Obligations (other than contingent indemnification obligations) have been indefeasibly paid and performed in full.  Each Loan Party intends this Section to constitute, and this Section shall be deemed to constitute, a guarantee of the obligations of, and a “keepwell, support, or other agreement” for the benefit of, each Specified Loan Party for all purposes of the Commodity Exchange Act.

 

 

 

SECTION 9.01    Notices.

 

(a)        Notices Generally.  Except in the case of notices and other communications expressly permitted to be given by telephone (and except as provided in Section 9.01(b)), all notices and other communications provided for herein shall be in writing and shall be delivered by hand or overnight courier service, mailed by certified or registered mail or sent by telecopier as follows:

 

If to the Borrower:	Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc.
	305 Hartman Drive
	P.O. Box 787
	Lebanon, Tennessee 37088-0787
	Attention of: Jill Golder
	Telephone No.:  (615) 443-9869
	E-mail:  ***@***
	Website Address:  www.crackerbarrel.com
With copies to:	Bass, Berry & Sims PLC
	150 Third Avenue South, Suite 2800
	Nashville, TN 37201
	Attention of:  Felix Dowsley
	Telephone No.:  (615) 742-6228
	Telecopy No.:  (615) 742-2728
	E-mail:  ***@***

If to Bank of America as
Administrative
Agent:

 

101 N. Tryon Street

Mail Code: NC1-001-05-46

Charlotte, NC 28255

Telephone: (980 ###-###-####

 

For all notices other than Request for Extensions of Credit:

 

Bank of America, N.A.

Street Address: 555 California Street, 4^th Floor

Mail Code: CA5-705-04-09

San Francisco, CA 94104

Attention: Linda Mackey

Telephone: (415) 436-3102

Electronic Mail:  ***@***

If to any Lender:                 To the address set forth on the Register

 

Notices sent by hand or overnight courier service, or mailed by certified or registered mail, shall be deemed to have been given when received; notices sent by telecopier shall be deemed to have been given when sent (except that, if not given during normal business hours for the recipient, shall be deemed to have been given at the opening of business on the next business day for the recipient).  Notices delivered through electronic communications to the extent provided in Section 9.01(b), shall be effective as provided in said Section 9.01(b).

(b)         Electronic Communications.  Notices and other communications to the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, the Swing Line Bank and the Issuing Bank hereunder may be delivered or furnished by electronic communication (including e-mail, FpML messaging, and Internet or intranet websites) pursuant to procedures approved by the Administrative Agent; provided that the foregoing shall not apply to notices to any Lender, the Swing Line Bank or the Issuing Bank pursuant to Article II if such Lender, the Swing Line Bank or the Issuing Bank, as applicable, has notified the Administrative Agent that it is incapable of receiving notices under such Article by electronic communication.  The Administrative Agent, the Swing Line Bank, the Issuing Bank or the Borrower may each, in its discretion, agree to accept notices and other communications to it hereunder by electronic communications pursuant to procedures approved by it; provided that approval of such procedures may be limited to particular notices or communications.  Unless the Administrative Agent otherwise prescribes, (i) notices and other communications sent to an e-mail address shall be deemed received upon the sender’s receipt of an acknowledgment from the intended recipient (such as by the “return receipt requested” function, as available, return e-mail or other written acknowledgement) and (ii) notices and other communications posted to an Internet or intranet website shall be deemed received by the intended recipient upon the sender’s receipt of an acknowledgement from the intended recipient (such as by the “return receipt requested” function, as available, return e-mail address or other written acknowledgement) indicating that such notice or communication is available and identifying the website address therefor; provided that for both clauses (i) and (ii), if such notice or other communication is not sent during the normal business hours of the recipient, such notice, email or communication shall be deemed to have been sent at the opening of business on the next Business Day for the recipient.

(c)        Administrative Agent’s Office.  The Administrative Agent hereby designates its office located at the address set forth above, or any subsequent office which shall have been specified for such purpose by written notice to the Borrower and Lenders, as the Administrative Agent’s Office referred to herein, to which payments due are to be made and at which Advances will be made and Letters of Credit requested

 

(d)          Change of Address, Etc.  Any party hereto may change its address or telecopier number for notices and other communications hereunder by notice to the other parties hereto.

 

(e)          Platform.

 

(i)           Each Loan Party agrees that the Administrative Agent may, but shall not be obligated to, make the Borrower Materials available to the Issuing Bank and the other Lenders by posting the Borrower Materials on the Platform.

 

(ii)          THE PLATFORM IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE.”  THE AGENT PARTIES (AS DEFINED BELOW) DO NOT WARRANT THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE BORROWER MATERIALS OR THE ADEQUACY OF THE PLATFORM, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM LIABILITY FOR ERRORS OR OMISSIONS IN THE BORROWER MATERIALS.  NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT OF THIRD-PARTY RIGHTS OR FREEDOM FROM VIRUSES OR OTHER CODE DEFECTS, IS MADE BY ANY AGENT PARTY IN CONNECTION WITH THE BORROWER MATERIALS OR THE PLATFORM.  In no event shall the Administrative Agent or any of its Related Parties (collectively, the “Agent Parties”) have any liability to any Loan Party, any Lender or any other Person or entity for losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses of any kind (whether in tort, contract or otherwise) arising out of any Loan Party’s or the Administrative Agent’s transmission of communications through the Internet (including, without limitation, the Platform), except to the extent that such losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses are determined by a court of competent jurisdiction by final and nonappealable judgment to have resulted from the gross negligence or willful misconduct of such Agent Party; provided that in no event shall any Agent Party have any liability to any Loan Party, any Lender, the Issuing Bank or any other Person for indirect, special, incidental, consequential or punitive damages, losses or expenses (as opposed to actual damages, losses or expenses).

(f)          Private Side Designation.  Each Public Lender agrees to cause at least one individual at or on behalf of such Public Lender to at all times have selected the “Private Side Information” or similar designation on the content declaration screen of the Platform in order to enable such Public Lender or its delegate, in accordance with such Public Lender’s compliance procedures and Applicable Law, including United States Federal and state securities Applicable Laws, to make reference to Borrower Materials that are not made available through the “Public Side Information” portion of the Platform and that may contain material non-public information with respect to the Borrower or its securities for purposes of United States Federal or state securities Applicable Laws.

 

(g)         Reliance by Administrative Agent, Issuing Bank and Lenders. The Administrative Agent, the Issuing Bank and the Lenders shall be entitled to rely and act upon any notices (including, without limitation, telephonic or electronic notices, Notice of Borrowing, Letter of Credit Applications, and Notice of Loan Prepayment) purportedly given by or on behalf of any Loan Party even if (i) such notices were not made in a manner specified herein, were incomplete or were not preceded or followed by any other form of notice specified herein, or (ii) the terms thereof, as understood by the recipient, varied from any confirmation thereof.  The Loan Parties shall indemnify the Administrative Agent, the Issuing Bank, each Lender and the Related Parties of each of them from all losses, costs, expenses and liabilities resulting from the reliance by such Person on each notice purportedly given by or on behalf of a Loan Party.  All telephonic notices to and other telephonic communications with the Administrative Agent may be recorded by the Administrative Agent, and each of the parties hereto hereby consents to such recording.

