UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM 8-K

 

 

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 OR 15(d)

of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of Earliest Event Reported): November 21, 2013

 

 

VINCE HOLDING CORP.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

 

Delaware   001-36212   75-3264870

(State or other jurisdiction

of incorporation)

 

(Commission

File Number)

 

(IRS Employer

Identification No.)

1441 Broadway—6th Floor

New York, New York 10018

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

(212) 515-2600

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

 

 

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

 

¨ Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

 

¨ Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

 

¨ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

 

¨ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

 

 

 


Item 1.01 Entry into Material Definitive Agreements.

In connection with the closing of the initial public offering of Vince Holding Corp. (the “Company”), the Company completed a series of restructuring transactions through which (i) Kellwood Holding, LLC acquired the non-Vince businesses, which include Kellwood Company, LLC, from the Company and (ii) the Company continues to own and operate the Vince business, which includes Vince, LLC. Affiliates of Sun Capital Partners, Inc. (“Sun Capital”) continue to own and control the non-Vince businesses through their ownership of Kellwood Holding, LLC.

Shared Services Agreement

On November 27, 2013, in connection with the closing of the initial public offering of the Company on November 27, 2013 (the “Offering”), Vince, LLC (“Vince”) entered into the Shared Services Agreement with Kellwood Company, LLC (“Kellwood”) pursuant to which Kellwood will provide support services to Vince in various operational areas including, among other things, retail e-commerce, finance, distribution, logistics, information technology, accounts payable, credit and collections and payroll and benefits.

The Shared Services Agreement may be modified or supplemented to include new services under terms and conditions to be mutually agreed upon in good faith by the parties. The fees for all services received by Vince from Kellwood, including any new services mutually agreed upon by the parties, will be at cost.

Vince may terminate any or all of the services at any time for any reason (with or without cause) upon giving Kellwood the required advance notice for termination for that particular service. Additionally, the provision of certain services which are services which require a term as a matter of law and services which are based on a third-party agreement with a set term, shall terminate automatically upon the related date specified on the schedules to the Shared Services Agreement.

The foregoing is only a summary of the material terms of the Shared Services Agreement and does not purport to be complete, and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Shared Services Agreement, a copy of which is attached to this Current Report on Form 8-K as Exhibit 10.1 and incorporated by reference herein.

Tax Receivable Agreement

On November 27, 2013, in connection with the closing of the Offering, the Company entered into the Tax Receivable Agreement with its stockholders immediately prior to the consummation of the Offering (the “Pre-IPO Stockholders”). The Tax Receivable Agreement provides for payments to the Pre-IPO Stockholders in an amount equal to 85% of the aggregate reduction in taxes payable realized by the Company and its subsidiaries from the utilization of certain tax benefits (including net operating losses and tax credits) generated prior to the consummation of the Offering and certain Section 197 intangible deductions.

The Tax Receivable Agreement will terminate upon the earlier of (i) the date all such tax benefits have been utilized or expired, (ii) the last day of the tax year including the tenth anniversary of the Offering and (iii) the mutual agreement of the parties thereto, unless earlier terminated in accordance with the terms thereof. An affiliate of Sun Capital may elect to terminate the Tax Receivable Agreement upon the occurrence of a “Change of Control” (as defined in the Tax Receivable Agreement). In connection with any such termination, the Company will be obligated to pay the present value (calculated at a rate per annum equal to LIBOR plus 200 basis points as of such date) of all remaining net tax benefit payments that would be required to be paid to the Pre-IPO Stockholders from such termination date, applying the valuation assumptions set forth in the Tax Receivable Agreement.

The foregoing is only a summary of the material terms of the Tax Receivable Agreement and does not purport to be complete, and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Tax Receivable Agreement, a copy of which is attached to this Current Report on Form 8-K as Exhibit 10.2 and incorporated by reference herein.

Consulting Agreement

On November 27, 2013, in connection with the closing of the Offering, the Company entered into an agreement with Sun Capital Partners Management V, LLC (“Sun Capital Management”), an affiliate of Sun Capital, to (i) reimburse Sun Capital Management or any of its affiliates providing consulting services under the agreement for out-of-pocket expenses incurred in providing consulting services to us and (ii) provide Sun Capital Management with customary indemnification for any such services.

