AMENDMENT NO. 3 TO AMENDED AND RESTATED SENIOR SECURED REVOLVING CREDIT AGREEMENT

Contract Categories: Business Finance - Credit Agreements
EX-10.1 2 d310416dex101.htm AMENDMENT NO. 3 TO AMENDED AND RESTATED SENIOR SECURED REVOLVING CREDIT AGMT AMENDMENT NO. 3 TO AMENDED AND RESTATED SENIOR SECURED REVOLVING CREDIT AGMT

Exhibit 10.1

EXECUTION COPY

AMENDMENT NO. 3 TO AMENDED AND RESTATED

SENIOR SECURED REVOLVING CREDIT AGREEMENT

This AMENDMENT NO. 3 with respect to the Amended and Restated Senior Secured Revolving Credit Agreement, dated as of February 22, 2011 (as amended by that certain Amendment No. 1 to Amended and Restated Senior Secured Revolving Credit Agreement, dated as of July 8, 2011, that certain Incremental Assumption Agreement, dated as of July 8, 2011, that certain Waiver Letter, dated as of August 3, 2011, that certain Amendment No. 2 to Amended and Restated Senior Secured Revolving Credit Agreement, dated as of November 29, 2011, and as further amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Credit Agreement”), is made as of February 29, 2012, among Fifth Street Finance Corp., a Delaware corporation (the “Borrower”), FSFC Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“FSFC”), Fifth Street Fund of Funds LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Fifth Street”; collectively with FSFC, the “Subsidiary Guarantors”), the Lenders party hereto (the “Lenders”), and ING CAPITAL LLC, as administrative agent (in such capacity, the “Administrative Agent”) for the Lenders under the Credit Agreement and as collateral agent for the parties defined as “Secured Parties” under the Guarantee and Security Agreement (the “Amendment”). Capitalized terms not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings ascribed to them in the Credit Agreement.

W I T N E S S E T H:

WHEREAS, pursuant to the Credit Agreement, the Lenders have made certain loans and other extensions of credit to the Borrower;

WHEREAS, the Borrower has requested that the Lenders and the Administrative Agent amend certain provisions of the Credit Agreement, and the Lenders signatory hereto and the Administrative Agent have agreed to do so on the terms and subject to the conditions contained in this Amendment; and

WHEREAS, the Borrower wishes to amend its Investment Policies.

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and the mutual agreements contained herein, and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto hereby agree as follows:

SECTION I AMENDMENT TO CREDIT AGREEMENT

(a) Subject to the satisfaction of the conditions precedent set forth in Section 3.1 hereof, the Credit Agreement is hereby amended as described in the marked version attached hereto as Exhibit A.

(b) The Schedules to the Credit Agreement are hereby amended by (i) deleting Schedules 1.01(b), 3.11(a), 3.11(b), 3.12(a) and 3.12(b) thereto and replacing it with Schedules 1.01(b), 3.11(a), 3.11(b), 3.12(a) and 3.12(b) attached hereto, and (ii) adding a new Schedule 3.15 thereto as set forth in Schedule 3.15 attached hereto.


SECTION II INVESTMENT POLICIES AMENDMENT

2.1. Investment Policies Amendment. The Administrative Agent and the Lenders signatory hereto hereby approve the revised Borrower’s Investment Policies in the form attached hereto as Exhibit B (the “Revised Investment Policies”).

SECTION III MISCELLANEOUS

3.1. Conditions to Effectiveness of Amendment. This Amendment shall become effective as of the date (the “Effective Date”) on which the following conditions are satisfied:

(a) The Administrative Agent shall have received counterparts of this Amendment duly executed and delivered by the Borrower, each Subsidiary Guarantor, the Issuing Bank and each Lender.

(b) The Administrative Agent shall have received reimbursement for all of its reasonable out-of-pocket costs and expenses in accordance with Section 3.4 hereto.

(c) The Administrative Agent shall have received, for its account and on account of each Lender, all fees in connection with this Amendment in accordance with any fee letter or commitment letter, between the Borrower and ING or the Borrower and any Lender.

(d) The Administrative Agent shall have received the Revised Investment Policies.

(e) The Administrative Agent shall have received a favorable written opinion (addressed to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders and dated as of the date hereof) of Rutan & Tucker, LLP, counsel for the Obligors, in form and substance reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent and covering this Amendment and any other matter as the Administrative Agent may reasonably request (and the Borrower hereby instructs such counsel to deliver such opinion to the Lenders and the Administrative Agent).

(f) The Administrative Agent shall have received: (i) a certificate, from the secretary of each Obligor, that there has been no change to the organizational documents of each Obligor delivered as of February 22, 2011, (ii) signature and incumbency certificates of the officers of such Person executing this Amendment, (iii) resolutions of the board of directors or similar governing body of each Obligor approving and authorizing the execution, delivery and performance of this Amendment, (iv) a good standing certificate from the applicable Governmental Authority of each Obligor’s jurisdiction of incorporation, organization or formation and in each jurisdiction in which it is qualified as a foreign corporation or other entity to do business, each dated a recent date prior to the date hereof, and (v) such other documents and certificates as the Administrative Agent or its counsel may reasonably request relating to the organization, existence and good standing of the Obligors, the authorization of this Amendment and any other legal matters relating to the Obligors, all in form and substance satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and its counsel.

 

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3.2. Representations and Warranties. To induce the other parties hereto to enter into this Amendment, the Borrower represents and warrants to the Administrative Agent and each of the Lenders that, as of the Effective Date and after giving effect to this Amendment:

(a) This Amendment has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Borrower and each Subsidiary Guarantor party hereto, and constitutes a legal, valid and binding obligation of the Borrower and each Subsidiary Guarantor party hereto enforceable in accordance with its terms. The Credit Agreement, as amended by this Amendment, constitutes legal, valid and binding obligations of the Borrower and the Subsidiary Guarantors enforceable in accordance with their respective terms.

(b) The representations and warranties set forth in Article 3 of the Credit Agreement and the representations and warranties in each other Loan Document, are true and correct in all material respects (other than any representation or warranty already qualified by materiality or Material Adverse Effect, which shall be true and correct is all respects) on and as of the Effective Date or as to any such representations and warranties that refer to a specific date, as of such specific date, with the same effect as though made on and as of the Effective Date.

(c) No Default or Event of Default has occurred and is continuing under the Credit Agreement.

3.3. Counterparts. This Amendment may be executed in counterparts (and by different parties hereto on different counterparts), each of which shall constitute an original, but all of which when taken together shall constitute a single contract. This Amendment constitutes the entire contract between and among the parties relating to the subject matter hereof and supersedes any and all previous agreements and understandings, oral or written, relating to the subject matter hereof. Delivery of an executed counterpart of this Amendment by telecopy or electronic mail shall be effective as delivery of a manually executed counterpart of this Amendment.

3.4. Payment of Expenses. The Borrower agrees to pay and reimburse the Administrative Agent for all of its reasonable out-of-pocket costs and expenses incurred in connection with this Amendment, including, without limitation, the reasonable fees, charges and disbursements of legal counsel to the Administrative Agent.

3.5. GOVERNING LAW. THIS AMENDMENT SHALL BE CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH AND GOVERNED BY THE LAW OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.

3.6. Incorporation of Certain Provisions. The provisions of Sections 9.01, 9.06, 9.07, 9.09, 9.10 and 9.12 of the Credit Agreement are hereby incorporated by reference.

3.7. Effect of Amendment. Except as expressly set forth herein, this Amendment shall not by implication or otherwise limit, impair, constitute a waiver of, or otherwise affect the rights and remedies of the Lenders, the Administrative Agent, the Issuing Bank, the Collateral Agent, the Borrower or the Subsidiary Guarantors under the Credit Agreement or any other Loan Document, and shall not alter, modify, amend or in any way affect any of the terms, conditions, obligations, covenants or agreements contained in the Credit Agreement or any other Loan Document, all of which are ratified and affirmed in all respects and shall continue in full force and effect. Nothing herein shall be deemed to entitle any Person to a consent to, or a waiver, amendment, modification or other change of, any of the terms, conditions, obligations, covenants or agreements contained in the Credit Agreement or any other Loan Document in similar or different circumstances. This Amendment shall apply and be effective only with respect to the provisions of the Credit Agreement specifically referred to herein. After the Effective Date, any reference to the Credit Agreement shall mean the Credit Agreement as modified hereby. This Amendment shall constitute a Loan Document.

 

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3.8. Consent and Reaffirmation. (a) Each Subsidiary Guarantor hereby consents to this Amendment and the transactions contemplated hereby, (b) the Borrower and each Subsidiary Guarantor agree that, notwithstanding the effectiveness of this Amendment, the Guarantee and Security Agreement and each of the other Security Documents continue to be in full force and effect, (c) each Subsidiary Guarantor confirms its guarantee of the Secured Obligations (as defined in the Guarantee and Security Agreement and which definition, for clarity, incorporates by reference the Obligations under the Credit Agreement as amended hereby) and the Borrower and each Subsidiary Guarantor confirm their grant of a security interest in their assets as Collateral for the Secured Obligations, all as provided in the Loan Documents, and (d) the Borrower and each Subsidiary Guarantor acknowledge that such guarantee and/or grant continues in full force and effect in respect of, and to secure, the Secured Obligations.

3.9. Reallocation of Commitments. On the Effective Date, the Borrower shall (A) prepay the Loans (if any) that are outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Date in full, (B) simultaneously borrow new Loans under the Credit Agreement in an amount equal to such prepayment; provided that with respect to subclauses (A) and (B), (x) the prepayment to, and borrowing from, any Lender shall be effected by book entry to the extent that any portion of the amount prepaid to such Lender will be subsequently borrowed from such Lender and (y) the Lenders shall make and receive payments among themselves, in a manner acceptable to the Administrative Agent, so that, after giving effect thereto, the Loans are held ratably by the Lenders in accordance with the respective Commitments of such Lenders (as set forth in Schedule 1.01(b) of the Credit Agreement) and (C) pay to the Lenders the amounts, if any, payable under Section 2.14 of the Credit Agreement as a result of any such prepayment. Concurrently therewith, the Lenders shall be deemed to have adjusted their participation interests in any outstanding Letters of Credit so that such interests are held ratably in accordance with their commitments as so revised.

[REST OF PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK]

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Amendment to be duly executed and delivered as of the day and year first above written.

 

FIFTH STREET FINANCE CORP., as Borrower
By:   /s/ Bernard D. Berman
Name:   Bernard D. Berman
Title:   President
FSFC HOLDINGS, INC., as Subsidiary Guarantor
By:   /s/ Bernard D. Berman
Name:   Bernard D. Berman
Title:   President
FIFTH STREET FUND OF FUNDS LLC, as Subsidiary Guarantor
By:   /s/ Bernard D. Berman
Name:   Bernard D. Berman
Title:   President

 

[Signature Page to Amendment No. 3]


ING CAPITAL, LLC, as Administrative Agent, Collateral Agent, Issuing Bank and as a Lender
By:   /s/ Patrick Frisch
Name:   Patrick Frisch, CFA
Title:   Managing Director

 

[Signature Page to Amendment No. 3]


UBS LOAN FINANCE LLC, as a Lender
By:   /s/ Irja R. Otsa
Name:   Irja R. Otsa
Title:  

Associate Director

Banking Products Services, US

By:   /s/ Mary E. Evans
Name:   Mary E. Evans
Title:  

Associate Director

Banking Products Services, US

 

[Signature Page to Amendment No. 3]


MORGAN STANLEY BANK, N.A., as a Lender
By:   /s/ Michael King
Name:   Michael King
Title:   Authorized Signatory

 

[Signature Page to Amendment No. 3]


ROYAL BANK OF CANADA, as a Lender
By:   /s/ Tim Stephens
Name:   Tim Stephens
Title:   Director

 

[Signature Page to Amendment No. 3]


KEY EQUIPMENT FINANCE, INC., as a Lender
By:   /s/ Richard S. Andersen
Name:   Richard S. Andersen
Title:   Designated Signer

 

[Signature Page to Amendment No. 3]


DEUTSCHE BANK TRUST COMPANY AMERICAS, as a Lender
By:   /s/ Evelyn Thierry
Name:   Evelyn Thierry
Title:   Director
By:   /s/ Omayra Laucella
Name:   Omayra Laucella
Title:   Director

 

[Signature Page to Amendment No. 3]


PATRIOT NATIONAL BANK, as a Lender
By:   /s/ Kevin R. Callahan
Name:   Kevin R. Callahan
Title:   Vice President

 

[Signature Page to Amendment No. 3]


EXHIBIT A

(PLEASE SEE ATTACHED)


Composite Conformed Copy

[through Amendment No.23]

 

 

 

AMENDED AND RESTATED SENIOR SECURED

REVOLVING CREDIT AGREEMENT

dated as of

February 22, 2011

among

FIFTH STREET FINANCE CORP.

as Borrower

The LENDERS Party Hereto

and

ING CAPITAL LLC

as Administrative Agent

 

 

ROYAL BANK OF CANADA

as Documentation Agent

ING CAPITAL LLC

as Arranger and Bookrunner

 

 

 


TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

          Page  
ARTICLE I   
DEFINITIONS   

SECTION 1.01.

   Defined Terms      1   

SECTION 1.02.

   Classification of Loans and Borrowings      29   

SECTION 1.03.

   Terms Generally      30   

SECTION 1.04.

   Accounting Terms; GAAP      2930   
ARTICLE II   
THE CREDITS   

SECTION 2.01.

   The Commitments      31   

SECTION 2.02.

   Loans and Borrowings      3031   

SECTION 2.03.

   Requests for Borrowings      31   

SECTION 2.04.

   Letters of Credit      3132   

SECTION 2.05.

   Funding of Borrowings      37   

SECTION 2.06.

   Interest Elections      3637   

SECTION 2.07.

   Termination, Reduction or Increase of the Commitments      38   

SECTION 2.08.

   Repayment of Loans; Evidence of Debt      4041   

SECTION 2.09.

   Prepayment of Loans      4142   

SECTION 2.10.

   Fees      4344   

SECTION 2.11.

   Interest      4445   

SECTION 2.12.

   Alternate Rate of Interest      4546   

SECTION 2.13.

   Increased Costs      46   

SECTION 2.14.

   Break Funding Payments      47   

SECTION 2.15.

   Taxes      4748   

SECTION 2.16.

   Payments Generally; Pro Rata Treatment: Sharing of Set-offs      5051   

SECTION 2.17.

   Defaulting Lenders      5253   

SECTION 2.18.

   Mitigation Obligations; Replacement of Lenders      5455   
ARTICLE III   
REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES   

SECTION 3.01.

   Organization; Powers      5556   

SECTION 3.02.

   Authorization; Enforceability      5556   

SECTION 3.03.

   Governmental Approvals; No Conflicts      5556   

SECTION 3.04.

   Financial Condition; No Material Adverse Effect      57   

SECTION 3.05.

   Litigation      5657   

SECTION 3.06.

   Compliance with Laws and Agreements      5657   

SECTION 3.07.

   Taxes      57   

 

(i)


SECTION 3.08.

   ERISA      58   

SECTION 3.09.

   Disclosure      5758   

SECTION 3.10.

   Investment Company Act; Margin Regulations      5758   

SECTION 3.11.

   Material Agreements and Liens      59   

SECTION 3.12.

   Subsidiaries and Investments      5859   

SECTION 3.13.

   Properties      59   

SECTION 3.14.

   Solvency      60   

SECTION 3.15.

   Affiliate Agreements      5960   

SECTION 3.16.

   Structured Subsidiaries      5960   
ARTICLE IV   
CONDITIONS   

SECTION 4.01.

   Restatement Effective Date      5960   

SECTION 4.02.

   Each Credit Event      6162   
ARTICLE V   
AFFIRMATIVE COVENANTS   

SECTION 5.01.

   Financial Statements and Other Information      6263   

SECTION 5.02.

   Notices of Material Events      6465   

SECTION 5.03.

   Existence; Conduct of Business      6566   

SECTION 5.04.

   Payment of Obligations      6566   

SECTION 5.05.

   Maintenance of Properties; Insurance      6566   

SECTION 5.06.

   Books and Records; Inspection and Audit Rights      6566   

SECTION 5.07.

   Compliance with Laws and Agreements      6667   

SECTION 5.08.

   Certain Obligations Respecting Subsidiaries; Further Assurances      6667   

SECTION 5.09.

   Use of Proceeds      6970   

SECTION 5.10.

   Status of RIC and BDC      6970   

SECTION 5.11.

   Investment Policies      6971   

SECTION 5.12.

   Portfolio Valuation and Diversification Etc.; Risk Factor Ratings      6971   

SECTION 5.13.

   Calculation of Borrowing Base      7273   
ARTICLE VI   
NEGATIVE COVENANTS   

SECTION 6.01.

   Indebtedness      7981   

SECTION 6.02.

   Liens      8082   

SECTION 6.03.

   Fundamental Changes      8183   

SECTION 6.04.

   Investments      8384   

SECTION 6.05.

   Restricted Payments      8385   

SECTION 6.06.

   Certain Restrictions on Subsidiaries      8486   

SECTION 6.07.

   Certain Financial Covenants      8486   

SECTION 6.08.

   Transactions with Affiliates      8587   

 

(ii)


SECTION 6.09.

   Lines of Business      8587   

SECTION 6.10.

   No Further Negative Pledge      8587   

SECTION 6.11.

   Modifications of Indebtedness and Affiliate Agreements      8587   

SECTION 6.12.

   Payments of Longer-Term Indebtedness      8688   

SECTION 6.13.

   Modification of Investment Policies and Proprietary Rating System      8688   

SECTION 6.14.

   SBIC Guarantee      8688   
ARTICLE VII   
EVENTS OF DEFAULT   
ARTICLE VIII   
THE ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT   

SECTION 8.01.

   Appointment of the Administrative Agent      9092   

SECTION 8.02.

   Capacity as Lender      9092   

SECTION 8.03.

   Limitation of Duties; Exculpation      9092   

SECTION 8.04.

   Reliance      9193   

SECTION 8.05.

   Sub-Agents      9193   

SECTION 8.06.

   Resignation; Successor Administrative Agent      9193   

SECTION 8.07.

   Reliance by Lenders      9294   

SECTION 8.08.

   Modifications to Loan Documents      9294   

SECTION 8.09.

   Documentation Agent      9294   
ARTICLE IX   
MISCELLANEOUS   

SECTION 9.01.

   Notices; Electronic Communications      9395   

SECTION 9.02.

   Waivers; Amendments      9496   

SECTION 9.03.

   Expenses; Indemnity; Damage Waiver      9799   

SECTION 9.04.

   Successors and Assigns      98100   

SECTION 9.05.

   Survival      102105   

SECTION 9.06.

   Counterparts; Integration; Effectiveness; Electronic Execution      102105   

SECTION 9.07.

   Severability      103105   

SECTION 9.08.

   Right of Setoff      103106   

SECTION 9.09.

   Governing Law; Jurisdiction; Etc.      103106   

SECTION 9.10.

   WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL      104106   

SECTION 9.11.

   Judgment Currency      104107   

SECTION 9.12.

   Headings      105107   

SECTION 9.13.

   Treatment of Certain Information; Confidentiality      105107   

SECTION 9.14.

   USA PATRIOT Act      106108   

SECTION 9.15.

   Termination      106108   

SECTION 9.16.

   Reallocation of Commitments      106109   

SECTION 9.17.

   Amendment and Restatement      106109   

 

(iii)


 

SCHEDULE 1.01(a)

     -       Approved Dealers and Approved Pricing Services

SCHEDULE 1.01(b)

     -       Commitments

SCHEDULE 1.01(c)

     -       Risk Factors

SCHEDULE 3.11(a)

     -       Material Agreements

SCHEDULE 3.11(b)

     -       Liens

SCHEDULE 3.12(a)

     -       Subsidiaries

SCHEDULE 3.12(b)

     -       Investments

SCHEDULE 3.15

     -       Affiliate Agreements

SCHEDULE 6.08

     -       Transactions with Affiliates

EXHIBIT A

     -       Form of Assignment and Assumption

EXHIBIT B

     -       Form of Borrowing Base Certificate

EXHIBIT C

     -       Form of Promissory Note

EXHIBIT D

     -       Form of Amendment and Reaffirmation of Guarantee and Security Agreement

EXHIBIT E

     -       Form of Investment Policy Amendment

 

(iv)


AMENDED AND RESTATED SENIOR SECURED REVOLVING CREDIT AGREEMENT dated as of February 22, 2011 (this “Agreement”), among FIFTH STREET FINANCE CORP., a Delaware corporation (the “Borrower”), the LENDERS party hereto, ING CAPITAL LLC, as Administrative Agent, and Royal Bank of Canada, as documentation agent (in such capacity, the “Documentation Agent”).

WHEREAS, the Borrower, the Administrative Agent and the Documentation Agent entered into that certain Senior Secured Revolving Credit Agreement dated as of May 27, 2010 (as the same has been amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time until the date hereof, the “Existing Credit Agreement”) with the lenders party thereto from time to time (the “Existing Lenders”), pursuant to which the Existing Lenders extended certain commitments and made certain loans to the Borrower (the “Existing Loans”);

WHEREAS, the Borrower desires to amend the Existing Credit Agreement, to among other things, provide for increased commitments from certain of the Existing Lenders and new commitments from certain new lenders party to this Agreement (the “New Lenders”); and

WHEREAS, the Existing Lenders are willing to make such changes to the Existing Credit Agreement, and the New Lenders and certain of the Existing Lenders are willing to provide new commitments, each upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein.

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and the covenants and agreements contained herein, the parties hereto hereby agree that, effective as of the Restatement Effective Date, the Existing Credit Agreement is hereby amended and restated in its entirety as follows:

ARTICLE I

DEFINITIONS

SECTION 1.01. Defined Terms. As used in this Agreement, the following terms have the meanings specified below and the terms defined in Section 5.13 have the meanings assigned thereto in such section:

“2016 Notes” means the Borrower’s 5.375% Convertible Senior Notes due 2016 pursuant to an Indenture, dated April 12, 2011, between the Borrower and Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, as trustee.

ABR”, when used in reference to any Loan or Borrowing, refers to whether such Loan, or the Loans constituting such Borrowing, are bearing interest at a rate determined by reference to the Alternate Base Rate.

Adjusted Borrowing Base” means the Borrowing Base minus the aggregate amount of Cash and Cash Equivalents included in the Borrowing Base.


Adjusted Covered Debt Balance” means, on any date, the aggregate Covered Debt Amount on such date minus the aggregate amount of Cash and Cash Equivalents included in the Borrowing Base (excluding any cash held by the Administrative Agent pursuant to Section 2.04(k)).

Adjusted LIBO Rate” means, for the Interest Period for any Eurocurrency Borrowing, an interest rate per annum (rounded upwards, if necessary, to the next 1/16 of 1%) equal to (a) the LIBO Rate for such Interest Period multiplied by (b) the Statutory Reserve Rate for such Interest Period.

Administrative Agent” means ING, in its capacity as administrative agent for the Lenders hereunder.

Administrative Agent’s Account” means an account designated by the Administrative Agent in a notice to the Borrower and the Lenders.

Administrative Questionnaire” means an Administrative Questionnaire in a form supplied by the Administrative Agent.

Advance Rate” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 5.13.

Affiliate” means, with respect to a specified Person, another Person that directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, Controls or is Controlled by or is under common Control with the Person specified. Anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding, the term “Affiliate” shall not include any Person that constitutes an Investment held by any Obligor in the ordinary course of business.

Affiliate Agreements” means, collectively, (a) the Amended and Restated Investment Advisory Agreement, dated as of April 30, 2008, between the Borrower and Fifth Street Management LLC, (b) the Administration Agreement, dated as of December 14, 2007, between the Borrower and FSC, Inc., (c) the Trademark License Agreement, dated as of December 14, 2007, between the Borrower and Fifth Street Capital LLC, (d) the Structured Facility Agreements – FSF and (e) the SBIC Agreements.

Affiliate Investment” means any Portfolio Investment in a Person in which either (i) the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries owns or controls more than 10% of the Equity Interests or (ii) is Controlled by the Borrower or any Subsidiary.

Alternate Base Rate” means, for any day, a rate per annum equal to the greatest of (a) the Prime Rate in effect on such day, (b) the Federal Funds Effective Rate for such day plus 1/2 of 1% and (c) the LIBO Rate for deposits in U.S. dollars for a period of three (3) months plus 1%. Any change in the Alternate Base Rate due to a change in the Prime Rate, the Federal Funds Effective Rate or such LIBO Rate shall be effective from and including the effective date of such change in the Prime Rate, the Federal Funds Effective Rate, or such LIBO Rate, as the case may be.

 

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Applicable Commitment Fee Rate” means, in the case of any Commitment from and after the Restatement Effective Date, with respect to any period (an “Applicable Period”), a rate per annum equal to (x) 0.50%, with respect any Unused Portion of the Commitment of any Lender during such Applicable Period if the utilized portion of the aggregate Commitments during such Applicable Period (after giving effect to borrowings, prepayments and commitment reductions during such Applicable Period) is greater than an amount equal to thirty-five percent (35.00%) of the aggregate Commitments during such Applicable Period and (y) 1.00%, with respect to any Unused Portion of the Commitment of any Lender during such Applicable Period if the utilized portion of the aggregate Commitments during such Applicable Period (after giving effect to borrowings, prepayments and commitment reductions during such Applicable Period) is less than or equal to an amount equal to thirty-five percent (35.00%) of the aggregate Commitments during such Applicable Period.

For purposes of determining the Applicable Commitment Fee Rate, the Commitments shall be deemed to be utilized to the extent of the outstanding Loans and LC Exposure of all Lenders.

Amendment and Reaffirmation” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.01(a)(ii).

Amendment No. 1 Effective Date” means July 8, 2011.

“Amendment No. 3 Effective Date” means February 29, 2012.

Applicable Margin” means:

(a) on any day on or after the Restatement Effective Date, during which the Borrower maintains (X) an Improved Credit Rating or (Y) a Minimum Credit Rating and the utilized portion of the aggregate Commitments as of the close of business on such day (after giving effect to borrowings, prepayments and commitment reductions on such day) is greater than thirty-five percent (35.00%) of the aggregate Commitments, (i) with respect to any ABR Loan, 2.00% per annum; and (ii) with respect to any Eurocurrency Loan, 3.00% per annum;

(b) on any day on or after the Restatement Effective Date, during which the Borrower maintains a Minimum Credit Rating and the utilized portion of the aggregate Commitments as of the close of business on such day (after giving effect to borrowings, prepayments and commitment reductions on such day) is less than or equal to thirty-five percent (35.00%) of such aggregate Commitments, (i) with respect to any ABR Loan, 2.25% per annum; and (ii) with respect to any Eurocurrency Loan, 3.25% per annum; and

(c) on any other day on or after the Restatement Effective Date (i) with respect to any ABR Loan, 2.50% per annum; and (ii) with respect to any Eurocurrency Loan, 3.50% per annum.

For purposes of determining the Applicable Margin, the Commitments shall be deemed to be utilized to the extent of the outstanding Loans and LC Exposure of all Lenders.

Applicable Percentage” means, with respect to any Lender, the percentage of the total Commitments represented by such Lender’s Commitments. If the Commitments have terminated or expired, the Applicable Percentages shall be determined based upon the Commitments most recently in effect, giving effect to any assignments.

 

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Approved Dealer” means (a) in the case of any Eligible Portfolio Investment that is not a U.S. Government Security, a bank or a broker-dealer registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 of nationally recognized standing or an Affiliate thereof and (b) in the case of a U.S. Government Security, any primary dealer in U.S. Government Securities, in the case of each of clauses (a) and (b) above, as set forth on Schedule 1.01(a) or any other bank or broker-dealer acceptable to the Administrative Agent in its reasonable determination.

Approved Pricing Service” means a pricing or quotation service as set forth in Schedule 1.01(a) or any other pricing or quotation service approved by the Board of Directors of the Borrower and designated in writing to the Administrative Agent (which designation shall be accompanied by a copy of a resolution of the Board of Directors of the Borrower that such pricing or quotation service has been approved by the Borrower).

Approved Third-Party Appraiser” means any Independent nationally recognized third-party appraisal firm designated by the Borrower in writing to the Administrative Agent (which designation shall be accompanied by a copy of a resolution of the Board of Directors of the Borrower that such firm has been approved by the Borrower for purposes of assisting the Board of Directors of the Borrower in making valuations of portfolio assets to determine the Borrower’s compliance with the applicable provisions of the Investment Company Act). It is understood and agreed that, so long as the same are Independent third-party appraisal firms approved by the Board of Directors of the Borrower, Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin Capital, Inc., Duff & Phelps LLC, Murray, Devine and Company and Lincoln Advisors shall be deemed to be Approved Third-Party Appraisers.

Asset Coverage Ratio” means, on a consolidated basis for Borrower and its Subsidiaries, the ratio which the value of total assets, less all liabilities and indebtedness not represented by Senior Securities, bears to the aggregate amount of Senior Securities representing indebtedness of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries (all as determined pursuant to the Investment Company Act and any orders of the SEC issued to the Borrower thereunder). For clarity, the calculation of the Asset Coverage Ratio shall be made in accordance with the Order dated December 14, 2010, issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission under Section 6(c) of the Investment Company Act in the matter of Fifth Street Finance Corp., et al., only so long as (i) such Order is in effect, and (ii) no obligations have become due and owing pursuant to the terms of the SBIC Guarantee.

Asset Manager” means an “asset manager”, “FSAM” or similar business venture or any entity engaged in similar activity as described in the Investment Policies in effect on the date hereof, together with its Subsidiaries.

Asset Sale” means a sale, lease or sub lease (as lessor or sublessor), sale and leaseback, assignment, conveyance, transfer or other disposition to, or any exchange of property with, any Person, in one transaction or a series of transactions, of all or any part of any Obligor’s assets or properties of any kind, whether real, personal, or mixed and whether tangible or intangible, whether now owned or hereafter acquired; provided, however, the term “Asset Sale” as used in this Agreement shall not include the disposition of Portfolio Investments originated by the Borrower and immediately transferred to a Structured Subsidiary pursuant to the terms of Section 6.03(e) hereof.

 

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Assignment and Assumption” means an Assignment and Assumption entered into by a Lender and an assignee (with the consent of any party whose consent is required by Section 9.04), and accepted by the Administrative Agent, in the form of Exhibit A or any other form approved by the Administrative Agent.

Assuming Lender” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.07(f).

Availability Period” means the period from and including the Original Effective Date to but excluding the earlier of the Commitment Termination Date and the date of termination of the Commitments.

Board” means the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System of the United States of America.

Borrower” has the meaning assigned to such term in the preamble to this Agreement.

Borrowing” means (a) all ABR Loans made, converted or continued on the same date or (b) all Eurocurrency Loans that have the same Interest Period.

Borrowing Base” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 5.13.

Borrowing Base Certificate” means a certificate of a Financial Officer of the Borrower, substantially in the form of Exhibit B and appropriately completed.

Borrowing Base Deficiency” means, at any date on which the same is determined, the amount, if any, that (a) the aggregate Covered Debt Amount as of such date exceeds (b) the Borrowing Base as of such date.

Borrowing Request” means a request by the Borrower for a Borrowing in accordance with Section 2.03.

Business Day” means any day (a) that is not a Saturday, Sunday or other day on which commercial banks in New York City are authorized or required by law to remain closed and (b) if such day relates to a borrowing of, a payment or prepayment of principal of or interest on, a continuation or conversion of or into, or the Interest Period for, a Eurocurrency Borrowing, or to a notice by the Borrower with respect to any such borrowing, payment, prepayment, continuation, conversion, or Interest Period, that is also a day on which dealings in deposits denominated in Dollars are carried out in the London interbank market.

Capital Lease Obligations” of any Person means the obligations of such Person to pay rent or other amounts under any lease of (or other arrangement conveying the right to use) real or personal property, or a combination thereof, which obligations are required to be classified and accounted for as capital leases on a balance sheet of such Person under GAAP, and the amount of such obligations shall be the capitalized amount thereof determined in accordance with GAAP.

 

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Cash” means any immediately available funds in Dollars or in any currency other than Dollars (measured in terms of the Dollar Equivalent thereof) which is a freely convertible currency.

Cash Equivalents” means investments (other than Cash) that are one or more of the following obligations:

(a) Short-Term U.S. Government Securities (as defined in Section 5.13);

(b) investments in commercial paper maturing within 180 days from the date of acquisition thereof and having, at such date of acquisition, a credit rating of at least A-1 from S&P and at least P-1 from Moody’s;

(c) investments in certificates of deposit, banker’s acceptances and time deposits maturing within 180 days from the date of acquisition thereof (i) issued or guaranteed by or placed with, and money market deposit accounts issued or offered by, any domestic office of any commercial bank organized under the laws of the United States of America or any State thereof, provided that such certificates of deposit, banker’s acceptances and time deposits are held in a securities account (as defined in the Uniform Commercial Code) through which the Collateral Agent can perfect a security interest therein and (ii) having, at such date of acquisition, a credit rating of at least A-1 from S&P and at least P-1 from Moody’s;

(d) fully collateralized repurchase agreements with a term of not more than 30 days from the date of acquisition thereof for U.S. Government Securities and entered into with (i) a financial institution satisfying the criteria described in clause (c) of this definition or (ii) an Approved Dealer having (or being a member of a consolidated group having) at such date of acquisition, a credit rating of at least A-1 from S&P and at least P-1 from Moody’s;

(e) certificates of deposit or bankers’ acceptances with a maturity of ninety (90) days or less of any financial institution that is a member of the Federal Reserve System having combined capital and surplus and undivided profits of not less than $1,000,000,000; and

(f) investments in money market funds and mutual funds which invest substantially all of their assets in Cash or assets of the types described in clauses (a) through (e) above;

provided, that (i) in no event shall Cash Equivalents include any obligation that provides for the payment of interest alone (for example, interest-only securities or “IOs”); (ii) if any of Moody’s or S&P changes its rating system, then any ratings included in this definition shall be deemed to be an equivalent rating in a successor rating category of Moody’s or S&P, as the case may be; (iii) Cash Equivalents (other than U.S. Government Securities, certificates of deposit or repurchase agreements) shall not include any such investment representing more than 25% of total assets of the Obligors in any single issuer; and (iv) in no event shall Cash Equivalents include any obligation that is not denominated in Dollars.

 

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Change in Control” means (a) the acquisition of ownership, directly or indirectly, beneficially or of record, by any Person or group (within the meaning of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the rules of the SEC thereunder as in effect on the date hereof), of shares representing more than 35% of the aggregate ordinary voting power represented by the issued and outstanding capital stock of the Borrower; (b) occupation of a majority of the seats (other than vacant seats) on the board of directors of the Borrower by Persons who were neither (i) nominated by the requisite members of the board of directors of the Borrower nor (ii) appointed by a majority of the directors so nominated; or (c) the acquisition of direct or indirect Control of the Borrower by any Person or group other than the Investment Advisor or one of its Affiliates or another investment advisor reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and the Required Lenders in their reasonable discretion.

Change in Law” means (a) the adoption of any law, rule or regulation or treaty after the Original Effective Date, (b) any change in any law, rule or regulation or treaty or in the interpretation, implementation or application thereof by any Governmental Authority after the Original Effective Date or (c) compliance by any Lender or the Issuing Bank (or, for purposes of Section 2.13(b), by any lending office of such Lender or by such Lender’s or the Issuing Bank’s holding company, if any) with any request, guideline or directive (whether or not having the force of law) of any Governmental Authority made or issued after the Original Effective Date, provided that, notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, (I) the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and all requests, rules, guidelines or directives in connection therewith and (II) all requests, rules, guidelines or directives promulgated by the Bank For International Settlements, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (or any successor or similar authority) or the United States regulatory authorities, in each case pursuant to Basel III, shall in each case be deemed to be a “Change in Law” regardless of the date enacted, adopted or issued.

Code” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended from time to time.

Collateral” has the meaning assigned to such term in the Guarantee and Security Agreement.

Collateral Agent” means ING Capital LLC in its capacity as Collateral Agent under the Guarantee and Security Agreement, and includes any successor Collateral Agent thereunder.

Commitment” means, with respect to each Lender, the commitment of such Lender to make Loans, and to acquire participations in Letters of Credit, expressed as an amount representing the maximum aggregate amount of such Lender’s Revolving Credit Exposure hereunder, as such commitment may be (a) reduced from time to time pursuant to Section 2.07 and (b) reduced or increased from time to time pursuant to assignments by or to such Lender pursuant to Section 9.04. The initialaggregate amount of each Lender’s Commitment as of the RestatementAmendment No. 3 Effective Date is set forth on Schedule 1.01(b), or in the Assignment and Assumption pursuant to which such Lender shall have assumed its Commitment, as applicable. The aggregate amount of the Lenders’ Commitments as of the RestatementAmendment No. 3 Effective Date is $215,000,000230,000,000.

 

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Commitment Increase” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.07(f).

Commitment Increase Date” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.07(f).

Commitment Termination Date” means the date that is the twothree year anniversary of the RestatementAmendment No. 3 Effective Date, unless extended with the consent of each Lender in its sole and absolute discretion.