 

SECTION 9.02    Amendments, Waivers and Consents.  No amendment or waiver of any provision of this Agreement or the Notes or any other Loan Document, nor consent to any departure by the Borrower or any other Loan Party therefrom, shall in any event be effective unless the same shall be in writing and signed by the Required Lenders (or by the Administrative Agent on their behalf upon its receipt of the consent thereof) and the Borrower or the applicable Loan Party, as the case may be, and acknowledged by the Administrative Agent, and then such waiver or consent shall be effective only in the specific instance and for the specific purpose for which given; provided, however, that no such amendment, waiver or consent shall:

 

(a)          Except as provided in Section 3.03, waive any of the conditions, in the case of the Initial Extension of Credit, specified in Section 3.02, without the written consent of each Lender (other than any Lender that is, at such time, a Defaulting Lender);

 

(b)         extend or increase the Commitment of any Lender (or reinstate any Commitment terminated pursuant to Article VI) without the written consent of such Lender or extend or increase the amount of the aggregate Commitments under any Facility, or amend the pro rata treatment of any reduction of Commitments set forth in Section 2.05 or of the distribution of payments set forth in Section 2.11(g), without the written consent of each Lender directly affected thereby;

 

(c)          postpone any date scheduled for any payment of principal or interest under Sections 2.04, 2.06(b) or 2.07, or any date fixed by the Administrative Agent for the payment of fees or other amounts due to the Lenders (or any of them) hereunder or under any other Loan Document or extend the maximum duration of an Interest Period without the written consent of each Lender directly affected thereby;

(d)          reduce the principal of, or the rate of interest specified herein on, any Advance or L/C Borrowing, or any fees or other amounts payable hereunder or under any other Loan Document without the written consent of each Lender directly affected thereby; provided, however, that only the consent of the Required Lenders shall be necessary (i) to amend the rate of Default Interest or the definition of “Default Interest” or to waive any obligation of the Borrower to pay Default Interest or (ii) to amend any financial covenant hereunder (or any defined term used therein) even if the effect of such amendment would be to reduce the rate of interest on any Advance or L/C Borrowing or to reduce any fee payable hereunder;

 

(e)         change the order of application of any reduction in the Commitments or any prepayment of Advances between the Facilities from the application thereof set forth in the applicable provisions of Section 2.06(b), 2.11(g) or 2.13 respectively, in any manner that materially and adversely affects the Lenders under such Facilities without the written consent of each such Lender directly affected thereby;

 

(f)          change any provision of this Section 9.02 without the written consent of each Lender, or change (i) the definition of (A) Required Lenders without the written consent of each Lender or (B) Secured Obligations, without the written consent of each Hedge Bank and each Cash Management Bank or (ii) any other provision hereof specifying the number or percentage of Lenders required to amend, waive or otherwise modify any rights hereunder or make any determination or grant any consent hereunder, without the written consent of each Lender;

 

(g)          release all or substantially all of the Collateral in any transaction or series of related transactions, without the written consent of each Lender; or

 

(h)        release one or more Guarantors (or otherwise limit such Guarantors’ liability with respect to the Obligations owing to the Agents and the Lender Parties under the Guaranties) if such release or limitation is in respect of a material portion of the value of the Guaranties to the Lender Parties, without the written consent of each Lender;

 

provided further, that (i) no amendment, waiver or consent shall, unless in writing and signed by the Issuing Banks and the Swing Line Bank, as the case may be, in addition to the Lenders required above to take such action, affect the rights or obligations of the Issuing Banks or the Swing Line Bank, as the case may be, under this Agreement or any Letter of Credit Application relating to any Letter of Credit issued or to be issued by any Issuing Bank; (ii) no amendment, waiver or consent shall, unless in writing and signed by the Administrative Agent in addition to the Lenders required above, affect the rights or obligations of, or any fees or other amounts payable to, the Administrative Agent under this Agreement or any other Loan Document; (iii) no amendment, waiver or consent shall (A) change Section 2.11(g) in a manner that would result in the Obligations then owing under Secured Hedge Agreements or Secured Cash Management Agreements being junior in right of payment under such Section to Obligations consisting of unpaid principal on the Advances, or (B) change the definition of “Secured Parties” to exclude any Hedge Banks or Cash Management Banks therefrom, in each case of clause (A) or (B) without the consent of each Hedge Bank or each Cash Management Bank (or a Lender that is an Affiliate of such Hedge Bank or Cash Management Bank) from which the Administrative Agent has received the notice described in the last paragraph of Section 2.11(g) and (iv) the Fee Letters may be amended, or rights or privileges thereunder waived, in a writing executed only by the respective parties thereto.  Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, (w) no Defaulting Lender shall have any right to approve or disapprove any amendment, waiver or consent hereunder, except that the Commitment of such Lender may not be increased or extended without the consent of such Lender, (x) the Administrative Agent and the Borrower may make amendments contemplated by Section 2.19, (y) this Agreement may be amended and restated without the consent of any Lender (but with the consent of the Borrower and the Administrative Agent) if, upon giving effect to such amendment and restatement, such Lender shall no longer be a party to this Agreement (as so amended and restated), the Commitments of such Lender shall have terminated, such Lender shall have no other commitment or other obligation hereunder and shall have been paid in full all principal, interest and other amounts owing to it or accrued for its account under this Agreement, and (z) if, following the Effective Date, the Administrative Agent and the Borrower shall have jointly identified an inconsistency, ambiguity, mistake, defect, obvious error or omission, in each case, in any provision of the Loan Documents, then the Administrative Agent and the Loan Parties shall be permitted to amend such provision and such amendment shall become effective without any further action or consent of any other party to any Loan Documents if the same is not objected to in writing by the Required Lenders within five (5) Business Days following receipt of notice thereof.

SECTION 9.03    Expenses; Indemnity.

 

(a)         Costs and Expenses.  The Loan Parties shall pay (i) all reasonable out of pocket expenses incurred by the Administrative Agent and its Affiliates (including the reasonable fees, charges and disbursements of counsel for the Administrative Agent) in connection with the syndication of the credit facilities provided for herein, the preparation, negotiation, execution, delivery and administration of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents or any amendments, modifications or waivers of the provisions hereof or thereof (whether or not the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby shall be consummated), (ii) all reasonable out of pocket expenses incurred by the Issuing Bank in connection with the issuance, amendment, renewal or extension of any Letter of Credit or any demand for payment thereunder and (iii) all out of pocket expenses incurred by the Administrative Agent, any Lender or the Issuing Bank (including the reasonable fees, charges and disbursements of any counsel for the Administrative Agent, any Lender or the Issuing Bank) in connection with the enforcement or protection of its rights (A) in connection with this Agreement and the other Loan Documents, including its rights under this Section 9.03, or (B) in connection with the Advances made or Letters of Credit issued hereunder, including all such out of pocket expenses incurred during any workout, restructuring or negotiations in respect of such Advances or Letters of Credit.