Unless earlier terminated by us or Sun Capital Management, the Consulting Agreement will terminate on November 27, 2023. Under the consulting agreement, the Company will have no obligation to pay Sun Capital Management or any of its affiliates any consulting fees other than those which are approved by a majority of the

 

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Company’s directors that are not affiliated with Sun Capital. To the extent such fees are approved, the Company will be obligated to pay such fees in addition to reimbursing Sun Capital Management or any of its affiliates that provide the Company with services under the consulting agreement for all reasonable out-of-pocket fees and expenses incurred by such party in connection with the provision of consulting services. Reimbursement of such expenses shall not be conditioned upon the approval of a majority of the Company’s directors that are not affiliated with Sun Capital Management, and shall be payable in addition to any fees that such directors may approve.

In addition, the Company is required to indemnify Sun Capital Management, its affiliates and any successor by operation of law against any and all liabilities, whether or not arising out of or related to such party’s performance of services under the consulting agreement, except to the extent proven to result directly and primarily from such person’s willful misconduct or gross negligence.

Sun Capital Management may, in its sole discretion, elect to terminate the consulting agreement at any time. The Company may elect to terminate the consulting agreement if SCSF Cardinal, LLC, Sun Cardinal, LLC, or any of their respective affiliates’ aggregate ownership of the Company’s equity securities falls below 30%.

The foregoing is only a summary of the material terms of the Consulting Agreement and does not purport to be complete, and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Consulting Agreement, a copy of which is attached to this Current Report on Form 8-K as Exhibit 10.3 and incorporated by reference herein.

Revolving Credit Facility

On November 27, 2013, Vince entered into a new senior secured revolving credit facility in connection with the closing of the Offering. Bank of America, N.A. (“BofA”) will serve as administrative agent for the other lenders party thereto under this new facility. This revolving credit facility provides for a revolving line of credit of up to $50 million. The revolving credit facility also provides for a letter of credit sublimit of $25 million (plus any increase in aggregate commitments) and for an increase in aggregate commitments of up to $20 million. Vince is the borrower and the Company and Vince Intermediate Holding, LLC (“Vince Intermediate”) are the guarantors under the new revolving credit facility. Interest is payable on the loans under the revolving credit facility, at either the LIBOR or the Base Rate, in each case, with applicable margins subject to a pricing grid based on an excess availability calculation. The “Base Rate” means, for any day, a fluctuating rate per annum equal to the highest of (i) the rate of interest in effect for such day as publicly announced from time to time by BofA as its prime rate; (ii) the Federal Funds Rate for such day, plus 0.50%; and (iii) the LIBOR Rate for a one month interest period as determined on such day, plus 1.0%. During the continuance of an event of default and at the election of the required lender, interest will accrue at a rate of 2% in excess of the applicable non-default rate.

The revolving credit facility contains a requirement that, at any point when “Excess Availability” is less than the greater of (i) 15% percent of the loan cap or (ii) $7.5 million, and continuing until Excess Availability exceeds the greater of such amounts for 30 consecutive days, during which time, Vince must maintain a consolidated EBITDA (as defined in such agreement) equal to or greater than $20 million.

The revolving credit facility contains representations and warranties, other covenants and events of default that are customary for this type of financing, including limitations on the incurrence of additional indebtedness, liens, negative pledges, guarantees, investments, loans, asset sales, mergers, acquisitions, prepayment of other debt, the repurchase of capital stock, transactions with affiliates, and the ability to change the nature of its business or its fiscal year. The revolving credit facility generally permits dividends in the absence of any event of default (including any event of default arising from the contemplated dividend), so long as (i) after giving pro forma effect to the contemplated dividend, for the following six months Excess Availability will be at least the greater of 20% of the aggregate lending commitments and $7.5 million and (ii) after giving pro forma effect to the contemplated dividend, the “Consolidated Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio” for the 12 months preceding such dividend shall be greater than or equal to 1.1 to 1.0 (provided that the Consolidated Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio may be less than 1.1 to 1.0 if, after giving pro forma effect to the contemplated dividend, Excess Availability for the six fiscal months following the dividend is at least the greater of 35% of the aggregate lending commitments and $10 million).

The foregoing is only a summary of the material terms of the revolving credit facility and does not purport to be complete, and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the credit agreement revolving credit facility, dated as

 

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of November 27, 2013, by and among Vince, as Borrower, Vince Intermediate, the Company, the several banks and other financial institutions or entities from time to time party thereto and Bank of America, N.A., as the agent for the lenders, a copy of which is attached to this Current Report on Form 8-K as Exhibit 10.4 and incorporated by reference herein.