Consolidated Adjusted Interest Expense” means, for any period with respect to the Borrower and its Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis, cash interest paid in respect of the stated rate of interest (including any default rate of interest, if applicable) applicable to any Indebtedness.

Consolidated Asset Manager” means an Asset Manager that is consolidated under GAAP on the financial statements of the Borrower.

Consolidated EBIT” means, for any period with respect to the Borrower and its Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis, income after deduction of all expenses and other proper charges other than Taxes, Consolidated Interest Expense and non-cash employee stock options expense and excluding (a) net realized gains or losses, (b) net change in unrealized appreciation or depreciation, (c) gains on re-purchases of Indebtedness, (d) the amount of interest paid-in-kind (“PIK”) to the extent such amount exceeds the sum of (i) PIK interest collected in cash (including any amortization payments on such applicable debt instrument up to the amount of PIK interest previously capitalized thereon) and (ii) realized gains collected in cash (net of realized losses), provided that the amount determined pursuant to this clause (d)(ii) shall not be less than zero, all as determined in accordance with GAAP, and (e) other non-cash charges and gains to the extent included to calculate income.

Consolidated Interest Coverage Ratio” means the ratio of as of the last day of any fiscal quarter of (a) Consolidated EBIT for the four fiscal quarter period then ending, taken as a single accounting period, to (b) Consolidated Adjusted Interest Expense for such four fiscal quarter period.

Consolidated Interest Expense” means, with respect to a Person and for any period, the total consolidated interest expense (including capitalized interest expense and interest expense attributable to Capital Lease Obligations) of such Person and in any event shall include all interest expense with respect to any Indebtedness in respect of which such Person is wholly or partially liable.

Control” means the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management or policies of a Person, whether through the ability to exercise voting power, by contract or otherwise. “Controlling” and “Controlled” have meanings correlative thereto.

Covenant-Lite Loan” has the meaning assigned to such term in the Investment PoliciesSection 5.13.

 

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Covered Debt Amount” means, on any date, the sum of (x) all of the Revolving Credit Exposures of all Lenders on such date plus (y) the aggregate amount of Other Covered Indebtedness on such date minus (z) the LC Exposures fully cash collateralized on such date pursuant to Section 2.04(k).

Covered Taxes” means Taxes other than Excluded Taxes and Other Taxes.

Custodian” means Bank of America, N.A., U.S. Bank National Association, or any other financial institution mutually agreeable to the Administrative Agent and the Borrower as custodian holding Portfolio Investments on behalf of the Obligors and, pursuant to the Custodian Agreement, the Collateral Agent, any successor in such capacity. The term “Custodian” includes any agent or sub-custodian acting on behalf of the Custodian.

Custodian Account” means an account subject to a Custodian Agreement.

Custodian Agreement” means, collectively, (i) the Control Agreement, dated June 18, 2010, among the Borrower, the Collateral Agent and Bank of America, N.A., (ii) the Control Agreement, dated June 18, 2010, among FSFC Holdings, Inc., the Collateral Agent and Bank of America, N.A., and (iii) such other control agreements as may be entered into by and among an Obligor, the Collateral Agent and a Custodian, in form and substance acceptable to the Administrative Agent.

Default” means any event or condition which constitutes an Event of Default or which upon notice, lapse of time or both would, unless cured or waived, become an Event of Default.

Defaulting Lender” means any Lender that has, as reasonably determined by the Administrative Agent, (a) failed to fund any portion of its Loans or participations in Letters of Credit within three Business Days of the date required to be funded by it hereunder, unless, in the case of any Loans, such Lender’s failure is based on such Lender’s reasonable determination that the conditions precedent to funding such Loan under this Agreement have not been met, such conditions have not otherwise been waived in accordance with the terms of this Agreement and such Lender has advised the Administrative Agent in writing (with reasonable detail of those conditions that have not been satisfied) prior to the time at which such funding was to have been made, (b) notified the Borrower, the Administrative Agent, the Issuing Bank or any Lender in writing that it does not intend to comply with any of its funding obligations under this Agreement or has made a public statement that it does not intend to comply with its funding obligations under this Agreement (unless such writing or public statement states that such position is based on such Lender’s determination that one or more conditions precedent to funding (which conditions precedent, together with the applicable default, if any, shall be specifically identified in such writing) cannot be satisfied), (c) failed, within three Business Days after request by the Administrative Agent (based on the reasonable belief that it may not fulfill its funding obligations), to confirm in writing that it will comply with the terms of this Agreement relating to its obligations to fund prospective Loans and participations in then outstanding Letters of Credit (provided that such Lender shall cease to be a Defaulting Lender pursuant to this clause (c) upon receipt of such written confirmation by the Administrative Agent), (d) otherwise failed to pay over to the Administrative Agent or any other Lender any

 

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other amount (other than a de minimis amount) required to be paid by it hereunder within three Business Days of the date when due, unless the subject of a good faith dispute, or (e) (i) has been adjudicated as, or determined by any Governmental Authority having regulatory authority over such Person or its assets to be, insolvent or has a parent company that has been adjudicated as, or determined by any Governmental Authority having regulatory authority over such Person or its assets to be, insolvent or (ii) become the subject of a bankruptcy or insolvency proceeding, or has had a receiver, conservator, trustee, administrator, assignee for the benefit of creditors or similar Person charged with reorganization or liquidation of its business or custodian, appointed for it, or has taken any action in furtherance of, or indicating its consent to, approval of or acquiescence in any such proceeding or appointment or has a parent company that has become the subject of a bankruptcy or insolvency proceeding, or has had a receiver, conservator, trustee, administrator, assignee for the benefit of creditors or similar Person charged with reorganization or liquidation of its business or custodian appointed for it, or has taken any action in furtherance of, or indicating its consent to, approval of or acquiescence in any such proceeding or appointment (unless in the case of any Lender referred to in this clause (e) the Borrower, the Administrative Agent, and the Issuing Bank shall be satisfied that such Lender intends, and has all approvals required to enable it, to continue to perform its obligations as a Lender hereunder); provided that a Lender shall not qualify as a Defaulting Lender solely as a result of the acquisition or maintenance of an ownership interest in such Lender or its parent company, or of the exercise of control over such Lender or any Person controlling such Lender, by a Governmental Authority or instrumentality thereof.

Documentation Agent” has the meaning assigned to such term in the recitals to this Agreement.

Dollar Equivalent” means, on any date of determination, with respect to an amount denominated in any currency other than Dollars, the amount of Dollars that would be required to purchase such amount of such currency on the date two Business Days prior to such date, based upon the spot selling rate at which the Administrative Agent offers to sell such currency for Dollars in the London foreign exchange market at approximately 11:00 a.m., London time, for delivery two Business Days later.

Dollars” or “$” refers to lawful money of the United States of America.

Eligible Portfolio Investment” means any Portfolio Investment held by any Obligor (and solely for purposes of determining the Borrowing Base, Cash and Cash Equivalents held by any Obligor); provided that no Portfolio Investment shall constitute an Eligible Portfolio Investment or be included in the Borrowing Base if (i) (w) the Portfolio Investment is not denominated in United States or Canadian dollars, (x) the principal operations of the corresponding Portfolio Company, and any assets of such Portfolio Company pledged as collateral for such Portfolio Investment are not primarily located in the United States or Canada or any state, province, commonwealth, territory, possession or political subdivision thereof (other than Guam), (y) the corresponding Portfolio Company is not organized under the laws of the United States, Canada or any state or, province, commonwealth, territory, possession or political subdivision thereof (other than Guam), or (z) the corresponding Portfolio Company is not domiciled within the United States or Canada or any state, province, commonwealth, territory, possession or political subdivision thereof (other than Guam); (ii) (x) such Portfolio

 

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Investment is secured primarily by a mortgage, deed of trust or similar lien on real estate, (y) such Portfolio Investment is issued by a Person whose primary asset is real estate or (z) the value of such Portfolio Investment is otherwise primarily derived from real estate; (iii) such Portfolio Investment represents a consumer obligation (including, without limitation, a mortgage loan, auto loan, credit card loan or personal loan); (iv) such Portfolio Investment represents any financing of a debtor-in-possession in any case, action or proceeding seeking liquidation, reorganization or other relief under any Federal, state or foreign bankruptcy, insolvency, receivership or similar law now or hereafter in effect (unless the Administrative Agent and Lenders holding not less than two-thirds of the total Revolving Credit Exposures and unused Commitments otherwise consent); (v) such Portfolio Investment represents a Covenant-Lite Loan“Structured Finance Obligation”; (vi) such Portfolio Investment is rated 4 or 5 by the Borrower using the Proprietary Rating System; (vii) such Portfolio Investment constitutes Equity Interests, advances to or other Investments in any Financing Subsidiary or, any Asset Manager, or Fifth Street Funding II, LLC (to the extent it becomes a Portfolio Investment rather than a Financing Subsidiary); (viii) such Portfolio Investment constitutes investments in LP interests in any fund or in any Equity Interests of any Person other than Preferred Stock to the extent contemplated by Section 5.13; (ix) such Portfolio Investment is an obligation of a Governmental Authority (excluding obligations described under the definition of “Cash Equivalents”); (x) the obligation under such Portfolio Investment is a Defaulted Obligation (as such term is defined in Section 5.13); (xi) such Portfolio Investment is not Transferable; (xii) such Portfolio Investment has not been obtained, reviewed and serviced in accordance with (A) for any Portfolio Investment obtained prior to the adoption of the Investment Policies, the underwriting and servicing policies and procedures of the Borrower in effect at such time or (B) for any Portfolio Investment obtained after the adoption of the Investment Policies, the Investment Policies, (xiii) the documentation relating to or evidencing or, if applicable, securing such Portfolio Investment (A) does not conform in all material respects to the requirements set forth in this definition of Eligible Portfolio Investment, (B) is not valid, binding and enforceable against the applicable obligor or issuer accordance with its terms, except as such enforceability may be limited by (1) bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or similar laws of general applicability affecting the enforcement of rights and (2) the application of general principles of equity (regardless of whether such enforceability is considered in a proceeding in equity or at law), or (C) for any debt obligation, contains rights of setoff, counterclaim or offset for the obligor; (xiv) such Portfolio Investment (A) has not been assigned a Risk Factor, or (B) has a Risk Factor greater than 6500; (xv) such Portfolio Investment, if a debt instrument, bears interest due and payable less frequently than semi-annually; (xvi) such Portfolio Investment has a final maturity greater than 7 years; (xvii) such Portfolio Investment is a Restructured Investment; or (xviii) the documentation governing such Portfolio Investment does not contain customary provisions relating to compliance with the USA PATRIOT Act and applicable anti-money laundering law; provided, further, that no Portfolio Investment, Cash or Cash Equivalent shall constitute an Eligible Portfolio Investment or be included in the Borrowing Base if the Collateral Agent does not at all times maintain a first priority, perfected Lien on such Portfolio Investment, Cash or Cash Equivalent or if such Portfolio Investment, Cash or Cash Equivalent has not been or does not at all times continue to be Delivered (as defined in the Guarantee and Security Agreement). Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, it is understood and agreed that any Portfolio Investments that have been contributed or sold, purported to be contributed or sold or otherwise transferred to any Financing Subsidiary, or held by any Financing Subsidiary, or which secure

 

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obligations of any Financing Subsidiary, shall not be treated as Eligible Portfolio Investments. Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing herein shall limit the provisions of Section 5.12(b)(i), which provide that, for purposes of this Agreement, all determinations of whether an Investment is to be included as an Eligible Portfolio Investment shall be determined on a settlement-date basis (meaning that any Investment that has been purchased will not be treated as an Eligible Portfolio Investment until such purchase has settled, and any Eligible Portfolio Investment which has been sold will not be excluded as an Eligible Portfolio Investment until such sale has settled), provided that no such Investment shall be included as an Eligible Portfolio Investment to the extent it has not been paid for in full.

Equity Interests” means shares of capital stock, partnership interests, membership interests in a limited liability company, beneficial interests in a trust or other equity ownership interests in a Person, and any warrants, options or other rights entitling the holder thereof to purchase or acquire any such equity interest. As used in this Agreement, “Equity Interests” shall not include convertible debt unless and until such debt has been converted to capital stock.

ERISA” means the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended from time to time.

ERISA Affiliate” means any trade or business (whether or not incorporated) that, together with the Borrower, is treated as a single employer under Section 414(b) or (c) of the Code, or, solely for purposes of Section 302 of ERISA and Section 412 of the Code, is treated as a single employer under Section 414 of the Code.

ERISA Event” means (a) any “reportable event”, as defined in Section 4043 of ERISA or the regulations issued thereunder with respect to a Plan (other than an event for which the 30-day notice period is waived); (b) with respect to any Plan, the failure to satisfy the minimum funding standard (as defined in Section 412 of the Code or Section 302 of ERISA), whether or not waived; (c) the filing pursuant to Section 412(d) of the Code or Section 302(c) of ERISA of an application for a waiver of the minimum funding standard with respect to any Plan; (d) the incurrence by the Borrower or any of its ERISA Affiliates of any liability under Title IV of ERISA with respect to the termination of any Plan; (e) the receipt by the Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate from the PBGC or a plan administrator of any notice relating to an intention to terminate any Plan or Plans or to appoint a trustee to administer any Plan; (f) the incurrence by the Borrower or any of its ERISA Affiliates of any liability with respect to the withdrawal or partial withdrawal from any Plan or Multiemployer Plan; (g) the occurrence of any nonexempt prohibited transaction within the meaning of Section 4975 of the Code or Section 406 of ERISA which could result in liability to an Lender; (h) the failure to make any required contribution to a Multiemployer Plan or failure to make by its due date any required contribution to any Plan; (i) the receipt by the Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate of any notice, or the receipt by any Multiemployer Plan from the Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate of any notice, concerning the imposition of Withdrawal Liability or a determination that a Multiemployer Plan is, or is expected to be, insolvent or in reorganization, within the meaning of Title IV of ERISA; or (j) the incurrence with respect to any “employee benefit plan” as defined in Section 3(3) of ERISA that is sponsored or maintained by any Lender of any material liability for post-retirement health or welfare benefits, except as may be required by 4980B of the Code or similar laws.

 

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Eurocurrency”, when used in reference to any Loan or Borrowing, refers to whether such Loan, or the Loans constituting such Borrowing, are bearing interest at a rate determined by reference to the Adjusted LIBO Rate. For clarity, a Loan or Borrowing bearing interest by reference to clause (c) of the definition of the Alternate Base Rate shall not be a Eurocurrency Loan or Eurocurrency Borrowing.

Event of Default” has the meaning assigned to such term in Article VII.

Excluded Taxes” means, with respect to the Administrative Agent, any Lender, the Issuing Bank or any other recipient of any payment to be made by or on account of any obligation of the Borrower hereunder, (a) income or franchise taxes imposed on (or measured by) its net income by the United States of America, or by the jurisdiction (or any political subdivision thereof) under the laws of which such recipient is organized or in which its principal office is located or, in the case of any Lender, in which its applicable lending office is located, (b) any branch profits taxes imposed by the United States of America or any similar tax imposed by any other jurisdiction in which the Borrower is located, and (c) in the case of a Foreign Lender (other than an assignee pursuant to a request by the Borrower under Section 2.18(b)), any withholding tax that is imposed on amounts payable to such Foreign Lender at the time such Foreign Lender becomes a party to this Agreement (or designates a new lending office) or is attributable to such Foreign Lender’s failure or inability (other than as a result of a Change in Law) to comply with Section 2.15(e), except to the extent, other than in a case of failure to comply with Section 2.15(e), that such Foreign Lender (or its assignor, if any) was entitled, at the time of designation of a new lending office (or assignment), to receive additional amounts from the Borrower with respect to such withholding tax pursuant to Section 2.15(a).

Existing Credit Agreement” has the meaning assigned to such term in the recitals to this Agreement.

Existing Lenders” has the meaning assigned to such term in the recitals to this Agreement.

Existing Loans” has the meaning assigned to such term in the recitals to this Agreement.

Extraordinary Receipts” means any cash received by or paid to or for the account of any Obligor not in the ordinary course of business, including any foreign, United States, state or local tax refunds, pension plan reversions, judgments, proceeds of settlements or other consideration of any kind in connection with any cause of action, condemnation awards (and payments in lieu thereof), indemnity payments and any purchase price adjustment received in connection with any purchase agreement and proceeds of insurance (excluding, however, proceeds of any issuance of Equity Interests by the Borrower and issuances of Indebtedness by any Obligor).

FATCA” means sections 1471 through 1474 of the Code, the United States Treasury regulations promulgated thereunder and published guidance with respect thereto.

 

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Federal Funds Effective Rate” means, for any day, the weighted average (rounded upwards, if necessary, to the next 1/100 of 1%) of the rates on overnight Federal funds transactions with members of the Federal Reserve System arranged by Federal funds brokers, as published on the next succeeding Business Day by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, or, if such rate is not so published for any day that is a Business Day, the average (rounded upwards, if necessary, to the next 1/100 of 1%) of the quotations for such day for such transactions received by the Administrative Agent from three Federal funds brokers of recognized standing selected by it.

Financial Officer” means the president, chief financial officer, principal accounting officer, treasurer or controller of the Borrower.

Financing Subsidiary” means (i) any Structured Subsidiary or (ii) any SBIC Subsidiary.

Fitch” means Fitch, Inc. or any successor thereto.

Foreign Lender” means any Lender that is not (a) a citizen or resident of the United States, (b) a corporation, partnership or other entity created or organized in or under the laws of the United States (or any jurisdiction thereof) or (c) any estate or trust that is subject to U.S. federal income taxation regardless of the source of its income.

GAAP” means generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America.

Governmental Authority” means the government of the United States of America, or of any other nation, or any political subdivision thereof, whether state or local, and any agency, authority, instrumentality, regulatory body, court, central bank or other entity exercising executive, legislative, judicial, taxing, regulatory or administrative powers or functions of or pertaining to government.

Guarantee” of or by any Person (the “guarantor”) means any obligation, contingent or otherwise, of the guarantor guaranteeing or having the economic effect of guaranteeing any Indebtedness or other obligation of any other Person (the “primary obligor”) in any manner, whether directly or indirectly, and including any obligation of the guarantor, direct or indirect, (a) to purchase or pay (or advance or supply funds for the purchase or payment of) such Indebtedness or other obligation or to purchase (or to advance or supply funds for the purchase of) any security for the payment thereof, (b) to purchase or lease property securities or services for the purpose of assuring the owner of such Indebtedness or other obligation of the payment thereof, (c) to maintain working capital, equity capital or any other financial statement condition or liquidity of the primary obligor so as to enable the primary obligor to pay such Indebtedness or other obligation or (d) as an account party in respect of any letter of credit or letter of guaranty issued to support such Indebtedness or obligation; provided, that the term Guarantee shall not include endorsements for collection or deposit in the ordinary course of business.

Guarantee and Security Agreement” means the Guarantee, Pledge and Security Agreement, dated as of the Original Effective Date, between the Borrower, the Administrative Agent, each holder (or a representative or trustee therefor) from time to time of any Secured Longer-Term Indebtedness, and the Collateral Agent, as the same shall be modified and supplemented and in effect from time to time (including as supplemented by the Amendment and Reaffirmation of the Guarantee and Security Agreement, dated as of the Restatement Effective Date and delivered pursuant to Section 4.01(a)(ii)).

 

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Guarantee Assumption Agreement” means a Guarantee Assumption Agreement substantially in the form of Exhibit B to the Guarantee and Security Agreement between the Collateral Agent and an entity that pursuant to Section 5.08 is required to become a “Subsidiary Guarantor” under the Guarantee and Security Agreement (with such changes as the Administrative Agent shall request consistent with the requirements of Section 5.08).

Hedging Agreement” means any interest rate protection agreement, foreign currency exchange protection agreement, commodity price protection agreement or other interest or currency exchange rate or commodity price hedging arrangement.

Improved Credit Rating” means any of the following (i) a long term issuer default rating of at least BBB from S&P, (ii) a long term issuer rating of at least Baa2 from Moody’s, or (iii) a long term issuer default rating of at least BBB from Fitch.

Increasing Lender” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.07(f).

Indebtedness” of any Person means, without duplication, (a) all obligations of such Person for borrowed money or with respect to deposits, loans or advances of any kind, (b) all obligations of such Person evidenced by bonds, debentures, notes or similar debt instruments, (c) all obligations of such Person under conditional sale or other title retention agreements relating to property acquired by such Person, (d) all obligations of such Person in respect of the deferred purchase price of property or services, (e) all Indebtedness of others secured by any Lien on property owned or acquired by such Person, whether or not the Indebtedness secured thereby has been assumed, (f) all Guarantees by such Person of Indebtedness of others; provided the amount of any Guarantee at any time shall be deemed to be an amount equal to the maximum stated or determinable amount of the primary obligation in respect of which such Guarantee is incurred, unless the terms of such Guarantee expressly provide that the maximum amount for which such Person may be liable thereunder is a lesser amount (in which case the amount of such Guarantee shall be deemed to be an amount equal to such lesser amount), (g) all Capital Lease Obligations of such Person, (h) all obligations, contingent or otherwise, of such Person as an account party in respect of letters of credit and letters of guaranty and (i) all obligations, contingent or otherwise, of such Person in respect of bankers’ acceptances. The Indebtedness of any Person shall include the Indebtedness of any other entity (including any partnership in which such Person is a general partner) to the extent such Person is liable therefor as a result of such Person’s ownership interest in or other relationship with such entity, except to the extent the terms of such Indebtedness provide that such Person is not liable therefor.

Independent” when used with respect to any specified Person means that such Person (a) does not have any direct financial interest or any material indirect financial interest in the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries or Affiliates (including its investment advisor or any Affiliate thereof) other than ownership of publicly traded stock of the Borrower with a market value not to exceed $1,000,000 and (b) is not an officer, employee, promoter, underwriter, trustee, partner, director or a Person performing similar functions of the Borrower or of its Subsidiaries or Affiliates (including its investment advisor or any Affiliate thereof).

 

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Industry Classification Group” means (a) any of the classification groups that are currently in effect by Moody’s or may be subsequently established by Moody’s and provided by the Borrower to the Lenders, and (b) up to three additional industry group classifications established by the Borrower pursuant to Section 5.12.

ING” means ING Capital LLC.

Interest Election Request” means a request by the Borrower to convert or continue a Borrowing in accordance with Section 2.06.

Interest Payment Date” means (a) with respect to any ABR Loan, each Quarterly Date and (b) with respect to any Eurocurrency Loan, the last day of each Interest Period therefor and, in the case of any Interest Period of more than three months’ duration, each day prior to the last day of such Interest Period that occurs at three-month intervals after the first day of such Interest Period.

Interest Period” means, for any Eurocurrency Loan or Borrowing, the period commencing on the date of such Loan or Borrowing and ending on the numerically corresponding day in the calendar month that is one, two, three or six months thereafter; provided, that (i) if any Interest Period would end on a day other than a Business Day, such Interest Period shall be extended to the next succeeding Business Day unless such next succeeding Business Day would fall in the next calendar month, in which case such Interest Period shall end on the next preceding Business Day, and (ii) any Interest Period that commences on the last Business Day of a calendar month (or on a day for which there is no numerically corresponding day in the last calendar month of such Interest Period) shall end on the last Business Day of the last calendar month of such Interest Period. For purposes hereof, the date of a Loan initially shall be the date on which such Loan is made and thereafter shall be the effective date of the most recent conversion or continuation of such Loan, and the date of a Borrowing comprising Loans that have been converted or continued shall be the effective date of the most recent conversion or continuation of such Loans.

Investment” means, for any Person: (a) Equity Interests, bonds, notes, debentures or other securities of any other Person or any agreement to acquire any Equity Interests, bonds, notes, debentures or other securities of any other Person (including any “short sale” or any sale of any securities at a time when such securities are not owned by the Person entering into such sale); (b) deposits, advances, loans or other extensions of credit made to any other Person (including purchases of property from another Person subject to an understanding or agreement, contingent or otherwise, to resell such property to such Person); or (c) Hedging Agreements.

Investment Advisor” means Fifth Street Management, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company.

 

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Investment Advisor Departure Event” means the Investment Advisor or one of its Affiliates shall cease to be the investment advisor of the Borrower without having been immediately replaced with an investment advisor reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and the Required Lenders in their reasonable discretion. For clarity, in the event the Borrower elects to be self-managed in accordance with applicable law, no Investment Advisor Departure Event shall be deemed to have occurred, so long as no Key Person Departure Event has occurred.

Investment Policies” means the written statement, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent, of the Borrower’s investment objectives, policies, restrictions and limitations delivered on the Original Effective Date, as amended by the Investment Policy Amendment delivered on the Restatement Effective Date and the Amendment No. 3 Effective Date, and as the same may be amended from time to time by a Permitted Policy Amendment.

Investment Policy Amendment” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 4.01(a)(iii).

Investment Company Act” means the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended from time to time.

Issuing Bank” means ING, in its capacity as the issuer of Letters of Credit hereunder, and its successors in such capacity as provided in Section 2.04(j).

Key Person Departure Event” means (i) Leonard Tannenbaum or (ii) any twoboth of Chad Blakeman, Bernard Berman orand Ivelin Dimitrov (collectively, the “Key Persons”), in each case, cease to be actively involved in the operations of the Borrower and the Investment Advisor (provided that there shall be no Key Person Departure Event in connection with the Investment Advisor if (i) the Borrower elects to be self-managed in accordance with applicable law and (ii) the requisite Key Persons remain actively involved in the operations of the Borrower) and such individual or individuals have not within 120 days thereafter been replaced with officers reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and the Required Lenders in their reasonable discretion.

Largest Industry Classification Group” means, as of any date of determination, the single Industry Classification Group to which a greater portion of the Borrowing Base has been assigned pursuant to Section 5.12(a) than any other single Industry Classification Group.

LC Disbursement” means a payment made by the Issuing Bank pursuant to a Letter of Credit.

LC Exposure” means, at any time, the sum of (a) the aggregate undrawn amount of all outstanding Letters of Credit at such time plus (b) the aggregate amount of all LC Disbursements in respect of such Letters of Credit that have not yet been reimbursed by or on behalf of the Borrower at such time. The LC Exposure of any Lender at any time shall be its Applicable Percentage of the total LC Exposure at such time.

Lenders” means the Persons listed on Schedule 1.01(b) as having Commitments and any other Person that shall have become a party hereto pursuant to an Assignment and Assumption that provides for it to assume a Commitment or to acquire Revolving Credit Exposure, other than any such Person that ceases to be a party hereto pursuant to an Assignment and Assumption.

 

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Letter of Credit” means any letter of credit issued pursuant to this Agreement.

Letter of Credit Collateral Account” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.04(k).

Letter of Credit Documents” means, with respect to any Letter of Credit, collectively, any application therefor and any other agreements, instruments, guarantees or other documents (whether general in application or applicable only to such Letter of Credit) governing or providing for (a) the rights and obligations of the parties concerned or at risk with respect to such Letter of Credit or (b) any collateral security for any of such obligations, each as the same may be modified and supplemented and in effect from time to time.

LIBO Rate” means, for any Interest Period, the British Bankers’ Association Interest Settlement Rate per annum for deposits in U.S. dollars for a period equal to the Interest Period appearing on the display designated as Reuters Screen LIBOR01 Page (or such other page on that service or such other service designated by the British Bankers’ Association for the display of such Association’s Interest Settlement Rates for Dollar deposits) as of 11:00 a.m., London time on the day that is two Business Days prior to the first day of the Interest Period (or if such Reuters Screen LIBOR01 Page is unavailable for any reason at such time, the rate which appears on the Reuters Screen ISDA Page as of such date and such time); provided, that if the Administrative Agent determines that the relevant foregoing sources are unavailable for the relevant Interest Period, LIBO Rate shall mean the rate of interest determined by the Administrative Agent to be the average (rounded upward, if necessary, to the nearest 1/100th of 1%) of the rates per annum at which deposits in U.S. dollars are offered to the Administrative Agent two (2) business days preceding the first day of such Interest Period by leading banks in the London interbank market as of 11:00 a.m. for delivery on the first day of such Interest Period, for the number of days comprised therein and in an amount comparable to the amount of the Administrative Agent’s portion of the relevant Eurocurrency Borrowing.

Lien” means, with respect to any asset, (a) any mortgage, deed of trust, lien, pledge, hypothecation, encumbrance, charge or security interest in, on or of such asset, (b) the interest of a vendor or a lessor under any conditional sale agreement, capital lease or title retention agreement (or any financing lease having substantially the same economic effect as any of the foregoing) relating to such asset and (c) in the case of securities, any purchase option, call or similar right of a third party with respect to such securities, except in favor of the issuer thereof.

Loan Documents” means, collectively, this Agreement, the Letter of Credit Documents and the Security Documents.

Loans” means the loans made by the Lenders to the Borrower pursuant to this Agreement.

Margin Stock” means “margin stock” within the meaning of Regulations T, U and X.

 

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Material Adverse Effect” means a material adverse effect on (a) the business, Portfolio Investments of the Obligors (taken as a whole) and other assets, liabilities (actual or contingent), operations or condition (financial or otherwise) of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries (other than the Financing Subsidiaries), taken as a whole, or (b) the validity or enforceability of any of the Loan Documents or the rights or remedies of the Administrative Agent and the Lenders thereunder.

Material Indebtedness” means (a) Indebtedness (other than the Loans, Letters of Credit and Hedging Agreements), of any one or more of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries in an aggregate principal amount exceeding $20,000,000 and (b) obligations in respect of one or more Hedging Agreements under which the maximum aggregate amount (giving effect to any netting agreements) that the Borrower and the Subsidiaries would be required to pay if such Hedging Agreement(s) were terminated at such time would exceed $20,000,000.

Maturity Date” means the date that is the one year anniversary of the Commitment Termination Date.

Minimum Credit Rating” means any of the following (i) a long term issuer default rating of BBB- from S&P, (ii) a long term issuer rating of Baa3 from Moody’s, or (iii) a long term issuer default rating of BBB- from Fitch.

Moody’s” means Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. or any successor thereto.

Multiemployer Plan” means a multiemployer plan as defined in Section 4001(a)(3) of ERISA.

Net Asset Sale Proceeds” means, with respect to any Asset Sale, an amount equal to (i) the sum of Cash payments and Cash Equivalents received by the Obligors from such Asset Sale (including any Cash or Cash Equivalents received by way of deferred payment pursuant to, or by monetization of, a note receivable or otherwise, but only as and when so received), minus (ii) any bona fide costs incurred by the Obligors directly incidental to such Asset Sale.

New Lenders” has the meaning assigned to such term in the recitals to this Agreement.

Non-Consenting Lender” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 9.02(d).

Obligors” means, collectively, the Borrower and the Subsidiary Guarantors.

Other Covered Indebtedness” means, collectively, Secured Longer-Term Indebtedness and Unsecured Shorter-Term Indebtedness.

Original Effective Date” means May 27, 2010.

 

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Other Permitted Indebtedness” means (a) accrued expenses and current trade accounts payable incurred in the ordinary course of any Obligor’s business which are not overdue for a period of more than 90 days or which are being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings, (b) Indebtedness (other than Indebtedness for borrowed money) arising in connection with transactions in the ordinary course of any Obligor’s business in connection with its purchasing of securities, derivatives transactions, reverse repurchase agreements or dollar rolls to the extent such transactions are permitted under the Investment Company Act and the Borrower’ s Investment Policies, provided that such Indebtedness does not arise in connection with the purchase of Eligible Portfolio Investments other than Cash Equivalents and U.S. Government Securities, (c) Indebtedness in respect of judgments or awards that have been in force for less than the applicable period for taking an appeal so long as such judgments or awards do not constitute an Event of Default under clause (k) of Article VII, and (d) Indebtedness incurred in the ordinary course of business to finance equipment and fixtures.

Other Taxes” means any and all present or future stamp or documentary taxes or any other excise or property taxes, charges or similar levies arising from any payment made under any Loan Document or from the execution, delivery or enforcement of, or otherwise with respect to, any Loan Document.

PBGC” means the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation referred to and defined in ERISA and any successor entity performing similar functions.

Permitted Liens” means (a) Liens imposed by any Governmental Authority for taxes, assessments or charges not yet due or that are being contested in good faith and by appropriate proceedings if adequate reserves with respect thereto are maintained on the books of the Borrower in accordance with GAAP; (b) Liens of clearing agencies, broker-dealers and similar Liens incurred in the ordinary course of business, provided that such Liens (i) attach only to the securities (or proceeds) being purchased or sold and (ii) secure only obligations incurred in connection with such purchase or sale, and not any obligation in connection with margin financing; (c) Liens imposed by law, such as materialmen’s, mechanics’, carriers’, workmens’, storage, landlord, and repairmen’s Liens and other similar Liens arising in the ordinary course of business and securing obligations (other than Indebtedness for borrowed money) not yet due or that are being contested in good faith and by appropriate proceedings if adequate reserves with respect thereto are maintained on the books of the Borrower in accordance with GAAP; (d) Liens incurred or pledges or deposits made to secure obligations incurred in the ordinary course of business under workers’ compensation laws, unemployment insurance or other similar social security legislation (other than in respect of employee benefit plans subject to ERISA) or to secure public or statutory obligations; (e) Liens securing the performance of, or payment in respect of, bids, insurance premiums, deductibles or co-insured amounts, tenders, government or utility contracts (other than for the repayment of borrowed money), surety, stay, customs and appeal bonds and other obligations of a similar nature incurred in the ordinary course of business; (f) Liens arising out of judgments or awards that have been in force for less than the applicable period for taking an appeal so long as such judgments or awards do not constitute an Event of Default; (g) customary rights of setoff and liens upon (i) deposits of cash in favor of banks or other depository institutions in which such cash is maintained in the ordinary course of business, (ii) cash and financial assets held in securities accounts in favor of banks and other financial institutions with which such accounts are maintained in the ordinary course of business and (iii) assets held by a custodian in favor of such custodian in the ordinary course of business, in the case of each of clauses (i) through (iii) above, securing payment of fees, indemnities,

 

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charges for returning items and other similar obligations; (h) Liens arising solely from precautionary filings of financing statements under the Uniform Commercial Code of the applicable jurisdictions in respect of operating leases entered into by the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries in the ordinary course of business; (i) zoning restrictions, easements, licenses, or other restrictions on the use of any real estate (including leasehold title), in each case which do not interfere with or affect in any material respect the ordinary course conduct of the business of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries; (j) purchase money Liens on specific equipment and fixtures provided that (i) such Liens only attach to such equipment and fixtures, (ii) the Indebtedness secured thereby is incurred pursuant to clause (d) of the definition of “Other Permitted Indebtedness” and (iii) the Indebtedness secured thereby does not exceed the lesser of the cost and the fair market value of such equipment and fixtures at the time of the acquisition thereof; and (k) deposits of money securing leases to which Borrower is a party as lessee made in the ordinary course of business.

Permitted Policy Amendment” is an amendment, modification, termination or restatement of either the Investment Policies or the Proprietary Rating System, that is either (i) approved in writing by the Administrative Agent (with the consent of Lenders holding not less than two-thirds of the total Revolving Credit Exposures and unused Commitments) or (ii) required by applicable law or Governmental Authority.

Person” means any natural person, corporation, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, association, company, partnership, Governmental Authority or other entity.

Plan” means any employee pension benefit plan (other than a Multiemployer Plan) subject to the provisions of Title IV of ERISA or Section 412 of the Code or Section 302 of ERISA, and in respect of which the Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate is (or, if such plan were terminated, would under Section 4069 of ERISA be deemed to be) an “employer” as defined in Section 3(5) of ERISA.

Portfolio Company” means the issuer or obligor under any Portfolio Investment held by any Obligor.

Portfolio Company Data” means historic (not to exceed 6 months) and pro-forma financial information and market data associated with a Portfolio Company which has been delivered by such Portfolio Company to the Borrower (without independent substantive verification by the Borrower), which may include pro-forma financial information in connection with, among other things, (i) an Investment that was originated by the Borrower within the preceding twelve month period, (ii) a Portfolio Company that has, within the preceding twelve month period, been the acquirer of substantially all of the business assets or stock of another Person, (iii) a Portfolio Company that has, within the preceding twelve month period, been the target of an acquisition of substantially all of its business assets or stock, and/or (iv) a Portfolio Company that does not have an entire fiscal year under its current capital structure.

Portfolio Investment” means any Investment held by the Borrower and its Subsidiaries in their asset portfolio.

 

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Prime Rate” means the rate of interest quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Money Rates Section, as the Prime Rate (currently defined as the base rate on corporate loans posted by at least seventy-five percent (75%) of the nation’s thirty (30) largest banks), as in effect from time to time. The Prime Rate is a reference rate and does not necessarily represent the lowest or best rate actually charged to any customer. The Administrative Agent or any Lender may make commercial loans or other loans at rates of interest at, above, or below the Prime Rate.

Proprietary Rating System” means the five-level numeric rating system used by the Borrower to rate the credit profile and expected level of returns on Portfolio Investments as described in the Borrower’s Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on January 31February 8, 20112012, as may be amended pursuant to a Permitted Policy Amendment.

Quarterly Dates” means the last Business Day of March, June, September and December in each year, commencing on June 30, 2010.