 

(b)        Indemnification by the Loan Parties.  The Loan Parties shall indemnify the Administrative Agent (and any sub-agent thereof), each Lender and the Issuing Bank, and each Related Party of any of the foregoing Persons (each such Person being called an “Indemnitee”) against, and hold each Indemnitee harmless from, and shall pay or reimburse any such Indemnitee for, any and all losses, claims (including, without limitation, any Environmental Actions), damages, liabilities and related expenses (including the fees, charges and disbursements of any counsel for any Indemnitee), and shall indemnify and hold harmless, each Indemnitee from, and shall pay or reimburse any such Indemnitee for, all fees and time charges and disbursements for attorneys who may be employees of any Indemnitee, incurred by any Indemnitee or asserted against any Indemnitee by any third party or by the Borrower or any other Loan Party arising out of, in connection with, or as a result of (i) the execution or delivery of this Agreement, any other Loan Document or any agreement or instrument contemplated hereby or thereby, the performance by the parties hereto of their respective obligations hereunder or thereunder or the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby (including, without limitation, the Transaction), (ii) any Advance or Letter of Credit or the use or proposed use of the proceeds therefrom (including any refusal by the Issuing Bank to honor a demand for payment under a Letter of Credit if the documents presented in connection with such demand do not strictly comply with the terms of such Letter of Credit), (iii) any actual or alleged presence or release of Hazardous Materials on or from any property owned or operated by any Loan Party or any Subsidiary thereof, or any Environmental Action related in any way to any Loan Party or any Subsidiary, (iv) any actual or prospective claim, litigation, investigation or proceeding relating to any of the foregoing, whether based on contract, tort or any other theory, whether brought by a third party or by any Loan Party or any Subsidiary thereof, and regardless of whether any Indemnitee is a party thereto, or (v) any claim (including, without limitation, any Environmental Actions), investigation, litigation or other proceeding (whether or not the Administrative Agent or any Lender is a party thereto) and the prosecution and defense thereof, arising out of or in any way connected with the Advances, this Agreement, any other Loan Document, or any documents contemplated by or referred to herein or therein or the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby, including without limitation, reasonable attorneys and consultant’s fees, provided that such indemnity shall not, as to any Indemnitee, be available to the extent that such losses, claims, damages, liabilities or related expenses (x) are determined by a court of competent jurisdiction by final and nonappealable judgment to have resulted from the gross negligence or willful misconduct of such Indemnitee or (y) result from a claim brought by any Loan Party or any Subsidiary thereof against an Indemnitee for material breach in bad faith of such Indemnitee’s obligations hereunder or under any other Loan Document, if such Loan Party or such Subsidiary has obtained a final and nonappealable judgment in its favor on such claim as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction.

(c)         Reimbursement by Lenders.  To the extent that the Borrower for any reason fails to indefeasibly pay any amount required under Sections 9.03(a) or (b) to be paid by it to the Administrative Agent (or any sub-agent thereof), the Issuing Bank, the Swing Line Bank or any Related Party of any of the foregoing, each Lender severally agrees to pay to the Administrative Agent (or any such sub-agent), the Issuing Bank, the Swing Line Bank or such Related Party, as the case may be, such Lender’s Pro Rata Share (determined as of the time that the applicable unreimbursed expense or indemnity payment is sought) of such unpaid amount, provided that the unreimbursed expense or indemnified loss, claim, damage, liability or related expense, as the case may be, was incurred by or asserted against the Administrative Agent (or any such sub-agent), the Issuing Bank or the Swing Line Bank in its capacity as such, or against any Related Party of any of the foregoing acting for the Administrative Agent (or any such sub-agent), Issuing Bank or the Swing Line Bank in connection with such capacity.  The obligations of the Lenders under this Section 9.03(c) are subject to the provisions of Section 2.02(d).

 

(d)       Waiver of Consequential Damages, Etc.  To the fullest extent permitted by Applicable Law, the Borrower and each other Loan Party shall not assert, and hereby waives, any claim against any Indemnitee, on any theory of liability, for special, indirect, consequential or punitive damages (as opposed to direct or actual damages, as to which the Borrower and the Loan Parties do not waive any claims) arising out of, in connection with, or as a result of, this Agreement, any other Loan Document or any agreement or instrument contemplated hereby, the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby, any Advance or Letter of Credit or the use of the proceeds thereof.  No Indemnitee referred to in Section 9.03(b) shall be liable for any damages arising from the use by unintended recipients of any information or other materials distributed by it through telecommunications, electronic or other information transmission systems in connection with this Agreement or the other Loan Documents or the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby.

 

(e)          Payments.  All amounts due under this Section 9.03 shall be payable promptly after demand therefor.

 

SECTION 9.04    Right of Set Off.  If an Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing, each Lender, the Issuing Bank, the Swing Line Bank and each of their respective Affiliates is hereby authorized at any time and from time to time, to the fullest extent permitted by Applicable Law, to set off and apply any and all deposits (general or special, time or demand, provisional or final, in whatever currency) at any time held and other obligations (in whatever currency) at any time owing by such Lender, the Issuing Bank, the Swing Line Bank or any such Affiliate to or for the credit or the account of the Borrower or any other Loan Party against any and all of the Obligations of the Borrower or such Loan Party now or hereafter existing under this Agreement or any other Loan Document to such Lender, the Issuing Bank or the Swing Line Bank, irrespective of whether or not such Lender, the Issuing Bank or the Swing Line Bank shall have made any demand under this Agreement or any other Loan Document and although such Obligations of the Borrower or such Loan Party may be contingent or unmatured or are owed to a branch or office of such Lender, the Issuing Bank or the Swing Line Bank different from the branch or office holding such deposit or obligated on such indebtedness; provided that in the event that any Defaulting Lender shall exercise any such right of setoff, (x) all amounts so set off shall be paid over immediately to the Administrative Agent and, pending such payment, shall be segregated by such Defaulting Lender from its other funds and deemed held in trust for the benefit of the Administrative Agent, the Issuing Bank, the Swing Line Bank and the Lenders, and (y) the Defaulting Lender shall provide promptly to the Administrative Agent a statement describing in reasonable detail the Obligations owing to such Defaulting Lender as to which it exercised such right of setoff.  The rights of each Lender, the Issuing Bank, the Swing Line Bank and their respective Affiliates under this Section 9.04 are in addition to other rights and remedies (including other rights of setoff) that such Lender, the Issuing Bank, the Swing Line Bank or their respective Affiliates may have.  Each Lender, the Issuing Bank and the Swing Line Bank agrees to notify the Borrower and the Administrative Agent promptly after any such setoff and application; provided that the failure to give such notice shall not affect the validity of such setoff and application.

SECTION 9.05    Governing Law; Jurisdiction, Etc.

 

(a)        Governing Law.  This Agreement and the other Loan Documents, unless expressly set forth therein, shall be governed by, construed and enforced in accordance with, the law of the State of New York (including Sections 5.1401 and 5.1402 of the General Obligations Law of the State of New York), without reference to any other conflicts or choice of law principles thereof.