Term Loan Facility

On November 27, 2013, in connection with the closing of the Offering, Vince and Vince Intermediate entered into a new $175.0 million senior secured term loan credit facility with the lenders party thereto, BofA, as administrative agent, JPMorgan Chase Bank and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, as joint lead arrangers, and Cantor Fitzgerald as documentation agent. The new term loan facility will mature on November 27, 2019. On November 27, 2013, net proceeds from the new term loan facility were used, at closing, to repay the promissory note issued by Vince Intermediate to Kellwood immediately prior to the consummation of the Offering.

The term loan facility also provides for an incremental facility of up to the greater of $50 million and an amount that would result in the consolidated net total secured leverage ratio not exceeding 3.00 to 1.00, in addition to certain other rights to refinance or repurchase portions of the term loan. The term loan facility is subject to quarterly amortization of principal equal to 0.25% of the original aggregate principal amount of the term loan facility, with the balance payable at final maturity. Interest is payable on loans under the term loan facility at a rate of either (i) the Eurodollar rate (subject to a 1.00% floor) plus 5.00% or (ii) the base rate (subject to a 2.00% floor) plus 3.00%. During the continuance of a payment or bankruptcy event of default, interest will accrue (i) on the overdue principal amount of any loan at a rate of 2% in excess of the rate otherwise applicable to such loan and (ii) on any overdue interest or any other outstanding overdue amount at a rate of 2% in excess of the non-default interest rate then applicable to base rate loans.

The term loan facility contains a requirement that Vince and Vince Intermediate will maintain a “Consolidated Net Total Leverage Ratio” as of the last day of any period of four fiscal quarters not to exceed 3.75:1.00 for the fiscal quarters ending February 1, 2014 through November 1, 2014, 3.50:1.0 for the fiscal quarters ending January 31, 2015, through October 31, 2015, and 3.25:1.00 for the fiscal quarter ending January 30, 2016 and each fiscal quarter thereafter. In addition, the term loan facility contains customary representations and warranties, other covenants, and events of default, including but not limited to, limitations on the incurrence of additional indebtedness, liens, negative pledges, guarantees, investments, loans, asset sales, mergers, acquisitions, prepayment of other debt, the repurchase of capital stock, transactions with affiliates, and the ability to change the nature of its business or its fiscal year, and distributions and dividends. The term loan facility generally permits dividends to the extent that no default or event of default is continuing or would result from the contemplated dividend and the pro forma Consolidated Net Total Leverage Ratio after giving effect to such contemplated dividend is at least 0.25 lower than the maximum Consolidated Net Total Leverage Ratio for such quarter. All obligations under the term loan facility are guaranteed by the Company and any future material domestic restricted subsidiaries of Vince and secured by a lien on substantially all of the assets of the Company, Vince and Vince Intermediate and any future material domestic restricted subsidiaries.

The foregoing is only a summary of the material terms of the term loan facility and does not purport to be complete, and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the credit agreement governing the term loan facility, dated as of November 27, 2013, by and among Vince and Vince Intermediate, as Borrowers, the Company, the several banks and other financial institutions or entities from time to time party thereto, and Bank of America, N.A., as the administrative agent for the lenders, a copy of which is attached to this Current Report on Form 8-K as Exhibit 10.5 and incorporated by reference herein.

Item 2.03. Creation of a Direct Financial Obligation or an Obligation under an Off-Balance Sheet Arrangement of a Registrant.

The information set forth under Item 1.01 “Entry into Material Definitive Agreements” regarding entry into the new term loan facility and new revolving credit facility is incorporated into this Item 2.03 by reference.

 

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Item 5.02. Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.

 

(a) Not applicable

 

(b) Not applicable

 

(c) Not applicable

 

(d) Not applicable

 

(e)

Indemnification Agreements

On November 27, 2013, the Company entered into indemnification agreements with its directors and executive officers (including its Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer) in connection with the closing of the Offering. The forms of indemnification agreements are attached to this Current Report on Form 8-K as Exhibits 10.6 and 10.7, respectively, and incorporated herein by reference. The following summary of the forms of indemnification agreements does not purport to be complete and is subject to and qualified in its entirety by reference to Exhibits 10.6 and 10.7.

The indemnification agreements provide, to the fullest extent permitted under law, indemnification against all expenses and liabilities (each as defined in the indemnification agreements) arising out of or resulting from indemnitee’s status as a director, officer, employee, agent or fiduciary of the Company or any direct or indirect subsidiary of the Company or any other entity when serving in such capacity at the Company’s request. In addition, the indemnification agreements provide that the Company will pay in advance of a final disposition of a claim, to the extent not prohibited by law, related expenses as and when incurred by the indemnitee, subject to certain requirements set forth in the indemnification agreements.