Register” has the meaning set forth in Section 9.04.

Regulations D, T, U and X” means, respectively, Regulations D, T, U and X of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (or any successor), as the same may be modified and supplemented and in effect from time to time.

Related Parties” means, with respect to any specified Person, such Person’s Affiliates and the respective directors, officers, employees, agents and advisors of such Person and such Person’s Affiliates.

Required Lenders” means, at any time, subject to Section 2.17(b), Lenders having Revolving Credit Exposures and unused Commitments representing more than 50% of the sum of the total Revolving Credit Exposures and unused Commitments at such time.

“Required Payment Amounts” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 6.05(b).

Restatement Effective Date” means the date on which the conditions specified in Section 4.01 are satisfied (or waived in accordance with Section 9.02)February 22, 2011.

Restricted Payment” means any dividend or other distribution (whether in cash, securities or other property) with respect to any shares of any class of capital stock of the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries, or any payment (whether in cash, securities or other property), including any sinking fund or similar deposit, on account of the purchase, redemption, retirement, acquisition, cancellation or termination of any such shares of capital stock of the Borrower or any option, warrant or other right to acquire any such shares of capital stock of the Borrower, provided, for clarity, neither the conversion of convertible debt into capital stock nor the purchase, redemption, retirement, acquisition, cancellation or termination of convertible debt made solely with capital stock shall be a Restricted Payment hereunder.

Revolving Credit Exposure” means, with respect to any Lender at any time, the sum of the outstanding principal amount of such Lender’s Loans and LC Exposure at such time.

 

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Revolving Percentage” means, as of any date of determination, the result, expressed as a percentage, of the aggregate Revolving Credit Exposure on such date divided by the aggregate outstanding Covered Debt Amount on such date.

Return of Capital” means any return of capital received by the Obligors in respect of any Portfolio Investment, including, without limitation, any amount received in respect of principal (whether at stated maturity, by acceleration or otherwise) and any proceeds of the sale of any property or assets pledged as collateral in respect of such Portfolio Investment to the extent such proceeds are less than or equal to the outstanding principal balance of such Portfolio Investment.

RIC” means a person qualifying for treatment as a “regulated investment company” under the Code.

Risk Factor” means, with respect to each Portfolio Investment, for any calendar quarter, the risk factor corresponding to the Risk Factor Rating attributable to such Portfolio Investment, as set forth in Schedule 1.01(c).

Risk Factor Rating” is defined in Section 5.12(d).

S&P” means Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, a division of The McGraw Hill Companies, Inc., a New York corporation, or any successor thereto.

SBA” means the United States Small Business Administration or any Governmental Authority succeeding to any or all of the functions thereof.

SBIC Agreements” means each of (i) the SBIC Guarantee, (ii) the Investment Advisory Agreement dated as of August 13, 2009 by and among the Borrower, Fifth Street Mezzanine Partners IV, L.P., and FSMP IV GP, LLC, and (iii) the Administration Agreement dated August as of August 13, 2009 by and among the Borrower, Fifth Street Mezzanine Partners IV, L.P., and FSMP IV GP, LLC.

SBIC Guarantee” means the Transferor’s Liability Contract dated June 22, 2009 executed by the Borrower in favor of the SBA.

SBIC Subsidiary” means each of (i) Fifth Street Mezzanine Partners IV, L.P., (ii) FSMP IV GP, LLC and, (iii) Fifth Street Mezzanine Partners V, L.P., (iv) FSMP V GP, LLC, and (v) any other Subsidiary of the Borrower (or such Subsidiary’s general partner or manager entity) that is (x) a “small business investment company” licensed by the SBA (or that has applied for such a license and is actively pursuing the granting thereof by appropriate proceedings promptly instituted and diligently conducted) under the Small Business Investment Act of 1958, as amended, and (y) designated by the Borrower (as provided below) as an SBIC Subsidiary, in the case of each of clauses (i), (ii) and, (iii), (iv) and (v), so long as:

(a) other than pursuant to the SBIC Guarantee with respect to the existing SBIC Subsidiaries as of the Original Effective Date or any substantially similar agreement with respect to any futureother SBIC Subsidiary (or upon the SBA’s then applicable form), no portion of the Indebtedness or any other obligations (contingent or otherwise) of such Person (i) is

 

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Guaranteed by the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries (other than any SBIC Subsidiary), (ii) is recourse to or obligates the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries (other than any SBIC Subsidiary) in any way, or (iii) subjects any property of the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries (other than any SBIC Subsidiary) to the satisfaction thereof, other than Equity Interests in any SBIC Subsidiary pledged to secure such Indebtedness;

(b) other than pursuant to the SBIC Agreements with respect to the existing SBIC Subsidiaries as of the Original Effective Date or any substantially similar agreement with respect to any futureother SBIC Subsidiary (or upon the SBA’s then applicable form), neither the Borrower nor any of its Subsidiaries has any material contract, agreement, arrangement or understanding with such Person other than on terms no less favorable to the Borrower or such Subsidiary than those that might be obtained at the time from Persons that are not Affiliates of the Borrower or such Subsidiary;

(c) neither the Borrower nor any of its Subsidiaries (other than any SBIC Subsidiary) has any obligation to such Person to maintain or preserve its financial condition or cause it to achieve certain levels of operating results; and

(d) such Person has not Guaranteed or become a co-borrower under, and has not granted a security interest in any of its properties to secure, and the Equity Interests it has issued are not pledged to secure, in each case, any indebtedness, liabilities or obligations of any one or more of the Obligors.

Any designation by the Borrower under clause (iiiv) above shall be effected pursuant to a certificate of a Financial Officer delivered to the Administrative Agent, which certificate shall include a statement to the effect that, to the best of Borrower’s knowledge, such designation complied with the foregoing conditions. As of the Amendment No. 3 Effective Date, the Borrower has designated the following Subsidiaries as SBIC Subsidiaries: (i) Fifth Street Mezzanine Partners IV, L.P., (ii) FSMP IV GP, LLC, (iii) Fifth Street Mezzanine Partners V, L.P., and (iv) FSMP V GP, LLC.

SEC” means the United States Securities and Exchange Commission or any Governmental Authority succeeding to any or all of the functions thereof.

Secured Longer-Term Indebtedness” means, as at any date, Indebtedness (other than Indebtedness hereunder) of the Borrower (which may be Guaranteed by Subsidiary Guarantors) that (a) has no amortization prior to, and a final maturity date not earlier than, six months after the Maturity Date, (b) is incurred pursuant to documentation containing other terms (including interest, amortization, covenants and events of default) that are no more restrictive upon the Borrower and its Subsidiaries than those set forth in this Agreement and (c) ranks pari passu with the Loans and is not secured by any assets of any Obligor other than pursuant to the Security Documents and the holders of which have agreed, in a manner satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and the Collateral Agent, to be bound by the provisions of the Security Documents.

 

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Security Documents” means, collectively, the Guarantee and Security Agreement, the Custodian Agreement, all Uniform Commercial Code financing statements filed with respect to the security interests in personal property created pursuant to the Guarantee and Security Agreement and all other assignments, pledge agreements, security agreements, control agreements and other instruments executed and delivered at any time by any of the Obligors pursuant to the Guarantee and Security Agreement or otherwise providing or relating to any collateral security for any of the Secured Obligations under and as defined in the Guarantee and Security Agreement.

Senior Securities” means senior securities (as such term is defined and determined pursuant to the Investment Company Act and any orders of the SEC issued to the Borrower thereunder).

Shareholders’ Equity” means, at any date, the amount determined on a consolidated basis, without duplication, in accordance with GAAP, of shareholders’ equity for the Borrower and its Subsidiaries at such date.

Solvent” means, with respect to any Obligor, that as of the date of determination, both (i) (a) the sum of such Obligor’s debt and liabilities (including contingent liabilities) does not exceed the present fair saleable value of such Person’s present assets, (b) such Obligor’s capital is not unreasonably small in relation to its business as contemplated on the RestatementAmendment No. 3 Effective Date and reflected in any projections delivered to the Lenders or with respect to any transaction contemplated or undertaken after the RestatementAmendment No. 3 Effective Date, and (c) such Obligor has not incurred and does not intend to incur, or believe (nor should it reasonably believe) that it will incur, debts beyond its ability to pay such debts as they become due (whether at maturity or otherwise); and (ii) such Obligor is “solvent” within the meaning given to such term and similar terms under applicable laws relating to fraudulent transfers and conveyances. For purposes of this definition, the amount of any contingent liability at any time shall be computed as the amount that, in light of all of the facts and circumstances existing at such time, represents the amount that can reasonably be expected to become an actual or matured liability (irrespective of whether such contingent liabilities meet the criteria for accrual under Statement of Financial Accounting Standard No. 5).

Standard Securitization Undertakings” means, collectively, (a) customary arms-length servicing obligations (together with any related performance guarantees), (b) obligations (together with any related performance guarantees) to refund the purchase price or grant purchase price credits for dilutive events or misrepresentations (in each case unrelated to the collectability of the assets sold or the creditworthiness of the associated account debtors), and (c) representations, warranties, covenants and indemnities (together with any related performance guarantees) of a type that are reasonably customary in accounts receivable securitizations, and (d) without duplication of (a)-(c) above. For clarity, the obligations of Borrower pursuant to the Structured Facility Agreements - FSF as in effect on the Original Effective Date (other than the Structured Loan Agreement, which shall be as in effect on November 5, 2010), including the repurchase and limited recourse obligations of the Borrower, in its capacity as seller, under the Structure Purchase Agreement - FSF (as in effect on the Original Effective Date, except the Structured Loan Agreement - FSF which shall be as in effect on November 5, 2010) are agreed to be “Standard Securitization Undertakings” for purposes of such Structured Facility Agreements - FSF.

 

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Statutory Reserve Rate” means, for the Interest Period for any Eurocurrency Borrowing, a fraction (expressed as a decimal), the numerator of which is the number one and the denominator of which is the number one minus the arithmetic mean, taken over each day in such Interest Period, of the aggregate of the maximum reserve percentages (including any marginal, special, emergency or supplemental reserves) expressed as a decimal established by the Board to which the Administrative Agent is subject for eurocurrency funding (currently referred to as “Eurocurrency liabilities” in Regulation D). Such reserve percentages shall include those imposed pursuant to Regulation D. Eurocurrency Loans shall be deemed to constitute eurocurrency funding and to be subject to such reserve requirements without benefit of or credit for proration, exemptions or offsets that may be available from time to time to any Lender under Regulation D or any comparable regulation. The Statutory Reserve Rate shall be adjusted automatically on and as of the effective date of any change in any reserve percentage.

Structured Facility Agreements - FSF” means, collectively, (a) Structured Loan Agreement - FSF, (b) the Structured Purchase Agreement - FSF, (c) the Structured Pledge Agreement - FSF, (d) the Collection Account Agreement (as defined in the Structured Loan Agreement FSF) and (e) the Unfunded Exposure Account Agreement (as defined in the Structured Loan Agreement - FSF).

“Structured Finance Obligation” means any obligation issued by a special purpose vehicle and secured directly by, referenced to, or representing ownership of, a pool of receivables or other financial assets of any obligor, including collateralized debt obligations and mortgaged-backed securities. For the avoidance of doubt, if an obligation satisfies the definition of “Structured Finance Obligation”, such obligation shall not (a) qualify as any category of Eligible Portfolio Investment and (b) be included in the Borrowing Base.

Structured Loan Agreement - FSF” means the Amended and Restated Loan and Servicing Agreement, dated as of November 5, 2010, among Fifth Street Funding, LLC, the Borrower, each of the conduit lenders and institutional lenders from time to time party thereto, Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, as administrative agent, and the other parties thereto.

Structured Pledge Agreement - FSF” means the Pledge Agreement, dated as of November 16, 2009, between the Borrower, as pledgor, and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, as secured party.

Structured Purchase Agreement - FSF” means the Purchase and Sale Agreement, dated as of November 16, 2009, between the Borrower, as seller, and Fifth Street Funding, LLC, as purchaser, as amended by that certain Omnibus Amendment No.1 to the Structured Purchase Agreement - FSF, dated as of May 26, 2010, between Fifth Street Funding, LLC, as borrower, the Borrower, Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, as administrative agent and other parties thereto.

 

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Structured Subsidiaries” means a direct or indirect Subsidiary of the Borrower (A) to which any Obligor sells, conveys or otherwise transfers (whether directly or indirectly) Portfolio Investments, which engages in no material activities other than in connection with the purchase or financing of such assets from the Obligors or any other Person, and which is designated by the Borrower (as provided below) as a Structured Subsidiary, or (B) which is a Consolidated Asset Manager, so long as:

(a) no portion of the Indebtedness or any other obligations (contingent or otherwise) of such Subsidiary (i) is Guaranteed by any Obligor (other than Guarantees in respect of Standard Securitization Undertakings), (ii) is recourse to or obligates any Obligor in any way other than pursuant to Standard Securitization Undertakings or (iii) subjects any property of any Obligor (other than property that has been contributed or sold or otherwise transferred to such Subsidiary in accordance with the terms Section 6.03(e)), directly or indirectly, contingently or otherwise, to the satisfaction thereof, other than pursuant to Standard Securitization Undertakings or any Guarantee thereof;

(b) other than the Structured Facility Agreements - FSF (as in effect on the Original Effective Date, except the Structured Loan Agreement-FSF which shall be as in effect on November 16, 2010), no Obligor has any material contract, agreement, arrangement or understanding with such Subsidiary other than on terms no less favorable to such Obligor than those that might be obtained at the time from Persons that are not Affiliates of any Obligor, other than fees payable in the ordinary course of business in connection with servicing loan assets; and

(c) no Obligor has any obligation to maintain or preserve such entity’s financial condition or cause such entity to achieve certain levels of operating results;

Any such designation by the Borrower shall be effected pursuant to a certificate of a Financial Officer delivered to the Administrative Agent, which certificate shall include a statement to the effect that, to the best of Borrower’s knowledge, such designation complied with the foregoing conditions. Each Subsidiary of a Structured Subsidiary shall be deemed to be a Structured Subsidiary and shall comply with the foregoing requirements of this definition. As of the RestatementAmendment No. 3 Effective Date, the Borrower has designated the following Subsidiaries as Structured Subsidiaries: (i) Fifth Street Funding, LLC has been designated as a Structured Subsidiary, and (ii) Fifth Street Funding II, LLC.

Subsidiary” means, with respect to any Person (the “parent”) at any date, any corporation, limited liability company, partnership, association or other entity the accounts of which would be consolidated with those of the parent in the parent’s consolidated financial statements if such financial statements were prepared in accordance with GAAP as of such date, as well as any other corporation, limited liability company, partnership, association or other entity (a) of which securities or other ownership interests representing more than 50% of the equity or more than 50% of the ordinary voting power or, in the case of a partnership, more than 50% of the general partnership interests are, as of such date, owned, controlled or held, or (b) that is, as of such date, otherwise Controlled by the parent or one or more subsidiaries of the parent or by the parent and one or more subsidiaries of the parent. Anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding, the term “Subsidiary” shall not include (i) any Unconsolidated Asset Manager or any of its Subsidiaries, or (ii) any Person that constitutes an Investment held by the Borrower in the ordinary course of business and that is not, under GAAP, consolidated on the financial statements of the Borrower. Unless otherwise specified, “Subsidiary” means a Subsidiary of the Borrower.

 

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Subsidiary Guarantor” means any Subsidiary that is or is required to be a Guarantor under the Guarantee and Security Agreement. It is understood and agreed that, subject to Section 5.08(a), no Financing Subsidiary shall be required to be Subsidiary Guarantors as long as it remains a Financing Subsidiary as defined and described herein.

Taxes” means any and all present or future taxes levies, imposts, duties, deductions, charges or withholdings imposed by any Governmental Authority.

Termination Date” means the date on which the Commitments have expired or been terminated and the principal of and accrued interest on each Loan and all fees and other amounts payable hereunder shall have been paid in full and all Letters of Credit shall have expired or terminated (or cash collateralized with cash deposited in the Letter of Credit Collateral Account in an amount equal to 102% of the aggregate undrawn face amount thereof or otherwise subject to a back-to-back letter of credit reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and the Required Lenders) and all LC Disbursements then outstanding shall have been reimbursed.

Transactions” means the execution, delivery and performance by the Borrower of this Agreement and other Loan Documents, the borrowing of Loans, the use of the proceeds thereof and the issuance of Letters of Credit hereunder.

Transferable” means:

(i) in the case of any Portfolio Investment, that the applicable Obligor may create a security interest in or pledge all of its rights under and interest in such Portfolio Investment to secure its obligations under this Agreement or any other Loan Document, and that such pledge or security interest may be enforced in any manner permitted under applicable law; and

(ii) in the case of any Portfolio Investment entered into from and after the Restatement Effective Date, that such Portfolio Investment (and all documents related thereto) contains no provision that directly or indirectly restricts the assignment of such Obligor’s, or any assignee of Obligor’s, rights under such Portfolio Investment (including any requirement that the Borrower maintain a minimum ownership percentage of such Portfolio Investment), provided that, such Portfolio Investment may contain the following restrictions on customary and market based terms: (a) such assignment may be subject to the consent of the obligor or issuer or agent under the Portfolio Investment so long as the applicable provision also provides that such consent may not be unreasonably withheld, (b) restrictions on assignment to direct competitors (or their sponsors or Affiliates) of the obligor or issuer (provided, however, for any Portfolio Investment originated and documented by the Borrower or its Affiliates, such restrictions shall not be effective during a default or event of default under such Portfolio Investment), (c) restrictions on transfer to parties that are not ‘eligible assignees’ within the customary and market based meaning of the term, and (d) restrictions on transfer to the applicable obligor or issuer under the Portfolio Investment or its equity holders or financial sponsor entities., and (e) restrictions on transfer to parties designated pursuant to a “blacklist”, provided that (i) such list shall include no more than 5 names at any time, and (ii) the Portfolio Investments that contain such restrictions shall be subject to the concentration limit set forth in Section 5.13(u).

 

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Type”, when used in reference to any Loan or Borrowing, refers to whether the rate of interest on such Loan, or on the Loans constituting such Borrowing, is determined by reference to the Adjusted LIBO Rate or the Alternate Base Rate.

Uniform Commercial Code” means the Uniform Commercial Code as in effect from time to time in the State of New York.

Unconsolidated Asset Manager” means an Asset Manager that is not consolidated under GAAP on the financial statements of the Borrower.

Unsecured Longer-Term Indebtedness” means any Indebtedness of the Borrower that (a) has no amortization prior to, and a final maturity date not earlier than, six months after the Maturity Date, (b) is incurred pursuant to terms that are substantially comparable to market terms for substantially similar debt of other similarly situated borrowers as reasonably determined in good faith by Borrower (other than financial covenants and events of default, which shall be no more restrictive upon the Borrower and its Subsidiaries than those set forth in this Agreement), and (c) is not secured by any assets of any Obligor. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the 2016 Notes shall continue to be deemed Unsecured Longer-Term Indebtedness in all respects despite the fact that the maturity date of the 2016 Notes may be less than six months after the Maturity Date (as the Maturity Date may be extended from time to time), but only as long as the maturity of the 2016 Notes does not fall on a date prior to the Maturity Date hereunder (as the Maturity Date may be extended from time to time).

Unsecured Shorter-Term Indebtedness” means, collectively, (a) any Indebtedness of the Borrower or any Subsidiary that is not secured by any assets of any Obligor and that does not constitute Unsecured Longer-Term Indebtedness and (c) any Indebtedness that is designated as “Unsecured Shorter-Term Indebtedness” pursuant to Section 6.11(a).

Unused Portion” means, with respect to any Lender during any period of determination, the unused amount of the aggregate Commitments of such Lender during such period.

U.S. Government Securities” means securities that are direct obligations of, and obligations the timely payment of principal and interest on which is fully guaranteed by, the United States or any agency or instrumentality of the United States the obligations of which are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States and in the form of conventional bills, bonds, and notes.

Value” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 5.13.

Withdrawal Liability” means liability to a Multiemployer Plan as a result of a complete or partial withdrawal from such Multiemployer Plan, as such terms are defined in Part I of Subtitle E of Title IV of ERISA.

SECTION 1.02. Classification of Loans and Borrowings. For purposes of this Agreement, Loans may be classified and referred to by Type (e.g., an “ABR Loan”). Borrowings also may be classified and referred to by Type (e.g., an “ABR Borrowing”).

 

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SECTION 1.03. Terms Generally. The definitions of terms herein shall apply equally to the singular and plural forms of the terms defined. Whenever the context may require, any pronoun shall include the corresponding masculine, feminine and neuter forms. The words “include”, “includes” and “including” shall be deemed to be followed by the phrase “without limitation”. The word “will” shall be construed to have the same meaning and effect as the word “shall”. Unless the context requires otherwise (a) any definition of or reference to any agreement, instrument or other document herein shall be construed as referring to such agreement, instrument or other document as from time to time amended, supplemented or otherwise modified (subject to any restrictions on such amendments, supplements or modifications set forth herein), (b) any reference herein to any Person shall be construed to include such Person’s successors and assigns, (c) the words “herein”, “hereof’ and “hereunder”, and words of similar import, shall be construed to refer to this Agreement in its entirety and not to any particular provision hereof, (d) all references herein to Articles, Sections, Exhibits and Schedules shall be construed to refer to Articles and Sections of, and Exhibits and Schedules to, this Agreement and (e) the words “asset” and “property” shall be construed to have the same meaning and effect and to refer to any and all tangible and intangible assets and properties, including cash, securities, accounts and contract rights.

SECTION 1.04. Accounting Terms; GAAP. Except as otherwise expressly provided herein, all terms of an accounting or financial nature shall be construed in accordance with GAAP, as in effect from time to time; provided that, if the Borrower notifies the Administrative Agent that the Borrower requests an amendment to any provision hereof to eliminate the effect of any change occurring after the Original Effective Date in GAAP or in the application thereof on the operation of such provision (or if the Administrative Agent notifies the Borrower that the Required Lenders request an amendment to any provision hereof for such purpose), then Borrower, Administrative Agent and the Lenders agree to enter into negotiations in order to amend such provisions of the Agreement so as to equitably reflect such change to comply with GAAP with the desired result that the criteria for evaluating the Borrower’s financial condition shall be the same after such change to comply with GAAP as if such change had not been made; provided, however, until such amendments to equitably reflect such changes are effective and agreed to by Borrower, Administrative Agent and the Required Lenders, the Borrower’s compliance with such financial covenants shall be determined on the basis of GAAP as in effect and applied immediately before such change in GAAP becomes effective. Notwithstanding the foregoing or anything herein to the contrary, the Borrower covenants and agrees with the Lenders that whether or not the Borrower may at any time adopt Financial Accounting Standard No. 159, all determinations of compliance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement shall be made on the basis that the Borrower has not adopted Financial Accounting Standard No. 159.

 

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ARTICLE II

THE CREDITS

SECTION 2.01. The Commitments. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, each Lender agrees to make Loans to the Borrower from time to time during the Availability Period in an aggregate principal amount that will not result in (i) such Lender’s Revolving Credit Exposure exceeding such Lender’s Commitment, (ii) the aggregate Revolving Credit Exposure of all of the Lenders exceeding the aggregate Commitments or (iii) the total Covered Debt Amount exceeding the Borrowing Base then in effect, provided that the Lenders shall not be required to make more than seven (7) Loans in any calendar month. Within the foregoing limits and subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, the Borrower may borrow, prepay and reborrow Loans.

SECTION 2.02. Loans and Borrowings.

(a) Obligations of Lenders. Each Loan shall be made as part of a Borrowing consisting of Loans of the same Type made by the Lenders ratably in accordance with their respective Commitments. The failure of any Lender to make any Loan required to be made by it shall not relieve any other Lender of its obligations hereunder; provided that the Commitments of the Lenders are several and no Lender shall be responsible for any other Lender’s failure to make Loans as required.

(b) Type of Loans. Subject to Section 2.12, each Borrowing shall be constituted entirely of ABR Loans or of Eurocurrency Loans as the Borrower may request in accordance herewith. Each Loan shall be denominated in Dollars. Each Lender at its option may make any Eurocurrency Loan by causing any domestic or foreign branch or Affiliate of such Lender to make such Loan; provided that any exercise of such option shall not affect the obligation of the Borrower to repay such Loan in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.

(c) Minimum Amounts. Each Eurocurrency Borrowing shall be in an aggregate amount of $1,000,000 or a larger multiple of $100,000, and each ABR Borrowing shall be in an aggregate amount of $1,000,000 or a larger multiple of $100,000; provided that an ABR Borrowing may be in an aggregate amount that is equal to the entire unused balance of the total Commitments or that is required to finance the reimbursement of an LC Disbursement as contemplated by Section 2.04(f). Borrowings of more than one Type may be outstanding at the same time.

(d) Limitations on Interest Periods. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the Borrower shall not be entitled to request (or to elect to convert to or continue as a Eurocurrency Borrowing) any Borrowing if the Interest Period requested therefor would end after the Maturity Date.

SECTION 2.03. Requests for Borrowings.

(a) Notice by the Borrower. To request a Borrowing, the Borrower shall notify the Administrative Agent of such request by telephone (i) in the case of a Eurocurrency Borrowing, not later than 11:00 a.m., New York City time, three Business Days before the date of the proposed Borrowing or (ii) in the case of an ABR Borrowing, not later than 11:00 a.m., New York City time, one Business Day before the date of the proposed Borrowing. Each such telephonic Borrowing Request shall be irrevocable and shall be confirmed promptly by hand delivery or telecopy to the Administrative Agent of a written Borrowing Request in a form approved by the Administrative Agent and signed by the Borrower.

 

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(b) Content of Borrowing Requests. Each telephonic and written Borrowing Request shall specify the following information in compliance with Section 2.02:

(i) the aggregate amount of the requested Borrowing;

(ii) the date of such Borrowing, which shall be a Business Day;

(iii) whether such Borrowing is to be an ABR Borrowing or a Eurocurrency Borrowing;

(iv) in the case of a Eurocurrency Borrowing, the Interest Period therefor, which shall be a period contemplated by the definition of the term “Interest Period” and permitted under Section 2.02(d); and

(v) the location and number of the Borrower’s account to which funds are to be disbursed, which shall comply with the requirements of Section 2.05.

(c) Notice by the Administrative Agent to the Lenders. Promptly following receipt of a Borrowing Request in accordance with this Section, the Administrative Agent shall advise each applicable Lender of the details thereof and of the amounts of such Lender’s Loan to be made as part of the requested Borrowing.

(d) Failure to Elect. If no election as to the Type of a Borrowing is specified, then the requested Borrowing shall be a Eurocurrency Borrowing having an Interest Period of one month. If a Eurocurrency Borrowing is requested but no Interest Period is specified, the Borrower shall be deemed to have selected an Interest Period of one month’s duration.

SECTION 2.04. Letters of Credit.

(a) General. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, in addition to the Loans provided for in Section 2.01, the Borrower may request the Issuing Bank to issue, at any time and from time to time during the Availability Period, Letters of Credit denominated in Dollars for the purposes set forth in Section 5.09 in such form as is acceptable to the Issuing Bank in its reasonable determination. Letters of Credit issued hereunder shall constitute utilization of the Commitments up to the aggregate amount available to be drawn thereunder.

(b) Notice of Issuance, Amendment, Renewal or Extension. To request the issuance of a Letter of Credit (or the amendment, renewal or extension of an outstanding Letter of Credit), the Borrower shall hand deliver or telecopy (or transmit by electronic communication, if arrangements for doing so have been approved by the Issuing Bank) to the Issuing Bank and the Administrative Agent (reasonably in advance of the requested date of issuance, amendment, renewal or extension) a notice requesting the issuance of a Letter of Credit, or identifying the Letter of Credit to be amended, renewed or extended, and specifying the date of issuance, amendment, renewal or extension (which shall be a Business Day), the date on which such Letter of Credit is to expire (which shall comply with paragraph (d) of this Section), the amount of such Letter of Credit, the name and address of the beneficiary thereof and such other information as shall be necessary to prepare, amend, renew or extend such Letter of Credit. If requested by the Issuing Bank, the Borrower also shall submit a letter of credit application on the Issuing Bank’s

 

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standard form in connection with any request for a Letter of Credit. In the event of any inconsistency between the terms and conditions of this Agreement and the terms and conditions of any form of letter of credit application or other agreement submitted by the Borrower to, or entered into by the Borrower with, the Issuing Bank relating to any Letter of Credit, the terms and conditions of this Agreement shall control.

(c) Limitations on Amounts. A Letter of Credit shall be issued, amended, renewed or extended only if (and upon issuance, amendment, renewal or extension of each Letter of Credit the Borrower shall be deemed to represent and warrant that), after giving effect to such issuance, amendment, renewal or extension (i) the aggregate LC Exposure of the Issuing Bank (determined for these purposes without giving effect to the participations therein of the Lenders pursuant to paragraph (e) of this Section) shall not exceed $30,000,000, (ii) the total Revolving Credit Exposures shall not exceed the aggregate Commitments and (iii) the total Covered Debt Amount shall not exceed the Borrowing Base then in effect.

(d) Expiration Date. Subject to Section 2.08(a), each Letter of Credit shall expire at or prior to the close of business on the date twelve months after the date of the issuance of such Letter of Credit (or, in the case of any renewal or extension thereof, twelve months after the then-current expiration date of such Letter of Credit, so long as such renewal or extension occurs within three months of such then-current expiration date); provided that any Letter of Credit with a one-year term may provide for the renewal thereof for additional one-year periods; provided, further, that in no event shall any Letter of Credit have an expiration date that is later than the Maturity Date unless the Borrower shall have deposited Cash into the Letter of Credit Collateral Account at the time of issuance thereof in an amount equal to 102% of the face amount thereof.

(e) Participations. By the issuance of a Letter of Credit (or an amendment to a Letter of Credit increasing the amount thereof) by the Issuing Bank, and without any further action on the part of the Issuing Bank or the Lenders, the Issuing Bank hereby grants to each Lender, and each Lender hereby acquires from the Issuing Bank, a participation in such Letter of Credit equal to such Lender’s Applicable Percentage of the aggregate amount available to be drawn under such Letter of Credit. Each Lender acknowledges and agrees that its obligation to acquire participations pursuant to this paragraph in respect of Letters of Credit is absolute and unconditional and shall not be affected by any circumstance whatsoever, including any amendment, renewal or extension of any Letter of Credit or the occurrence and continuance of a Default or reduction or termination of the Commitments, provided that no Lender shall be required to purchase a participation in a Letter of Credit pursuant to this Section 2.04(e) if (1)(x) the conditions set forth in Section 4.02 would not be satisfied in respect of a Borrowing at the time such Letter of Credit was issued and (y) the Required Lenders shall have so notified the Issuing Bank in writing and shall not have subsequently determined that the circumstances giving rise to such conditions not being satisfied no longer exist, or (2) such Letter of Credit has an expiration date that is later than the Maturity Date.

In consideration and in furtherance of the foregoing, each Lender hereby absolutely and unconditionally agrees to pay to the Administrative Agent, for account of the Issuing Bank, such Lender’s Applicable Percentage of each LC Disbursement made by the Issuing Bank in respect of Letters of Credit (other than Letters of Credit with an expiration date

 

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that is later than the Maturity Date) promptly upon the request of the Issuing Bank at any time from the time of such LC Disbursement until such LC Disbursement is reimbursed by the Borrower or at any time after any reimbursement payment is required to be refunded to the Borrower for any reason. Such payment shall be made without any offset, abatement, withholding or reduction whatsoever. Each such payment shall be made in the same manner as provided in Section 2.05 with respect to Loans made by such Lender (and Section 2.05 shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to the payment obligations of the Lenders), and the Administrative Agent shall promptly pay to the Issuing Bank the amounts so received by it from the Lenders. Promptly following receipt by the Administrative Agent of any payment from the Borrower pursuant to the next following paragraph, the Administrative Agent shall distribute such payment to the Issuing Bank or, to the extent that the Lenders have made payments pursuant to this paragraph to reimburse the Issuing Bank, then to such Lenders and the Issuing Bank as their interests may appear. Any payment made by a Lender pursuant to this paragraph to reimburse the Issuing Bank for any LC Disbursement shall not constitute a Loan and shall not relieve the Borrower of its obligation to reimburse such LC Disbursement.

(f) Reimbursement. If the Issuing Bank shall make any LC Disbursement in respect of a Letter of Credit, the Borrower shall reimburse the Issuing Bank in respect of such LC Disbursement by paying to the Administrative Agent an amount equal to such LC Disbursement not later than 11:00 a.m., New York City time, on (i) the Business Day that the Borrower receives notice of such LC Disbursement, if such notice is received prior to 10:00 a.m., New York City time, or (ii) the Business Day immediately following the day that the Borrower receives such notice, if such notice is not received prior to such time, provided that, if such LC Disbursement is not less than $1,000,000, the Borrower may, subject to the conditions to borrowing set forth herein, request in accordance with Section 2.03 that such payment be financed with an ABR Borrowing in an equivalent amount and, to the extent so financed, the Borrower’s obligation to make such payment shall be discharged and replaced by the resulting ABR Borrowing.

If the Borrower fails to make such payment when due, the Administrative Agent shall notify each applicable Lender of the applicable LC Disbursement, the payment then due from the Borrower in respect thereof and such Lender’s Applicable Percentage thereof.

(g) Obligations Absolute. The Borrower’s obligation to reimburse LC Disbursements as provided in paragraph (f) of this Section shall be absolute, unconditional and irrevocable, and shall be performed strictly in accordance with the terms of this Agreement under any and all circumstances whatsoever and irrespective of (i) any lack of validity or enforceability of any Letter of Credit, or any term or provision therein, (ii) any draft or other document presented under a Letter of Credit proving to be forged, fraudulent or invalid in any respect or any statement therein being untrue or inaccurate in any respect, (iii) payment by the Issuing Bank under a Letter of Credit against presentation of a draft or other document that does not comply strictly with the terms of such Letter of Credit, and (iv) any other event or circumstance whatsoever, whether or not similar to any of the foregoing, that might, but for the provisions of this Section, constitute a legal or equitable discharge of the Borrower’s obligations hereunder.

 

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Neither the Administrative Agent, the Lenders nor the Issuing Bank, nor any of their Related Parties, shall have any liability or responsibility by reason of or in connection with the issuance or transfer of any Letter of Credit by the Issuing Bank or any payment or failure to make any payment thereunder (irrespective of any of the circumstances referred to in the preceding sentence), or any error, omission, interruption, loss or delay in transmission or delivery of any draft, notice or other communication under or relating to any Letter of Credit (including any document required to make a drawing thereunder), any error in interpretation of technical terms or any consequence arising from causes beyond the control of the Issuing Bank; provided that the foregoing shall not be construed to excuse the Issuing Bank from liability to the Borrower to the extent of any direct damages (as opposed to consequential damages, claims in respect of which are hereby waived by the Borrower to the extent permitted by applicable law) suffered by the Borrower that are caused by the Issuing Bank’s gross negligence or willful misconduct when determining whether drafts and other documents presented under a Letter of Credit comply with the terms thereof. The parties hereto expressly agree that:

(i) the Issuing Bank may accept documents that appear on their face to be in substantial compliance with the terms of a Letter of Credit without responsibility for further investigation, regardless of any notice or information to the contrary, and may make payment upon presentation of documents that appear on their face to be in substantial compliance with the terms of such Letter of Credit;

(ii) the Issuing Bank shall have the right, in its sole discretion, to decline to accept such documents and to make such payment if such documents are not in strict compliance with the terms of such Letter of Credit; and

(iii) this sentence shall establish the standard of care to be exercised by the Issuing Bank when determining whether drafts and other documents presented under a Letter of Credit comply with the terms thereof (and the parties hereto hereby waive, to the extent permitted by applicable law, any standard of care inconsistent with the foregoing).

(h) Disbursement Procedures. The Issuing Bank shall, within a reasonable time following its receipt thereof examine all documents purporting to represent a demand for payment under a Letter of Credit. The Issuing Bank shall promptly after such examination notify the Administrative Agent and the Borrower by telephone (confirmed by telecopy) of such demand for payment and whether the Issuing Bank has made or will make an LC Disbursement thereunder; provided that any failure to give or delay in giving such notice shall not relieve the Borrower of its obligation to reimburse the Issuing Bank and the Lenders with respect to any such LC Disbursement.

(i) Interim Interest. If the Issuing Bank shall make any LC Disbursement, then, unless the Borrower shall reimburse such LC Disbursement in full on the date such LC Disbursement is made, the unpaid amount thereof shall bear interest, for each day from and including the date such LC Disbursement is made to but excluding the date that the Borrower reimburses such LC Disbursement, at the rate per annum then applicable to ABR Loans; provided that, if the Borrower fails to reimburse such LC Disbursement within two Business Days following the date when due pursuant to paragraph (f) of this Section, then the provisions of Section 2.11(c) shall apply. Interest accrued pursuant to this paragraph shall be for account of the Issuing Bank, except that interest accrued on and after the date of payment by any Lender pursuant to paragraph (e) of this Section to reimburse the Issuing Bank shall be for account of such Lender to the extent of such payment.