 

(b)          Submission to Jurisdiction.  The Borrower and each other Loan Party irrevocably and unconditionally submits, for itself and its property, to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the State of New York sitting in the Borough of Manhattan, New York and of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and any appellate court from any thereof, in any action or proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement or any other Loan Document, or for recognition or enforcement of any judgment, and each of the parties hereto irrevocably and unconditionally agrees that all claims in respect of any such action or proceeding may be heard and determined in such New York state court or, to the fullest extent permitted by Applicable Law, in such Federal court.  Each of the parties hereto agrees that a final judgment in any such action or proceeding shall be conclusive and may be enforced in other jurisdictions by suit on the judgment or in any other manner provided by law.  Nothing in this Agreement or in any other Loan Document shall affect any right that the Administrative Agent, any Lender or the Issuing Bank may otherwise have to bring any action or proceeding relating to this Agreement or any other Loan Document against the Borrower or any other Loan Party or its properties in the courts of any jurisdiction.

 

(c)          Waiver of Venue.  The Borrower and each other Loan Party irrevocably and unconditionally waives, to the fullest extent permitted by Applicable Law, any objection that it may now or hereafter have to the laying of venue of any action or proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement or any other Loan Document in any court referred to in Section 9.05(b) of this Section.  Each of the parties hereto hereby irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by Applicable Law, the defense of an inconvenient forum to the maintenance of such action or proceeding in any such court.

 

(d)          Service of Process.  Each party hereto irrevocably consents to service of process in the manner provided for notices in Section 9.01.  Nothing in this Agreement will affect the right of any party hereto to serve process in any other manner permitted by Applicable Law.

SECTION 9.06   Waiver of Jury Trial.  EACH PARTY HERETO HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ANY RIGHT IT MAY HAVE TO A TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY LEGAL PROCEEDING DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT OR ANY OTHER LOAN DOCUMENT OR THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREBY OR THEREBY (WHETHER BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT OR ANY OTHER THEORY).  EACH PARTY HERETO (A) CERTIFIES THAT NO REPRESENTATIVE, AGENT OR ATTORNEY OF ANY OTHER PERSON HAS REPRESENTED, EXPRESSLY OR OTHERWISE, THAT SUCH OTHER PERSON WOULD NOT, IN THE EVENT OF LITIGATION, SEEK TO ENFORCE THE FOREGOING WAIVER AND (B) ACKNOWLEDGES THAT IT AND THE OTHER PARTIES HERETO HAVE BEEN INDUCED TO ENTER INTO THIS AGREEMENT AND THE OTHER LOAN DOCUMENTS BY, AMONG OTHER THINGS, THE MUTUAL WAIVERS AND CERTIFICATIONS IN THIS SECTION 9.06.

 

SECTION 9.07    Reversal of Payments.  To the extent any Loan Party makes a payment or payments to the Administrative Agent for the ratable benefit of the Lenders or the Administrative Agent receives any payment or proceeds of the Collateral which payments or proceeds or any part thereof are subsequently invalidated, declared to be fraudulent or preferential, set aside and/or required to be repaid to a trustee, receiver or any other party under any Debtor Relief Law, state or federal law, common law or equitable cause, then, to the extent of such payment or proceeds repaid, the Obligations or part thereof intended to be satisfied shall be revived and continued in full force and effect as if such payment or proceeds had not been received by the Administrative Agent.

 

SECTION 9.08   Injunctive Relief.  The Borrower and each other Loan Party recognize that, in the event the Borrower or any other Loan Party fails to perform, observe or discharge any of its Obligations or liabilities under this Agreement, any remedy of law may prove to be inadequate relief to the Lenders.  Therefore, the Borrower and each other Loan Party agree that the Lenders, at the Lenders’ option, shall be entitled to temporary and permanent injunctive relief in any such case without the necessity of proving actual damages.

 

SECTION 9.09    Accounting Matters.  If at any time any change in GAAP (other than a change from the retail inventory method to the weighted average cost method) would affect the computation of any financial ratio or requirement set forth in any Loan Document, and either the Borrower or the Required Lenders shall so request, the Administrative Agent, the Lenders and the Borrower shall negotiate in good faith to amend such ratio or requirement to preserve the original intent thereof in light of such change in GAAP (subject to the approval of the Required Lenders); provided that, until so amended, (i) such ratio or requirement shall continue to be computed in accordance with GAAP prior to such change therein and (ii) the Borrower shall provide to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders financial statements and other documents required under this Agreement or as reasonably requested hereunder setting forth a reconciliation between calculations of such ratio or requirement made before and after giving effect to such change in GAAP.

 

SECTION 9.10    Successors and Assigns; Participations.

 

(a)          Successors and Assigns Generally.  The provisions of this Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns permitted hereby, except that neither the Borrower nor any other Loan Party may assign or otherwise transfer any of its rights or obligations hereunder without the prior written consent of the Administrative Agent and each Lender and no Lender may assign or otherwise transfer any of its rights or obligations hereunder except (i) to an assignee in accordance with the provisions of Section 9.10(b), (ii) by way of participation in accordance with the provisions of Section 9.10(d) or (iii) by way of pledge or assignment of a security interest subject to the restrictions of Section 9.10(f) (and any other attempted assignment or transfer by any party hereto shall be null and void).  Nothing in this Agreement, expressed or implied, shall be construed to confer upon any Person (other than the parties hereto, their respective successors and assigns permitted hereby, Participants to the extent provided in Section 9.10(d) and, to the extent expressly contemplated hereby, the Related Parties of each of the Administrative Agent and the Lenders) any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim under or by reason of this Agreement.

(b)         Assignments by Lenders.  Any Lender may at any time assign to one or more assignees all or a portion of its rights and obligations under this Agreement (including all or a portion of its Revolving Credit Commitments and the Advances at the time owing to it); provided that any such assignment shall be subject to the following conditions:

 

(i)        Minimum Amounts.

 

(A)         in the case of an assignment of the entire remaining amount of the assigning Lender’s Revolving Credit Commitment and the Advances at the time owing to it (in each case with respect to any Facility) or in the case of an assignment to a Lender, an Affiliate of a Lender or an Approved Fund, no minimum amount need be assigned; and

 

(B)          in any case not described in Section 9.10(b)(i)(A), the aggregate amount of the Revolving Credit Commitment (which for this purpose includes Advances outstanding thereunder) or, if the applicable Revolving Credit Commitment is not then in effect, the principal outstanding balance of the Advances of the assigning Lender subject to each such assignment (determined as of the date the Assignment and Assumption with respect to such assignment is delivered to the Administrative Agent or, if “Trade Date” is specified in the Assignment and Assumption, as of the Trade Date) shall not be less than $5,000,000, unless each of the Administrative Agent and, so long as no Event of Default has occurred and is continuing, the Borrower otherwise consents (each such consent not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed);

 

(ii)      Proportionate Amounts.  Each partial assignment shall be made as an assignment of a proportionate part of all the assigning Lender’s rights and obligations under this Agreement with respect to the Advances or the Revolving Credit Commitment assigned, except that this clause (ii) shall not apply to the Swing Line Bank’s rights and obligations in respect of Swing Line Advances;

 

(iii)      Required Consents.  No consent shall be required for any assignment except to the extent required by Section 9.10(b)(i)(B) of this Section and, in addition:

 

(A)          the consent of the Borrower (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld) shall be required unless (x) an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing at the time of such assignment or (y) such assignment is to a Lender, an Affiliate of a Lender or an Approved Fund; provided, that the Borrower shall be deemed to have consented to any such assignment unless it shall object thereto by written notice to the Administrative Agent within 5 Business Days after having received notice thereof;

(B)          the consent of the Administrative Agent (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed) shall be required for assignments if such assignment is to a Person that is not a Lender, an Affiliate of such Lender or an Approved Fund with respect to such Lender; and

 

(C)          the consents of the Issuing Banks and the Swing Line Bank (such consents not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed) shall be required for any assignment that increases the obligation of the assignee to participate in exposure under one or more Letters of Credit (whether or not then outstanding) or for any assignment in respect of the Revolving A Credit Facility.