The 2010 Option Plan

On November 21, 2013, in connection with the closing of the Offering, the Company assumed Kellwood Company’s remaining obligations under the Kellwood 2010 Option Plan (as amended, the “2010 Option Plan”), including with respect to issued and outstanding options thereunder (after giving effect to the Offering and the IPO Restructuring Transactions). After giving effect to such assumption and the IPO Restructuring Transactions, the Company, effective as of November 21, 2013, assumed under the 2010 Option Plan (i) 1,153,291 options to acquire shares of the Company’s common stock previously granted by Kellwood Company to Jill Granoff, its Chief Executive Officer, on May 4, 2012 (with an adjusted exercise price of $5.75 per share) and (ii) 196,853 options to acquire shares of the Company’s common stock previously granted by Kellwood Company to Lisa Klinger, its Chief Financial Officer, on December 10, 2012 (with an adjusted exercise price of $5.75 per share); provided, that the exercisability of such grants was conditioned upon the consummation of the Offering. The options previously issued by Kellwood Company to Ms. Granoff were issued pursuant to that grant agreement dated as of May 4, 2012 (the “Granoff Grant Agreement”), as amended on December 30, 2012 (the “Granoff Amendment”). The options previously issued by Kellwood Company to Ms. Klinger were issued pursuant to that grant agreement dated as of December 10, 2012 (the “Klinger Grant Agreement”). The Company further amended both grant agreements on November 26, 2013 to eliminate the restrictions on exercisability following consummation of the Offering. After giving effect to such amendments, such options continue to vest over a five year period at a rate of 20% per year (beginning from the date of the original grant) and expire on the earlier of (A) the tenth anniversary of the grant date and (B) within a limited period of time following a termination of employment. We refer to the November 26, 2013 amendment to the Granoff Grant Agreement as the “Second Granoff Amendment” and to the November 26, 2013 amendment to the Klinger Grant Agreement as the “Klinger Amendment.”

The foregoing summary of the Company’s assumption of the 2010 Option Plan and the Granoff Grant Agreement and the Klinger Grant Agreement (each as amended) is qualified in its entirety by reference to the 2010 Option Plan, the Granoff Grant Agreement, the Granoff Amendment, the Klinger Grant Agreement, the Second Granoff Amendment and the Klinger Amendment, copies of which are attached to this Current Report on Form 8-K as Exhibits 10.8, 10.9, 10.10, 10.11, 10.12 and 10.13, respectively, and are incorporated by reference herein.

Vince Holding Corp. 2013 Omnibus Incentive Plan

On November 21, 2013, in connection with the closing of the Offering, the Company adopted the Vince Holding Corp. 2013 Omnibus Incentive Plan (the “Vince 2013 Incentive Plan”). The Vince 2013 Incentive Plan provides for grants of stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, and other stock-based awards.

 

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Directors, officers and employees, as well as others performing consulting or advisory services for the Company, are eligible for grants under the Vince 2013 Incentive Plan. The purpose of the Vince 2013 Incentive Plan is to provide incentives that will attract, retain and motivate high performing officers, directors, employees and consultants by providing them with appropriate incentives and rewards either through a proprietary interest in the Company’s long-term success or compensation based on their performance in fulfilling their personal responsibilities.

The aggregate number of shares of common stock which may be issued or used for reference purposes under the Vince 2013 Incentive Plan or with respect to which awards may be granted may not exceed 3,400,000 shares (including grants made to certain of the Company’s executive officers, directors and employees under the Vince 2013 Incentive Plan on the closing date of the Offering). The maximum number of shares of common stock subject to any performance award which may be granted under the Vince 2013 Incentive Plan during any fiscal year to any eligible individual is 1,000,000 shares. The total number of shares of common stock subject to any award which may be granted under the Vince 2013 Incentive Plan during any fiscal year to any non-employee director is 100,000 shares. The maximum value of any cash payment made pursuant to an award which may be granted under the Vince 2013 Incentive Plan during any fiscal year to any non-employee director is $500,000.

The number of shares available for issuance under the Vince 2013 Incentive Plan may be subject to adjustment in the event of a reorganization, stock split, merger or similar change in the corporate structure or the outstanding shares of common stock. In general, if awards under the Vince 2013 Incentive Plan are for any reason cancelled, or expire or terminate unexercised, the shares covered by such awards may again be available for the grant of awards under the Vince 2013 Incentive Plan.