 

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(j) Replacement of the Issuing Bank. The Issuing Bank may be replaced at any time by written agreement among the Borrower, the Administrative Agent, the replaced Issuing Bank and the successor Issuing Bank. The Administrative Agent shall notify the Lenders of any such replacement of the Issuing Bank. In addition to the foregoing, if a Lender becomes, and during the period in which it remains, a Defaulting Lender, and any Default has arisen from a failure of the Borrower to comply with Section 2.17(c), then the Issuing Bank may, upon prior written notice to the Borrower and the Administrative Agent, resign as Issuing Bank, effective at the close of business New York City time on a date specified in such notice (which date may not be less than five (5) Business Days after the date of such notice). On or after the effective date of any such resignation, the Borrower and the Administrative Agent may, by written agreement, appoint a successor Issuing Bank. The Administrative Agent shall notify the Lenders of any such replacement of the Issuing Bank. At the time any such replacement under any of the foregoing circumstances shall become effective, the Borrower shall pay all unpaid fees accrued for account of the replaced Issuing Bank pursuant to Section 2.10(b). From and after the effective date of any such replacement, (i) the successor Issuing Bank shall have all the rights and obligations of the replaced Issuing Bank under this Agreement with respect to Letters of Credit to be issued thereafter and (ii) references herein to the term “Issuing Bank” shall be deemed to refer to such successor or to any previous Issuing Bank, or to such successor and all previous Issuing Banks, as the context shall require. After the replacement of the Issuing Bank hereunder, the replaced Issuing Bank shall remain a party hereto and shall continue to have all the rights and obligations of the Issuing Bank under this Agreement with respect to Letters of Credit issued by it prior to such replacement, but shall not be required to issue additional Letters of Credit.

(k) Cash Collateralization. If the Borrower shall be required or shall elect, as the case may be, to provide cover for LC Exposure pursuant to the definition of “Termination Date” in Section 1.01, Section 2.04(d), Section 2.08(a), Section 2.09(b), 2.17(c)(ii) or the last paragraph of Article VII, the Borrower shall immediately deposit into a segregated collateral account or accounts (herein, collectively, the “Letter of Credit Collateral Account”) in the name and under the dominion and control of the Administrative Agent Cash denominated in Dollars in an amount equal to the amount required under the definition of “Termination Date” in Section 1.01, Section 2.04(d), Section 2.08(a), Section 2.09(b), 2.17(c)(ii) or the last paragraph of Article VII, as applicable. Such deposit shall be held by the Administrative Agent as collateral in the first instance for the LC Exposure under this Agreement and thereafter for the payment of the “Secured Obligations” under and as defined in the Guarantee and Security Agreement, and for these purposes the Borrower hereby grants a security interest to the Administrative Agent for the benefit of the Lenders in the Letter of Credit Collateral Account and in any financial assets (as defined in the Uniform Commercial Code) or other property held therein.

 

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SECTION 2.05. Funding of Borrowings.

(a) Funding by Lenders. Each Lender shall make each Loan to be made by it hereunder on the proposed date thereof by wire transfer of immediately available funds by 1:00 p.m., New York City time, to the account of the Administrative Agent most recently designated by it for such purpose by notice to the Lenders. The Administrative Agent will make such Loans available to the Borrower by promptly crediting the amounts so received, in like funds, to an account of the Borrower designated by the Borrower in the applicable Borrowing Request; provided that ABR Borrowings made to finance the reimbursement of an LC Disbursement as provided in Section 2.04(f) shall be remitted by the Administrative Agent to the Issuing Bank.

(b) Presumption by the Administrative Agent. Unless the Administrative Agent shall have received notice from a Lender prior to the proposed date of any Borrowing that such Lender will not make available to the Administrative Agent such Lender’s share of such Borrowing, the Administrative Agent may assume that such Lender has made such share available on such date in accordance with paragraph (a) of this Section and may, in reliance upon such assumption, make available to the Borrower a corresponding amount. In such event, if a Lender has not in fact made its share of the applicable Borrowing available to the Administrative Agent, then the applicable Lender and the Borrower severally agree to pay to the Administrative Agent forthwith on demand such corresponding amount with interest thereon, for each day from and including the date such amount is made available to the Borrower to but excluding the date of payment to the Administrative Agent, at (i) in the case of such Lender, the Federal Funds Effective Rate and (ii) in the case of the Borrower, the interest rate applicable to ABR Loans. If such Lender pays such amount to the Administrative Agent, then such amount shall constitute such Lender’s Loan included in such Borrowing.

SECTION 2.06. Interest Elections.

(a) Elections by the Borrower for Borrowings. Subject to Section 2.03(d), the Loans constituting each Borrowing initially shall be of the Type specified in the applicable Borrowing Request and, in the case of a Eurocurrency Borrowing, shall have the Interest Period specified in such Borrowing Request. Thereafter, the Borrower may elect to convert such Borrowing to a Borrowing of a different Type or to continue such Borrowing as a Borrowing of the same Type and, in the case of a Eurocurrency Borrowing, may elect the Interest Period therefor, all as provided in this Section. The Borrower may elect different options with respect to different portions of the affected Borrowing, in which case each such portion shall be allocated ratably among the Lenders, and the Loans constituting each such portion shall be considered a separate Borrowing.

(b) Notice of Elections. To make an election pursuant to this Section, the Borrower shall notify the Administrative Agent of such election by telephone by the time that a Borrowing Request would be required under Section 2.03 if the Borrower were requesting a Borrowing of the Type resulting from such election to be made on the effective date of such election. Each such telephonic Interest Election Request shall be irrevocable and shall be confirmed promptly (but no later than the close of business on the date of such request) by hand delivery or telecopy to the Administrative Agent of a written Interest Election Request in a form approved by the Administrative Agent and signed by the Borrower.

 

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(c) Content of Interest Election Requests. Each telephonic and written Interest Election Request shall specify the following information in compliance with Section 2.02:

(i) the Borrowing to which such Interest Election Request applies and, if different options are being elected with respect to different portions thereof, the portions thereof to be allocated to each resulting Borrowing (in which case the information to be specified pursuant to clauses (iii) and (iv) of this paragraph shall be specified for each resulting Borrowing);

(ii) the effective date of the election made pursuant to such Interest Election Request, which shall be a Business Day;

(iii) whether the resulting Borrowing is to be an ABR Borrowing or a Eurocurrency Borrowing; and

(iv) if the resulting Borrowing is a Eurocurrency Borrowing, the Interest Period therefor after giving effect to such election, which shall be a period contemplated by the definition of the term “Interest Period” and permitted under Section 2.02(d), provided that there shall be no more than ten (10) separate Borrowings outstanding at any one time.

(d) Notice by the Administrative Agent to the Lenders. Promptly following receipt of an Interest Election Request, the Administrative Agent shall advise each applicable Lender of the details thereof and of such Lender’s portion of each resulting Borrowing.

(e) Failure to Elect; Events of Default. If the Borrower fails to deliver a timely and complete Interest Election Request with respect to a Eurocurrency Borrowing prior to the end of the Interest Period therefor, then, unless such Borrowing is repaid as provided herein, at the end of such Interest Period such Borrowing shall be converted to a Eurocurrency Borrowing having an Interest Period of one month. Notwithstanding any contrary provision hereof, if an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing and the Administrative Agent, at the request of the Required Lenders, so notifies the Borrower, any Eurocurrency Borrowing shall, at the end of the applicable Interest Period for such Eurocurrency Borrowing, be automatically converted to an ABR Borrowing.

SECTION 2.07. Termination, Reduction or Increase of the Commitments.

(a) Scheduled Termination. Unless previously terminated in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, on the Commitment Termination Date the Commitments shall automatically be reduced to an amount equal to the aggregate principal amount of the Loans and LC Exposure of all Lenders outstanding on the Commitment Termination Date, provided that, for clarity, no Lender shall have any obligation to make new Loans on or after the Commitment Termination Date, and any outstanding amounts shall be due and payable on the Maturity Date in accordance with Section 2.08.

(b) Voluntary Termination or Reduction. The Borrower may at any time terminate, or from time to time reduce, the Commitments; provided that (i) each reduction of the Commitments shall be in an amount that is $1,000,000 or a larger multiple of $1,000,000 in excess thereof and (ii) the Borrower shall not terminate or reduce the Commitments if, after giving effect to any concurrent prepayment of the Loans in accordance with Section 2.09, the total Revolving Credit Exposures would exceed the total Commitments.

 

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(c) Notice of Voluntary Termination or Reduction. The Borrower shall notify the Administrative Agent of any election to terminate or reduce the Commitments under paragraph (b) of this Section at least three Business Days prior to the effective date of such termination or reduction, specifying such election and the effective date thereof. Promptly following receipt of any notice, the Administrative Agent shall advise the applicable Lenders of the contents thereof. Each notice delivered by the Borrower pursuant to this Section shall be irrevocable; provided that a notice of termination of the Commitments delivered by the Borrower may state that such notice is conditioned upon the effectiveness of other credit facilities, in which case such notice may be revoked by the Borrower (by notice to the Administrative Agent on or prior to the specified effective date) if such condition is not satisfied.

(d) Effect of Termination or Reduction. Any termination or reduction of the Commitments shall be permanent. Each reduction of the Commitments shall be made ratably among the Lenders in accordance with their respective Commitments.

(e) Call Protection. If the Commitments are voluntarily terminated or reduced by the Borrower pursuant to Section 2.07(b) at any time on or prior to May 27, 2011, the Borrower shall on the date of any such termination or reduction pay to the Administrative Agent, for the ratable benefit of the Lenders, an amount equal to two percent (2%) of the aggregate principal amount of such termination or reduction.

(e) [Reserved].

(f) Increase of the Commitments.

(i) Requests for Increase by Borrower. The Borrower may, at any time, propose that the Commitments hereunder be increased (each such proposed increase being a “Commitment Increase”) by notice to the Administrative Agent specifying each existing Lender (each an “Increasing Lender”) and/or each additional lender (each an “Assuming Lender”) that shall have agreed to an additional Commitment and the date on which such increase is to be effective (the “Commitment Increase Date”), which shall be a Business Day at least three Business Days after delivery of such notice and 30 days prior to the Commitment Termination Date; provided that each Lender may determine in its sole discretion whether or not it chooses to participate in a Commitment Increase; provided, further that:

(A) the minimum amount of the Commitment of any Assuming Lender, and the minimum amount of the increase of the Commitment of any Increasing Lender, as part of such commitment Increase shall be $5,000,000 or a larger multiple of $1,000,000 in excess thereof,

(B) immediately after giving effect to such Commitment Increase, the total Commitments of all of the Lenders hereunder shall not exceed $350,000,000450,000,000;

 

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(C) each Assuming Lender shall be consented to by the Administrative Agent and the Issuing Bank;

(D) no Default shall have occurred and be continuing on such Commitment Increase Date or shall result from the proposed Commitment Increase; and

(E) the representations and warranties contained in this Agreement and the other Loan Documents shall be true and correct in all material respects (other than any representation or warranty already qualified by materiality or Material Adverse Effect, which shall be true and correct in all respects) on and as of the Commitment Increase Date as if made on and as of such date (or, if any such representation or warranty is expressly stated to have been made as of a specific date, as of such specific date).

(ii) Effectiveness of Commitment Increase by Borrower. The Assuming Lender, if any, shall become a Lender hereunder as of such Commitment Increase Date and the Commitment of any Increasing Lender and such Assuming Lender shall be increased as of such Commitment Increase Date; provided that:

(x) the Administrative Agent shall have received on or prior to 11:00 a.m., New York City time, on such Commitment Increase Date (or on or prior to a time on an earlier date specified by the Administrative Agent) a certificate of a duly authorized officer of the Borrower stating that each of the applicable conditions to such Commitment Increase set forth in the foregoing paragraph (i) has been satisfied; and

(y) each Assuming Lender or Increasing Lender shall have delivered to the Administrative Agent, on or prior to 11:00 a.m., New York City time on such Commitment Increase Date (or on or prior to a time on an earlier date specified by the Administrative Agent), an agreement, in form and substance satisfactory to the Borrower and the Administrative Agent, pursuant to which such Lender shall, effective as of such Commitment Increase Date, undertake a Commitment or an increase of Commitment, duly executed by such Assuming Lender and the Borrower and acknowledged by the Administrative Agent.

Promptly following satisfaction of such conditions, the Administrative Agent shall notify the Lenders (including any Assuming Lenders) thereof and of the occurrence of the Commitment Increase Date by facsimile transmission or electronic messaging system.

(iii) Recordation into Register. Upon its receipt of an agreement referred to in clause (ii)(y) above executed by an Assuming Lender or any Increasing Lender, together with the certificate referred to in clause (ii)(x) above, the Administrative Agent shall, if such agreement has been completed, (x) accept such agreement, (y) record the information contained therein in the Register and (z) give prompt notice thereof to the Borrower.

 

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(iv) Adjustments of Borrowings upon Effectiveness of Increase. On the Commitment Increase Date, the Borrower shall (A) prepay the outstanding Loans (if any) in full, (B) simultaneously borrow new Loans hereunder in an amount equal to such prepayment; provided that with respect to subclauses (A) and (B), (x) the prepayment to, and borrowing from, any existing Lender shall be effected by book entry to the extent that any portion of the amount prepaid to such Lender will be subsequently borrowed from such Lender and (y) the existing Lenders, the Increasing Lenders and the Assuming Lenders shall make and receive payments among themselves, in a manner acceptable to the Administrative Agent, so that, after giving effect thereto, the Loans are held ratably by the Lenders in accordance with the respective Commitments of such Lenders (after giving effect to such Commitment Increase) and (C) pay to the Lenders the amounts, if any, payable under Section 2.14 as a result of any such prepayment. Notwithstanding the foregoing, unless otherwise consented in writing by the Borrower, no Commitment Increase Date shall occur on any day other than the last day of an Interest Period. Concurrently therewith, the Lenders shall be deemed to have adjusted their participation interests in any outstanding Letters of Credit so that such interests are held ratably in accordance with their commitments as so increased.

SECTION 2.08. Repayment of Loans; Evidence of Debt.

(a) Repayment. Subject to, and in accordance with, the terms of this Agreement, the Borrower hereby unconditionally promises to pay to the Administrative Agent for account of the Lenders the outstanding principal amount of the Loans on the Maturity Date.

In addition, on the date that is thirty (30) days prior to the Maturity Date, the Borrower shall deposit into the Letter of Credit Collateral Account Cash in an amount equal to 102% of the undrawn face amount of all Letters of Credit outstanding on the close of business on such date, such deposit to be held by the Administrative Agent as collateral security for the LC Exposure under this Agreement in respect of the undrawn portion of such Letters of Credit.

(b) Manner of Payment. Prior to any repayment or prepayment of any Borrowings hereunder, the Borrower shall select the Borrowing or Borrowings to be paid and shall notify the Administrative Agent by telephone (confirmed by telecopy) of such selection not later than the time set forth in Section 2.09(d) prior to the scheduled date of such repayment; provided that each repayment of Borrowings shall be applied to repay any outstanding ABR Borrowings before any other Borrowings. If the Borrower fails to make a timely selection of the Borrowing or Borrowings to be repaid or prepaid, such payment shall be applied, first, to pay any outstanding ABR Borrowings and, second, to other Borrowings in the order of the remaining duration of their respective Interest Periods (the Borrowing with the shortest remaining Interest Period to be repaid first). Each payment of a Borrowing shall be applied ratably to the Loans included in such Borrowing.

(c) Maintenance of Records by Lenders. Each Lender shall maintain in accordance with its usual practice records evidencing the indebtedness of the Borrower to such Lender resulting from each Loan made by such Lender, including the amounts of principal and interest payable and paid to such Lender from time to time hereunder.

 

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(d) Maintenance of Records by the Administrative Agent. The Administrative Agent shall maintain records in which it shall record (i) the amount of each Loan made hereunder, the Type thereof and each Interest Period therefor, (ii) the amount of any principal or interest due and payable or to become due and payable from the Borrower to each Lender hereunder and (iii) the amount of any sum received by the Administrative Agent hereunder for account of the Lenders and each Lender’s share thereof.

(e) Effect of Entries. The entries made in the records maintained pursuant to paragraph (c) or (d) of this Section shall be prima facie evidence, absent manifest error, of the existence and amounts of the obligations recorded therein; provided that the failure of any Lender or the Administrative Agent to maintain such records or any error therein shall not in any manner affect the obligation of the Borrower to repay the Loans in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.

(f) Promissory Notes. Any Lender may request that Loans made by it be evidenced by a promissory note; in such event, the Borrower shall prepare, execute and deliver to such Lender a promissory note payable to such Lender (or, if requested by such Lender, to such Lender and its permitted registered assigns) and in a form attached hereto as Exhibit C. Thereafter, the Loans evidenced by such promissory note and interest thereon shall at all times (including after assignment pursuant to Section 9.04) be represented by one or more promissory notes in such form payable to the payee named therein (or, if such promissory note is a registered note, to such payee and its permitted registered assigns).

SECTION 2.09. Prepayment of Loans.

(a) Optional Prepayments. The Borrower shall have the right at any time and from time to time to prepay any Borrowing in whole or in part, without premium or fee (but subject to Section 2.14), subject to the requirements of this Section.

(b) Mandatory Prepayments due to Borrowing Base Deficiency or Excess Revolving Credit Exposure.

(i) Borrowing Base Deficiency. In the event that at any time any Borrowing Base Deficiency shall exist, the Borrower shall prepay the Loans (or provide cover for Letters of Credit as contemplated by Section 2.04(k)) or reduce Other Covered Indebtedness in such amounts as shall be necessary so that such Borrowing Base Deficiency is promptly cured, provided that (X) the aggregate amount of such prepayment of Loans (and cover for Letters of Credit) shall be at least equal to the Revolving Percentage times the aggregate prepayment of the Covered Debt Amount; and (Y) if within 5 Business Days of the occurrence of any Borrowing Base Deficiency, the Borrower shall present to the Administrative Agent a reasonably feasible plan that will enable any such Borrowing Base Deficiency to be cured within 30-Business Days of the occurrence of such Borrowing Base Deficiency (which 30-Business Day period shall include the 5 Business Days permitted for delivery of such plan), then such prepayment or reduction shall be effected in accordance with such plan. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Borrower shall pay interest in accordance with Section 2.11(c) for so long as the Covered Debt Amount exceeds the Borrowing Base during such 30-Business Day Period. For clarity, in the event that the Borrowing Base Deficiency is not cured prior to the end of such 30-Business Day period, it is shall constitute an Event of Default under clause (a) of Article VII.

 

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(ii) Excess Revolving Credit Exposure. In the event that the amount of total Revolving Credit Exposure exceeds the total Commitments, the Borrower shall prepay Loans in such amounts as shall be necessary so that the amount of total Revolving Credit Exposure does not exceed the total Commitments.

(c) Mandatory Prepayments due to Certain Events Following Availability Period.

(i) Asset Sales. In the event that any Obligor shall receive any Net Asset Sale Proceeds at any time after the Availability Period, the Borrower shall, no later than the third Business Day following the receipt of such Net Asset Sale Proceeds, prepay the Loans in an amount equal to such Net Asset Sale Proceeds (and the Commitments shall be permanently reduced by such amount); provided, that if the Loans to be prepaid are Eurocurrency Loans, the Borrower may defer such prepayment (and permanent Commitment reduction) until the last day of the Interest Period applicable to such Loans, so long as the Borrower deposits an amount equal to such Net Asset Sale Proceeds, no later than the third Business Day following the receipt of such Net Asset Sale Proceeds, into a segregated collateral account in the name and under the dominion and control of the Administrative Agent pending application of such amount to the prepayment of the Loans (and permanent reduction of the Commitments) on the last day of such Interest Period.

(ii) Extraordinary Receipts. In the event that any Obligor shall receive any Extraordinary Receipts at any time after the Availability Period, the Borrower shall, no later than the third Business Day following the receipt of such Extraordinary Receipts, prepay the Loans in an amount equal to such Extraordinary Receipts (and the Commitments shall be permanently reduced by such amount).

(iii) Returns of Capital. In the event that any Obligor shall receive any Return of Capital at any time after the Availability Period, the Borrower shall, no later than the third Business Day following the receipt of such Return of Capital, prepay the Loans in an amount equal to such Return of Capital (and the Commitments shall be permanently reduced by such amount).

(iv) Equity Issuances. In the event that the Borrower shall receive any Cash proceeds from the issuance of Equity Interests of the Borrower at any time after the Availability Period, the Borrower shall, no later than the third Business Day following the receipt of such Cash proceeds, prepay the Loans in an amount equal to fifty percent (50%) of such Cash proceeds, net of underwriting discounts and commissions and other reasonable costs and expenses associated therewith, including reasonable legal fees and expenses (and the Commitments shall be permanently reduced by such amount).

 

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(v) Indebtedness. In the event that any Obligor shall receive any Cash proceeds from the issuance of Indebtedness at any time after the Availability Period, such Obligor shall, no later than the third Business Day following the receipt of such Cash proceeds, prepay the Loans in an amount equal to fifty percent (50%) of such Cash proceeds, net of reasonable costs and expenses associated therewith, including reasonable legal fees and expenses (and the Commitments shall be permanently reduced by such amount).

(d) Notices, Etc. The Borrower shall notify the Administrative Agent by telephone (confirmed by telecopy) of any prepayment hereunder (i) in the case of prepayment of a Eurocurrency Borrowing, not later than 11:00 a.m., New York City time, three Business Days before the date of prepayment or (ii) in the case of prepayment of an ABR Borrowing, not later than 11:00 a.m., New York City, one Business Days before the date of prepayment. Each such notice shall be irrevocable and shall specify the prepayment date, the principal amount of each Borrowing or portion thereof to be prepaid and, in the case of a mandatory prepayment, a reasonably detailed calculation of the amount of such prepayment; provided, that, if a notice of prepayment is given in connection with a conditional notice of termination of the Commitments as contemplated by Section 2.07, then such notice of prepayment may be revoked if such notice of termination is revoked in accordance with Section 2.07. Promptly following receipt of any such notice relating to a Borrowing, the Administrative Agent shall advise the Lenders of the contents thereof. Each partial prepayment of any Borrowing shall be in an amount that would be permitted in the case of a Borrowing of the same Type as provided in Section 2.02, except as necessary to apply fully the required amount of a mandatory prepayment. Each prepayment of a Borrowing shall be applied ratably to the Loans included in the prepaid Borrowing. Prepayments shall be accompanied by accrued interest to the extent required by Section 2.11 and shall be made in the manner specified in Section 2.08(b).

SECTION 2.10. Fees.

(a) Commitment Fee. The Borrower agrees to pay to the Administrative Agent for account of each Lender a commitment fee, which shall accrue at the Applicable Commitment Fee Rate on the unused amount of the Commitment of such Lender, if any, during the period from and including the Restatement Effective Date to the earlier of the date the Commitments terminate and the Commitment Termination Date. Accrued commitment fees shall be payable within one Business Day after each Quarterly Date and on the earlier of the date the Commitments terminate and the Commitment Termination Date, commencing on the first such date to occur after the Restatement Effective Date. All commitment fees shall be computed on the basis of a year of 360 days and shall be payable for the actual number of days elapsed (including the first day but excluding the last day). For purposes of computing commitment fees, the Commitments shall be deemed to be used to the extent of the outstanding Loans and LC Exposure of all Lenders.

(b) Letter of Credit Fees. The Borrower agrees to pay (i) to the Administrative Agent for account of each Lender a participation fee with respect to its participations in Letters of Credit, which shall accrue at a rate per annum equal to the Applicable Margin applicable to interest on Eurocurrency Loans on the average daily amount of such Lender’s LC Exposure (excluding any portion thereof attributable to unreimbursed LC

 

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Disbursements) during the period from and including the Original Effective Date to but excluding the later of the date on which such Lender’s Commitment terminates and the date on which such Lender ceases to have any LC Exposure, and (ii) to the Issuing Bank a fronting fee, which shall accrue at the rate of one half of one percent (0.5%) per annum on the average daily amount of the LC Exposure (excluding any portion thereof attributable to unreimbursed LC Disbursements) during the period from and including the Original Effective Date to but excluding the later of the date of termination of the Commitments and the date on which there ceases to be any LC Exposure, as well as the Issuing Bank’s standard fees with respect to the issuance, amendment renewal or extension of any Letter of Credit or processing of drawings thereunder. Participation fees and fronting fees accrued through and including each Quarterly Date shall be payable on the third Business Day following such Quarterly Date, commencing on the first such date to occur after the Original Effective Date; provided that all such fees with respect to the Letters of Credit shall be payable on the date on which the Commitments terminate and any such fees accruing after the date on which such commitments terminate shall be payable on demand. Any other fees payable to the Issuing Bank pursuant to this paragraph shall be payable within 10 days after demand. All participation fees and fronting fees shall be computed on the basis of a year of 360 days and shall be payable for the actual number of days elapsed (including the first day but excluding the last day).

(c) Administrative Agent Fees. The Borrower agrees to pay to the Administrative Agent, for its own account, fees payable in the amounts and at the times separately agreed upon between the Borrower and the Administrative Agent.

(d) Payment of Fees. All fees payable hereunder shall be paid on the dates due, in Dollars and immediately available funds, to the Administrative Agent (or to the Issuing Bank, in the case of fees payable to it) for distribution, in the case of facility fees and participation fees, to the Lenders entitled thereto. Fees paid shall not be refundable under any circumstances absent manifest error.

SECTION 2.11. Interest.

(a) ABR Loans. The Loans constituting each ABR Borrowing shall bear interest at a rate per annum equal to the Alternate Base Rate plus the Applicable Margin.

(b) Eurocurrency Loans. The Loans constituting each Eurocurrency Borrowing shall bear interest at a rate per annum equal to the Adjusted LIBO Rate for the related Interest Period for such Borrowing plus the Applicable Margin.

(c) Default Interest. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if any Event of Default has occurred and is continuing, or if at any time the Covered Debt Amount exceeds the Borrowing Base, the interest rates applicable to Loans and any fee or other amount payable by the Borrower hereunder shall bear interest, after as well as before judgment, at a rate per annum equal to (i) in the case of principal of any Loan, 2% plus the rate otherwise applicable to such Loan as provided above, (ii) in the case of any Letter of Credit, 2% plus the fee otherwise applicable to such Letter of Credit as provided in Section 2.10(b)(i), or (iii) in the case of any fee or other amount, 2% plus the rate applicable to ABR Loans as provided in paragraph (a) of this Section.

 

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(d) Payment of Interest. Accrued interest on each Loan shall be payable in arrears on each Interest Payment Date for such Loan in Dollars and upon termination of the Commitments; provided that (i) interest accrued pursuant to paragraph (c) of this Section shall be payable on demand, (ii) in the event of any repayment or prepayment of any Loan (other than a prepayment of an ABR Loan prior to the Maturity Date), accrued interest on the principal amount repaid or prepaid shall be payable on the date of such repayment or prepayment and (iii) in the event of any conversion of any Eurocurrency Borrowing prior to the end of the Interest Period therefor, accrued interest on such Borrowing shall be payable on the effective date of such conversion.

(e) Computation. All interest hereunder shall be computed on the basis of a year of 360 days, except that interest computed by reference to the Alternate Base Rate at times when the Alternate Base Rate is based on the Prime Rate shall be payable for the actual number of days elapsed (including the first day but excluding the last day). The applicable Alternate Base Rate or Adjusted LIBO Rate shall be determined by the Administrative Agent and such determination shall be conclusive absent manifest error.

SECTION 2.12. Alternate Rate of Interest. If prior to the commencement of the Interest Period for any Eurocurrency Borrowing:

(a) the Administrative Agent determines (which determination shall be conclusive absent manifest error) that adequate and reasonable means do not exist for ascertaining the Adjusted LIBO Rate for such Interest Period; or

(b) the Administrative Agent is advised by the Required Lenders that the Adjusted LIBO Rate for such Interest Period will not adequately and fairly reflect the cost to such Lenders of making or maintaining their respective Loans included in such Borrowing for such Interest Period;

then the Administrative Agent shall give notice thereof to the Borrower and the Lenders by telephone or telecopy as promptly as practicable thereafter and, until the Administrative Agent notifies the Borrower and the Lenders that the circumstances giving rise to such notice no longer exist, (i) any Interest Election Request that requests the conversion of any Borrowing to, or the continuation of any Borrowing as, a Eurocurrency Borrowing and such Borrowing (unless prepaid) shall be continued as, or converted to, an ABR Borrowing and (ii) if any Borrowing Request requests a Eurocurrency Borrowing, such Borrowing shall be made as an ABR Borrowing.

SECTION 2.13. Increased Costs.

(a) Increased Costs Generally. If any Change in Law shall:

(i) impose, modify or deem applicable any reserve, special deposit, compulsory loan, insurance charge, or similar requirement against assets of, deposits with or for account of, or credit extended by, any Lender (except any such reserve requirement reflected in the Adjusted LIBO Rate) or the Issuing Bank; or

 

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

and the result of any of the foregoing shall be to increase the cost to such Lenders of making or maintaining any Eurocurrency Loan (or of maintaining its obligation to make any such Loan) or to increase the cost to such Lender or the Issuing Bank of participating in, issuing or maintaining any Letter of Credit or to reduce the amount of any sum received or receivable by such Lender or the Issuing Bank hereunder (whether of principal, interest or otherwise), then the Borrower will pay to such Lender or the Issuing Bank, as the case may be, in Dollars, such additional amount or amounts as will compensate such Lender or the Issuing Bank, as the case may be, for such additional costs incurred or reduction suffered.

(b) Capital Requirements. If any Lender or the Issuing Bank determines that any Change in Law regarding capital or liquidity requirements has or would have the effect of reducing the rate of return on such Lender’s or the Issuing Bank’s capital or on the capital of such Lender’s or the Issuing Bank’s holding company, if any, as a consequence of this Agreement or the Loans made by, or participations in Letters of Credit held by, such Lender, or the Letters of Credit issued by the Issuing Bank, to a level below that which such Lender or the Issuing Bank or such Lender’s or the Issuing Bank’s holding company could have achieved but for such Change in Law (taking into consideration such Lender’s or the Issuing Bank’s policies and the policies of such Lender’s or the Issuing Bank’s holding company with respect to capital adequacy or liquidity position), by an amount deemed to be material by such Lender or Issuing Bank, then from time to time the Borrower will pay to such Lender or the Issuing Bank, as the case may be, in Dollars, such additional amount or amounts as will compensate such Lender or the Issuing Bank or such Lender’s or the Issuing Bank’s holding company for any such reduction suffered.

(c) Certificates from Lenders. A certificate of a Lender or the Issuing Bank setting forth the amount or amounts, in Dollars, necessary to compensate such Lender or the Issuing Bank or its holding company, as the case may be, as specified in paragraph (a) or (b) of this Section shall be promptly delivered to the Borrower and shall be conclusive absent manifest error. The Borrower shall pay such Lender or the Issuing Bank, as the case may be, the amount shown as due on any such certificate within 10 days after receipt thereof.

(d) Delay in Requests. Failure or delay on the part of any Lender or the Issuing Bank to demand compensation pursuant to this Section shall not constitute a waiver of such Lender’s or the Issuing Bank’s right to demand such compensation.

SECTION 2.14. Break Funding Payments. In the event of (a) the payment of any principal of any Eurocurrency Loan other than on the last day of an Interest Period therefor (including as a result of an Event of Default), (b) the conversion of any Eurocurrency Loan other than on the last day of an Interest Period therefor, (c) the failure to borrow, convert, continue or prepay any Loan on the date specified in any notice delivered pursuant hereto (regardless of whether such notice is permitted to be revocable under Section 2.09(d) and is revoked in accordance herewith), or (d) the assignment as a result of a request by the Borrower pursuant to Section 2.18(b) of any Eurocurrency Loan other than on the last day of an Interest Period

 

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therefor, then, in any such event, the Borrower shall compensate each Lender for the loss, cost and expense attributable to such event. In the case of a Eurocurrency Loan, the loss to any Lender attributable to any such event shall be deemed to include an amount determined by such Lender to be equal to the excess, if any, of

(i) the amount of interest that such Lender would pay for a deposit equal to the principal amount of such Loan denominated in Dollars for the period from the date of such payment, conversion, failure or assignment to the last day of the then current Interest Period for such Loan (or, in the case of a failure to borrow, convert or continue, the duration of the Interest Period that would have resulted from such borrowing, conversion or continuation) if the interest rate payable on such deposit were equal to the Adjusted LIBO Rate for Dollars for such Interest Period, over

(ii) the amount of interest that such Lender would earn on such principal amount for such period if such Lender were to invest such principal amount for such period at the interest rate that would be bid by such Lender (or an affiliate of such Lender) for deposits denominated in Dollars from other banks in the Eurocurrency market at the commencement of such period.

Payments under this Section shall be made upon request of a Lender delivered not later than five Business Days following the payment, conversion, or failure to borrow, convert, continue or prepay that gives rise to a claim under this Section accompanied by a certificate of such Lender setting forth the amount or amounts that such Lender is entitled to receive pursuant to this Section, which certificate shall be conclusive absent manifest error. The Borrower shall pay such Lender the amount shown as due on any such certificate within 10 days after receipt thereof.

SECTION 2.15. Taxes.

(a) Payments Free of Taxes. Any and all payments by or on account of any obligation of the Borrower hereunder or under any other Loan Document shall be made free and clear of and without deduction for any Covered Taxes; provided that if the Borrower shall be required to deduct any Covered Taxes from such payments, then (i) the sum payable shall be increased as necessary so that after making all required deductions (including deductions applicable to additional sums payable under this Section 2.15) the Administrative Agent, Lender or Issuing Bank (as the case may be) receives an amount equal to the sum it would have received had no such deductions been made, (ii) the Borrower shall make such deductions and (iii) the Borrower shall pay the full amount deducted to the relevant Governmental Authority in accordance with applicable law.

(b) Payment of Other Taxes by the Borrower. In addition, the Borrower shall pay any Other Taxes to the relevant Governmental Authority in accordance with applicable law.

(c) Indemnification by the Borrower. The Borrower shall indemnify the Administrative Agent, each Lender and the Issuing Bank for and, within 10 Business Days after written demand therefor, pay the full amount of any Covered Taxes (including Covered Taxes imposed or asserted on or attributable to amounts payable under this Section 2.15(c)) paid by the

 

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Administrative Agent, such Lender or the Issuing Bank, as the case may be, and any penalties, interest and reasonable expenses arising therefrom or with respect thereto, whether or not such Covered Taxes were correctly or legally imposed or asserted by the relevant Governmental Authority. A certificate as to the amount of such payment or liability delivered to the Borrower by a Lender or the Issuing Bank, or by the Administrative Agent on its own behalf or on behalf of a Lender or the Issuing Bank, shall be conclusive absent manifest error.

(d) Evidence of Payments. As soon as practicable after any payment of Covered Taxes by the Borrower to a Governmental Authority, the Borrower shall deliver to the Administrative Agent the original or a certified copy of a receipt issued by such Governmental Authority evidencing such payment, a copy of the return reporting such payment or other evidence of such payment reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent.

(e) Foreign Lenders. Any Foreign Lender that is entitled to an exemption from or reduction of withholding tax under the law of the jurisdiction in which the Borrower is located, or any treaty to which such jurisdiction is a party, with respect to payments under this Agreement shall deliver to the Borrower (with a copy to the Administrative Agent), at the time or times prescribed by applicable law or reasonably requested by the Borrower, such properly completed and executed documentation prescribed by applicable law as will permit such payments to be made without withholding or at a reduced rate.

In addition, any Foreign Lender, if requested by the Borrower or the Administrative Agent, shall deliver such other documentation prescribed by applicable law or reasonably requested by the Borrower or the Administrative Agent as will enable the Borrower or the Administrative Agent to determine whether or not such Foreign Lender is subject to backup withholding or information reporting requirements.

Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, if the Borrower is resident for U.S. federal income tax purposes in the United States, (A) any Lender that is a “United States person” as defined in section 7701(a)(30) of the Code shall deliver to the Borrower and the Administrative Agent on or prior to the date on which such Lender becomes a Lender under this Agreement (and from time to time thereafter upon the reasonable request of the Borrower or the Administrative Agent), duly completed copies of Internal Revenue Service Form W-9 or such other documentation or information prescribed by applicable laws or reasonably requested by the Borrower or the Administrative Agent as will enable the Borrower or the Administrative Agent, as the case may be, to determine whether or not such Lender is subject to backup withholding or information reporting requirement; and (B) each Foreign Lender shall deliver to the Borrower and the Administrative Agent (in such number of copies as shall be requested by the recipient) on or prior to the date on which such Foreign Lender becomes a Lender under this Agreement (and from time to time thereafter upon the reasonable request of the Borrower or the Administrative Agent, but, in any event, only if such Foreign Lender is legally entitled to do so), whichever of the following is applicable:

(i) duly completed copies of Internal Revenue Service Form W-8BEN or any successor form claiming eligibility for benefits of an income tax treaty to which the United States is a party,

 

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(ii) duly completed copies of Internal Revenue Service Form W-8ECI or any successor form certifying that the income receivable pursuant to this Agreement is effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business in the United States,

(iii) in the case of a Foreign Lender claiming the benefits of the exemption for portfolio interest under Section 881(c) of the Code, (A) a certificate, signed under penalties of perjury, to the effect that such Foreign Lender is not (1) a “bank” within the meaning of Section 881(c)(3)(A) of the Code, (2) a “10 percent shareholder” of the Borrower within the meaning of Section 881(c)(3)(B) of the Code, or (3) a “controlled foreign corporation” described in Section 881(c)(3)(C) of the Code and (B) duly completed copies of Internal Revenue Service Form W-8BEN (or any successor form) certifying that the Foreign Lender is not a United States Person, or

(iv) any other form including Internal Revenue Service Form W-8IMY as applicable prescribed by applicable law as a basis for claiming exemption from or a reduction in United States Federal withholding tax duly completed together with such supplementary documentation as may be prescribed by applicable law to permit the Borrower to determine the withholding or deduction required to be made.