 

(iv)      Assignment and Assumption.  The parties to each assignment shall execute and deliver to the Administrative Agent an Assignment and Assumption, together with a processing and recordation fee of $3,500 for each assignment (provided, that only one such fee will be payable in connection with simultaneous assignments to two or more Approved Funds by a Lender), and the assignee, if it is not a Lender, shall deliver to the Administrative Agent an Administrative Questionnaire.

 

(v)      No Assignment to Certain Persons.  No such assignment shall be made to (A) the Borrower or any of the Borrower’s Affiliates or Subsidiaries or (B) any Defaulting Lender or any of its Subsidiaries, or any Person who, upon becoming a Lender hereunder, would constitute any of the foregoing Persons described in this clause (B).

 

(vi)      No Assignment to Natural Persons.  No such assignment shall be made to a natural person (or a holding company, investment vehicle or trust for, or owned and operated for the primary benefit of a natural person).

 

(vii)    Certain Additional Payments.  In connection with any assignment of rights and obligations of any Defaulting Lender hereunder, no such assignment shall be effective unless and until, in addition to the other conditions thereto set forth herein, the parties to the assignment shall make such additional payments to the Administrative Agent in an aggregate amount sufficient, upon distribution thereof as appropriate (which may be outright payment, purchases by the assignee of participations or subparticipations, or other compensating actions, including funding, with the consent of the Borrower and the Administrative Agent, the applicable pro rata share of Advances previously requested, but not funded by, the Defaulting Lender, to each of which the applicable assignee and assignor hereby irrevocably consent), to (A) pay and satisfy in full all payment liabilities then owed by such Defaulting Lender to the Administrative Agent, the Issuing Bank, the Swing Line Bank and each other Lender hereunder (and interest accrued thereon), and (B) acquire (and fund as appropriate) its full pro rata share of all Advances and participations in Letters of Credit and Swing Line Advances in accordance with its Pro Rata Share.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event that any assignment of rights and obligations of any Defaulting Lender hereunder shall become effective under Applicable Law without compliance with the provisions of this paragraph, then the assignee of such interest shall be deemed to be a Defaulting Lender for all purposes of this Agreement until such compliance occurs.

Subject to acceptance and recording thereof by the Administrative Agent pursuant to Section 9.10(c), from and after the effective date specified in each Assignment and Assumption, the assignee thereunder shall be a party to this Agreement and, to the extent of the interest assigned by such Assignment and Assumption, have the rights and obligations of a Lender under this Agreement, and the assigning Lender thereunder shall, to the extent of the interest assigned by such Assignment and Assumption, be released from its obligations under this Agreement (and, in the case of an Assignment and Assumption covering all of the assigning Lender’s rights and obligations under this Agreement, such Lender shall cease to be a party hereto) but shall continue to be entitled to the benefits of Sections 2.10, 2.12 and 9.03 with respect to facts and circumstances occurring prior to the effective date of such assignment; provided, that except to the extent otherwise expressly agreed by the affected parties, no assignment by a Defaulting Lender will constitute a waiver or release of any claim of any party hereunder arising from that Lender’s having been a Defaulting Lender.  Any assignment or transfer by a Lender of rights or obligations under this Agreement that does not comply with this Section 9.10(b) shall be treated for purposes of this Agreement as a sale by such Lender of a participation in such rights and obligations in accordance with Section 9.10(d).

 

(c)         Register.  The Administrative Agent, acting solely for this purpose as a non-fiduciary agent of the Borrower, shall maintain at the Administrative Agent’s Office a copy of each Assignment and Assumption delivered to it and a register for the recordation of the names and addresses of the Lenders, and the Revolving Credit Commitments of, and principal amounts of (and stated interest on) the Advances owing to, each Lender pursuant to the terms hereof from time to time (the “Register”).  The entries in the Register shall be conclusive absent manifest error, and the Borrower, the Administrative Agent and the Lenders may treat each Person whose name is recorded in the Register pursuant to the terms hereof as a Lender hereunder for all purposes of this Agreement, notwithstanding notice to the contrary.  The Register shall be available for inspection by the Borrower and any Lender (but only to the extent of entries in the Register that are applicable to such Lender), at any reasonable time and from time to time upon reasonable prior notice.

 

(d)        Participations.  Any Lender may at any time, without the consent of, or notice to, the Borrower or the Administrative Agent, sell participations to any Person (other than a natural person (or a holding company, investment vehicle or trust for, or owned and operated for the primary benefit of a natural person) or the Borrower or any of the Borrower’s Affiliates or Subsidiaries) (each, a “Participant”) in all or a portion of such Lender’s rights and/or obligations under this Agreement (including all or a portion of its Revolving Credit Commitments and/or the Advances owing to it); provided that (i) such Lender’s obligations under this Agreement shall remain unchanged, (ii) such Lender shall remain solely responsible to the other parties hereto for the performance of such obligations and (iii) the Borrower, the Administrative Agent, Issuing Bank, Swing Line Bank and the other Lenders shall continue to deal solely and directly with such Lender in connection with such Lender’s rights and obligations under this Agreement.

 

Any agreement or instrument pursuant to which a Lender sells such a participation shall provide that such Lender shall retain the sole right to enforce this Agreement and to approve any amendment, modification or waiver of any provision of this Agreement; provided that such agreement or instrument may provide that such Lender will not, without the consent of the Participant, agree to any amendment, modification or waiver or modification described in Section 9.02 that directly affects such Participant and could not be affected by a vote of the Required Lenders.  Subject to Section 9.10(e), the Borrower agrees that each Participant shall be entitled to the benefits of Sections 2.10 and 2.12 to the same extent as if it were a Lender and had acquired its interest by assignment pursuant to Section 9.10(b).  To the extent permitted by law, each Participant also shall be entitled to the benefits of Section 9.04 as though it were a Lender, provided such Participant agrees to be subject to Section 2.13 as though it were a Lender.