Notwithstanding any other provision of the Vince 2013 Incentive Plan, the Company’s board of directors may at any time amend any or all of the provisions of the Vince 2013 Incentive Plan, or suspend or terminate it entirely, retroactively or otherwise, subject to stockholder approval in certain instances; provided, however, that, unless otherwise required by law or specifically provided in the Vince 2013 Incentive Plan, the rights of a participant with respect to awards granted prior to such amendment, suspension or termination may not be adversely affected without the consent of such participant.

On November 21, 2013, in connection with the closing of the Offering and under the Vince 2013 Incentive Plan, the Company granted options to acquire 99,812 shares of the Company’s common stock at an exercise price of $20.00 per share (the public offering price of the Offering) to each of Ms. Klinger. Additionally on the same date, the Company granted 3,750 restricted stock units under the Vince 2013 Incentive Plan to Messrs. Robert Bowman and Jerome Griffith, its non-employee directors who are not affiliated with Sun Capital. The exercisability of all such grants was conditioned upon the consummation of the Offering.

71,294 of Ms.Klinger’s options will vest over four years at the rate of 25% each year on each anniversary of the grant date, beginning on the first anniversary of the grant date, so long as Ms. Klinger remains continuously employed with the Company through each such vesting date. The remaining 28,518 of Ms. Klinger’s options will vest over four years, but at the rate of 33 1/3% each on each anniversary of the grant date beginning on the second anniversary of the grant date, so long as Ms. Klinger remains continuously employed with the Company through each such vesting date. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event that Ms. Klinger is involuntarily terminated by the Company within the twelve (12) months period following a change in control, any unvested options that are part of this grant and remaining outstanding will become fully vested. All such options are subject to the terms and conditions of the Vince 2013 Incentive Plan and the related grant agreement.

The restricted stock units granted to Messrs. Bowman and Griffith shall vest over three (3) years, subject to the grantee’s continued service as a director with the Company as of each vesting date, and are subject to the terms and conditions of the Vince 2013 Incentive Plan and the related grant agreement.

The foregoing is only a summary of the material terms of the Vince 2013 Incentive Plan, the Form of Non-qualified Stock Option Agreement and the Form of Restricted Stock Unit Agreement and the and does not purport to be complete, and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Vince 2013 Incentive Plan, the Form of Non-qualified Stock Option Agreement and the Form of Restricted Stock Unit Agreement , copies of which are attached to this Current Report on Form 8-K as Exhibit 10.14, 10.15 and 10.16, respectively, and are incorporated by reference herein.

 

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Vince Employee Stock Purchase Plan

On November 21, 2013, in connection with the closing of the Offering, the Company adopted the Vince 2013 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“Vince ESPP”). The Vince ESPP became effective as of the consummation of the Offering, but the first offering period under the Vince ESPP will not commence until specifically authorized by the compensation committee of the Company’s board of directors that administers the Vince ESPP. The Vince ESPP is designed to encourage employees to become stockholders and to increase their ownership of our common stock. The maximum number of shares of common stock which may be issued pursuant to the Vince ESPP may not exceed 1,000,000 shares. The Company anticipates that shares of its common stock issued under the Vince ESPP would be issued at a discount to market no greater than 5% and with an offering period equal to six months; provided, that the maximum number of shares that may be purchased in any offering period may not exceed 500,000 in total or 500,000 per person.

The foregoing is only a summary of the material terms of the Vince ESPP and does not purport to be complete, and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Vince ESPP, a copy of which is attached to this Current Report on Form 8-K as Exhibit 10.17 and incorporated by reference herein.

Item 5.03 Amendments to Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws; Change in Fiscal Year.

(a)

On November 27, 2013, the Company’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (the “Charter”) and the Company’s Amended and Restated Bylaws (the “Bylaws”) became effective. A description of the Company’s capital stock, giving effect to the adoption of the Charter and the Bylaws, is described in the Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-191336) pursuant to which the Company registered the shares of its common stock sold in the Offering. The Charter and the Bylaws are filed herewith as Exhibit 3.1 and Exhibit 3.2, respectively, and are incorporated herein by reference.

Item 8.01 Other Events.

On November 27, 2013, the Company issued a press release announcing the closing of the Offering and the concurrent exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares. A copy of the press release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and incorporated by reference herein.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits.

 

Exhibit

No.