In addition, each Foreign Lender shall deliver such forms promptly upon the expiration or invalidity of any form previously delivered by such Foreign Lender, provided it is legally able to do so at the time. Each Foreign Lender shall promptly notify the Borrower and the Administrative Agent at any time that it becomes aware that it no longer satisfies the legal requirements to provide any previously delivered form or certificate to the Borrower (or any other form of certification adopted by the U.S. or other taxing authorities for such purpose).

(f) Treatment of Certain Refunds. If the Administrative Agent, any Lender or an Issuing Bank determines, in its sole discretion, that it has received a refund or credit (in lieu of such refund) of any Covered Taxes or Other Taxes as to which it has been indemnified by the Borrower or with respect to which the Borrower has paid additional amounts pursuant to this Section, it shall pay to the Borrower an amount equal to such refund or credit (but only to the extent of indemnity payments made, or additional amounts paid, by the Borrower under this Section with respect to the Covered Taxes or Other Taxes giving rise to such refund or credit), net of all reasonable out-of-pocket expenses of the Administrative Agent, any Lender or an Issuing Bank, as the case may be, and without interest (other than any interest paid by the relevant Governmental Authority with respect to such refund or credit), provided that the Borrower, upon the request of the Administrative Agent, any Lender or an Issuing Bank, agrees to repay the amount paid over to the Borrower (plus any penalties, interest or other charges imposed by the relevant Governmental Authority) to the Administrative Agent, any Lender or an Issuing Bank in the event the Administrative Agent, any Lender or an Issuing Bank is required to repay such refund or credit to such Governmental Authority. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this paragraph (f), in no event will the Administrative Agent or any Lender be required to pay any amount to the Borrower pursuant to this paragraph (f) the payment of which would place the Administrative Agent or such Lender in a less favorable net position after-Taxes than the Administrative Agent or such Lender would have been in if the indemnification payments or additional amounts giving rise to such refund had never been paid. This subsection shall not be construed to require the Administrative Agent, any Lender or an Issuing Bank to make available its tax returns or its books or records (or any other information relating to its taxes that it deems confidential) to the Borrower or any other Person.

 

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(g) Conduit Financing Arrangements. Each of the Administrative Agent and each Lender represents that as of the date hereof (or, in the case of an assignee pursuant to Section 9.04(b)(i), as of the date of assignment) it is not participating in a conduit financing arrangement as defined in Section 7701(l) of the Code and the regulations thereunder (regardless of whether such arrangement is pursuant to the use of an SPC as defined in Section 9.04(e)) in connection with its participation in any of the Loan Documents (a “Conduit Financing Arrangement”). Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section 2.15, if the Internal Revenue Service determines that any SPC (as defined in Section 9.04(e)) is a conduit entity participating in a Conduit Financing Arrangement with respect to any Loan Document and the Borrower was not a participant to such arrangement (other than as a Borrower under this Agreement), then (i) the Borrower shall have no obligation to pay additional amounts or indemnify the SPC for any Taxes with respect to any payments hereunder to the extent that the amount of such Taxes exceeds the amount that would have otherwise been withheld or deducted had the Internal Revenue Service not made such a determination and (ii) such SPC shall indemnify the Borrowers in full for any and all taxes for which the Borrower is held directly liable under Section 1461 of the Code by virtue of such Conduit Financing Arrangement; provided that such Borrower (A) promptly forward to the indemnitor an official receipt of such documentation satisfactorily evidencing such payment, (B) contest such tax upon the reasonable request of the indemnitor and at such indemnitor’s cost and (C) pay such indemnitor within thirty (30) days any refund of such taxes (including interest thereon).

(h) FATCA Compliance. If a payment made to a Foreign Lender hereunder would be subject to United States federal withholding Tax imposed by FATCA if such Foreign Lender fails to comply with the applicable reporting requirements of FATCA (including those contained in Section 1471(b) or 1472(b) of the Code, as applicable), such Foreign Lender shall deliver to the Borrower and Administrative Agent documentation that it is required to deliver under applicable law to enable the Borrower and Administrative Agent to comply with their obligations under FATCA and to determine that such Foreign Lender has complied with such applicable reporting requirements.

SECTION 2.16. Payments Generally; Pro Rata Treatment: Sharing of Set-offs.

(a) Payments by the Borrower. The Borrower shall make each payment required to be made by it hereunder (whether of principal, interest, fees or reimbursement of LC Disbursements, or under Section 2.13, 2.14 or 2.15, or otherwise) or under any other Loan Document (except to the extent otherwise provided therein) prior to 12:00 noon, New York City time, on the date when due, in immediately available funds, without set-off or counterclaim. Any amounts received after such time on any date may, in the discretion of the Administrative Agent, be deemed to have been received on the next succeeding Business Day for purposes of calculating interest thereon. All such payments shall be made to the Administrative Agent at the Administrative Agent’s Account, except as otherwise expressly provided in the relevant Loan Document and except payments to be made directly to the Issuing Bank as expressly provided herein and payments pursuant to Sections 2.13, 2.14, 2.15 and 9.03, which shall be made directly to the Persons entitled thereto. The Administrative Agent shall distribute any such payments

 

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received by it for account of any other Person to the appropriate recipient promptly following receipt thereof. If any payment hereunder shall be due on a day that is not a Business Day, the date for payment shall be extended to the next succeeding Business Day and, in the case of any payment accruing interest, interest thereon shall be payable for the period of such extension.

All amounts owing under this Agreement (including commitment fees, payments required under Sections 2.13 and 2.14 or under any other Loan Document (except to the extent otherwise provided therein) are payable in Dollars.

(b) Application of Insufficient Payments. If at any time insufficient funds are received by and available to the Administrative Agent to pay fully all amounts of principal, unreimbursed LC Disbursements, interest and fees then due hereunder, such funds shall be applied (i) first, to pay interest and fees then due hereunder, ratably among the parties entitled thereto in accordance with the amounts of interest and fees then due to such parties, and (ii) second, to pay principal and unreimbursed LC Disbursements then due hereunder, ratably among the parties entitled thereto in accordance with the amounts of principal and unreimbursed LC Disbursements then due to such parties.

(c) Pro Rata Treatment. Except to the extent otherwise provided herein: (i) each Borrowing shall be made from the Lenders, each payment of commitment fee under Section 2.10 shall be made for account of the Lenders, and each termination or reduction of the amount of the Commitments under Section 2.07, Section 2.09 or otherwise shall be applied to the respective Commitments of the Lenders, pro rata according to the amounts of their respective Commitments; (ii) each Borrowing shall be allocated pro rata among the Lenders according to the amounts of their respective Commitments (in the case of the making of Loans) or their respective Loans that are to be included in such Borrowing (in the case of conversions and continuations of Loans); (iii) each payment or prepayment of principal of Loans by the Borrower shall be made for account of the Lenders pro rata in accordance with the respective unpaid principal amounts of the Loans held by them; and (iv) each payment of interest on Loans by the Borrower shall be made for account of the Lenders pro rata in accordance with the amounts of interest on such Loans then due and payable to the respective Lenders.

(d) Sharing of Payments by Lenders. If any Lender shall, by exercising any right of set-off or counterclaim or otherwise, obtain payment in respect of any principal of or interest on any of its Loans, or participations in LC Disbursements, resulting in such Lender receiving payment of a greater proportion of the aggregate amount of its Loans, and participations in LC Disbursements, and accrued interest thereon then due than the proportion received by any other Lender, then the Lender receiving such greater proportion shall purchase (for cash at face value) participations in the Loans, and participations in LC Disbursements, of other Lenders to the extent necessary so that the benefit of all such payments shall be shared by the Lenders ratably in accordance with the aggregate amount of principal of and accrued interest on their respective Loans, and participations in LC Disbursements; provided that (i) if any such participations are purchased and all or any portion of the payment giving rise thereto is recovered, such participations shall be rescinded and the purchase price restored to the extent of such recovery, without interest, and (ii) the provisions of this paragraph shall not be construed to apply to any payment made by the Borrower pursuant to and in accordance with the express terms of this Agreement or any payment obtained by a Lender as consideration for the

 

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assignment of or sale of a participation in any of its Loans or participations in LC Disbursements to any assignee or participant, other than to the Borrower or any Subsidiary or Affiliate thereof (as to which the provisions of this paragraph shall apply). The Borrower consents to the foregoing and agrees, to the extent it may effectively do so under applicable law, that any Lender acquiring a participation pursuant to the foregoing arrangements may exercise against the Borrower rights of set-off and counterclaim with respect to such participation as fully as if such Lender were a direct creditor of the Borrower in the amount of such participation.

(e) Presumptions of Payment. Unless the Administrative Agent shall have received notice from the Borrower prior to the date on which any payment is due to the Administrative Agent for account of the Lenders or the Issuing Bank hereunder that the Borrower will not make such payment, the Administrative Agent may assume that the Borrower has made such payment on such date in accordance herewith and may, in reliance upon such assumption, distribute to the Lenders or the Issuing Bank, as the case may be, the amount due. In such event, if the Borrower has not in fact made such payment, then each of the Lenders or the Issuing Bank, as the case may be, severally agrees to repay to the Administrative Agent forthwith on demand the amount so distributed to such Lender or the Issuing Bank with interest thereon, for each day from and including the date such amount is distributed to it to but excluding the date of payment to the Administrative Agent at the Federal Funds Effective Rate.

(f) Certain Deductions by the Administrative Agent. If any Lender shall fail to make any payment required to be made by it pursuant to Section 2.04(e), 2.05(a) or (b) or 2.16(e), then the Administrative Agent may, in its discretion (notwithstanding any contrary provision hereof), apply any amounts thereafter received by the Administrative Agent for account of such Lender to satisfy such Lender’s obligations under such Sections until all such unsatisfied obligations are fully paid.

SECTION 2.17. Defaulting Lenders.

Notwithstanding any provision of this Agreement to the contrary, if any Lender becomes a Defaulting Lender, then the following provisions shall apply for so long as such Lender is a Defaulting Lender:

(a) commitment fees pursuant to Section 2.10(a) shall cease to accrue on the unfunded portion of the Commitment of such Defaulting Lender;

(b) the Commitment and Revolving Credit Exposure of such Defaulting Lender shall not be included in determining whether all Lenders or the Required Lenders have taken or may take any action hereunder or under any other Loan Document (including any consent to any amendment or waiver pursuant to Section 9.02, except for any amendment or waiver described in Section 9.02(b)(i), (ii) or (iii)), provided that any waiver, amendment or modification requiring the consent of all Lenders or each affected Lender which affects such Defaulting Lender differently than other affected Lenders shall require the consent of such Defaulting Lender;

 

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(c) if any LC Exposure exists at the time a Lender becomes a Defaulting Lender then:

(i) all or any part of such LC Exposure shall be reallocated among the non-Defaulting Lenders in accordance with their respective Applicable Percentages but only to the extent (x) the sum of all non-Defaulting Lenders’ Revolving Credit Exposures plus such Defaulting Lender’s LC Exposure does not exceed the total of all non-Defaulting Lenders’ Commitments, (y) no non-Defaulting Lender’s Revolving Credit Exposure will exceed such Lender’s Commitment, and (z) the conditions set forth in Section 4.02 are satisfied at such time;

(ii) if the reallocation described in clause (i) above cannot, or can only partially, be effected, the Borrower shall, without prejudice to any right or remedy available to it hereunder or under law, within three Business Days following notice by the Administrative Agent, cash collateralize such Defaulting Lender’s LC Exposure (after giving effect to any partial reallocation pursuant to clause (i) above) in accordance with the procedures set forth in Section 2.04(k) for so long as such LC Exposure is outstanding;

(iii) if the Borrower cash collateralizes any portion of such Defaulting Lender’s LC Exposure pursuant to clause (ii) above, the Borrower shall not be required to pay any fees to such Defaulting Lender pursuant to Section 2.10(b) with respect to such Defaulting Lender’s LC Exposure during the period such Defaulting Lender’s LC Exposure is cash collateralized;

(iv) if the LC Exposure of the non-Defaulting Lenders is reallocated pursuant to clause (i) above, then the fees payable to the Lenders pursuant to Section 2.10(a) and Section 2.10(b) shall be adjusted in accordance with such non-Defaulting Lenders’ Applicable Percentages; and

(v) if any Defaulting Lender’s LC Exposure is neither cash collateralized nor reallocated pursuant to this Section 2.17(c), then, without prejudice to any rights or remedies of the Issuing Bank or any Lender hereunder, all facility fees that otherwise would have been payable to such Defaulting Lender (solely with respect to the portion of such Defaulting Lender’s Commitment that was utilized by such LC Exposure) and letter of credit fees payable under Section 2.10(b) with respect to such Defaulting Lender’s LC Exposure shall be payable to the Issuing Bank until such LC Exposure is cash collateralized and/or reallocated; and

(d) so long as any Lender is a Defaulting Lender, the Issuing Bank shall not be required to issue, amend or increase any Letter of Credit, unless it is satisfied that the related exposure will be 100% covered by the Commitments of the non-Defaulting Lenders and/or cash collateral will be provided by the Borrower in accordance with Section 2.17(c), and participating interests in any such newly issued or increased Letter of Credit shall be allocated among non-Defaulting Lenders in a manner consistent with Section 2.17(c)(i) (and Defaulting Lenders shall not participate therein).

 

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In the event that the Administrative Agent, the Borrower and the Issuing Bank each agrees that a Defaulting Lender has adequately remedied all matters that caused such Lender to be a Defaulting Lender, then the LC Exposure of the Lenders shall be readjusted to reflect the inclusion of such Lender’s Commitment and on such date such Lender shall purchase at par such of the Loans of the other Lenders as the Administrative shall determine may be necessary in order for such Lender to hold such Loans in accordance with its Applicable Percentage.

SECTION 2.18. Mitigation Obligations; Replacement of Lenders.

(a) Designation of a Different Lending Office. If any Lender requests compensation under Section 2.13, or if the Borrower is required to pay any additional amount to any Lender or any Governmental Authority for account of any Lender pursuant to Section 2.15, then such Lender shall use reasonable efforts (subject to overall policy considerations of such Lender) to designate a different lending office for funding or booking its Loans hereunder or to assign its rights and obligations hereunder to another of its offices, branches or affiliates, if in the sole judgment of such Lender, such designation or assignment (i) would eliminate or reduce amounts payable pursuant to Section 2.13 or 2.15, as the case may be, in the future and (ii) would not subject such Lender to any cost or expense not required to be reimbursed by the Borrower and would not otherwise be disadvantageous to such Lender. The Borrower hereby agrees to pay all reasonable costs and expenses incurred by any Lender in connection with any such designation or assignment.

(b) Replacement of Lenders. If any Lender requests compensation under Section 2.13, or if the Borrower is required to pay any additional amount to any Lender or any Governmental Authority for account of any Lender pursuant to Section 2.15, or if any Lender becomes a Defaulting Lender, or if any Lender becomes a Non-Consenting Lender, then the Borrower may, at its sole expense and effort, upon notice to such Lender and the Administrative Agent, require such Lender to assign and delegate, without recourse (in accordance with and subject to the restrictions contained in Section 9.04), all its interests, rights and obligations under this Agreement to an assignee that shall assume such obligations (which assignee may be another Lender, if a Lender accepts such assignment); provided that (i) the Borrower shall have received the prior written consent of the Administrative Agent (and, if a Commitment is being assigned, the Issuing Bank), which consent shall not unreasonably be withheld, (ii) such Lender shall have received payment of an amount equal to the outstanding principal of its Loans and participations in LC Disbursements, accrued interest thereon, accrued fees and all other amounts payable to it hereunder (excluding, for the avoidance of doubt, any payments under Section 2.07(e) hereof), from the assignee (to the extent of such outstanding principal and accrued interest and fees) or the Borrower (in the case of all other amounts) and (iii) in the case of any such assignment resulting from a claim for compensation under Section 2.13 or payments required to be made pursuant to Section 2.15, such assignment will result in a reduction in such compensation or payments. A Lender shall not be required to make any such assignment and delegation if prior thereto, as a result of a waiver by such Lender or otherwise, the circumstances entitling the Borrower to require such assignment and delegation cease to apply.

(c) Defaulting Lenders. If any Lender shall fail to make any payment required to be made by it pursuant to Section 2.04(e), 2.05 or 9.03(c), then the Administrative Agent may, in its discretion and notwithstanding any contrary provision hereof, (i) apply any amounts thereafter received by the Administrative Agent for the account of such Lender for the benefit of the Administrative Agent or the Issuing Bank to satisfy such Lender’s obligations

 

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under such Sections until all such unsatisfied obligations are fully paid, and/or (ii) hold any such amounts in a segregated account as cash collateral for, and application to, any future funding obligations of such Lender under such Sections, in the case of each of clauses (i) and (ii) above, in any order as determined by the Administrative Agent in its discretion.

ARTICLE III

REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES

The Borrower represents and warrants to the Lenders that:

SECTION 3.01. Organization; Powers. Each of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries is duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization, has all requisite power and authority to carry on its business as now conducted and, except where the failure to do so, individually or in the aggregate, could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, is qualified to do business in, and is in good standing in, every jurisdiction where the failure to do so could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

SECTION 3.02. Authorization; Enforceability. The Transactions are within the Borrower’s corporate powers and have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate and, if required, by all necessary shareholder action. This Agreement has been duly executed and delivered by the Borrower and constitutes, and each of the other Loan Documents when executed and delivered will constitute, a legal, valid and binding obligation of the Borrower, enforceable in accordance with its terms, except as such enforceability may be limited by (a) bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or similar laws of general applicability affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights and (b) the application of general principles of equity (regardless of whether such enforceability is considered in a proceeding in equity or at law).

SECTION 3.03. Governmental Approvals; No Conflicts. The Transactions (a) do not require any consent or approval of registration or filing with, or any other action by, any Governmental Authority, except for (i) such as have been or will be obtained or made and are in full force and effect and (ii) filings and recordings in respect of the Liens created pursuant to the Security Documents, (b) will not violate any applicable law or regulation or the charter, by-laws or other organizational documents of the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries or any order of any Governmental Authority, (c) will not violate or result in a default in any material respect under any indenture, agreement or other instrument binding upon the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries or assets (including, without limitation, any Structured Facility Agreement - FSF), or give rise to a right thereunder to require any payment to be made by any such Person, and (d) except for the Liens created pursuant to the Security Documents, will not result in the creation or imposition of any Lien on any asset of the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries.

 

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SECTION 3.04. Financial Condition; No Material Adverse Effect.

(a) Financial Statements. The Borrower has heretofore delivered to the Lenders the unaudited interim consolidated balance sheet and statements of operations, changes in net assets and cash flows of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries as of and for the three month period ended December 31, 2010 (as reported in the Borrower’s Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on January 31, 2011), certified by a Financial Officer of the Borrower. Such financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position and results of operations and cash flows of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries as of such date and for such period in accordance with GAAP, subject to year-end audit adjustments and the absence of footnotes. None of the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries has any material contingent liabilities, liabilities for taxes, unusual forward or long-term commitments or unrealized or anticipated losses from any unfavorable commitments not reflected in the financial statements referred to above.

(b) No Material Adverse Effect. Since December 31, 2010, there has not been any event, development or circumstance that has had or could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

SECTION 3.05. Litigation. There are no actions, suits, investigations or proceedings by or before any arbitrator or Governmental Authority now pending against or, to the knowledge of the Borrower, threatened against or affecting the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries (i) as to which there is a reasonable possibility of an adverse determination and that, if adversely determined, could reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to result in a Material Adverse Effect or (ii) that involve this Agreement or the Transactions.

SECTION 3.06. Compliance with Laws and Agreements. Each of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries is in compliance with all laws, regulations and orders of any Governmental Authority applicable to it or its property and all indentures, agreements and other instruments binding upon it or its property (including, without limitation, the Structured Facility Agreements - FSF), except where the failure to do so, individually or in the aggregate, could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. Neither the Borrower nor any of its Subsidiaries is subject to any contract or other arrangement, the performance of which by the Borrower could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect (other than the SBIC Guarantee, provided that the failure of the Borrower to perform its obligations thereunder could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect so long as the Borrower does not “Participate In” an “Impermissible Change of Control” (as each such term is defined in the SBIC Guarantee and which, for the avoidance of doubt, would constitute an Event of Default hereunder)).

SECTION 3.07. Taxes. Each of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries has timely filed or has caused to be timely filed all material U.S. federal, state and local Tax returns that are required to be filed by it and all other material Tax returns that are required to be filed by it and has paid all Taxes for which it is directly or indirectly liable and any assessments made against it or any of its property and all other Taxes, fees or other charges imposed on it or any of its property by any Governmental Authority, other than any Taxes, fees or other charges the amount or validity of which is currently being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings and

 

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with respect to which reserves in conformity with GAAP have been provided on the books of the Borrower or its Subsidiaries, as the case may be. The charges, accruals and reserves on the books of the Borrower and any of its Subsidiaries in respect of Taxes and other governmental charges are adequate.

SECTION 3.08. ERISA. No ERISA Event has occurred or is reasonably expected to occur that, when taken together with all other such ERISA Events for which liability is reasonably expected to occur, could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

SECTION 3.09. Disclosure. The Borrower has disclosed to the Lenders all agreements, instruments and corporate or other restrictions to which it or any of its Subsidiaries is subject, and all other matters known to it, that, individually or in the aggregate, could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. None of the reports, financial statements, certificates or other information furnished by or on behalf of the Borrower to the Lenders in connection with the negotiation of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents or delivered hereunder or thereunder (as modified or supplemented by other information so furnished) contains any material misstatement of fact or omits to state any material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided that with respect to projected financial information, the Borrower represents only that such information was prepared in good faith based upon assumptions believed to be reasonable at the time (it being understood that actual results during the period or periods covered by any such projections and forecasts may differ from the projected or forecasted results and such differences may be material).

SECTION 3.10. Investment Company Act; Margin Regulations.

(a) Status as Business Development Company. The Borrower is an “investment company” that has elected to be regulated as a “business development company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act and qualifies as a RIC (and has qualified as a RIC at all times since January 2, 2008).

(b) Compliance with Investment Company Act. The business and other activities of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries, including the borrowing of the Loans hereunder, the application of the proceeds and repayment thereof by the Borrower and the consummation of the Transactions contemplated by the Loan Documents do not result in a violation or breach in any material respect of the provisions of the Investment Company Act or any rules, regulations or orders issued by the SEC thereunder.

(c) Investment Policies. The Borrower is in compliance in all material respects with the Investment Policies.

(d) Use of Credit. Neither the Borrower nor any of its Subsidiaries is engaged principally, or as one of its important activities, in the business of extending credit for the purpose, whether immediate, incidental or ultimate, of buying or carrying Margin Stock, and no part of the proceeds of any extension of credit hereunder will be used to buy or carry any Margin Stock.

 

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SECTION 3.11. Material Agreements and Liens.

(a) Material Agreements. Schedule 3.11(a) is a complete and correct list of each credit agreement, loan agreement, indenture, purchase agreement, guarantee, letter of credit or other arrangement providing for or otherwise relating to any Indebtedness or any extension of credit (or commitment for any extension of credit) to, or guarantee by, the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries outstanding on the date hereofAmendment No. 3 Effective Date, and the aggregate principal or face amount outstanding or that is, or may become, outstanding under each such arrangement is correctly described in Schedule 3.11(a).

(b) Liens. Schedule 3.11(b) is a complete and correct list of each Lien securing Indebtedness of any Person outstanding on the date hereofAmendment No. 3 Effective Date covering any property of the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries, and the aggregate Indebtedness secured (or that may be secured) by each such Lien and the property covered by each such Lien is correctly described in Schedule 3.11(b).

SECTION 3.12. Subsidiaries and Investments.

(a) Subsidiaries. Set forth in Schedule 3.12(a) is a complete and correct list of all of the Subsidiaries of the Borrower as of the Amendment No. 13 Effective Date together with, for each such Subsidiary, (i) the jurisdiction of organization of such Subsidiary, (ii) each Person holding ownership interests in such Subsidiary and (iii) the nature of the ownership interests held by each such Person and the percentage of ownership of such Subsidiary represented by such ownership interests. Except as disclosed in Schedule 3.12(a), as of the Amendment No. 13 Effective Date, (x) other than pursuant to the terms of the Structured Pledge Agreement - FSF (in the case of ownership interests in Fifth Street Funding, LLC), the Borrower owns, free and clear of Liens, and has the unencumbered right to vote, all outstanding ownership interests in each Person shown to be held by it in Schedule 3.12(a), (y) all of the issued and outstanding capital stock of each such Person organized as a corporation is validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable and (z) there are no outstanding Equity Interests with respect to such Person.

(b) Investments. Set forth in Schedule 3.12(b) is a complete and correct list of all Investments (other than Investments of the types referred to in clauses (b), (c), (d) and, (e) and (f) of Section 6.04) held by the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries in any Person on the date hereofas of the Amendment No. 3 Effective Date and, for each such Investment, (x) the identity of the Person or Persons holding such Investment and (y) the nature of such Investment. Except as disclosed in Schedule 3.12(b), each of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries owns, free and clear of all Liens (other than Liens permitted pursuant to Section 6.02), all such Investments.

SECTION 3.13. Properties.

(a) Title Generally. Each of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries has good title to, or valid leasehold interests in, all its real and personal property material to its business, except for minor defects in title that do not interfere with its ability to conduct its business as currently conducted or to utilize such properties for their intended purposes.

 

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(b) Intellectual Property. Each of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries owns, or is licensed to use, all trademarks, tradenames, copyrights, patents and other intellectual property material to its business, and the use thereof by the Borrower and its Subsidiaries does not infringe upon the rights of any other Person, except for any such infringements that, individually or in the aggregate, could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

SECTION 3.14. Solvency. Each Obligor is and, upon the incurrence of any extension of credit hereunder by such Obligor on any date on which this representation and warranty is made, will be, Solvent.

SECTION 3.15. Affiliate Agreements. As of the Original Effective Date, the Borrower has heretofore delivered to each of the Lenders true and complete copies of each of the Affiliate Agreements (including any schedules and exhibits thereto, and any amendments, supplements or waivers executed and delivered thereunder) and, except as set forth on Schedule 3.15, there have been no modifications to such agreements since the Original Effective Date, except as modified pursuant to Section 6.11(b). As of the RestatementAmendment No. 3 Effective Date, each of the Affiliate Agreements is in full force and effect.

SECTION 3.16. Structured Subsidiaries

(a) There are no agreements or other documents relating to any Structured Subsidiary binding upon the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries (other than such Structured Subsidiary) other than as permitted under clause (b) of the definition thereof.

(b) The Borrower has not Guaranteed the Indebtedness or other obligations in respect of any credit facility relating to the Structured Subsidiaries, other than pursuant to Standard Securitization Undertakings.

ARTICLE IV

CONDITIONS

SECTION 4.01. Restatement Effective Date. The effectiveness of this Agreement and of the obligations of the Lenders to make Loans and of the Issuing Bank to issue Letters of Credit hereunder shall not become effective until completion of each of the following conditions precedent (unless a condition shall have been waived in accordance with Section 9.02):

(a) Documents. Administrative Agent shall have received each of the following documents, each of which shall be satisfactory to the Administrative Agent (and to the extent specified below to each Lender) in form and substance:

(i) Executed Counterparts. From each party hereto either (x) a counterpart of this Agreement signed on behalf of each Existing Lender, each New Lender, the Borrower, the Administrative Agent and the Issuing Bank, or (y) written evidence satisfactory to the Administrative Agent (which may include telecopy transmission of a signed signature page to this Agreement) that such party has signed a counterpart of this Agreement.

 

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(ii) Guarantee and Security Agreement. An Amendment and Reaffirmation of the Guarantee and Security Agreement, in the form of Exhibit D (the “Amendment and Reaffirmation”), duly executed and delivered by the Borrower and each Subsidiary Guarantor;

(iii) Investment Policy Amendment. An amendment to the Borrower’s Investment Policies permitting the Borrower to invest in Asset Managers, which shall be in the form attached hereto as Exhibit E (the “Investment Policy Amendment”);

(iv) Opinion of Counsel to the Borrower. A favorable written opinion (addressed to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders and dated as of the date hereof) of Rutan & Tucker, LLP, counsel for the Obligors, in form and substance reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent and covering such matters as the Administrative Agent may reasonably request (and the Borrower hereby instructs such counsel to deliver such opinion to the Lenders and the Administrative Agent);

(v) Corporate Documents. (a) A certificate, from the secretary of each Obligor, that there has been no change to the organizational documents of each Obligor delivered as of the Original Effective Date, (b) signature and incumbency certificates of the officers of such Person executing this Agreement and the Amendment and Reaffirmation, (c) resolutions of the board of directors or similar governing body of each Obligor approving and authorizing the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the Amendment and Reaffirmation, (d) a good standing certificate from the applicable Governmental Authority of each Obligor’s jurisdiction of incorporation, organization or formation and in each jurisdiction in which it is qualified as a foreign corporation or other entity to do business, each dated a recent date prior to the Restatement Effective Date, and (e) such other documents and certificates as the Administrative Agent or its counsel may reasonably request relating to the organization, existence and good standing of the Obligors, the authorization of the Transactions and any other legal matters relating to the Obligors, this Agreement or the Transactions, all in form and substance satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and its counsel.

(vi) Officer’s Certificate. A certificate, dated the Restatement Effective Date and signed by a Financial Officer of the Borrower, confirming compliance with the conditions set forth in Sections 4.02(a), (b), (c) and (d), and certifying that before and after giving effect to the Transactions, each Obligor is and will be Solvent.

(vii) Borrowing Base Certificate. A Borrowing Base Certificate showing a calculation of the Borrowing Base as of the Restatement Effective Date.

(b) Consents. The Borrower shall have obtained and delivered to the Administrative Agent certified copies of all consents, approvals, authorizations, registrations, or filings required to be made or obtained by the Borrower and all guarantors in connection with the Transactions and any transaction being financed with the proceeds of the Loans and such

 

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consents, approvals, authorizations, registrations, filings and orders shall be in full force and effect and all applicable waiting periods shall have expired and no investigation or inquiry by any Governmental Authority regarding the Transactions or any transaction being financed with the proceeds of the Loans shall be ongoing.

(c) No Litigation. There shall not exist any action, suit, investigation, litigation or proceeding or other legal or regulatory developments pending or threatened in any court or before any arbitrator or Governmental Authority that relates to the Transactions or that could have a Material Adverse Effect.

(d) Fees and Expenses. The Borrower shall have paid in full to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders all fees and expenses related to this Agreement owing on the Restatement Effective Date, including the break funding payments, if any, payable under Section 2.14 as a result of the Commitment Increase taking effect on the Restatement Effective Date.

(e) Accrued Interest and Commitment Fees. The Borrower shall have paid to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders (i) all accrued but unpaid commitment fees as of the Restatement Effective Date, provided that such fees shall be paid at the rate set forth in the Existing Credit Agreement, and (ii) all accrued but unpaid interest as of the Restatement Effective Date, provided that such interest shall be paid at the rate set forth in the Existing Credit Agreement.

(f) Other Documents. The Administrative Agent shall have received such other documents as the Administrative Agent may reasonably request in form and substance satisfactory to the Administrative Agent.

(g) Representations and Warranties. The representations and warranties of the Borrower set forth in this Agreement shall be true and correct in all material respects (other than any representation or warranty already qualified by materiality or Material Adverse Effect, which shall be true and correct in all respects) on and as of the Restatement Effective Date, or, as to any such representation or warranty that refers to a specific date, as of such specific date.

(h) Default. On the Restatement Effective Date, no Default shall have occurred and be continuing.

SECTION 4.02. Each Credit Event. The obligation of each Lender to make any Loan, and of the Issuing Bank to issue, amend, renew or extend any Letter of Credit, including any such extension of credit on the Restatement Effective Date is additionally subject to the satisfaction of the following conditions:

(a) the representations and warranties of the Borrower set forth in this Agreement and in the other Loan Documents shall be true and correct in all material respects (other than any representation or warranty already qualified by materiality or Material Adverse Effect, which shall be true and correct in all respects) on and as of the date of such Loan or the date of issuance, amendment, renewal or extension of such Letter of Credit, as applicable, or, as to any such representation or warranty that refers to a specific date, as of such specific date;

 

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(b) at the time of and immediately after giving effect to such Loan or the issuance, amendment, renewal or extension of such Letter of Credit, as applicable, no Default shall have occurred and be continuing;

(c) either (i) the aggregate Covered Debt Amount (after giving effect to such extension of credit) shall not exceed the Borrowing Base reflected on the Borrowing Base Certificate most recently delivered to the Administrative Agent or (ii) the Borrower shall have delivered an updated Borrowing Base Certificate demonstrating that the Covered Debt Amount (after giving effect to such extension of credit) shall not exceed the Borrowing Base after giving effect to such extension of credit as well as any concurrent acquisitions of Portfolio Investments by the Borrower or payment of outstanding Loans or Other Covered Indebtedness;

(d) after giving effect to such extension of credit, the Borrower shall be in pro forma compliance with each of the covenants set forth in Sections 6.07(a), (b), (d) and (e); and

(e) the proposed date of such extension of credit shall take place during the Availability Period.

Each Borrowing and each issuance, amendment, renewal or extension of a Letter of Credit shall be deemed to constitute a representation and warranty by the Borrower on the date thereof as to the matters specified in the preceding sentence.

ARTICLE V

AFFIRMATIVE COVENANTS

Until the Termination Date, the Borrower covenants and agrees with the Lenders that:

SECTION 5.01. Financial Statements and Other Information. The Borrower will furnish to the Administrative Agent and each Lender:

(a) within 90 days after the end of each fiscal year of the Borrower, the audited consolidated balance sheet and related statements of operations, stockholders’ equity and cash flows of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries as of the end of and for such year, setting forth in each case in comparative form the figures for the previous fiscal year, all reported on by PricewaterhouseCoopers or other independent public accountants of recognized national standing to the effect that such consolidated financial statements present fairly in all material respects the financial condition and results of operations of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis in accordance with GAAP consistently applied (which report shall be unqualified as to going concern and scope of audit and shall not contain any explanatory paragraph or paragraph of emphasis with respect to going concern); provided that the requirements set forth in this clause (a) may be fulfilled by providing to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders the report of the Borrower to the SEC on Form 10-K for the applicable fiscal year;

 

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(b) within 45 days after the end of each of the first three fiscal quarters of each fiscal year of the Borrower, the consolidated balance sheet and related statements of operations, stockholders’ equity and cash flows of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries as of the end of and for such fiscal quarter and the then elapsed portion of the fiscal year, setting forth in each case in comparative form the figures for (or, in the case of the balance sheet, as of the end of) the corresponding period or periods of the previous fiscal year, all certified by a Financial Officer of the Borrower as presenting fairly in all material respects the financial condition and results of operations of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis in accordance with GAAP consistently applied, subject to normal year-end audit adjustments and the absence of footnotes; provided that the requirements set forth in this clause (b) may be fulfilled by providing to the Lenders the report of the Borrower to the SEC on Form 10-Q for the applicable quarterly period;

(c) concurrently with any delivery of financial statements under clause (a) or (b) of this Section, a certificate of a Financial Officer of the Borrower (i) certifying that such statements are consistent with the financial statements filed by the Borrower with the SEC, (ii) certifying as to whether the Borrower has knowledge that a Default has occurred and, if a Default has occurred, specifying the details thereof and any action taken or proposed to be taken with respect thereto, (iii) setting forth reasonably detailed calculations demonstrating compliance with Sections 6.01, 6.02, 6.04, 6.05 and 6.07 and (iv) stating whether any change in GAAP as applied by (or in the application of GAAP by) the Borrower has occurred since the Original Effective Date and, if any such change has occurred, specifying the effect of such change on the financial statements accompanying such certificate;

(d) as soon as available and in any event not later than twenty (20) days after the end of each monthly accounting period (ending on the last day of each calendar month) of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries, a Borrowing Base Certificate as of the last day of such accounting period;

(e) promptly but no later than one Business Day after the Borrower shall at any time have knowledge that there is a Borrowing Base Deficiency, a Borrowing Base Certificate as at the date the Borrower has knowledge of such Borrowing Base Deficiency indicating the amount of the Borrowing Base Deficiency as at the date the Borrower obtained knowledge of such deficiency and the amount of the Borrowing Base Deficiency as of the date not earlier than one Business Day prior to the date the Borrowing Base Certificate is delivered pursuant to this paragraph;

(f) promptly upon receipt thereof copies of all significant reports submitted by the Borrower’s independent public accountants in connection with each annual, interim or special audit or review of any type of the financial statements or related internal control systems of the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries delivered by such accountants to the management or board of directors of the Borrower;

(g) promptly after the same become publicly available, copies of all periodic and other reports, proxy statements and other materials filed by the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries with the SEC or with any national securities exchange, as the case may be;

 

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(h) promptly following any request therefor, such other information regarding the operations, business affairs and financial condition of the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries, or compliance with the terms of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents, as the Administrative Agent or any Lender may reasonably request;

(i) within 45 days after the end of each fiscal quarter of the Borrower, a certificate of a Financial Officer of the Borrower certifying that attached thereto is a complete and correct description of all Portfolio Investments as of the date thereof, including, with respect to each such Portfolio Investment, the name of the Borrower or Subsidiary holding such Portfolio Investment, the name of the issuer of such Portfolio Investment and all internal and external valuation reports relating to such Portfolio Investment.;

(j) promptly at the time of delivery of any Eligible Portfolio Investments, the underwriting memoranda for all underlying Portfolio Investments.;

(k) promptly upon (i) any Eligible Portfolio Investments being rated 3 or higher using the Proprietary Rating System, (ii) the downgrade of any Eligible Portfolio Investment, or (iii) any material adverse change in the quality of any underlying Portfolio Company, credit monitoring reports relating to such Eligible Portfolio Investment or Portfolio Company, as applicable.;

(l) Toto the extent not otherwise provided by the Custodian, within thirty (30) days after the end of each month, updated copies of custody reports (including, to the extent available, an itemized list of each Portfolio Investment held in any Custodian Account owned by the Borrower or any Subsidiary) with respect to any custodian account owned by the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries.; and

(m) concurrently with any delivery of financial statements under clauses (a) and (b) of this Section, a certificate of a Financial Officer of the Borrower setting forth the Borrower’s good faith estimate of the Required Payment Amount for such taxable year-to-date and any dividends and distributions that the Borrower has made or intends to make in respect thereof.