 

Each Lender that sells a participation shall, acting solely for this purpose as an agent of the Borrower, maintain a register on which it enters the name and address of each Participant and the principal amounts (and stated interest) of each Participant’s interest in the Advances or other obligations under the Loan Documents (the “Participant Register”); provided that no Lender shall have any obligation to disclose all or any portion of the Participant Register to any Person (including the identity of any Participant or any information relating to a Participant’s interest in any commitments, loans, letters of credit or its other obligations under any Loan Document) except to the extent that such disclosure is necessary to establish that such commitment, loan, letter of credit or other obligation is in registered form under Section 5f.103-1(c) of the United States Treasury Regulations.  The entries in the Participant Register shall be conclusive absent manifest error, and such Lender shall treat each Person whose name is recorded in the Participant Register as the owner of such participation for all purposes of this Agreement notwithstanding any notice to the contrary.  For the avoidance of doubt, the Administrative Agent (in its capacity as Administrative Agent) shall have no responsibility for maintaining a Participant Register.

(e)        Limitations upon Participant Rights.  A Participant shall not be entitled to receive any greater payment under Section 2.10(a) or (b) or Section 2.12 than the applicable Lender would have been entitled to receive with respect to the participation sold to such Participant, unless the sale of the participation to such Participant is made with the Borrower’s prior written consent.  No Participant shall be entitled to the benefits of Section 2.10 and 2.12 unless the Borrower is notified of the participation sold to such Participant and such Participant agrees, for the benefit of the Borrower, to comply with Section 2.12(e) as though it were a Lender.

 

(f)          Certain Pledges.  Any Lender may at any time pledge or assign a security interest in all or any portion of its rights under this Agreement to secure obligations of such Lender, including without limitation any pledge or assignment to secure obligations to a Federal Reserve Bank; provided that no such pledge or assignment shall release such Lender from any of its obligations hereunder or substitute any such pledgee or assignee for such Lender as a party hereto.

 

SECTION 9.11    Confidentiality.  Each of the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, the Issuing Bank and the Swing Line Bank agrees to maintain the confidentiality of the Information (as defined below), except that Information may be disclosed (a) to its Affiliates and to its and its Affiliates’ respective partners, directors, officers, employees, agents, advisors and other representatives (it being understood that the Persons to whom such disclosure is made will be informed of the confidential nature of such Information and instructed to keep such Information confidential), (b) to the extent requested by, or required to be disclosed to, any rating agency, or regulatory or similar authority purporting to have jurisdiction over it (including any self-regulatory authority, such as the National Association of Insurance Commissioners), (c) to the extent required by Applicable Laws or regulations or by any subpoena or similar legal process, (d) to any other party hereto, (e) in connection with the exercise of any remedies under this Agreement, under any other Loan Document or under any Secured Hedge Agreement or Secured Cash Management Agreement, or any action or proceeding relating to this Agreement, any other Loan Document or any Secured Hedge Agreement or Secured Cash Management Agreement, or the enforcement of rights hereunder or thereunder, (f) subject to an agreement containing provisions substantially the same as those of this Section 9.11, to (i) any assignee of or Participant in, or any prospective assignee of or Participant in, any of its rights or obligations under this Agreement, Participant or proposed Participant and (ii) any actual or prospective counterparty (or its advisors) to any swap or derivative transaction relating to the Borrower and its obligations, (g) with the consent of the Borrower, (h) to Gold Sheets and other similar bank trade publications, such information to consist of deal terms and other information customarily found in such publications, or (i) to the extent such Information (x) becomes publicly available other than as a result of a breach of this Section 9.11 or (y) becomes available to the Administrative Agent, any Lender, the Issuing Bank, the Swing Line Bank or any of their respective Affiliates on a nonconfidential basis from a source other than the Borrower or (j) to Governmental Authorities in connection with any regulatory examination of the Administrative Agent or any Lender or in accordance with the Administrative Agent’s or any Lender’s regulatory compliance policy if the Administrative Agent or such Lender deems necessary for the mitigation of claims by those authorities against the Administrative Agent or such Lender or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates.  “Information” means all information received from any Loan Party or any Subsidiary thereof relating to any Loan Party or any Subsidiary thereof or any of their respective businesses, other than any such information that is available to the Administrative Agent, any Lender, the Issuing Bank or the Swing Line Bank on a nonconfidential basis prior to disclosure by any Loan Party or any Subsidiary thereof; provided that, in the case of information received from a Loan Party or any Subsidiary thereof after the Effective Date, such information is clearly identified at the time of delivery as confidential.  Any Person required to maintain the confidentiality of Information as provided in this Section 9.11 shall be considered to have complied with its obligation to do so if such Person has exercised the same degree of care to maintain the confidentiality of such Information as such Person would accord to its own confidential information.  In addition, the Administrative Agent and the Lenders may disclose the existence of this Agreement and information about this Agreement to market data collectors, similar service providers to the lending industry and service providers to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders in connection with the administration of this Agreement, the other Loan Documents and the Commitments.

SECTION 9.12    Performance of Duties.  Each of the Loan Party’s Obligations under this Agreement and each of the other Loan Documents shall be performed by such Loan Party at its sole cost and expense.

 

SECTION 9.13   All Powers Coupled with Interest.  All powers of attorney and other authorizations granted to the Lenders, the Administrative Agent and any Persons designated by the Administrative Agent or any Lender pursuant to any provisions of this Agreement or any of the other Loan Documents shall be deemed coupled with an interest and shall be irrevocable so long as any of the Obligations remain unpaid or unsatisfied, any of the Commitments remain in effect or any Facility has not been terminated.

 

SECTION 9.14    Survival.

 

(a)        All representations and warranties set forth in Article IV and all representations and warranties contained in any certificate, or any of the Loan Documents (including, but not limited to, any such representation or warranty made in or in connection with any amendment thereto) shall constitute representations and warranties made under this Agreement.  All representations and warranties made under this Agreement shall be made or deemed to be made at and as of the Effective Date (except those that are expressly made as of a specific date), shall survive the Effective Date and shall not be waived by the execution and delivery of this Agreement, any investigation made by or on behalf of the Lenders or any borrowing hereunder.

 

(b)         Notwithstanding any termination of this Agreement, the indemnities to which the Administrative Agent and the Lenders are entitled under the provisions of this Article IX and any other provision of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents shall continue in full force and effect and shall protect the Administrative Agent and the Lenders against events arising after such termination as well as before.

 

SECTION 9.15    Titles and Captions.  Titles and captions of Articles, Sections and subsections in, and the table of contents of, this Agreement are for convenience only, and neither limit nor amplify the provisions of this Agreement.

 

SECTION 9.16   Severability of Provisions.  Any provision of this Agreement or any other Loan Document which is prohibited or unenforceable in any jurisdiction shall, as to such jurisdiction, be ineffective only to the extent of such prohibition or unenforceability without invalidating the remainder of such provision or the remaining provisions hereof or thereof or affecting the validity or enforceability of such provision in any other jurisdiction.

SECTION 9.17    Counterparts; Integration; Effectiveness; Electronic Execution.