     Description of Exhibit
    3.1       Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Vince Holding Corp.
    3.2       Amended and Restated Bylaws of Vince Holding Corp.
  10.1       Shared Services Agreement, dated as of November 27, 2013, by and between Vince, LLC and Kellwood Company
  10.2       Tax Receivable Agreement, dated as of November 27, 2013, by and between Vince Holding Corp., Sun Cardinal, LLC, and SCSF Cardinal, LLC
  10.3       Consulting Agreement, dated as of November 27, 2013, by and between Vince Holding Corp. and Sun Capital Partners Management V, LLC
  10.4       Credit Agreement, dated as of November 27, 2013, by and among Vince, LLC, as Borrower, Vince Intermediate Holding Corp., Vince Holding Corp., the several banks and other financial institutions or entities from time to time party thereto, and Bank of America, N.A., as the agent for the lenders
  10.5       Credit Agreement, dated as of November 27, 2013, by and among Vince and Vince Intermediate, as Borrowers, the Company, the several banks and other financial institutions or entities from time to time party thereto, and Bank of America, N.A., as the administrative agent for the lenders
  10.6       Form of Indemnification Agreement (for directors and officers affiliated with Sun Capital Partners, Inc.)
  10.7       Form of Indemnification Agreement (for directors and officers not affiliated with Sun Capital Partners, Inc.)

 

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  10.8         Kellwood Company 2010 Amended and Restated Stock Option Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.56 to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. (333-191336) filed with the Securities Exchange Commission on September 24, 2013)
  10.9         2010 Stock Plan of Kellwood Company Grant Agreement, dated as of May 4, 2012, between Kellwood Company and Jill Granoff (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.58 to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. (333-191336) filed with the Securities Exchange Commission on September 24, 2013)
  10.10       Amendment to Grant Agreement, dated December 30, 2012, between Kellwood Company and Jill Granoff (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.60 to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. (333-191336) filed with the Securities Exchange Commission on September 24, 2013)
  10.11       2010 Stock Plan of Kellwood Company Grant Agreement, dated as of December 10, 2012, by and between Kellwood Company and Lisa Klinger (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.61 to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. (333-191336) filed with the Securities Exchange Commission on September 24, 2013)
  10.12       Second Amendment to Grant Agreement, dated as of November 26, 2013, by and between Kellwood Company and Jill Granoff
  10.13       First Amendment to Grant Agreement, dated as of November 26, 2013 by and between Kellwood Company Lisa Klinger
  10.14       Vince Holding Corp. 2013 Omnibus Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.66 to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. (333-191336) filed with the Securities Exchange Commission on November 12, 2013)
  10.15       Form of Non-Qualified Stock Option Agreement
  10.16       Form of Restricted Stock Unit Agreement
  10.17       Vince 2013 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.67 to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. (333-191336) filed with the Securities Exchange Commission on November 12, 2013)
  99.1         Press release of the Company dated November 27, 2013.

 

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SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

 

VINCE HOLDING CORP.
By  

/s/ Jay Dubiner

  Jay Dubiner
  Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary

Date: November 27, 2013

 

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EXHIBIT INDEX

 

Exhibit

No.

     Description of Exhibit
    3.1       Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Vince Holding Corp.
    3.2       Amended and Restated Bylaws of Vince Holding Corp.
  10.1       Shared Services Agreement, dated as of November 27, 2013, by and between Vince, LLC and Kellwood Company
  10.2       Tax Receivable Agreement, dated as of November 27, 2013, by and between Vince Holding Corp., Sun Cardinal, LLC, and SCSF Cardinal, LLC
  10.3       Consulting Agreement, dated as of November 27, 2013, by and between Vince Holding Corp. and Sun Capital Partners Management V, LLC
  10.4       Credit Agreement, dated as of November 27, 2013, by and among Vince, LLC, as Borrower, Vince Intermediate Holding Corp., Vince Holding Corp., the several banks and other financial institutions or entities from time to time party thereto, and Bank of America, N.A., as the agent for the lenders
  10.5       Credit Agreement, dated as of November 27, 2013, by and among Vince and Vince Intermediate, as Borrowers, the Company, the several banks and other financial institutions or entities from time to time party thereto, and Bank of America, N.A., as the administrative agent for the lenders
  10.6       Form of Indemnification Agreement (for directors and officers affiliated with Sun Capital Partners, Inc.)
  10.7       Form of Indemnification Agreement (for directors and officers not affiliated with Sun Capital Partners, Inc.)
  10.8         Kellwood Company 2010 Amended and Restated Stock Option Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.56 to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. (333-191336) filed with the Securities Exchange Commission on September 24, 2013)
  10.9         2010 Stock Plan of Kellwood Company Grant Agreement, dated as of May 4, 2012, between Kellwood Company and Jill Granoff (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.58 to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. (333-191336) filed with the Securities Exchange Commission on September 24, 2013)
  10.10       Amendment to Grant Agreement, dated December 30, 2012, between Kellwood Company and Jill Granoff (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.60 to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. (333-191336) filed with the Securities Exchange Commission on September 24, 2013)
  10.11       2010 Stock Plan of Kellwood Company Grant Agreement, dated as of December 10, 2012, by and between Kellwood Company and Lisa Klinger (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.61 to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. (333-191336) filed with the Securities Exchange Commission on September 24, 2013)
  10.12       Second Amendment to Grant Agreement, dated as of November 26, 2013, by and between Kellwood Company and Jill Granoff
  10.13       First Amendment to Grant Agreement, dated as of November 26, 2013 by and between Kellwood Company Lisa Klinger
  10.14       Vince Holding Corp. 2013 Omnibus Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.66 to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. (333-191336) filed with the Securities Exchange Commission on November 12, 2013)
  10.15       Form of Non-Qualified Stock Option Agreement
  10.16       Form of Restricted Stock Unit Agreement
  10.17       Vince 2013 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.67 to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. (333-191336) filed with the Securities Exchange Commission on November 12, 2013)
  99.1         Press release of the Company dated November 27, 2013.