SECTION 5.02. Notices of Material Events. The Borrower will furnish to the Administrative Agent and each Lender prompt written notice of the following:

(a) the occurrence of any Default;

(b) the filing or commencement of any action, suit or proceeding by or before any arbitrator or Governmental Authority against or affecting the Borrower or any of its Affiliates that, if adversely determined, could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect;

(c) the occurrence of any ERISA Event that, alone or together with any other ERISA Events that have occurred, could reasonably be expected to result in liability of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries in an aggregate amount exceeding $2,500,000; and

 

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(d) any other development that results in, or could reasonably be expected to result in, a Material Adverse Effect.

Each notice delivered under this Section shall be accompanied by a statement of a Financial Officer or other executive officer of the Borrower setting forth the details of the event or development requiring such notice and any action taken or proposed to be taken with respect thereto.

SECTION 5.03. Existence; Conduct of Business. The Borrower will, and will cause each of its Subsidiaries to, do or cause to be done all things necessary to preserve, renew and keep in full force and effect its legal existence and the rights, licenses, permits, privileges and franchises material to the conduct of its business; provided that the foregoing shall not prohibit any merger, consolidation, liquidation or dissolution permitted under Section 6.03.

SECTION 5.04. Payment of Obligations. The Borrower will, and will cause each of its Subsidiaries to, pay its obligations, including tax liabilities and material contractual obligations, that, if not paid, could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect before the same shall become delinquent or in default, except where (a) the validity or amount thereof is being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings, (b) the Borrower or such Subsidiary has set aside on its books adequate reserves with respect thereto in accordance with GAAP and (c) the failure to make payment pending such contest could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

SECTION 5.05. Maintenance of Properties; Insurance. The Borrower will, and will cause each of its Subsidiaries to, (a) keep and maintain all property material to the conduct of its business in good working order and condition, ordinary wear and tear excepted, and (b) maintain insurance in such amounts and against such risks as the Borrower maintains as of the Original Effective Date or such modifications thereto as reasonably determined by the Borrower in its good faith business judgment.

SECTION 5.06. Books and Records; Inspection and Audit Rights.

(a) Books and Records; Inspection Rights. The Borrower will, and will cause each of its Subsidiaries to, keep books of record and account in accordance with GAAP. The Borrower will, and will cause each of its Subsidiaries to, permit any representatives designated by the Administrative Agent or any Lender, upon reasonable prior notice, to visit and inspect its properties, to examine and make extracts from its books and records, and to discuss its affairs, finances and condition with its officers and independent accountants, all at such reasonable times and as often as reasonably requested, provided that the Borrower or such Subsidiary shall be entitled to have its representatives and advisors present during any inspection of its books and records; provided, further, that the Administrative Agent and the Lenders shall not conduct more than three such visits and inspections in any calendar year unless an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing at the time of any subsequent visits and inspections during such calendar year.

 

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(b) Audit Rights. The Borrower will, and will cause each of its Subsidiaries to, permit any representatives designated by Administrative Agent (including any consultants, accountants, lawyers and appraisers retained by the Administrative Agent) to conduct evaluations and appraisals of the Borrower’s computation of the Borrowing Base and the assets included in the Borrowing Base, all at such reasonable times and as often as reasonably requested. The Borrower shall pay the reasonable fees and expenses of any representatives retained by the Administrative Agent to conduct any such evaluation or appraisal; provided that the Borrower shall not be required to pay such fees and expenses for more than one such evaluation or appraisal during any calendar year unless an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing at the time of any subsequent evaluation or appraisal during such calendar year. The Borrower also agrees to modify or adjust the computation of the Borrowing Base to the extent required by the Administrative Agent or the Required Lenders as a result of any such evaluation or appraisal, provided that if the Borrower demonstrates that such evaluation or appraisal is incorrect, the Borrower shall be permitted to re-adjust its computation of the Borrowing Base.

SECTION 5.07. Compliance with Laws and Agreements. The Borrower will, and will cause each of its Subsidiaries to, comply with all laws, rules, regulations, including the Investment Company Act (if applicable to such Person), and orders of any Governmental Authority applicable to it (including orders issued by the SEC) or its property and all indentures, agreements and other instruments (including, without limitation, the Structured Facility Agreements – FSF to the extent in effect), except where the failure to do so, individually or in the aggregate, could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

SECTION 5.08. Certain Obligations Respecting Subsidiaries; Further Assurances.

(a) Subsidiary Guarantors.

(i) In the event that (i) the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries shall form or acquire any new Subsidiary (other than a Financing Subsidiary), or that any other Person shall become a “Subsidiary” within the meaning of the definition thereof, (ii) any Structured Subsidiary shall no longer constitute a “Structured Subsidiary” pursuant to the definition thereof (in which case such Person shall be deemed to be a “new” Subsidiary for purposes of this Section 5.08); or (iii) any SBIC Subsidiary shall no longer constitute an “SBIC Subsidiary” pursuant to the definition thereof (in which case such Person shall be deemed to be a “new” Subsidiary for purposes of this Section 5.08), the Borrower will, in each case, on or before thirty (30) days following such Person becoming a Subsidiary or such Financing Subsidiary no longer qualifying as such, cause such new Subsidiary or former Financing Subsidiary to become a “Subsidiary Guarantor” (and, thereby, an “Obligor”) under the Guarantee and Security Agreement pursuant to a Guarantee Assumption Agreement and to deliver such proof of corporate or other action, incumbency of officers, opinions of counsel and other documents as is consistent with those delivered by the Borrower pursuant to Section 4.01 upon the Original Effective Date (as set forth in the Existing Credit Agreement) or as the Administrative Agent shall have reasonably requested.

(ii) The Borrower acknowledges that the Administrative Agent and the Lenders have agreed to exclude each Structured Subsidiary as an Obligor only for so long as such Person qualifies as an “Structured Subsidiary” pursuant to the definition thereof, and thereafter such Person shall no longer constitute an “Structured Subsidiary” for any purpose of this Agreement or any other Loan Document.

 

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(iii) The Borrower acknowledges that the Administrative Agent and the Lenders have agreed to exclude each SBIC Subsidiary as an Obligor only for so long as such Person qualifies as an “SBIC Subsidiary” pursuant to the definition thereof, and thereafter such Person shall no longer constitute an “SBIC Subsidiary” for any purpose of this Agreement or any other Loan Document.

(b) Ownership of Subsidiaries. The Borrower will, and will cause each of its Subsidiaries to, take such action from time to time as shall be necessary to ensure that each of its Subsidiaries, other than a Consolidated Asset Manager, is a wholly owned Subsidiary.

(c) Further Assurances. The Borrower will, and will cause each of the Subsidiary Guarantors to, take such action from time to time as shall reasonably be requested by the Administrative Agent to effectuate the purposes and objectives of this Agreement. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Borrower will, and will cause each of the Subsidiary Guarantors, to:

(i) take such action from time to time (including filing appropriate Uniform Commercial Code financing statements and executing and delivering such assignments, security agreements and other instruments) as shall be reasonably requested by the Administrative Agent to create, in favor of the Collateral Agent for the benefit of the Lenders (and any affiliate thereof that is a party to any Hedging Agreement entered into with the Borrower) and the holders of any Secured Longer-Term Indebtedness, perfected security interests and Liens in the Collateral; provided that any such security interest or Lien shall be subject to the relevant requirements of the Security Documents.

(ii) cause any bank or securities intermediary (within the meaning of the Uniform Commercial Code) to enter into such arrangements with the Collateral Agent as shall be appropriate in order that the Collateral Agent has “control” (within the meaning of the Uniform Commercial Code) over each bank account or securities account of the Obligors (other than (A) any such accounts that are maintained by the Borrower in its capacity as “servicer” for a Financing Subsidiary or any “Agency Account” pursuant to Section 5.08(c)(v) below, (B) any such accounts which hold solely money or financial assets of a Financing Subsidiary, (C) any payroll account so long as such payroll account is coded as such, (D) withholding tax and fiduciary accounts, (E) checking accounts of the Obligors that do not contain, at any one time, an aggregate balance in excess of $1,000,000, provided that Borrower will, and will cause each of its Subsidiary Guarantors to, use commercially reasonable efforts to obtain control agreements governing any such account in this clause (E), and (F) any account in which the aggregate value of deposits therein, together with all other such accounts under this clause (F), does not at any time exceed $75,000, provided that in the case of each of the foregoing clauses (A) through (F), no other Person shall have “control” over such account, except as described in Section 5.08(c)(vii) below), and in that connection, the Borrower agrees, subject to Sections 5.08(c)(iv) and (v) below, to cause all cash and other proceeds of Portfolio Investments received by any Obligor to be immediately deposited into such an account

 

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(or otherwise delivered to, or registered in the name of, the Collateral Agent) and, both prior to and following such deposit, delivery or registration such cash and other proceeds shall be held in trust by the Borrower for and as the property of the Collateral Agent and shall not be commingled with any other funds or property of such Obligor or any other Person (including with any money or financial assets of the Borrower in its capacity as “servicer” for a Structured Subsidiary, or any money or financial assets of a Structured Subsidiary, or any money or financial assets of the Borrower in its capacity as “agent” for any other Credit Facility Loan subject to Section 5.08(c)(v) below);

(iii) cause the Financing Subsidiaries to execute and deliver to the Administrative Agent such certificates and agreements, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent, as it shall determine are necessary to confirm that such Financing Subsidiary qualifies or continues to qualify as a “Structured Subsidiary” or an “SBIC Subsidiary”, as applicable, pursuant to the definitions thereof.

(iv) in the case of any Portfolio Investment consisting of a Credit Facility Loan (as defined in Section 5.13) that does not constitute all of the credit extended to the underlying borrower under the relevant underlying loan documents and a Financing Subsidiary holds any interest in the loans or other extensions of credit under such loan documents, (x)(1) cause the interest owned by such Financing Subsidiary to be evidenced by a separate note or notes which note or notes are either (A) in the name of such Financing Subsidiary or (B) in the name of the Borrower, endorsed in blank and delivered to the applicable Financing Subsidiary and beneficially owned by the Financing Subsidiary and (2) cause such Financing Subsidiary to have a direct interest (rather than a participation acquired from an Obligor) in such underlying loan documents and the extensions of credit thereunder; and (y) ensure that, subject to Section 5.08(c)(v) below, all amounts owing to any Obligor by the underlying borrower or other obligated party are remitted by such borrower or obligated party directly to the Custodian Account and no other amounts owing by such underlying borrower or obligated party are remitted to the Custodian Account.

(v) in the event that any Obligor is acting as an agent or administrative agent under any loan documents with respect to any Credit Facility Loan and such Obligor does not hold all of the credit extended to the underlying borrower under the relevant underlying loan documents, ensure that (a) all funds held by such Obligor in such capacity as agent or administrative agent is segregated from all other funds of such Obligor and clearly identified as being held in an agency capacity (an “Agency Account”); (b) all amounts owing on account of such Credit Facility Loan by the underlying borrower or other obligated party are remitted by such borrower or obligated party to either (1) such Agency Account or (2) directly to an account in the name of the underlying lender to whom such amounts are owed (for the avoidance of doubt, no funds representing amounts owing to more than one underlying lender may be remitted to any single account other than the Agency Account); (c) within two (2) Business Days after receipt of such funds, such Obligor acting in its capacity as agent or administrative agent shall distribute any such funds belonging to any Obligor to the Custodian Account.

 

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(vi) Except as otherwise set forth in clause Section 5.08(c)(iv) above, cause all Portfolio Investments held by an Obligor that are Credit Facility Loans to be evidenced by promissory notes in the name of such Obligor, cause such Obligor to be party to the underlying loan documents as a “lender” having a direct interest (or a participation not acquired from an Affiliate) in such underlying loan documents and the extensions of credit thereunder, and cause all such underlying loan and other documents relating to any such Portfolio Investment (including, without limitation, such promissory notes that are owned by an Obligor) to be held by (x) the Collateral Agent or (y) the Custodian pursuant to the terms of a Custodian Agreement and, unless delivered to the Collateral Agent, such Credit Facility Loan shall be credited to the Custodian Account; provided that Borrower’s obligation to deliver underlying documentation (other than promissory notes, which must be delivered in the original) may be satisfied by delivery of copies of such underlying documentation.

(vii) At the Administrative Agent’s sole discretion, an Agency Account may be subject to a concentration and intercreditor agreement (in form and substance acceptable to the Administrative Agent in its sole discretion) entered into with other lenders that provide advances against the underlying assets relating to such Agency Account; provided that upon the effectiveness of any of such concentration and intercreditor agreement, such Agency Account shall cease to be an “Excluded Asset” as defined in the Guarantee and Security Agreement.

SECTION 5.09. Use of Proceeds. The Borrower will use the proceeds of the Loans and the issuances of Letters of Credit only for general corporate purposes of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries (other than the Financing Subsidiaries, except to the extent permitted by Section 6.03(e)) in the ordinary course of business, including making distributions not prohibited by this Agreement and the acquisition and funding (either directly or through one or more wholly-owned Subsidiary Guarantors) of leveraged loans, mezzanine loans, high-yield securities, convertible securities, preferred stock, common stock and other Investments; provided that neither the Administrative Agent nor any Lender shall have any responsibility as to the use of any of such proceeds. No part of the proceeds of any Loan will be used in violation of applicable law or, directly or indirectly, for the purpose, whether immediate, incidental or ultimate, of buying or carrying any Margin Stock. On the Restatement Effective Date and at any other time requested by the Administrative Agent or any Lender, the Borrower shall furnish to the Administrative Agent and each Lender a statement to the foregoing effect in conformity with the requirements of FR Form G-3 or FR Form U-1, as applicable, referred to in Regulation U. Margin Stock shall be purchased by the Obligors only with the proceeds of Indebtedness not directly or indirectly secured by Margin Stock (within the meaning of Regulation U), or with the proceeds of equity capital of the Borrower. For the avoidance of doubt, Letters of Credit may be issued to support obligations of any Portfolio Company, but the underlying obligations of such Portfolio Company to the Borrower in respect of such Letters of Credit shall not be treated as Eligible Portfolio Investments.

SECTION 5.10. Status of RIC and BDC. The Borrower shall at all times maintain its status as a RIC under the Code, and as a “business development company” under the Investment Company Act.

 

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SECTION 5.11. Investment Policies. The Borrower shall at all times be in compliance in all material respects with its Investment Policies.

SECTION 5.12. Portfolio Valuation and Diversification Etc.; Risk Factor Ratings;

(a) Industry Classification Groups. For purposes of this Agreement, the Borrower shall assign each Eligible Portfolio Investment to an Industry Classification Group. To the extent that any Eligible Portfolio Investment is not correlated with the risks of other Eligible Portfolio Investments in an Industry Classification Group, such Eligible Portfolio Investment may be assigned by the Borrower to an Industry Classification Group that is more closely correlated to such Eligible Portfolio Investment. In the absence of any correlation, the Borrower shall be permitted, upon notice to the Administrative Agent and each Lender to create up to three additional industry classification groups for purposes of this Agreement.

(b) Portfolio Valuation Etc.

(i) Settlement Date Basis. For purposes of this Agreement, all determinations of whether an investment is to be included as an Eligible Portfolio Investment shall be determined on a settlement-date basis (meaning that any investment that has been purchased will not be treated as an Eligible Portfolio Investment until such purchase has settled, and any Eligible Portfolio Investment which has been sold will not be excluded as an Eligible Portfolio Investment until such sale has settled), provided that no such investment shall be included as an Eligible Portfolio Investment to the extent it has not been paid for in full.

(ii) Determination of Values. The Borrower will conduct reviews of the value to be assigned to each of its Eligible Portfolio Investments as follows:

(A) Quoted Investments External Review. With respect to Eligible Portfolio Investments (including Cash Equivalents) for which market quotations are readily available, the Borrower shall, not less frequently than once each calendar week, determine the market value of such Eligible Portfolio Investments which shall, in each case, be determined in accordance with one of the following methodologies (as selected by the Borrower):

(w) in the case of public and 144A securities, the average of the bid prices as determined by two Approved Dealers selected by the Borrower,

(x) in the case of bank loans, the bid price as determined by one Approved Dealer selected by the Borrower,

(y) in the case of any Eligible Portfolio Investment traded on an exchange, the closing price for such Eligible Portfolio Investment most recently posted on such exchange, and

 

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(z) in the case of any other Eligible Portfolio Investment, the fair market value thereof as determined by an Approved Pricing Service; and

(B) Unquoted Investments External Review. With respect to Eligible Portfolio Investments for which market quotations are not readily available, the Borrower shall request an Approved Third-Party Appraiser to assist the Board of Directors of the Borrower in determining the fair market value of such Eligible Portfolio Investments, as at the last day of each fiscal quarter following the Original Effective Date, provided that

(w) prior to June 30, 2010, the value of any such unquoted Eligible Portfolio Investment that was acquired prior to the Original Effective Date shall be the Borrower’s internal valuations as set forth in the Borrowing Base Certificate;

(x) the value of any such unquoted Eligible Portfolio Investment acquired during a fiscal quarter shall be deemed to be equal to the cost of such Eligible Portfolio Investment until such time as the fair market value of such Eligible Portfolio Investment is determined in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this sub-clause (B) as at the last day of such fiscal quarter and

(y) notwithstanding the foregoing, the Board of Directors of the Borrower may, without the assistance of an Approved Third-Party Appraiser, determine the fair market value of any unquoted Eligible Portfolio Investment with a face value that is less than $5,000,000, so long as the aggregate value of all such Eligible Portfolio Investments so determined does not at any time exceed 10% of the aggregate Borrowing Base.

(C) Internal Review. The Borrower shall conduct internal reviews of all Eligible Portfolio Investments at least once each calendar week which shall take into account any events of which the Borrower has knowledge that adversely affect the value of any Eligible Portfolio Investment. If the value of any Eligible Portfolio Investment as most recently determined by the Borrower pursuant to this Section 5.12(b)(ii)(C) is lower than the value of such Eligible Portfolio Investment as most recently determined pursuant to Section 5.12(b)(ii)(A) and (B), such lower value shall be deemed to be the “Value” of such Eligible Portfolio Investment for all purposes hereof. If, based upon such weekly internal review, the Borrower determines that a Borrowing Base Deficiency exists, then the Borrower shall, promptly and in any event within one Business Day as provided in Section 5.01(e), deliver a Borrowing Base Certificate reflecting the new amount of the Borrowing Base and shall take the actions, and make the payments and prepayments (and provide cover for Letters of Credit), all as more specifically set forth in Section 2.09(b).

 

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(D) Failure to Determine Values. If the Borrower shall fail to determine the value of any Eligible Portfolio Investment as at any date pursuant to the requirements (but subject to the exclusions) of the foregoing sub-clauses (A), (B) or (C), then the “Value” of such Eligible Portfolio Investment as at such date shall be deemed to be zero.

(E) Adjustment of Values. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Administrative Agent, in its sole and absolute discretion exercised in good faith, may, and upon the request of Required Lenders, shall, reviselower the Value of any Eligible Portfolio Investment (in which case the “Value” of such Eligible Portfolio Investment shall for all purposes hereof be deemed to be the Value assigned by the Administrative Agent) and/or exclude any Eligible Portfolio Investment from the Borrowing Base entirely, so long as the aggregate reduction in the Borrowing Base resulting from all such revisions and exclusions in any fiscal quarter does not exceed five percent (5%). Any such revision or exclusion shall be effective ten Business Days after the Administrative Agent’s delivery of notice thereof to the Borrower.

(c) Investment Company Diversification Requirements. The Borrower will, and will cause its Subsidiaries (other than Financing Subsidiaries that are exempt from the Investment Company Act) at all times to (i) comply with the portfolio diversification and similar requirements set forth in the Investment Company Act applicable to business development companies and (ii) subject to applicable grace periods set forth in the Code, comply with the portfolio diversification and similar requirements set forth in the Code applicable to RICs.

(d) Risk Factor Rating. The Borrower shall assign each Portfolio Investment that is otherwise an Eligible Portfolio Investment a risk factor rating (a “Risk Factor Rating”) based on Portfolio Company Data relating to such Portfolio Investment by, at the Borrower’s option, either (i) inputting such Portfolio Company Data into RiskCalc, Moody’s KMV Expected Default Frequency model or (ii) a shadow rating performed by a Moody’s analyst with respect to such Portfolio Company Data.

SECTION 5.13. Calculation of Borrowing Base. For purposes of this Agreement, the “Borrowing Base” shall be determined, as at any date of determination, as the sum of the products obtained by multiplying (i) the Value of each Eligible Portfolio Investment (excluding any cash held by the Administrative Agent pursuant to Section 2.04(k)) by (ii) the applicable Advance Rate, expressed as a fraction; provided that:

(a) the Advance Rate applicable to that portion of the aggregate Value of the Eligible Portfolio Investments of all issuers in a consolidated group of corporations or other entities, in accordance with GAAP, that exceeds (i) 10% of Shareholders’ Equity of the Borrower (which, for purposes of this calculation, shall be exclusive of the net asset value held in any Financing Subsidiary and any Asset Manager), or (ii) 10% of the aggregate Value of all Eligible Portfolio Investments included in the Borrowing Base, shall be 0%.

 

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(b) the aggregate value attributable to Low-Risk Assets shall at all times be at least equal to 100% of the aggregate amount of the total Revolving Credit Exposure, and the Borrowing Base shall be reduced to the extent such aggregate value falls below 100% of the aggregate amount of the total Revolving Credit Exposure; provided that the Advance Rate applicable to the aggregate Value of all Eligible Portfolio Investments in their entirety shall be 0% at any time when the aggregate Value of all Low-Risk Assets included in the Borrowing Base is less than $90,000,000;

(c) the Advance Rate applicable to the aggregate Value of all Eligible Portfolio Investments in their entirety shall be 0% at any time when the Borrowing Base is composed entirely of Eligible Portfolio Investments issued by less than 1520 different issuers;

(d) the portion of the Borrowing Base attributable to Eligible Portfolio Investments that are debt obligations which bear cash interest less frequently than quarterly shall not exceed 10% of the Borrowing Base and the Borrowing Base shall be reduced to the extent such portion would otherwise exceed 10% of the Borrowing Base;

(e) the portion of the Borrowing Base attributable to Eligible Portfolio Investments that are not Cash, Cash Equivalents, First Lien Credit Facility Loans (other than Covenant-Lite Loans) or Second Lien Credit Facility Loans (other than Covenant-Lite Loans) shall not exceed 10% of the Borrowing Base and the Borrowing Base shall be reduced to the extent such portion would otherwise exceed 10% of the Borrowing Base;

(f) the portion of the Borrowing Base attributable to Eligible Portfolio Investments rated 3 by the Borrower using the Proprietary Rating System shall not exceed 10% of the Borrowing Base and the Borrowing Base shall be reduced to the extent such portion would otherwise exceed 10% of the Borrowing Base;

(g) the portion of the Borrowing Base attributable to Eligible Portfolio Investments in the Largest Industry Classification Group shall not exceed 25% of the Borrowing Base and the Borrowing Base shall be reduced to the extent such portion would otherwise exceed 25% of the Borrowing Base;

(h) the portion of the Borrowing Base attributable to Eligible Portfolio Investments in any single Industry Classification Group (other than the Largest Industry Classification Group) shall not exceed 15% of the Borrowing Base and the Borrowing Base shall be reduced to the extent such portion would otherwise exceed 15% of the Borrowing Base;

(i) the portion of the Borrowing Base attributable to PIK Obligations shall not exceed 5% of the Borrowing Base and the Borrowing Base shall be reduced to the extent such portion would otherwise exceed 5% of the Borrowing Base;

(j) the portion of the Borrowing Base attributable to Eligible Portfolio Investments that are not Low-Risk Assets shall not exceed the portion of the Borrowing Base attributable to Low-Risk Assets and the Borrowing Base shall be reduced by

 

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removing Eligible Portfolio Investments that are not Low-Risk Assets therefrom (but not from the Collateral) as the Borrower may elect to the extent necessary to cause the portion of the Borrowing Base attributable to Eligible Portfolio Investments that are not Low-Risk Assets to not exceed the portion of the Borrowing Base attributable to Low-Risk Assets;

(k) the portion of the Borrowing Base attributable to Eligible Portfolio Investments with respect to which the headquarters of the corresponding Portfolio Company is located in any one state, province, commonwealth, territory, possession or political subdivision of the United States or Canada shall not exceed 30% of the Borrowing Base and the Borrowing Base shall be reduced to the extent such portion would otherwise exceed 30% of the Borrowing Base;

(l) the portion of the Borrowing Base attributable to Eligible Portfolio Investments with a Risk Factor higher than 3490 shall not exceed 20% of the Borrowing Base and the Borrowing Base shall be reduced to the extent such portion would otherwise exceed 20% of the Borrowing Base;

(m) the portion of the Borrowing Base attributable to Eligible Portfolio Investments that are revolving loans shall not exceed 15% of the Borrowing Base and the Borrowing Base shall be reduced to the extent such portion would otherwise exceed 15% of the Borrowing Base;

(n) the portion of the Borrowing Base attributable to Eligible Portfolio Investments that are loans with respect to which the Borrower (including, for clarity, any Financing Subsidiary and its Affiliates, on a combined basis) controls less than 50% of such loan and for which the Borrower was not actively engaged in the origination and structuring of such loan, shall not exceed 20% of the Borrowing Base and the Borrowing Base shall be reduced to the extent such portion would otherwise exceed 20% of the Borrowing Base;

(o) the portion of the Borrowing Base attributable to Eligible Portfolio Investments that are Affiliate Investments shall not exceed 20% of the Borrowing Base and the Borrowing Base shall be reduced to the extent such portion would otherwise exceed 20% of the Borrowing Base;

(p) if at any time the weighted average maturity of all debt Eligible Portfolio Investments exceeds 5 years, the Borrowing Base shall be reduced by removing debt Eligible Portfolio Investments therefrom (but not from the Collateral) in the order of maturity (with the debt Eligible Portfolio Investment having the longest maturity to be removed first) to the extent necessary to cause the weighted average maturity of all debt Eligible Portfolio Investments included in the Borrowing Base to be no greater than 5 years (subject to all other constraints, limitations and restrictions set forth herein);

(q) if at any time the Weighted Average Fixed Coupon (after giving effect to any Hedge Agreement) is less than the greater of (i) 8% and (ii) the one-month LIBO Rate plus 4.5%, the Borrowing Base shall be reduced by removing debt Eligible Portfolio

 

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Investments therefrom (but not from the Collateral) in the order of cash interest coupon amount (with the debt Eligible Portfolio Investment having the lowest cash interest coupon to be removed first) to the extent necessary to cause the Weighted Average Fixed Coupon to be at least equal to the greater of (x) 8% and (y) LIBO Rate plus 4.5% (subject to all other constraints, limitations and restrictions set forth herein);

(r) if at any time the Weighted Average Floating Spread (after giving effect to any Hedge Agreement) is less than 4.5%, the Borrowing Base shall be reduced by removing debt Eligible Portfolio Investments therefrom (but not from the Collateral) in the order of Spread amount (with the debt Eligible Portfolio Investment having the lowest Spread to be removed first) to the extent necessary to cause the Weighted Average Floating Spread to be at least 4.5% (subject to all other constraints, limitations and restrictions set forth herein);

(s) if at any time the weighted average Risk Factor of all Eligible Portfolio Investments (based on the fair value of such Eligible Portfolio Investments) exceeds 2950, the Borrowing Base shall be reduced by removing Eligible Portfolio Investments therefrom (but not from the Collateral) to the extent necessary to cause the weighted average Risk Factor of all Eligible Portfolio Investments in the Borrowing Base to be no greater than 2950 (subject to all other constraints, limitations and restrictions set forth herein); and

(t) the portion of the Borrowing Base attributable to Eligible Portfolio Investments denominated in Canadian dollars or with respect to which (i) the principal operations of the corresponding Portfolio Company or any assets of such Portfolio Company pledged as collateral for such Portfolio Investment are primarily located in Canada or any commonwealth, territory, possession or political subdivision of the United States (other than any state of the United States), (ii) the corresponding Portfolio Company is organized under the laws of Canada or any province thereofcommonwealth, territory, possession or political subdivision of the United States (other than any state of the United States), or (iii) the corresponding Portfolio Company is domiciled within Canada or any commonwealth, territory, possession or political subdivision of the United States (other than any state of the United States), shall not exceed 10% of the Borrowing Base and the Borrowing Base shall be reduced to the extent such portion would otherwise exceed 10% of the Borrowing Base.; and

(u) the portion of the Borrowing Base attributable to Eligible Portfolio Investments that contain any restrictions on transfer described in subclause (e) of clause (ii) of the definition of “Transferable” shall not exceed 10% of the Borrowing Base and the Borrowing Base shall be reduced to the extent such portion would otherwise exceed 10% of the Borrowing Base.

 

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For all purposes of this Section 5.13, (A) all issuers of Eligible Portfolio Investments that are Affiliates of one another shall be treated as a single issuer (unless such issuers are Affiliates of one another solely because they are under the common Control of the same private equity sponsor), and (B) the amount of all Eligible Portfolio Investments denominated in Canadian dollars shall be converted into the Dollar Equivalent thereof prior to any other determinations under this Section 5.13. In addition, as used herein, the following terms have the following meanings:

Advance Rate” means, as to any Eligible Portfolio Investment and subject to adjustment as provided above, the following percentages with respect to such Eligible Portfolio Investment:

 

Eligible Portfolio Investment

   Quoted     Unquoted  

Cash and Cash Equivalents

     100     n.a.   

Short-Term U.S. Government Securities

     90     n.a.   

Long-Term U.S. Government Securities

     85     n.a.   

Performing First Lien Credit Facility Loans

     65     65

Performing Second Lien Credit Facility Loans

     60     50

Performing High Yield Securities

     55     45

Performing Mezzanine Investments and Performing Covenant-Lite Loans

     50     40

Performing PIK Obligation

     45     35

Non-Performing Portfolio Investment

     0     0

Capital Stock” of any Person means any and all shares of corporate stock (however designated) of and any and all other Equity Interests and participations representing ownership interests (including membership interests and limited liability company interests) in, such Person.

Cash” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 1.01 of the Credit Agreement.

Cash Equivalents” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 1.01 of the Credit Agreement.

“Covenant-Lite Loans” means a Credit Facility Loan or a mezzanine investment (which would otherwise qualify as a Mezzanine Investment but for the absence of the following covenants) that does not include each of (i) a leverage covenant and (ii) either (x) a fixed charge coverage ratio of not less than 1.00 to 1.00, or (y) a debt service ratio of not less than 1.25 to 1.00, or (z) an interest coverage ratio of not less than 1.50 to 1.00.

Credit Facility Loans” means debt obligations (including, without limitation, term loans, revolving loans, debtor-in-possession financings, the funded portion of revolving credit lines and letter of credit facilities and other similar loans and investments including interim loans, bridge loans and senior subordinated loans) which are generally under a syndicated loan or credit facility, which may be a portion of a larger credit facility to the same obligor(s) for which other portions thereof may be held by one or more Financing Subsidiaries or other Persons (so long as the applicable Obligor’s portion is pari passu with all other obligations under such credit facility and the requirements of Section 5.08(c)(iv) have been satisfied with respect thereto).

 

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Defaulted Obligation” means (i) debt (a) as to which, (x) a default as to the payment of principal and/or interest has occurred and is continuing for a period of thirty two (32) consecutive days with respect to such debt (without regard to any grace period applicable thereto, or waiver thereof) or (y) a default not set forth in clause (x) has occurred and the holders of such debt have accelerated all or a portion of the principal amount thereof as a result of such default; (b) as to which a default as to the payment of principal and/or interest has occurred and is continuing on another material debt obligation of the obligor under such debt which is senior or pari passu in right of payment to such debt; (c) as to which the obligor under such debt or others have instituted proceedings to have such obligor adjudicated bankrupt or insolvent or placed into receivership and such proceedings have not been stayed or dismissed or such obligor has filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (unless, in the case of clause (b) or (c), such debt is a debtor-in-possession loan, in which case it shall not be deemed to be a Defaulted Obligation under such clause); (d) as to which any of the following actions have been taken: charging a default rate of interest for more than 150 consecutive days, or foreclosure on collateral for such debt has been commenced and is being pursued by or on behalf of the holders thereof; or (e) that the Borrower has in its reasonable commercial judgment otherwise declared to be a Defaulted Obligation; and (ii) Preferred Stock in respect of which the issuer has failed to meet any scheduled redemption obligations or pay its latest declared cash dividend after the expiration of any applicable grace period.

First Lien Credit Facility Loan” means a Credit Facility Loan that is entitled to the benefit of a first lien and first priority perfected security interest on a substantial portion of the assets of the respective borrower and guarantors obligated in respect thereof.

Fixed Rate Portfolio Investment” means a debt Eligible Portfolio Investment that bears interest at a fixed rate.

Floating Rate Portfolio Investment” means a debt Eligible Portfolio Investment that bears interest at a floating rate.

High Yield Securities” means debt Securities and Preferred Stock, in each case (a) issued by public or private issuers, (b) issued pursuant to an effective registration statement or pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act (or any successor provision thereunder) and (c) that are not Cash Equivalents, Mezzanine Investments or Credit Facility Loans.

Long-Term U.S. Government Securities” means U.S. Government Securities maturing more than six months from the applicable date of determination.

Low-Risk Assets” means Cash, Cash Equivalents and Performing First Lien Credit Facility Loans.

Mezzanine Investments” means debt Securities (including convertible debt Securities (other than the “in-the-money” equity component thereof)) and Preferred Stock in each case (a) issued by public or private issuers, (b) issued without registration under the Securities Act, (c) not issued pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act (or any successor provision thereunder), (d) that are not Cash Equivalents and (e) contractually subordinated in right of payment to other debt of the same issuer.

Non-Performing Portfolio Investment” means any Eligible Portfolio Investment that is not a Performing (as defined below) Eligible Portfolio Investment.

 

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Performing” means with respect to any Eligible Portfolio Investment, that such Eligible Portfolio Investment is not a Defaulted Obligation and does not represent debt or Capital Stock of an issuer that has issued any Defaulted Obligation.

“Performing Covenant-Lite Loan” means Covenant-Lite Loans that (a) are not PIK Obligations and (b) are Performing.

Performing First Lien Credit Facility Loans” means First Lien Credit Facility Loans that (a) are not PIK Obligations or Covenant-Lite Loans and (b) are Performing.

Performing High Yield Securities” means High Yield Securities that (a) are not PIK Obligations and (b) are Performing.

Performing Mezzanine Investments” means Mezzanine Investments that (a) are not PIK Obligations or Covenant-Lite Loans and (b) are Performing.

Performing Second Lien Credit Facility Loans” means Second Lien Credit Facility Loans that (a) are not PIK Obligations or Covenant-Lite Loans and (b) are Performing.

PIK Obligation” means an obligation that provides that any portion of the interest accrued for a specified period of time or until the maturity thereof is, or at the option of the obligor may be, added to the principal balance of such obligation or otherwise deferred and accrued rather than being paid in cash, provided that any such obligation shall not constitute a PIK Obligation if it (i) is a fixed rate obligation and requires payment of interest in cash on an at least quarterly basis at a rate of not less than 8% per annum or (ii) is not a fixed rate obligation and requires payment of interest in cash on an at least quarterly basis at a rate of not less than 4.5% per annum in excess of the applicable index.