 

(a)         Counterparts; Integration; Effectiveness.  This Agreement and each of the other Loan Documents may be executed in counterparts (and by different parties hereto in different counterparts), each of which shall constitute an original, but all of which when taken together shall constitute a single contract.  This Agreement and the other Loan Documents, and any separate letter agreements with respect to fees payable to the Administrative Agent or the Issuing Bank, constitute the entire contract among the parties relating to the subject matter hereof and supersede any and all previous agreements and understandings, oral or written, relating to the subject matter hereof.  Except as provided in Section 3.01, this Agreement shall become effective when it shall have been executed by the Administrative Agent and when the Administrative Agent shall have received counterparts hereof that, when taken together, bear the signatures of each of the other parties hereto.  Delivery of an executed counterpart of a signature page of this Agreement or any other Loan Document, or any certificate delivered thereunder, by fax transmission or e-mail transmission (e.g. “pdf” or “tif”) shall be effective as delivery of a manually executed counterpart of this Agreement or such other Loan Document or certificate.  Without limiting the foregoing, to the extent a manually executed counterpart is not specifically required to be delivered under the terms of any Loan Document, upon the request of any party, such fax transmission or e-mail transmission shall be promptly followed by such manually executed counterpart.

 

(b)         Electronic Execution of Assignments.  The words “delivery,” “execute,” “execution,” “signed,” “signature,” and words of like import in any Loan Document or any other document executed in connection herewith shall be deemed to include electronic signatures, the electronic matching of assignment terms and contract formations on electronic platforms approved by the Administrative Agent, or the keeping of records in electronic form, each of which shall be of the same legal effect, validity or enforceability as a manually executed signature, physical delivery thereof or the use of a paper-based recordkeeping system, as the case may be, to the extent and as provided for in any applicable Law, including the Federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, the New York State Electronic Signatures and Records Act, or any other similar state laws based on the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act; provided that notwithstanding anything contained herein to the contrary neither the Administrative Agent, the Issuing Bank nor any Lender is under any obligation to agree to accept electronic signatures in any form or in any format unless expressly agreed to by the Administrative Agent, the Issuing Bank or such Lender pursuant to procedures approved by it and provided further without limiting the foregoing, upon the request of any party, any electronic signature shall be promptly followed by such manually executed counterpart.

 

SECTION 9.18   Term of Agreement.  This Agreement shall remain in effect from the Effective Date through and including the date upon which all Obligations (other than contingent indemnification obligations not then due) arising hereunder or under any other Loan Document shall have been indefeasibly and irrevocably paid and satisfied in full, all Letters of Credit have been terminated or expired and all Commitments have been terminated.  No termination of this Agreement shall affect the rights and obligations of the parties hereto arising prior to such termination or in respect of any provision of this Agreement which survives such termination.

 

SECTION 9.19   USA PATRIOT Act.  Each Lender that is subject to the PATRIOT Act and the Administrative Agent (for itself and not on behalf of any Lender) hereby notifies the Borrower that pursuant to the requirements of the PATRIOT Act, it is required to obtain, verify and record information that identifies each Loan Party, which information includes the name and address of each Loan Party and other information that will allow such Lender or the Administrative Agent, as applicable, to identify each Loan Party in accordance with the PATRIOT Act. The Borrower shall, promptly following a request by the Administrative Agent or any Lender, provide all documentation and other information that the Administrative Agent or such Lender requests in order to comply with its ongoing obligations under applicable “know your customer” and Anti-Money Laundering Laws, including the PATRIOT Act.

SECTION 9.20   Independent Effect of Covenants.  The Borrower expressly acknowledges and agrees that each covenant contained in Article V hereof shall be given independent effect.  Accordingly, the Borrower shall not engage in any transaction or other act otherwise permitted under any covenant contained in Article V, before or after giving effect to such transaction or act, the Borrower shall or would be in breach of any other covenant contained in Article V.

 

SECTION 9.21   Inconsistencies with Other Documents.  In the event there is a conflict or inconsistency between this Agreement and any other Loan Document, the terms of this Agreement shall control; provided that any provision of the Collateral Documents which imposes additional burdens on the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries or further restricts the rights of the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries or gives the Administrative Agent or Lenders additional rights shall not be deemed to be in conflict or inconsistent with this Agreement and shall be given full force and effect.

 

SECTION 9.22    No Advisory or Fiduciary Responsibility.

 

(a)        In connection with all aspects of each transaction contemplated hereby, each Loan Party acknowledges and agrees, and acknowledges its Affiliates’ understanding, that (i) the facilities provided for hereunder and any related arranging or other services in connection therewith (including in connection with any amendment, waiver or other modification hereof or of any other Loan Document) are an arm’s-length commercial transaction between the Borrower and its Affiliates, on the one hand, and the Administrative Agent, the Arrangers and the Lenders, on the other hand, and the Borrower is capable of evaluating and understanding and understands and accepts the terms, risks and conditions of the transactions contemplated hereby and by the other Loan Documents (including any amendment, waiver or other modification hereof or thereof), (ii) in connection with the process leading to such transaction, each of the Administrative Agent, the Arrangers and the Lenders is and has been acting solely as a principal and is not the financial advisor, agent or fiduciary, for the Borrower or any of its Affiliates, stockholders, creditors or employees or any other Person, (iii) none of the Administrative Agent, the Arrangers or the Lenders has assumed or will assume an advisory, agency or fiduciary responsibility in favor of the Borrower with respect to any of the transactions contemplated hereby or the process leading thereto, including with respect to any amendment, waiver or other modification hereof or of any other Loan Document (irrespective of whether any Arranger or Lender has advised or is currently advising the Borrower or any of its Affiliates on other matters) and none of the Administrative Agent, the Arrangers or the Lenders has any obligation to the Borrower or any of its Affiliates with respect to the financing transactions contemplated hereby except those obligations expressly set forth herein and in the other Loan Documents, (iv) the Arrangers and the Lenders and their respective Affiliates may be engaged in a broad range of transactions that involve interests that differ from, and may conflict with, those of the Borrower and its Affiliates, and none of the Administrative Agent, the Arrangers or the Lenders has any obligation to disclose any of such interests by virtue of any advisory, agency or fiduciary relationship and (v) the Administrative Agent, the Arrangers and the Lenders have not provided and will not provide any legal, accounting, regulatory or tax advice with respect to any of the transactions contemplated hereby (including any amendment, waiver or other modification hereof or of any other Loan Document) and the Credit Parties have consulted their own legal, accounting, regulatory and tax advisors to the extent they have deemed appropriate.

(b)         Each Loan Party acknowledges and agrees that each Lender, each Arranger and any Affiliate thereof may lend money to, invest in, and generally engage in any kind of business with, any of the Borrower, any Affiliate thereof or any other person or entity that may do business with or own securities of any of the foregoing, all as if such Lender, Arranger or Affiliate thereof were not a Lender or Arranger or an Affiliate thereof (or an agent or any other person with any similar role under the Facilities) and without any duty to account therefor to any other Lender, the Arrangers, the Borrower or any Affiliate of the foregoing.  Each Lender, each Arranger and any Affiliate thereof may accept fees and other consideration from the Borrower or any Affiliate thereof for services in connection with this Agreement, the Facilities or otherwise without having to account for the same to any other Lender, the Arrangers, the Borrower or any Affiliate of the foregoing.