 

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Exhibit 3.1

AMENDED AND RESTATED CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION

OF

VINCE HOLDING CORP.

ARTICLE ONE

The name of the Corporation is Vince Holding Corp. (the “ Corporation ”).

ARTICLE TWO

The address of the Corporation’s registered office in the State of Delaware is 1209 Orange Street, in the City of Wilmington, County of New Castle, 19801. The name of its registered agent at such address is The Corporation Trust Company. The registered office and/or registered agent of the Corporation may be changed from time to time by resolution of the Board of Directors of the Corporation (the “ Board of Directors ”).

ARTICLE THREE

The nature of the business of the Corporation is to engage in any lawful act or activity for which corporations may be organized under the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “ DGCL ”).

ARTICLE FOUR

PART A. AUTHORIZED SHARES

The total number of shares of all classes of capital stock which the Corporation shall have authority to issue 110,000,000 shares, consisting of:

1. 10,000,000 shares of Preferred Stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “ Preferred Stock ”); and

2. 100,000,000 shares of Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “ Common Stock ”).

The Preferred Stock and the Common Stock shall have the rights, preferences and limitations set forth below.

PART B. EXCHANGE OF EXISTING VOTING AND NON-VOTING COMMON STOCK

Upon the Effective Time, (i) each share of the Corporation’s Voting Common Stock authorized, issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time shall be automatically, without any action on the part of the holder thereof, reclassified and converted into 28.5177 fully paid and non-assessable shares of Common Stock; and (ii) each share of the Corporation’s Non-Voting Common Stock authorized, issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time shall be automatically, without any action on the part of the holder thereof, reclassified and converted into 28.5177 fully paid and non-assessable shares of Common Stock.


Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Corporation shall not issue fractions of a share in connection with, or as a result of, the reclassifications and conversions effected by this paragraph. In lieu of fractional shares the Corporation shall pay a cash amount equal to the fair value of such fractional interests in accordance with Section 155 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. Each certificate previously representing shares of (A) the Corporation’s Voting Common Stock outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time shall represent from and after the Effective Time the number of shares of Common Stock resulting from the reclassification and conversion of such Voting Common Stock effected pursuant to this paragraph; and (B) the Corporation’s Non-Voting Common Stock outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time shall represent from and after the Effective Time the number of shares of Common Stock resulting from the reclassification and conversion of such Non-Voting Common Stock effected pursuant to this paragraph.

PART C. PREFERRED STOCK

The Board of Directors is authorized, subject to limitations prescribed by law, to provide, by resolution or resolutions for the issuance of shares of Preferred Stock in one or more series, and with respect to each series, to establish the number of shares to be included in each such series, and to fix the voting powers (if any), designations, powers, preferences, and relative, participating, optional or other special rights, if any, of the shares of each such series, and any qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof. The powers, preferences, and relative, participating, optional and other special rights of each series of Preferred Stock and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof, if any, may differ from those of any and all other series at any time outstanding. Subject to applicable law and within the limitations or restrictions stated in any resolution or resolutions of the Board of Directors fixing the number of shares constituting a series of Preferred Stock, the Board of Directors may increase or decrease (but not below the number of shares of any such series of Preferred Stock then outstanding) by resolution the number of shares of any such series of Preferred Stock. In the event that the number of shares of any series of Preferred Stock shall be so decreased, the shares constituting such decrease shall resume the undesignated status which such shares had prior to the adoption of the resolution originally fixing the number of shares of such series of Preferred Stock subject to the requirements of applicable law. The number of authorized shares of Preferred Stock may be increased or decreased (but not below the number of shares thereof then outstanding) by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority in voting power of the outstanding shares of capital stock of the Corporation entitled to vote, without the separate vote of the holders of the Preferred Stock as a class, irrespective of the provisions of Section 242(b)(2) of the DGCL, unless a vote of any such holders is required pursuant to the terms of any Preferred Stock designation.