Preferred Stock,” as applied to the Capital Stock of any Person, means Capital Stock of such Person of any class or classes (however designated) that ranks prior, as to the payment of dividends or as to the distribution of assets upon any voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding up of such Person, to any shares (or other interests) of other Capital Stock of such Person, and shall include, without limitation, cumulative preferred, non-cumulative preferred, participating preferred and convertible preferred Capital Stock.

Restructured Investment” means, as of any date of determination, (a) any Portfolio Investment that has been a Defaulted Obligation within the past six months, or (b) any Portfolio Investment that has in the past six months been (x) on cash non-accrual, or (y) amended or subject to a deferral or waiver the effect of which is to (i) change the amount of previously required scheduled debt amortization (other than by reason of repayment thereof) or (ii) extend the tenor of previously required scheduled debt amortization, in each case such that the remaining weighted average life of such Portfolio Investment is extended by more than 20%.

Second Lien Credit Facility Loan” means a Credit Facility Loan that is entitled to the benefit of a second lien and second priority perfected security interest on a substantial portion of the assets of the respective borrower and guarantors obligated in respect thereof.

 

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Securities” means common and preferred stock, units and participations, member interests in limited liability companies, partnership interests in partnerships, notes, bonds, debentures, trust receipts and other obligations, instruments or evidences of indebtedness, including debt instruments of public and private issuers and tax-exempt securities (including warrants, rights, put and call options and other options relating thereto, representing rights, or any combination thereof) and other property or interests commonly regarded as securities or any form of interest or participation therein, but not including Credit Facility Loans.

Securities Act” means the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

Short-Term U.S. Government Securities” means U.S. Government Securities maturing within six months of the applicable date of determination.

Spread” means, with respect to Floating Rate Portfolio Investments, the cash interest spread of such Floating Rate Portfolio Investment over the applicable LIBO Rate; provided, that, in the case of any Floating Rate Portfolio Investment that does not bear interest by reference to the LIBO Rate, “Spread” shall mean the cash interest spread of such Floating Rate Portfolio Investment over the LIBO Rate in effect as of the date of determination for deposits in U.S. dollars for a period of three (3) months.

U.S. Government Securities” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 1.01 of the Credit Agreement.

Value” means, subject to Section 5.12(b)(ii)(B)(y), with respect to any Eligible Portfolio Investment, the lowest of (X) the most recent internal fair value as determined pursuant to Section 5.12(b)(ii)(C), (Y) the most recent external fair value as determined pursuant to Section 5.12(b)(ii)(A) and (B), and (Z) in the case of any debt Eligible Portfolio Investment, the lower of (i) 102% of the principal amount of such Eligible Portfolio Investment and (ii) the principal amount of such Eligible Portfolio Investment plus any applicable prepayment premium.

Weighted Average Fixed Coupon” means, as of any date of determination, the number, expressed as a percentage, obtained by summing the products obtained by multiplying the cash interest coupon of each Fixed Rate Portfolio Investment included in the Borrowing Base as of such date by the outstanding principal balance of such Fixed Rate Portfolio Investment as of such date, dividing such sum by the aggregate outstanding principal balance of all such Fixed Rate Portfolio Investments and rounding up to the nearest 0.01%. For the purpose of calculating the Weighted Average Fixed Coupon, all Fixed Rate Portfolio Investments that are not currently paying cash interest shall have an interest rate of 0%.

Weighted Average Floating Spread” means, as of any date of determination, the number, expressed as a percentage, obtained by summing the products obtained by multiplying, in the case of each Floating Rate Portfolio Investment included in the Borrowing Base, on an annualized basis, the Spread of such Floating Rate Portfolio Investments, by the outstanding principal balance of such Floating Rate Portfolio Investments as of such date and dividing such sum by the aggregate outstanding principal balance of all such Floating Rate Portfolio Investments and rounding the result up to the nearest 0.01%.

 

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ARTICLE VI

NEGATIVE COVENANTS

Until the Termination Date, the Borrower covenants and agrees with the Lenders that:

SECTION 6.01. Indebtedness. The Borrower will not nor will it permit any of its Subsidiaries to, create, incur, assume or permit to exist any Indebtedness, except:

(a) Indebtedness created hereunder or under any other Loan Document;

(b) (i) Unsecured Shorter-Term Indebtedness in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed $10,000,000 and (ii) Secured Longer-Term Indebtedness, in each case, so long as (w) no Default exists at the time of the incurrence thereof, (x) the Borrower is in pro forma compliance with each of the covenants set forth in Sections 6.07(a), (b) and (c) after giving effect to the incurrence thereof and on the date of such incurrence the Borrower delivers to the Administrative Agent a certificate of a Financial Officer to such effect, (y) prior to and immediately after giving effect to the incurrence thereof, the Covered Debt Amount does not or would not exceed the Borrowing Base then in effect; and (z) on the date the incurrence thereof, the Borrower delivers to the Administrative Agent and each Lender a Borrowing Base Certificate as at such date demonstrating compliance with subclause (y) after giving effect to such incurrence. For purposes of preparing such Borrowing Base Certificate, (A) the fair market value of Eligible Portfolio Investments for which market quotations are readily available shall be the most recent quotation available for such Eligible Portfolio Investment and (B) the fair market value of Eligible Portfolio Investments for which market quotations are not readily available shall be the Value set forth in the Borrowing Base Certificate most recently delivered by the Borrower to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders pursuant to Section 5.01(d); provided, that the Borrower shall reduce the Value of any Eligible Portfolio Investment referred to in this sub-clause (B) to the extent necessary to take into account any events of which the Borrower has knowledge that adversely affect the value of such Eligible Portfolio Investment.

(c) Unsecured Longer-Term Indebtedness, so long as (x) no Default exists at the time of the incurrence thereof and (y) the Borrower is in pro forma compliance with each of the covenants set forth in Sections 6.07(a), (b) and (c) after giving effect to the incurrence thereof and on the date of such incurrence the Borrower delivers to the Administrative Agent a certificate of a Financial Officer to such effect;

(d) Indebtedness of Financing Subsidiaries, provided that (i) on the date that such Indebtedness is incurred (for clarity, with respect to revolving loan facilities or staged advance loan facilities, “incurrence” shall be deemed to take place at the time such facility is entered into, and not upon each borrowing thereunder) the Borrower is in pro forma compliance with each of the covenants set forth in Sections 6.07(a), (b) and (c) after giving effect to the incurrence thereof and on the date of such incurrence Borrower delivers to the Administrative Agent a certificate of a Financial Officer to such effect, and (ii) in the case of revolving loan facilities or staged advance loan facilities, upon each borrowing thereunder, the Borrower is in pro forma compliance with each of the covenants set forth in Sections 6.07(a), (b) and (c).

 

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(e) Other Permitted Indebtedness in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed $20,000,000;

(f) repurchase obligations arising in the ordinary course of business with respect to U.S. Government Securities;

(g) obligations payable to clearing agencies, brokers or dealers in connection with the purchase or sale of securities in the ordinary course of business;

(h) Existing Indebtedness of the Financing Subsidiaries as in effect on the Restatement Effective Date;

(i) obligations of the Borrower under the SBIC Guarantee and under any substantially similar agreement (or agreement based upon the SBA’s then applicable form) with respect to any futureother SBIC Subsidiary;

(j) obligations (including Guarantees) in respect of Standard Securitization Undertakings.

SECTION 6.02. Liens. The Borrower will not, nor will it permit any of its Subsidiaries to, create, incur, assume or permit to exist any Lien on any property or asset now owned or hereafter acquired by it, or assign or sell any income or revenues (including accounts receivable) or rights in respect of any thereof except:

(a) any Lien on any property or asset of the Borrower existing on the Original Effective Date and set forth in Schedule 3.11(b), provided that (i) no such Lien shall extend to any other property or asset of the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries, and (ii) any such Lien shall secure only those obligations which it secures on the Original Effective Date and extensions, renewals and replacements thereof that do not increase the outstanding principal amount thereof;

(b) Liens created pursuant to the Security Documents;

(c) Liens on assets of the Financing Subsidiaries;

(d) Liens on Equity Interests in any SBIC Subsidiary created in favor of the SBA;

(e) Liens created pursuant to the Security Documents securing Secured Longer-Term Indebtedness incurred pursuant to Section 6.01(b);

(f) Permitted Liens.

(g) Liens granted pursuant to the Structured Pledge Agreement - FSF as in effect on the date hereof on Equity Interests in Fifth Street Funding LLC securing Indebtedness incurred pursuant to Section 6.01(d).

(h) Liens created by posting of cash collateral in connection with Hedging Agreements permitted under Section 6.04(c) in an aggregate amount not to exceed $5,000,000 at any time, provided that, for the avoidance of doubt, at no time shall such cash collateral constitute an Eligible Portfolio Investment; and

 

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(i) additional Liens securing Indebtedness not to exceed $5,000,000 in the aggregate provided such Indebtedness is not otherwise prohibited under Section 6.01(e) of this Agreement.

SECTION 6.03. Fundamental Changes. The Borrower will not, nor will it permit any of its Subsidiaries (other than Financing Subsidiaries) to, enter into any transaction of merger or consolidation or amalgamation, or liquidate, wind up or dissolve itself (or suffer any liquidation or dissolution). The Borrower will not, nor will it permit any of its Subsidiaries (other than Financing Subsidiaries) to, acquire any business or property from, or capital stock of, or be a party to any acquisition of, any Person, except for purchases or acquisitions of Portfolio Investments and other assets in the normal course of the day-to-day business activities of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries and not in violation of the terms and conditions of this Agreement or any other Loan Document. The Borrower will not, nor will it permit any of its Subsidiaries (other than Financing Subsidiaries) to, convey, sell, lease, transfer or otherwise dispose of, in one transaction or a series of transactions, any part of its assets (including, without limitation, Cash, Cash Equivalents and Equity Interests), whether now owned or hereafter acquired, but excluding (x) assets (other than Portfolio Investments) sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business (including to make expenditures of cash in the normal course of the day-to-day business activities of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries (other than the Financing Subsidiaries)) and (y) subject to the provisions of clauses (d) and (e) below, Portfolio Investments.

Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section:

(a) any Subsidiary of the Borrower may be merged or consolidated with or into the Borrower or any other Subsidiary Guarantor; provided that if any such transaction shall be between a Subsidiary and a wholly owned Subsidiary Guarantor, the wholly owned Subsidiary Guarantor shall be the continuing or surviving corporation;

(b) any Subsidiary of the Borrower may sell, lease, transfer or otherwise dispose of any or all of its assets (upon voluntary liquidation or otherwise) to the Borrower or any wholly owned Subsidiary Guarantor of the Borrower;

(c) the capital stock of any Subsidiary of the Borrower may be sold, transferred or otherwise disposed of to the Borrower or any wholly owned Subsidiary Guarantor of the Borrower;

(d) the Obligors may sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of Portfolio Investments (other than to a Financing Subsidiary or Asset Manager) so long as prior to and after giving effect to such sale, transfer or other disposition (and any concurrent acquisitions of Portfolio Investments or payment of outstanding Loans or Other Covered Indebtedness) the Covered Debt Amount does not exceed the Borrowing Base;

 

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(e) the Obligors may sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of Portfolio Investments, Cash and Cash Equivalents to a Financing Subsidiary or Asset Manager so long as (i) prior to and after giving effect to such sale, transfer or other disposition (and any concurrent acquisitions of Portfolio Investments or payment of outstanding Loans or Other Covered Indebtedness) the Covered Debt Amount does not exceed the Borrowing Base and no Default exists and the Borrower delivers to the Administrative Agent a certificate of a Financial Officer to such effect, (ii) either (x) the amount by which the Borrowing Base exceeds the Covered Debt Amount immediately prior to such release is not diminished as a result of such release or (y) the Borrowing Base immediately after giving effect to such release is at least 120% of the Covered Debt Amount and (iii) in the case of any sale, transfer or other disposition to Fifth Street Funding, LLC, if the Structured Facility Agreements – FSF are outstanding, the Reinvestment Period (as defined in the Structured Loan Agreement - FSF) has not ended, or in the event that the Structured Facility Agreements – FSF have been terminated or replaced, the lender holding liens on the assets of Fifth Street Funding, LLC, if any, has not instituted a process whereby the principal portion of loan assets held by Fifth Street Funding, LLC may not be reinvested or distributed to its equity holder.

(f) the Borrower may merge or consolidate with any other Person, so long as (i) the Borrower is the continuing or surviving entity in such transaction and (ii) at the time thereof and after giving effect thereto, no Default shall have occurred or be continuing;

(g) the Borrower and its Subsidiaries may sell, lease, transfer or otherwise dispose of equipment or other property or assets that do not consist of Portfolio Investments so long as the aggregate amount of all such sales, leases, transfer and dispositions does not exceed $10,000,000 in any fiscal year; and

(h) any Subsidiary of the Borrower may be liquidated or dissolved, provided that, in connection with such liquidation or dissolution, any and all of the assets of such Subsidiary shall be distributed or otherwise transferred to the Borrower or any wholly owned Subsidiary Guarantor of the Borrower.; and

(i) the Borrower may sell or transfer, in one or more transactions, Equity Interests of Fifth Street Funding II, LLC (or Fifth Street Funding II, LLC may issue new Equity Interests) to any Person for a fair value thereof, provided that no Default or Event of Default has occurred and is continuing or would occur as a result of such transfer or issuance.

SECTION 6.04. Investments. The Borrower will not, nor will it permit any of its Subsidiaries to, acquire, make or enter into, or hold, any Investments except:

(a) operating deposit accounts with banks;

(b) Investments by the Borrower and the Subsidiary Guarantors in the Borrower and the Subsidiary Guarantors;

(c) Hedging Agreements entered into in the ordinary course of the Borrower’s financial planning and not for speculative purposes;

 

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(d) Portfolio Investments by the Borrower and its Subsidiaries to the extent such Portfolio Investments are permitted under the Investment Company Act (to the extent such applicable Person is subject to the Investment Company Act) and the Borrower’s Investment Policies;

(e) Equity Interests in Financing Subsidiaries existing on the Original Effective Date and any other Equity Interests in Financing Subsidiaries acquired after the Original Effective Date to the extent not prohibited by Section 6.03(e);

(f) Investments by any Financing Subsidiary;

(g) Investments in Cash and Cash Equivalents;

(h) Investments described on Schedule 3.12(b) hereto; and

(i) other Investments in an aggregate amount not to exceed $15,000,000.

SECTION 6.05. Restricted Payments. The Borrower will not, nor will it permit any of its Subsidiaries (other than the Financing Subsidiaries) to, declare or make, or agree to pay or make, directly or indirectly, any Restricted Payment, except that the Borrower may declare and pay:

(a) dividends with respect to the capital stock of the Borrower payable solely in additional shares of the Borrower’s common stock;

(b) dividends and distributions in either case in cash or other property (excluding for this purpose the Borrower’s common stock) in or with respect to any taxable year of the Borrower (or any calendar year, as relevant) in amounts not to exceed 105% (or, solely with respect to the taxable year ended September 30, 2011, 115%, and solely with respect to the calendar year ending December 31, 2011, 120%) of the amounts that aretested as of September 30 of each year) of the amount that is required to be distributedby the Borrower to: (i) allow the Company to satisfy the minimum distribution requirements imposed by Section 852(a) of the Code (or any successor thereto) to maintain its eligibility to be taxed as a regulated investment company for any such taxable year, and (ii) reduce to zero for any such taxable year its liability for federal income taxes imposed on (yx) its investment company taxable income pursuant to Section 852(b)(1) of the Code (or any successor thereto), or (zy) its net capital gain pursuant to Section 852(b)(3) of the Code (or any successor thereto), and (iii) reduce to zero its liability for federal excise taxes for any such calendar year imposed pursuant to Section 4982 of the Code (or any successor thereto); and (such amount, the “Required Payment Amount”), provided that, if at the time of any such dividend or distribution, (i) no Default or Event of Default shall have occurred or be continuing and (ii) the Covered Debt Amount does not exceed 85% of the Borrowing Base, then such dividends and distributions may be in amounts not to exceed 120% of the Required Payment Amount; and

(c) Subsidiaries of the Borrower may make Restricted Payments to the Borrower.

 

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Nothing herein shall be deemed to prohibit the payment of Restricted Payments by any Subsidiary of the Borrower to the Borrower or to any other Subsidiary Guarantor.

For the avoidance of doubt, the Borrower shall not declare any dividend to the extent such declaration violates the provisions of the Investment Company Act applicable to it.

SECTION 6.06. Certain Restrictions on Subsidiaries. The Borrower will not permit any of its Subsidiaries (other than Financing Subsidiaries) to enter into or suffer to exist any indenture, agreement, instrument or other arrangement (other than the Loan Documents) that prohibits or restrains, in each case in any material respect, or imposes materially adverse conditions upon, the incurrence or payment of Indebtedness, the granting of Liens, the declaration or payment of dividends, the making of loans, advances, guarantees or Investments or the sale, assignment, transfer or other disposition of property.

SECTION 6.07. Certain Financial Covenants.

(a) Minimum Shareholders’ Equity. The Borrower will not permit Shareholders’ Equity at the last day of any fiscal quarter of the Borrower to be less than the greater of (i) 55% of the total assets of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries as at the last day of such fiscal quarter (excluding from such calculation, the portion of the assets of any SBIC Subsidiary that is financed with Indebtedness) (determined on a consolidated basis, without duplication, in accordance with GAAP) and (ii) the sum of (x) $510,000,000 plus (y) 50% of the aggregate net proceeds of all sales of Equity Interests by the Borrower and its Subsidiaries after the Restatement Effective Date (other than the proceeds of sales of Equity Interests by and among the Borrower and its Subsidiaries, including, without limitation, sales of Equity Interests by the Structured Subsidiaries to the Borrower in consideration of the sale of Portfolio Investments by the Borrower to the Structured Subsidiaries).

(b) Asset Coverage Ratio. The Borrower will not permit the Asset Coverage Ratio to be less than 2.25 to 1 at any time.

(c) Consolidated Interest Coverage Ratio. The Borrower will not permit the Consolidated Interest Coverage Ratio to be less than 2.50 to 1 as of the last day of any fiscal quarter.

(d) Liquidity Test. The Borrower will not permit the aggregate Value of the Eligible Portfolio Investments that can be converted to Cash in fewer than 10 Business Days without more than a 5% change in price to be less than 15% of the Covered Debt Amount for more than 30 Business Days during any period when the Adjusted Covered Debt Balance is greater than 85% of the Adjusted Borrowing Base.

(e) Eligible Portfolio Investments Test. The Borrower will not permit the aggregate Value of (i) Eligible Portfolio Investments constituting Cash, (ii) Eligible Portfolio Investments constituting Cash Equivalents and (iii) Eligible Portfolio Investments rated 1, 2 or 3 by the Borrower using the Proprietary Rating System, to be less than $175,000,000 at any time.

 

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SECTION 6.08. Transactions with Affiliates. The Borrower will not, and will not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, enter into any transactions with any of its Affiliates or Affiliate Investments, even if otherwise permitted under this Agreement, except (a) transactions in the ordinary course of business at prices and on terms and conditions not less favorable to the Borrower or such Subsidiary than could be obtained on an arm’s-length basis from unrelated third parties, (b) transactions between or among the Obligors not involving any other Affiliate, (c) Restricted Payments permitted by Section 6.05 or dividends from Affiliate Investments to the Borrower or its Subsidiaries, (d) the transactions provided in the Affiliate Agreements, (e) a merger with the Investment Advisor or FSC, Inc., or (f) if and to the extent permitted pursuant to applicable law, the transactions described on Schedule 6.08.

SECTION 6.09. Lines of Business. The Borrower will not, nor will it permit any of its Subsidiaries to, engage to any material extent in any business other than in accordance with its Investment Policies.

SECTION 6.10. No Further Negative Pledge. The Borrower will not, and will not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, enter into any agreement, instrument, deed or lease which prohibits or limits the ability of any Obligor to create, incur, assume or suffer to exist any Lien upon any of its properties, assets or revenues, whether now owned or hereafter acquired, or which requires the grant of any security for an obligation if security is granted for another obligation, except the following: (a) this Agreement and the other Loan Documents; (b) covenants in documents creating Liens permitted by Section 6.02 prohibiting further Liens on the assets encumbered thereby; (c) customary restrictions contained in leases not subject to a waiver; (d) the terms of theany Structured Facility Agreements – FSF as in effect on the Original Effective Date, and (e) any other agreement that does not restrict in any manner (directly or indirectly) Liens created pursuant to the Loan Documents on any Collateral securing the “Secured Obligations” under and as defined in the Guarantee and Security Agreement and does not require the direct or indirect granting of any Lien securing any Indebtedness or other obligation by virtue of the granting of Liens on or pledge of property of any Obligor to secure the Loans or any Hedging Agreement.

SECTION 6.11. Modifications of Indebtedness and Affiliate Agreements. The Borrower will not, and will not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, consent to any modification, supplement or waiver of:

(a) any of the provisions of any agreement, instrument or other document evidencing or relating to any Secured Longer-Term Indebtedness, Unsecured Longer-Term Indebtedness or Unsecured Shorter-Term Indebtedness that would result in such Indebtedness not meeting the requirements of the definition of “Secured Longer-Term Indebtedness”, “Unsecured Longer-Term Indebtedness” and “Unsecured Shorter-Term Indebtedness”, as applicable, set forth in Section 1.01 of this Agreement, unless, in the case of Unsecured Longer-Term Indebtedness, such Indebtedness would have been permitted to be incurred as Unsecured Shorter-Term Indebtedness at the time of such modification, supplement or waiver and the Borrower so designates such Indebtedness as “Unsecured Shorter-Term Indebtedness” (whereupon such Indebtedness shall be deemed to constitute “Unsecured Shorter-Term Indebtedness” for all purposes of this Agreement);

 

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(b) any of the Affiliate Agreements (other than the Structured Facility Agreements - FSF and the SBIC Agreements), unless such modification, supplement or waiver is not less favorable to the Borrower than could be obtained on an arm’s-length basis from unrelated third parties, in each case, without the prior consent of the Administrative Agent (with the approval of the Required Lenders).

The Administrative Agent hereby acknowledges and agrees that the Borrower may, at any time and from time to time, without the consent of the Administrative Agent, freely amend, restate, terminate, or otherwise modify the Structured Facility Agreements - FSF (other than the Structured Pledge Agreement-FSF, which may only be amended with the consent of the Administrative Agent) or any other documents, instruments and agreements evidencing, securing or relating to Indebtedness permitted pursuant to Section 6.01(d) and (e), including increases in the principal amount thereof, modifications to the advance rates and/or modifications to the interest rate, fees or other pricing terms, provided that no such amendment, restatement or modification shall, unless Borrower complies with the terms of Section 5.08(a) (i) hereof, cause a Financing Subsidiary to fail to be a “Financing Subsidiary” in accordance with the definition thereof.

SECTION 6.12. Payments of Longer-Term Indebtedness. The Borrower will not, nor will it permit any of its Subsidiaries (other than Financing Subsidiaries) to, purchase, redeem, retire or otherwise acquire for value, or set apart any money for a sinking, defeasance or other analogous fund for the purchase, redemption, retirement or other acquisition of or make any voluntary payment or prepayment of the principal of or interest on, or any other amount owing in respect of, any Secured Longer-Term Indebtedness or Unsecured Longer-Term Indebtedness (other than the refinancing of Secured Longer-Term Indebtedness or Unsecured Longer-Term Indebtedness with Indebtedness permitted under Section 6.01), except for (a) regularly scheduled payments, prepayments or redemptions of principal and interest in respect thereof required pursuant to the instruments evidencing such Indebtedness, or (b) payments and prepayments of Secured Longer-Term Indebtedness required to comply with requirements of Section 2.09(b)., or (c) repurchase of Unsecured Longer-Term Indebtedness, including, but not limited to the 2016 Notes, from time to time, so long as (i) both before and after giving effect to any such repurchase, there is no Default or Event of Default, and (ii) after giving effect to such repurchase, the Borrower has not drawn more than 65% of the total Commitments and the Covered Debt Amount does not exceed 65% of the Borrowing Base.

SECTION 6.13. Modification of Investment Policies and Proprietary Rating System. Other than with respect to Permitted Policy Amendments and the Investment Policy Amendment, the Borrower will not amend, supplement, waive or otherwise modify in any material respect either the Investment Policies or the Proprietary Rating System, in each case, as in effect on the OriginalAmendment No. 3 Effective Date.

SECTION 6.14. SBIC Guarantee. The Borrower will not, nor will it permit any of its Subsidiaries to, (i) “Participate In” an “Impermissible Change of Control” under (and as defined in) the SBIC Guarantee, or otherwise permit the occurrence of an “Impermissible Change of Control” under (and as defined in) the SBIC Guarantee or (ii) cause or permit the occurrence of any equivalent condition or event under any similar agreement with respect to any futureother SBIC Subsidiary.

 

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ARTICLE VII

EVENTS OF DEFAULT

If any of the following events (“Events of Default”) shall occur and be continuing:

(a) the Borrower shall (i) fail to pay any principal of any Loan (including, without limitation, any principal payable under Section 2.09(b) or (c)) or any reimbursement obligation in respect of any LC Disbursement when and as the same shall become due and payable, whether at the due date thereof or at a date fixed for prepayment thereof or otherwise or (ii) fail to deposit any amount into the Letter of Credit Collateral Account as and when required by Section 2.08(a);

(b) the Borrower shall fail to pay any interest on any Loan or any fee or any other amount (other than an amount referred to in clause (a) of this Article) payable under this Agreement or under any other Loan Document, when and as the same shall become due and payable, and such failure shall continue unremedied for a period of five or more Business Days;

(c) any representation or warranty made or deemed made by or on behalf of the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries in or in connection with this Agreement or any other Loan Document or any amendment or modification hereof or thereof, or in any report, certificate, financial statement or other document furnished pursuant to or in connection with this Agreement or any other Loan Document or any amendment or modification hereof or thereof, shall prove to have been incorrect when made or deemed made in any material respect;

(d) the Borrower shall fail to observe or perform any covenant, condition or agreement contained in (i) Section 5.03 (with respect to the Borrower’s and its Subsidiaries’ existence only, and not with respect to the Borrower’s and its Subsidiaries’ rights, licenses, permits, privileges or franchises), Sections 5.08(a) or (b), Section 5.10, Section 5.12(c) or in Article VI or any Obligor shall default in the performance of any of its obligations contained in Section 7 of the Guarantee and Security Agreement or (ii) Sections 5.01(e) or (f) or 5.02 and, in the case of this clause (ii), such failure shall continue unremedied for a period of five or more days after notice thereof by the Administrative Agent (given at the request of any Lender) to the Borrower;

(e) the Borrower or any Obligor, as applicable, shall fail to observe or perform any covenant, condition or agreement contained in this Agreement (other than those specified in clause (a), (b) or (d) of this Article) or any other Loan Document and such failure shall continue unremedied for a period of 30 or more days after notice thereof from the Administrative Agent (given at the request of any Lender) to the Borrower;

(f) the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries shall fail to make any payment (whether of principal or interest and regardless of amount) in respect of any Material Indebtedness, when and as the same shall become due and payable, taking into account (other than with respect to payments of principal) any applicable grace period;

 

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(g) any event or condition occurs that (i) results in any Material Indebtedness becoming due prior to its scheduled maturity or (ii) that enables or permits (with or without the giving of notice, the lapse of time or both) the holder or holders of any Material Indebtedness or any trustee or agent on its or their behalf to cause any Material Indebtedness to become due, or to require the prepayment, repurchase, redemption or defeasance thereof, prior to its scheduled maturity, unless, in the case of this clause (ii), such event or condition is no longer continuing or has been waived in accordance with the terms of such Material Indebtedness such that the holder or holders thereof or any trustee or agent on its or their behalf are no longer enabled or permitted to cause such Material Indebtedness to become due, or to require the prepayment, repurchase, redemption or defeasance thereof, prior to its scheduled maturity; provided that this clause (g) shall not apply to (1) secured Indebtedness that becomes due as a result of the voluntary sale or transfer of the property or assets securing such Indebtedness; or (2) convertible debt that becomes due as a result of a contingent mandatory conversion or redemption event provided such conversion or redemption is effectuated only in capital stock.

(h) an involuntary proceeding shall be commenced or an involuntary petition shall be filed seeking (i) liquidation, reorganization or other relief in respect of the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries or its debts, or of a substantial part of its assets, under any Federal, state or foreign bankruptcy, insolvency, receivership or similar law now or hereafter in effect or (ii) the appointment of a receiver, trustee, custodian, sequestrator, conservator or similar official for the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries or for a substantial part of its assets, and, in any such case, such proceeding or petition shall continue undismissed and unstayed for a period of 60 or more days or an order or decree approving or ordering any of the foregoing shall be entered;

(i) the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries shall (i) voluntarily commence any proceeding or file any petition seeking liquidation, reorganization or other relief under any Federal, state or foreign bankruptcy, insolvency, receivership or similar law now or hereafter in effect, (ii) consent to the institution of, or fail to contest in a timely and appropriate manner, any proceeding or petition described in clause (i) of this Article, (iii) apply for or consent to the appointment of a receiver, trustee, custodian, sequestrator, conservator or similar official for the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries or for a substantial part of its assets, (iv) file an answer admitting the material allegations of a petition filed against it in any such proceeding, (v) make a general assignment for the benefit of creditors or (vi) take any action for the purpose of effecting any of the foregoing;

(j) the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries shall become unable, admit in writing its inability or fail generally to pay its debts as they become due;

(k) one or more judgments for the payment of money in an aggregate amount in excess of $15,000,000 shall be rendered against the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries or any combination thereof and the same shall remain undischarged for a period of 30 consecutive days during which execution shall not be effectively stayed, or any action shall be legally taken by a judgment creditor to attach or levy upon any assets of the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries to enforce any such judgment;

 

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(l) an ERISA Event shall have occurred that, in the opinion of the Required Lenders, when taken together with all other ERISA Events that have occurred, could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect;

(m) a Change in Control shall occur;

(n) an Investment Advisor Departure Event shall occur;

(o) a Key Person Departure Event shall occur;

(p) any SBIC Subsidiary shall become the subject of an enforcement action and be transferred into liquidation status by the SBA;

(q) the Liens created by the Security Documents shall, at any time with respect to Portfolio Investments held by Obligors having an aggregate Value in excess of 5% of the aggregate Value of all Portfolio Investments held by Obligors, not be, valid and perfected (to the extent perfection by filing, registration, recordation, possession or control is required herein or therein) in favor of the Collateral Agent (or any Obligor or any Affiliate of an Obligor shall so assert in writing), free and clear of all other Liens (other than Liens permitted under Section 6.02 or under the respective Security Documents), except to the extent that any such loss of perfection results from the failure of the Collateral Agent to maintain possession of certificates representing securities pledged under the Guarantee and Collateral Agreement;

(r) except for expiration in accordance with its terms, any of the Security Documents shall for whatever reason be terminated or cease to be in full force and effect in any material respect, or the enforceability thereof shall be contested by any Obligor, or there shall be any actual invalidity of any guaranty thereunder or any Obligor or any Affiliate of an Obligor shall so assert in writing; or

(s) the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries shall (i) “Participate In” an “Impermissible Change of Control” under (and as defined in) the SBIC Guarantee, or otherwise permit the occurrence of an “Impermissible Change of Control” under (and as defined in) the SBIC Guarantee or (ii) cause or permit the occurrence of any equivalent condition or event under any similar agreement with respect to any future SBIC Subsidiary,

then, and in every such event (other than an event described in clause (h) or (i) of this Article), and at any time thereafter during the continuance of such event, the Administrative Agent may, and at the request of the Required Lenders shall, by notice to the Borrower, take either or both of the following actions, at the same or different times: (i) terminate the Commitments, and thereupon the Commitments shall terminate immediately, and (ii) declare the Loans then outstanding to be due and payable in whole (or in part, in which case any principal not so declared to be due and payable may thereafter be declared to be due and payable), and thereupon the principal of the Loans so declared to be due and payable, together with accrued interest thereon and all fees and other obligations of the Borrower accrued hereunder and under the other Loan Documents, shall become due and payable immediately, without presentment, demand, protest or other notice of any kind, all of which are hereby waived by the Borrower; and in case of any event described in clause (h) or (i) of this Article, the Commitments shall automatically terminate and the principal of the Loans then outstanding, together with accrued interest thereon and all fees and other obligations of the Borrower accrued hereunder and under the other Loan Documents, shall automatically become due and payable, without presentment, demand, protest or other notice of any kind, all of which are hereby waived by the Borrower.

 

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In the event that the Loans shall be declared, or shall become, due and payable pursuant to the immediately preceding paragraph then, upon notice from the Administrative Agent or Lenders with LC Exposure representing more than 50% of the total LC Exposure demanding the deposit of cash collateral pursuant to this paragraph, the Borrower shall immediately deposit into the Letter of Credit Collateral Account cash in an amount equal to the LC Exposure as of such date plus any accrued and unpaid interest thereon; provided that the obligation to deposit such cash shall become effective immediately, and such deposit shall become immediately due and payable, without demand or other notice of any kind, upon the occurrence of any Event of Default described in clause (h) or (i) of this Article.

ARTICLE VIII

THE ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT

SECTION 8.01. Appointment of the Administrative Agent. Each of the Lenders and the Issuing Bank hereby irrevocably appoints the Administrative Agent as its agent hereunder and under the other Loan Documents and authorizes the Administrative Agent to take such actions on its behalf and to exercise such powers as are delegated to the Administrative Agent by the terms hereof or thereof, together with such actions and powers as are reasonably incidental thereto.

SECTION 8.02. Capacity as Lender. The Person serving as the Administrative Agent hereunder shall have the same rights and powers in its capacity as a Lender as any other Lender and may exercise the same as though it were not the Administrative Agent, and such Person and its Affiliates may accept deposits from, lend money to and generally engage in any kind of business with the Borrower or any Subsidiary or other Affiliate thereof as if it were not the Administrative Agent hereunder.

SECTION 8.03. Limitation of Duties; Exculpation. The Administrative Agent shall not have any duties or obligations except those expressly set forth herein and in the other Loan Documents. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, (a) the Administrative Agent shall not be subject to any fiduciary or other implied duties, regardless of whether a Default has occurred and is continuing, (b) the Administrative Agent shall not have any duty to take any discretionary action or exercise any discretionary powers, except discretionary rights and powers expressly contemplated hereby or by the other Loan Documents that the Administrative Agent is required to exercise in writing by the Required Lenders, and (c) except as expressly set forth herein and in the other Loan Documents, the Administrative Agent shall not have any duty to disclose, and shall not be liable for the failure to disclose, any information relating to the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries that is communicated to or obtained by the bank serving as Administrative Agent or any of its Affiliates in any capacity. The Administrative Agent shall not be liable for any action taken or not taken by it with the consent or at the request of the Required

 

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Lenders or in the absence of its own gross negligence or willful misconduct. The Administrative Agent shall be deemed not to have knowledge of any Default unless and until written notice thereof is given to the Administrative Agent by the Borrower or a Lender, and the Administrative Agent shall not be responsible for or have any duty to ascertain or inquire into (i) any statement, warranty or representation made in or in connection with this Agreement or any other Loan Document, (ii) the contents of any certificate, report or other document delivered hereunder or thereunder or in connection herewith or therewith, (iii) the performance or observance of any of the covenants, agreements or other terms or conditions set forth herein or therein, (iv) the validity, enforceability, effectiveness or genuineness of this Agreement, any other Loan Document or any other agreement, instrument or document, or (v) the satisfaction of any condition set forth in Article IV or elsewhere herein or therein, other than to confirm receipt of items expressly required to be delivered to the Administrative Agent.

SECTION 8.04. Reliance. The Administrative Agent shall be entitled to rely upon, and shall not incur any liability for relying upon, any notice, request, certificate, consent, statement, instrument, document or other writing (including any electronic message, Internet or intranet website posting or other distribution) believed by it to be genuine and to have been signed or sent by the proper Person. The Administrative Agent also may rely upon any statement made to it orally or by telephone and believed by it to be made by the proper Person, and shall not incur any liability for relying thereon. The Administrative Agent may consult with legal counsel, independent accountants and other experts selected by it, and shall not be liable for any action taken or not taken by it in accordance with the advice of any such counsel, accountants or experts.

SECTION 8.05. Sub-Agents. The Administrative Agent may perform any and all its duties and exercise its rights and powers by or through any one or more sub-agents appointed by the Administrative Agent. The Administrative Agent and any such sub-agent may perform any and all its duties and exercise its rights and powers through their respective Related Parties. The exculpatory provisions of the preceding paragraphs shall apply to any such sub-agent and to the Related Parties of the Administrative Agent and any such sub-agent, and shall apply to their respective activities in connection with the syndication of the credit facilities provided for herein as well as activities as Administrative Agent.