 

SECTION 9.23    Interest Rate Limitation.  Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any Loan Document, the interest paid or agreed to be paid under the Loan Documents shall not exceed the maximum rate of non-usurious interest permitted by Applicable Law (the “Maximum Rate”).  If the Administrative Agent or any Lender shall receive interest in an amount that exceeds the Maximum Rate, the excess interest shall be applied to the principal of the Advances or, if it exceeds such unpaid principal, refunded to the Borrower.  In determining whether the interest contracted for, charged, or received by the Administrative Agent or a Lender exceeds the Maximum Rate, such Person may, to the extent permitted by Applicable Law, (a) characterize any payment that is not principal as an expense, fee, or premium rather than interest, (b) exclude voluntary prepayments and the effects thereof, and (c) amortize, prorate, allocate, and spread in equal or unequal parts the total amount of interest throughout the contemplated term of the Obligations hereunder.

 

SECTION 9.24   Acknowledgement and Consent to Bail-In of Affected Financial Institutions.  Solely to the extent any Lender or Issuing Bank that is an Affected Financial Institution is a party to this Agreement and notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any Loan Document or in any other agreement, arrangement or understanding among any such parties, each party hereto acknowledges that any liability of any Lender or Issuing Bank that is an Affected Financial Institution arising under any Loan Document, to the extent such liability is unsecured, may be subject to the write-down and conversion powers of the applicable Resolution Authority and agrees and consents to, and acknowledges and agrees to be bound by:

 

(a)          the application of any Write-Down and Conversion Powers by the applicable Resolution Authority to any such liabilities arising hereunder which may be payable to it by any Lender or Issuing Bank that is an Affected Financial Institution; and

 

(b)          the effects of any Bail-in Action on any such liability, including, if applicable:

 

(i)           a reduction in full or in part or cancellation of any such liability;

 

(ii)         a conversion of all, or a portion of, such liability into shares or other instruments of ownership in such Affected Financial Institution, its parent entity, or a bridge institution that may be issued to it or otherwise conferred on it, and that such shares or other instruments of ownership will be accepted by it in lieu of any rights with respect to any such liability under this Agreement or any other Loan Document; or

 

(iii)         the variation of the terms of such liability in connection with the exercise of the Write-Down and Conversion Powers of the applicable Resolution Authority.

 

SECTION 9.25   Acknowledgement Regarding Any Supported QFC.  To the extent that the Loan Documents provide support, through a guarantee or otherwise, for any Swap Obligation or any other agreement or instrument that is a QFC (such support, “QFC Credit Support”, and each such QFC, a “Supported QFC”), the parties acknowledge and agree as follows with respect to the resolution power of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and Title II of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (together with the regulations promulgated thereunder, the “U.S. Special Resolution Regimes”) in respect of such Supported QFC and QFC Credit Support (with the provisions below applicable notwithstanding that the Loan Documents and any Supported QFC may in fact be stated to be governed by the laws of the State of New York and/or of the United States or any other state of the United States): in the event a Covered Entity that is party to a Supported QFC (each, a “Covered Party”) becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, the transfer of such Supported QFC and the benefit of such QFC Credit Support (and any interest and obligation in or under such Supported QFC and such QFC Credit Support, and any rights in property securing such Supported QFC or such QFC Credit Support) from such Covered Party will be effective to the same extent as the transfer would be effective under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if the Supported QFC and such QFC Credit Support (and any such interest, obligation and rights in property) were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United States.  In the event a Covered Party or a BHC Act Affiliate of a Covered Party becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, Default Rights under the Loan Documents that might otherwise apply to such Supported QFC or any QFC Credit Support that may be exercised against such Covered Party are permitted to be exercised to no greater extent than such Default Rights could be exercised under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if the Supported QFC and the Loan Documents were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United States.  Without limitation of the foregoing, it is understood and agreed that rights and remedies of the parties with respect to a Defaulting Lender shall in no event affect the rights of any Covered Party with respect to a Supported QFC or any QFC Credit Support.

 

 

 

 

Attention of: Linda Mackey

 

[Date]

 

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

The undersigned, CRACKER BARREL OLD COUNTRY STORE, INC., refers to the Credit Agreement dated as of September 5, 2018 (as amended, amended and restated, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Credit Agreement”; the terms defined therein being used herein as therein defined), among the undersigned, the Guarantors party thereto, the Lender Parties party thereto, Bank of America, N.A. (“Bank of America”), as Collateral Agent, and Bank of America, as Administrative Agent for the Lender Parties, and hereby gives you notice, irrevocably, pursuant to Section 2.02, 2.09 or 2.20 of the Credit Agreement that the undersigned hereby requests (select one):

 

☐  A [Revolving A Credit Advance] [Revolving B Credit Advance] [Swing Line Advance]

☐  A conversion or continuation of [Revolving A Credit Advances] [Revolving B Credit Advances]

1.           On                                          (a Business Day).

2.           In the amount of $                                         .

3.           Comprised of                                         .

[Type of Advance (Base Rate Advance or Eurodollar Rate Advance) requested]

4.           For Eurodollar Rate Advances:  with an Interest Period of           months.

[With respect to such Advance, the Borrower hereby represents and warrants that (i) such request complies with the requirements of [Section 2.01][Section 2.20(a)] of the Credit Agreement and (ii) each of the conditions set forth in Section 3.02 of the Credit Agreement have been satisfied on and as of the date of such Advance.

 

The Borrower agrees that if, prior to the time of the proposed Borrowing, any matter certified to herein by it will not be true and correct at such time as if then made, it will immediately so notify the Administrative Agent.  Except to the extent, if any, that prior to the time of the proposed Borrowing requested hereby the Administrative Agent shall receive written notice to the contrary from the Borrower, each matter certified to herein shall be deemed once again to be certified as true and correct at the date of the proposed Borrowing as if then made.]

This Notice of Borrowing, and the rights and obligations of the parties hereunder shall be governed by, and construed and interpreted in accordance with, the law of the State of New York.

 

Delivery of an executed counterpart of this Notice of Borrowing by telecopier or electronic mail shall be effective as delivery of an original executed counterpart of this Notice of Borrowing.

 

	Very truly yours,
	CRACKER BARREL OLD COUNTRY STORE, INC.
	a Tennessee corporation
	By:
		Name:
		Title:

TO:	Bank of America, N.A., as [Administrative Agent][Swing Line Bank]

DATE:

[Date]

---

The Borrower hereby notifies the Administrative Agent that on _____________¹ pursuant to the terms of Section 2.06 of the Credit Agreement, the Borrower intends to prepay/repay the following Advances as more specifically set forth below:

☐  Optional prepayment of [Revolving A Credit Advances] [Revolving B Credit Advances]  in the following amount(s):

Delivery of an executed counterpart of a signature page of this notice by fax transmission or other electronic mail transmission (e.g. “pdf” or “tif”) shall be effective as delivery of a manually executed counterpart of this notice.