SECTION 8.06. Resignation; Successor Administrative Agent. The Administrative Agent may resign at any time by notifying the Lenders, the Issuing Bank and the Borrower. Upon any such resignation, the Required Lenders shall have the right, with the consent of the Borrower not to be unreasonably withheld (provided that no such consent shall be required if an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing), to appoint a successor. If no successor shall have been so appointed by the Required Lenders and shall have accepted such appointment within 30 days after the retiring Administrative Agent gives notice of its resignation, then the retiring Administrative Agent’s resignation shall nonetheless become effective and (1) the retiring Administrative Agent shall be discharged from its duties and obligations hereunder and (2) the Required Lenders shall perform the duties of the Administrative Agent (and all payments and communications provided to be made by, to or through the Administrative Agent shall instead be made by or to each Lender directly) until such time as the Required Lenders appoint a successor agent as provided for above in this paragraph.

 

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Upon the acceptance of its appointment as Administrative Agent hereunder by a successor, such successor shall succeed to and become vested with all the rights, powers, privileges and duties of the retiring (or retired) Administrative Agent and the retiring Administrative Agent shall be discharged from its duties and obligations hereunder (if not already discharged therefrom as provided above in this paragraph). The fees payable by the Borrower to a successor Administrative Agent shall be the same as those payable to its predecessor unless otherwise agreed between the Borrower and such successor. After the Administrative Agent’s resignation hereunder, the provisions of this Article and Section 9.03 shall continue in effect for its benefit in respect of any actions taken or omitted to be taken by it while it was acting as Administrative Agent.

SECTION 8.07. Reliance by Lenders. Each Lender acknowledges that it has, independently and without reliance upon the Administrative Agent or any other Lender and based on such documents and information as it has deemed appropriate, made its own credit analysis and decision to enter into this Agreement. Each Lender also acknowledges that it will, independently and without reliance upon the Administrative Agent or any other Lender and based on such documents and information as it shall from time to time deem appropriate, continue to make its own decisions in taking or not taking action under or based upon this Agreement, any other Loan Document or any related agreement or any document furnished hereunder or thereunder.

SECTION 8.08. Modifications to Loan Documents. Except as otherwise provided in Section 9.02(b) or 9.02(c) with respect to this Agreement, the Administrative Agent may, with the prior consent of the Required Lenders (but not otherwise), consent to any modification, supplement or waiver under any of the Loan Documents; provided that, without the prior consent of each Lender, the Administrative Agent shall not (except as provided herein or in the Security Documents) release all or substantially all of the Collateral or otherwise terminate all or substantially all of the Liens under any Security Document providing for collateral security, agree to additional obligations being secured by all or substantially all of such collateral security, or alter the relative priorities of the obligations entitled to the benefits of the Liens created under the Security Documents with respect to all or substantially all of the Collateral, except that no such consent shall be required, and the Administrative Agent is hereby authorized, to release any Lien covering property that is the subject of either a disposition of property permitted hereunder or a disposition to which the Required Lenders have consented.

SECTION 8.09. Documentation Agent. The Documentation Agent (in its capacity as such) shall not have any duties or responsibilities, nor shall it incur any liability, under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents.

 

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ARTICLE IX

MISCELLANEOUS

SECTION 9.01. Notices; Electronic Communications.

(a) Notices Generally. Except in the case of notices and other communications expressly permitted to be given by telephone, 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 telecopy, as follows:

(i) if to the Borrower, to it at:

Fifth Street Finance Corp.

10 Bank Street, 12th Floor

White Plains, New York 10606

Attention: Bernard D. Berman

Telecopy Number: (914)  ###-###-####

Telephone: (914)  ###-###-####

With a copy to:

Rutan & Tucker, LLP

611 Anton Boulevard, 14th Floor

Costa Mesa, California 92626

Attention: William F. Meehan

Telecopy Number: (714)  ###-###-####

(ii) if to the Administrative Agent or Issuing Bank, to it at:

ING Capital LLC

1325 Avenue of the Americas

New York, New York 10019

Attention: Patrick Frisch

Telephone Number: (646)  ###-###-####

Telecopy Number: (646)  ###-###-####

with a copy to:

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP

1285 Avenue of the Americas

New York, New York 10019-6064

Attention: Terry E. Schimek, Esq.

Telecopy Number: (212)  ###-###-####

 

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(iii) if to any other Lender, to it at its address (or telecopy number) set forth in its Administrative Questionnaire.

Any party hereto may change its address or telecopy number for notices and other communications hereunder by notice to the other parties hereto. All notices and other communications given to any party hereto in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement shall be deemed to have been given on the date of receipt. Notices delivered through electronic communications to the extent provided in paragraph (b) below, shall be effective as provided in said paragraph (b).

(b) Electronic Communications. Notices and other communications to the Lenders and the Issuing Bank hereunder may be delivered or furnished by electronic communication (including e-mail 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 or the Issuing Bank pursuant to Section 2.05 if such Lender 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 or the Borrower may, 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 acknowledgement from the intended recipient (such as by the “return receipt requested” function, as available, return e-mail or other written acknowledgement); provided that if such notice or other communication is not sent during the normal business hours of the recipient, such notice or communication shall be deemed to have been sent at the opening of business on the next business day for the recipient, and (ii) notices or communications posted to an Internet or intranet website shall be deemed received upon the deemed receipt by the intended recipient at its e-mail address as described in the foregoing clause (i) of notification that such notice or communication is available and identifying the website address therefor.

(c) Documents to be Delivered under Sections 5.01 and 5.12(a). For so long as a Debtdomain™ or equivalent website is available to each of the Lenders hereunder, the Borrower may satisfy its obligation to deliver documents to the Administrative Agent or the Lenders under Sections 5.01 and 5.12(a) by delivering one hard copy thereof to the Administrative Agent and either an electronic copy or a notice identifying the website where such information is located for posting by the Administrative Agent on Debtdomain™ or such equivalent website, provided that the Administrative Agent shall have no responsibility to maintain access to Debtdomain™ or an equivalent website.

SECTION 9.02. Waivers; Amendments.

(a) No Deemed Waivers Remedies Cumulative. No failure or delay by the Administrative Agent, the Issuing Bank or any Lender in exercising any right or power hereunder shall operate as a waiver thereof nor shall any single or partial exercise of any such right or power, or any abandonment or discontinuance of steps to enforce such a right or power,

 

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preclude any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any other right or power. The rights and remedies of the Administrative Agent, the Issuing Bank and the Lenders hereunder are cumulative and are not exclusive of any rights or remedies that they would otherwise have. No waiver of any provision of this Agreement or consent to any departure by the Borrower therefrom shall in any event be effective unless the same shall be permitted by paragraph (b) of this Section, and then such waiver or consent shall be effective only in the specific instance and for the purpose for which given. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the making of a Loan or issuance of a Letter of Credit shall not be construed as a waiver of any Default, regardless of whether the Administrative Agent, any Lender or the Issuing Bank may have had notice or knowledge of such Default at the time.

(b) Amendments to this Agreement. Neither this Agreement nor any provision hereof may be waived, amended or modified except pursuant to an agreement or agreements in writing entered into by the Borrower and the Required Lenders or by the Borrower and the Administrative Agent with the consent of the Required Lenders; provided that, subject to Section 2.17(b), no such agreement shall

(i) increase the Commitment of any Lender without the written consent of such Lender,

(ii) reduce the principal amount of any Loan or LC Disbursement or reduce the rate of interest thereon, or reduce any fees payable hereunder, without the written consent of each Lender affected thereby,

(iii) postpone the scheduled date of payment of the principal amount of any Loan or LC Disbursement, or any interest thereon, or any fees payable hereunder, or reduce the amount or waive or excuse any such payment, or postpone the scheduled date of expiration of any Commitment, without the written consent of each Lender affected thereby,

(iv) change Section 2.16(b), (c) or (d) in a manner that would alter the pro rata sharing of payments, or making of disbursements, required thereby without the written consent of each Lender affected thereby,

(v) change any of the provisions of this Section or the percentage in the definition of the term “Required Lenders” or any other provision hereof specifying the number or percentage of Lenders required to waive, amend or modify any rights hereunder or make any determination or grant any consent hereunder, without the written consent of each Lender, or

(vi) permit the assignment or transfer by any Obligor of any of its rights or obligations under any Loan Document without the consent of each Lender;

provided further that (x) no such agreement shall amend, modify or otherwise affect the rights or duties of the Administrative Agent or the Issuing Bank hereunder without the prior written consent of the Administrative Agent or the Issuing Bank, as the case may be, and (y) the consent of Lenders holding not less than two-thirds of the total Revolving Credit Exposures and unused Commitments will be required for (A) any change adverse to the Lenders affecting the

 

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provisions of this Agreement relating to the Borrowing Base (including the definitions used therein), or the provisions of Section 5.12(b)(ii), (B) any adverse change relating to the financial covenants set forth in Section 6.07 hereof, (C) any adverse change relating to the Proprietary Rating System or the Risk Factor Rating, (D) any change of the negative covenants set forth in Sections 6.01 or 6.02 hereof, and (E) any release of any material portion of the Collateral other than for fair value or as otherwise permitted hereunder or under the other Loan Documents.

(c) Amendments to Security Documents. No Security Document nor any provision thereof may be waived, amended or modified, nor may the Liens thereof be spread to secure any additional obligations (including any increase in Loans hereunder, but excluding any such increase pursuant to a Commitment Increase under Section 2.07(f) to an amount not greater than $350,000,000450,000,000) except pursuant to an agreement or agreements in writing entered into by the Borrower, and by the Collateral Agent with the consent of the Required Lenders; provided that, subject to Section 2.17(b), (i) without the written consent of the holders of not less than two-thirds of the total Revolving Credit Exposures and unused Commitments, no such agreement shall, (A) release any Obligor representing more than 10% of the Shareholder’s Equity of the Borrower from its obligations under the Security Documents, (B) release any guarantor representing more than 10% of the Shareholder’s Equity of the Borrower under the Guarantee and Security Agreement from its guarantee obligations thereunder, or (C) amend the definition of “Collateral” under the Security Documents (except to add additional collateral) and (ii) without the written consent of each Lender, no such agreement shall (W) release all or substantially all of the Obligors from their respective obligations under the Security Documents, (X) release all or substantially all of the collateral security or otherwise terminate all or substantially all of the Liens under the Security Documents, (Y) release all or substantially all of the guarantors under the Guarantee and Security Agreement from their guarantee obligations thereunder, or (Z) alter the relative priorities of the obligations entitled to the Liens created under the Security Documents (except in connection with securing additional obligations equally and ratably with the Loans and other obligations hereunder) with respect to the collateral security provided thereby; except that no such consent described in clause (i) or (ii) above shall be required, and the Administrative Agent is hereby authorized (and so agrees with the Borrower) to direct the Collateral Agent under the Guarantee and Security Agreement, to release any Lien covering property (and to release any such guarantor) that is the subject of either a disposition of property permitted hereunder or a disposition to which the Required Lenders have consented, or otherwise in accordance with Section 9.15.

(d) Replacement of Non-Consenting Lender. If, in connection with any proposed amendment, waiver or consent requiring (i) the consent of “each Lender” or “each Lender affected thereby,” or (ii) the consent of “two-thirds of the holders of the total Revolving Credit Exposures and unused Commitments”, the consent of the Required Lenders is obtained, but the consent of other necessary Lenders is not obtained (any such Lender whose consent is necessary but not obtained being referred to herein as a “Non-Consenting Lender”), then the Borrower shall have the right, at its sole cost and expense, to replace each such Non-Consenting Lender or Lenders with one or more replacement Lenders pursuant to Section 2.18(b) so long as at the time of such replacement, each such replacement Lender consents to the proposed change, waiver, discharge or termination.

 

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SECTION 9.03. Expenses; Indemnity; Damage Waiver.

(a) Costs and Expenses. The Borrower shall pay (i) all reasonable out-of-pocket costs and expenses incurred by the Administrative Agent, the Collateral Agent and their Affiliates, including the reasonable fees, charges and disbursements of counsel for the Administrative Agent and the Collateral Agent, in connection with the syndication of the credit facilities provided for herein, the preparation and administration (other than internal overhead charges) of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents and 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, (iii) all out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the Administrative Agent, the Issuing Bank or any Lender, including the fees, charges and disbursements of any counsel for the Administrative Agent, the Issuing Bank or any Lender, in connection with the enforcement or protection of its rights in connection with this Agreement and the other Loan Documents, including its rights under this Section, or in connection with the Loans made or Letters of Credit issued hereunder, including all such out-of-pocket expenses incurred during any workout, restructuring or negotiations in respect thereof and (iv) and all reasonable out-of-pocket costs, expenses, taxes, assessments and other charges incurred in connection with any filing, registration, recording or perfection of any security interest contemplated by any Security Document or any other document referred to therein.

(b) Indemnification by the Borrower. The Borrower shall indemnify the Administrative Agent, the Issuing Bank and each Lender, and each Related Party of any of the foregoing Persons (each such Person being called an “Indemnitee”) against, and hold each Indemnitee harmless from, any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities and related expenses (other than Taxes or Other Taxes which shall only be indemnified by the Borrower to the extent provided in Section 2.15), including the reasonable fees, charges and disbursements of any counsel for any Indemnitee, incurred by or asserted against any Indemnitee arising out of, in connection with, or as a result of (i) the execution or delivery of this Agreement or any agreement or instrument contemplated hereby, the performance by the parties hereto of their respective obligations hereunder or the consummation of the Transactions or any other transactions contemplated hereby, (ii) any Loan or Letter of Credit or the 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) or (iii) 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 the Borrower or any other Obligor, and regardless of whether any Indemnitee is a party thereto; 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 willful misconduct or gross negligence of such Indemnitee. or (y) result from a claim brought by the Borrower against an Indemnitee for breach in bad faith of such Indemnitee’s obligations hereunder or under any other Loan Document, if the Borrower has obtained a final and nonappealable judgment in its favor on such claim as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction.

 

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The Borrower shall not be liable to any Indemnitee for any special, indirect, consequential or punitive damages arising out of, in connection with, or as a result of the Transactions asserted by an Indemnitee against the Borrower or any other Obligor, provided that the foregoing limitation shall not be deemed to impair or affect the Obligations of the Borrower under the preceding provisions of this subsection.

(c) Reimbursement by Lenders. To the extent that the Borrower fails to pay any amount required to be paid by it to the Administrative Agent or the Issuing Bank under paragraph (a) or (b) of this Section (and without limiting its obligation to do so), each Lender severally agrees to pay to the Administrative Agent or the Issuing Bank, as the case may be, such Lender’s Applicable Percentage (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 the Issuing Bank in its capacity as such.

(d) Waiver of Consequential Damages, Etc. To the extent permitted by applicable law, the Borrower 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) arising out of, in connection with, or as a result of; this Agreement or any agreement or instrument contemplated hereby, the Transactions, any Loan or Letter of Credit or the use of the proceeds thereof. No Indemnitee referred to in paragraph (d) above 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 shall be payable promptly after written demand therefor.

SECTION 9.04. Successors and Assigns.

(a) Assignments 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 (including any Affiliate of the Issuing Bank that issues any Letter of Credit), except that (i) the Borrower may not assign or otherwise transfer any of its rights or obligations hereunder without the prior written consent of each Lender (and any attempted assignment or transfer by the Borrower without such consent shall be null and void) and (ii) no Lender may assign or otherwise transfer its rights or obligations hereunder except in accordance with this Section. 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 (including any Affiliate of the Issuing Bank that issues any Letter of Credit) and, to the extent expressly contemplated hereby, the Related Parties of each of the Administrative Agent, the Issuing Banks and the Lenders) any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim under or by reason of this Agreement.

(b) Assignments by Lenders.

 

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(i) Assignments Generally. Subject to the conditions set forth in clause (ii) below, any Lender may 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 Commitment and the Loans and LC Exposure at the time owing to it) with the prior written consent (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed) of:

(A) the Borrower, provided that (i) no consent of the Borrower shall be required for an assignment to a Lender, an Affiliate of a Lender, or, if an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing, any other assignee, and (ii) 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 five (5) Business Days after having received written notice thereof; and

(B) the Administrative Agent and the Issuing Bank.

(ii) Certain Conditions to Assignments. Assignments shall be subject to the following additional conditions:

(A) except in the case of an assignment to a Lender or an Affiliate of a Lender or an assignment of the entire remaining amount of the assigning Lender’s Commitment or Loans and LC Exposure, the amount of the Commitment or Loans and LC Exposure 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) shall not be less than U.S. $1,000,000 unless each of the Borrower and the Administrative Agent otherwise consent; provided that no such consent of the Borrower shall be required if a Default has occurred and is continuing;

(B) each partial assignment of Commitments or Loans and LC Exposure shall be made as an assignment of a proportionate part of all the assigning Lender’s rights and obligations under this Agreement in respect of such Commitments, Loans and LC Exposure;

(C) the parties to each assignment shall execute and deliver to the Administrative Agent an Assignment and Assumption in substantially the form of Exhibit A hereto, together with a processing and recordation fee of U.S. $3,500 (which fee shall not be payable in connection with an assignment to a Lender or to an Affiliate of a Lender), for which the Borrower and the Guarantors shall not be obligated (except in the case of an assignment pursuant to Section 2.18(b)); and

(D) the assignee, if it shall not already be a Lender, shall deliver to the Administrative Agent an Administrative Questionnaire.

 

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(iii) Effectiveness of Assignments. Subject to acceptance and recording thereof pursuant to paragraph (c) of this Section, from and after the effective date specified in each Assignment and Assumption the assignee thereunder shall be a party hereto 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 2.13, 2.14, 2.15 and 9.03 with respect to facts and circumstances occurring prior to the effective date of such assignment). Any assignment or transfer by a Lender of rights or obligations under this Agreement that does not comply with this Section 9.04 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 paragraph (e) of this Section.

(c) Maintenance of Registers by Administrative Agent. The Administrative Agent, acting solely for this purpose as an agent of the Borrower, shall maintain at one of its offices in New York City 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 Commitments of, and principal amount of the Loans and LC Disbursements owing to, each Lender pursuant to the terms hereof from time to time (the “Registers” and each individually, a “Register”). The entries in the Registers shall be conclusive, and the Borrower, the Administrative Agent, the Issuing Bank and the Lenders may treat each Person whose name is recorded in the Registers pursuant to the terms hereof as a Lender hereunder for all purposes of this Agreement, notwithstanding notice to the contrary. The Registers shall be available for inspection by the Borrower, the Issuing Bank and any Lender, at any reasonable time and from time to time upon reasonable prior notice.

(d) Acceptance of Assignments by Administrative Agent. Upon its receipt of a duly completed Assignment and Assumption executed by an assigning Lender and an assignee, the assignee’s completed Administrative Questionnaire (unless the assignee shall already be a Lender hereunder), the processing and recordation fee referred to in paragraph (b) of this Section and any written consent to such assignment required by paragraph (b) of this Section, the Administrative Agent shall accept such Assignment and Assumption and record the information contained therein in the Register. No assignment shall be effective for purposes of this Agreement unless it has been recorded in the Register as provided in this paragraph.

(e) Special Purposes Vehicles. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, any Lender (a “Granting Lender”) may grant to a special purpose funding vehicle (an “SPC”) owned or administered by such Granting Lender, identified as such in writing from time to time by the Granting Lender to the Administrative Agent and the Borrower, the option to provide all or any part of any Loan that such Granting Lender would otherwise be obligated to make; provided that (i) nothing herein shall constitute a commitment to make any Loan by any SPC, (ii) if an SPC elects not to exercise such option or otherwise fails to provide all or any part of such Loan, the Granting Lender shall, subject to the terms of this Agreement, make such Loan pursuant to the terms hereof, (iii) the rights of any such SPC shall be derivative of the rights of the Granting Lender, and such SPC shall be subject to all of the restrictions upon the Granting Lender herein contained, and (iv) no SPC shall be entitled to the benefits of Sections 2.13 (or any other increased costs protection provision), 2.14 or 2.15. Each SPC shall

 

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be conclusively presumed to have made arrangements with its Granting Lender for the exercise of voting and other rights hereunder in a manner which is acceptable to the SPC, the Administrative Agent, the Lenders and the Borrower, and each of the Administrative Agent, the Lenders and the Obligors shall be entitled to rely upon and deal solely with the Granting Lender with respect to Loans made by or through its SPC. The making of a Loan by an SPC hereunder shall utilize the Commitment of the Granting Lender to the same extent, and as if, such Loan were made by the Granting Lender.

Each party hereto hereby agrees (which agreement shall survive the termination of this Agreement) that, prior to the date that is one year and one day after the payment in full of all outstanding senior indebtedness of any SPC, it will not institute against, or join any other person in instituting against, such SPC, any bankruptcy, reorganization, arrangement, insolvency or liquidation proceedings or similar proceedings under the laws of the United States or any State thereof, in respect of claims arising out of this Agreement; provided that the Granting Lender for each SPC hereby agrees to indemnify, save and hold harmless each other party hereto for any loss, cost, damage and expense arising out of their inability to institute any such proceeding against its SPC. In addition, notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Section, any SPC may (i) without the prior written consent of the Borrower and the Administrative Agent and without paying any processing fee therefor, assign all or a portion of its interests in any Loans to its Granting Lender or to any financial institutions providing liquidity and/or credit facilities to or for the account of such SPC to fund the Loans made by such SPC or to support the securities (if any) issued by such SPC to fund such Loans (but nothing contained herein shall be construed in derogation of the obligation of the Granting Lender to make Loans hereunder); provided that neither the consent of the SPC or of any such assignee shall be required for amendments or waivers hereunder except for those amendments or waivers for which the consent of participants is required under paragraph (1) below, and (ii) disclose on a confidential basis (in the same manner described in Section 9.13(b)) any non-public information relating to its Loans to any rating agency, commercial paper dealer or provider of a surety, guarantee or credit or liquidity enhancement to such SPC.

(f) Participations. Any Lender may sell participations to one or more banks or other entities (a “Participant”) in all or a portion of such Lender’s rights and obligations under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents (including all or a portion of its Commitments and the Loans and LC Disbursements owing to it); provided that (i) such Lender’s obligations under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents 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, the Issuing 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 and the other Loan Documents. 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 the other Loan Documents and to approve any amendment, modification or waiver of any provision of this Agreement or any other Loan Document; 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 described in the first proviso to Section 9.02(b) that affects such Participant. Subject to paragraph (g) of this Section, the Borrower agrees that each Participant shall be entitled to the benefits of Sections 2.13, 2.14 and 2.15 to the same extent as if it were a Lender and had

 

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acquired its interest by assignment pursuant to paragraph (b) of this Section. To the extent permitted by law, each Participant also shall be entitled to the benefits of Section 9.08 as though it were a Lender, provided such Participant agrees to be subject to Section 2.16(d) as though it were a Lender hereunder. 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 Loans 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 (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) to any Person 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.

(g) Limitations on Rights of Participants. A Participant shall not be entitled to receive any greater payment under Section 2.13, 2.14 or 2.15 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. A Participant that would be a Foreign Lender if it were a Lender shall not be entitled to the benefits of Section 2.15 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 paragraphs (e) and (f) of Section 2.15 as though it were a Lender and in the case of a Participant claiming exemption for portfolio interest under Section 871(h) or 881(c) of the Code, the applicable Lender shall provide the Borrower with satisfactory evidence that the participation is in registered form and shall permit the Borrower to review such register as reasonably needed for the Borrower to comply with its obligations under applicable laws and regulations.

(h) 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 any such pledge or assignment to a Federal Reserve Bank, and this Section shall not apply to any such pledge or assignment of a security interest; provided that no such pledge or assignment of a security interest shall release a Lender from any of its obligations hereunder or substitute any such assignee for such Lender as a party hereto.

(i) No Assignments to the Borrower or Affiliates. Anything in this Section to the contrary notwithstanding, no Lender may assign or participate any interest in any Loan or LC Exposure held by it hereunder to the Borrower or any of its Affiliates or Subsidiaries without the prior consent of each Lender.

 

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SECTION 9.05. Survival. All covenants, agreements, representations and warranties made by the Borrower herein and in the certificates or other instruments delivered in connection with or pursuant to this Agreement shall be considered to have been relied upon by the other parties hereto and shall survive the execution and delivery of this Agreement and the making of any Loans and issuance of any Letters of Credit, regardless of any investigation made by any such other party or on its behalf and notwithstanding that the Administrative Agent, the Issuing Bank or any Lender may have had notice or knowledge of any Default or incorrect representation or warranty at the time any credit is extended hereunder, and shall continue in full force and effect as long as the principal of or any accrued interest on any Loan or any fee or any other amount payable under this Agreement is outstanding and unpaid or any Letter of Credit is outstanding and so long as the Commitments have not expired or terminated. The provisions of Sections 2.13, 2.14, 2.15 and 9.03 and Article VIII shall survive and remain in full force and effect regardless of the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby, the repayment of the Loans, the expiration or termination of the Letters of Credit and the Commitments or the termination of this Agreement or any provision hereof.

SECTION 9.06. Counterparts; Integration; Effectiveness; Electronic Execution.

(a) Counterparts; Integration; Effectiveness. This Agreement may be executed in counterparts (and by different parties hereto on different counterparts), each of which shall constitute an original, but all of which when taken together shall constitute a single contract. This Agreement and any separate letter agreements with respect to fees payable to the Administrative Agent constitute the entire contract between and 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 4.01, 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 which, when taken together, bear the signatures of each of the other parties hereto, and thereafter shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns. Delivery of an executed counterpart of a signature page to this Agreement by telecopy or electronic mail shall be effective as delivery of a manually executed counterpart of this Agreement.

(b) Electronic Execution of Assignments. The words “execution,” “signed,” “signature,” and words of like import in any Assignment and Assumption shall be deemed to include electronic signatures 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 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.

SECTION 9.07. Severability. Any provision of this Agreement held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any jurisdiction shall, as to such jurisdiction, be ineffective to the extent of such invalidity, illegality or unenforceability without affecting the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions hereof; and the invalidity of a particular provision in a particular jurisdiction shall not invalidate such provision in any other jurisdiction.

 

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SECTION 9.08. Right of Setoff. If an Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing, each Lender and each of its Affiliates is hereby authorized at any time and from time to time, to the fullest extent permitted by law, to set off and apply any and all deposits (general or special, time or demand, provisional or final) at any time held and other obligations at any time owing by such Lender or Affiliate to or for the credit or the account of the Borrower against any of and all the obligations of the Borrower now or hereafter existing under this Agreement held by such Lender, irrespective of whether or not such Lender shall have made any demand under this Agreement and although such obligations may be unmatured. The rights of each Lender under this Section are in addition to other rights and remedies (including other rights of setoff) which such Lender may have.

SECTION 9.09. Governing Law; Jurisdiction; Etc.

(a) Governing Law. This Agreement shall be construed in accordance with and governed by the law of the State of New York.

(b) Submission to Jurisdiction. The Borrower hereby irrevocably and unconditionally submits, for itself and its property, to the nonexclusive jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of the State of New York sitting in New York County and of the United States District Court of 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 for recognition or enforcement of any judgment, and each of the parties hereto hereby 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 or, to the extent permitted by 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 shall affect any right that the Administrative Agent, the Issuing Bank or any Lender may otherwise have to bring any action or proceeding relating to this Agreement against the Borrower or its properties in the courts of any jurisdiction.

(c) Waiver of Venue. The Borrower hereby irrevocably and unconditionally waives, to the fullest extent it may legally and effectively do so, any objection which it may now or hereafter have to the laying of venue of any suit, action or proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement in any court referred to in paragraph (b) of this Section. Each of the parties hereto hereby irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by 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 to this Agreement 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 to this Agreement to serve process in any other manner permitted by law.

SECTION 9.10. WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL. EACH PARTY HERETO HEREBY 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 THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREBY (WHETHER BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT OR ANY OTHER THEORY). EACH PARTY HERETO (A) CERTIFIES THAT NO REPRESENTATIVE, AGENT OR ATTORNEY OF ANY OTHER PARTY HAS

 

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REPRESENTED, EXPRESSLY OR OTHERWISE, THAT SUCH OTHER PARTY 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 BY, AMONG OTHER THINGS, THE MUTUAL WAIVERS AND CERTIFICATIONS IN THIS SECTION.

SECTION 9.11. Judgment Currency. This is a loan transaction in which the specification of Dollars and payment in New York City is of the essence, and Dollars shall be the currency of account in all events relating to Loans. The payment obligations of the Borrower under this Agreement shall not be discharged or satisfied by an amount paid in another currency or in another place, whether pursuant to a judgment or otherwise, to the extent that the amount so paid on conversion to Dollars and transfer to New York City under normal banking procedures does not yield the amount of Dollars in New York City due hereunder. If for the purpose of obtaining judgment in any court it is necessary to convert a sum due hereunder into another currency (the “Other Currency”), the rate of exchange that shall be applied shall be the rate at which in accordance with normal banking procedures the Administrative Agent could purchase Dollars with the Other Currency on the Business Day next preceding the day on which such judgment is rendered. The obligation of the Borrower in respect of any such sum due from it to the Administrative Agent or any Lender hereunder or under any other Loan Document (in this Section called an “Entitled Person”) shall, notwithstanding the rate of exchange actually applied in rendering such judgment, be discharged only to the extent that on the Business Day following receipt by such Entitled Person of any sum adjudged to be due hereunder in the Other Currency such Entitled Person may in accordance with normal banking procedures purchase and transfer Dollars to New York City with the amount of the Other Currency so adjudged to be due; and the Borrower hereby, as a separate obligation and notwithstanding any such judgment, agrees to indemnify such Entitled Person against, and to pay such Entitled Person on demand, in Dollars, the amount (if any) by which the sum originally due to such Entitled Person in Dollars hereunder exceeds the amount of Dollars so purchased and transferred.

SECTION 9.12. Headings. Article and Section headings and the Table of Contents used herein are for convenience of reference only, are not part of this Agreement and shall not affect the construction of, or be taken into consideration in interpreting, this Agreement.

SECTION 9.13. Treatment of Certain Information; Confidentiality.

(a) Treatment of Certain Information. The Borrower acknowledges that from time to time financial advisory, investment banking and other services may be offered or provided to the Borrower or one or more of its Subsidiaries (in connection with this Agreement or otherwise) by any Lender or by one or more subsidiaries or affiliates of such Lender and the Borrower hereby authorizes each Lender to share any information delivered to such Lender by the Borrower and its Subsidiaries pursuant to this Agreement, or in connection with the decision of such Lender to enter into this Agreement, to any such subsidiary or affiliate, it being understood that any such subsidiary or affiliate receiving such information shall be bound by the provisions of paragraph (b) of this Section as if it were a Lender hereunder. Such authorization shall survive the repayment of the Loans, the expiration or termination of the Letters of Credit and the Commitments or the termination of this Agreement or any provision hereof.

 

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(b) Confidentiality. Each of the Administrative Agent, the Lenders and the Issuing 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 any regulatory authority purporting to have jurisdiction over it (including any self-regulatory authority), (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 hereunder or under any other Loan Document or any action or proceeding relating to this Agreement or any other Loan Document or the enforcement of rights hereunder or thereunder, (f) subject to an agreement containing provisions substantially the same as those of this Section, 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 or (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 or, (h) on a confidential basis to (i) any rating agency in connection with rating the Borrower or its Subsidiaries or the Loans, (ii) the CUSIP Service Bureau or any similar agency in connection with the issuance and monitoring of CUSIP numbers with respect to the Loans or (iii) any credit insurer with respect to the Loans, or (i) to the extent such Information (x) becomes publicly available other than as a result of a breach of this Section or (y) becomes available to the Administrative Agent, any Lender, the Issuing Bank or any of their respective Affiliates on a nonconfidential basis from a source other than the Borrower.

For purposes of this Section, “Information” means all information received from the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries relating to the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries or any of their respective businesses, other than any such information that is available to the Administrative Agent, any Lender or the Issuing Bank on a nonconfidential basis prior to disclosure by the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries, provided that, in the case of information received from the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries after the Original 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 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.

SECTION 9.14. USA PATRIOT Act. Each Lender hereby notifies the Borrower that pursuant to the requirements of the USA PATRIOT Act (Title III of Pub. L. 107-56 (signed into law October 26, 2001)), it is required to obtain, verify and record information that identifies the Borrower, which information includes the name and address of the Borrower and other information that will allow such Lender to identify the Borrower in accordance with said Act.

SECTION 9.15. Termination. Promptly upon the Termination Date, the Administrative Agent shall direct the Collateral Agent to, on behalf of the Administrative Agent, the Collateral Agent and the Lenders, deliver to Borrower such termination statements and releases and other documents necessary or appropriate to evidence the termination of this Agreement, the Loan Documents, and each of the documents securing the obligations hereunder as the Borrower may reasonably request, all at the sole cost and expense of the Borrower.

 

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SECTION 9.16. Reallocation of Commitments. On the Restatement Effective Date Borrower shall (A) prepay the Existing Loans (if any) in full, (B) simultaneously borrow new Loans hereunder in an amount equal to such prepayment; provided that with respect to subclauses (A) and (B), (x) the prepayment to, and borrowing from, any Existing Lender shall be effected by book entry to the extent that any portion of the amount prepaid to such Existing Lender will be subsequently borrowed from such Existing Lender and (y) the Existing Lenders and the New Lenders shall make and receive payments among themselves, in a manner acceptable to the Administrative Agent, so that, after giving effect thereto, the Loans are held ratably by the Lenders in accordance with the respective Commitments of such Lenders (as set forth in Schedule 1.01(b)) and (C) pay to the Lenders the amounts, if any, payable under Section 2.14 of the Existing Credit Agreement as a result of any such prepayment. Concurrently therewith, the Lenders shall be deemed to have adjusted their participation interests in any outstanding Letters of Credit so that such interests are held ratably in accordance with their commitments as so revised.

SECTION 9.17. Amendment and Restatement.

(a) On the Restatement Effective Date, the Existing Credit Agreement shall be amended and restated in its entirety by this Agreement, and the Existing Credit Agreement shall thereafter be of no further force and effect, except to evidence (i) the incurrence by the Borrower of the obligations under the Existing Credit Agreement (whether or not such obligations are contingent as of the Restatement Effective Date), (ii) the representations and warranties made by the Borrower prior to the Restatement Effective Date and (iii) any action or omission performed or required to be performed pursuant to such Existing Credit Agreement prior to the Restatement Effective Date (including any failure, prior to the Restatement Effective Date, to comply with the covenants contained in such Existing Credit Agreement). The amendments and restatements set forth herein shall not cure any breach thereof or any “Default” or “Event of Default” under and as defined in the Existing Credit Agreement prior to the Restatement Effective Date. This Agreement is not in any way intended to constitute a novation of the obligations and liabilities existing under the Existing Credit Agreement or evidence payment of all or any portion of such obligations and liabilities.

(b) The terms and conditions of this Agreement and the Agents’ and the Lenders’ rights and remedies under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents shall apply to all of the obligations incurred under the Existing Credit Agreement.

(c) On and after the Restatement Effective Date, (i) all references to the Existing Credit Agreement in the Loan Documents (other than this Agreement) shall be deemed to refer to the Existing Credit Agreement, as amended and restated hereby, (ii) all references to any Article, Section or sub-clause of the Existing Credit Agreement in any Loan Document (other than this Agreement) shall be deemed to be references to the corresponding provisions of this Agreement and (iii) except as the context otherwise provides, on or after the Restatement Effective Date, all references to this Agreement herein (including for purposes of indemnification and reimbursement of fees) shall be deemed to be references to the Existing Credit Agreement, as amended and restated hereby.

 

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(d) This amendment and restatement is limited as written and is not a consent to any other amendment, restatement or waiver, whether or not similar and, except as expressly provided herein or in any other Loan Document, all terms and conditions of the Loan Documents remain in full force and effect unless otherwise specifically amended hereby or by any other Loan Document.

SECTION 9.18. No Fiduciary Duty. The Administrative Agent, each Lender and their Affiliates (collectively, solely for purposes of this paragraph, the “Lenders”), may have economic interests that conflict with those of the Borrower. The Borrower agrees that nothing in the Loan Documents or otherwise shall be deemed to create an advisory, fiduciary or agency relationship or fiduciary or other implied duty between the Lenders and the Borrower, its stockholders or its affiliates. The Obligors acknowledge and agree that (i) the transactions contemplated by the Loan Documents are arm’s-length commercial transactions between the Lenders, on the one hand, and the Borrower, on the other, (ii) in connection therewith and with the process leading to such transaction each of the Lenders is acting solely as a principal and not the agent or fiduciary of the Borrower, its management, stockholders, creditors or any other person, (iii) no Lender has assumed an advisory or fiduciary responsibility in favor of the Borrower with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby or the process leading thereto (irrespective of whether any Lender or any of its affiliates has advised or is currently advising the Borrower on other matters) or any other obligation to the Borrower except the obligations expressly set forth in the Loan Documents and (iv) the Borrower has consulted its own legal and financial advisors to the extent it deemed appropriate. The Borrower further acknowledges and agrees that it is responsible for making its own independent judgment with respect to such transactions and the process leading thereto. The Borrower agrees that it shall not claim that any Lender has rendered advisory services of any nature or respect, or owes a fiduciary or similar duty to the Borrower, in connection with such transaction or the process leading thereto.

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