PART D. COMMON STOCK

(a) Except as otherwise provided by the DGCL or this Certificate of Incorporation and subject to the rights of holders of any series of Preferred Stock, all of the voting power of the stockholders of the Corporation shall be vested in the holders of the Common Stock. Each share of Common Stock shall entitle the holder thereof to one vote for each share held by such holder on all matters voted upon by the stockholders of the Corporation; provided , however , that, except as otherwise required by law, holders of Common Stock, as such, shall not be entitled to vote on any amendment to this Certificate of Incorporation (including any

 

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certificate of designations relating to any series of Preferred Stock) that relates solely to the terms of one or more outstanding series of Preferred Stock if the holders of such affected series are entitled, either separately or together with the holders of one or more other such series, to vote thereon pursuant to this Certificate of Incorporation (including any certificate of designations relating to any series of Preferred Stock).

(b) Except as otherwise required by law or expressly provided in this Certificate of Incorporation, each share of Common Stock shall have the same powers, rights and privileges and shall rank equally, share ratably and be identical in all respects as to all matters.

(c) Subject to the rights of the holders of Preferred Stock and to the other provisions of this Certificate of Incorporation, holders of Common Stock shall be entitled to receive equally, on a per share basis, such dividends and other distributions in cash, securities or other property of the Corporation as may be declared thereon by the Board of Directors from time to time out of assets or funds of the Corporation legally available therefor.

(d) In the event of any liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the affairs of the Corporation, whether voluntary or involuntary, after payment or provision for payment of the Corporation’s debts and any other payments required by law and amounts payable upon shares of Preferred Stock ranking senior to the shares of Common Stock upon such dissolution, liquidation or winding up, if any, the remaining net assets of the Corporation shall be distributed to the holders of shares of Common Stock and the holders of shares of any other class or series ranking equally with the shares of Common Stock upon such dissolution, liquidation or winding up, equally on a per share basis. A merger or consolidation of the Corporation with or into any other corporation or other entity, or a sale or conveyance of all or any part of the assets of the Corporation (which shall not in fact result in the liquidation of the Corporation and the distribution of assets to its stockholders) shall not be deemed to be a voluntary or involuntary liquidation or dissolution or winding up of the Corporation within the meaning of this Paragraph (d).

ARTICLE FIVE

The Corporation is to have perpetual existence.

ARTICLE SIX

Section 1. Board of Directors . The business and affairs of the Corporation shall be managed by or under the direction of the Board of Directors. In addition to the powers and authority expressly conferred upon them by statute or by this Certificate of Incorporation or the Bylaws of the Corporation (as amended, the “ Bylaws ”), the directors are hereby empowered to exercise all such powers and do all such acts and things as may be exercised or done by the Corporation.

Section 2. Number of Directors . Subject to any rights of the holders of any class or series of Preferred Stock to elect additional directors under specified circumstances, the number of directors which shall constitute the Board of Directors shall be fixed exclusively from time to time by (i) for so long as Sun Cardinal, including through its Affiliates, beneficially owns at least thirty percent (30%) of the outstanding Common Stock of the Corporation, Sun Cardinal or (ii) thereafter, resolution adopted by the affirmative vote of a majority of the directors then in office.

 

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Section 3. Classes of Directors . Beginning immediately following the consummation of the Corporation’s initial public offering of its Common Stock pursuant to an effective registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “ Initial Public Offering ”), the directors of the Corporation, other than those who may be elected by the holders of any series of Preferred Stock under specified circumstances, shall be divided into three classes, hereby designated Class I, Class II and Class III.

Section 4. Term of Office . The term of office of the initial Class I directors shall expire at the first annual meeting of stockholders after the Initial Public Offering, the term of office of the initial Class II directors shall expire at the second succeeding annual meeting of stockholders after the Initial Public Offering and the term of office of the initial Class III directors shall expire at the third succeeding annual meeting of the stockholders after the Initial Public Offering. For the purposes hereof, the Board of Directors may assign directors already in office to the initial Class I, Class II and Class III at the time of the Initial Public Offering. At each annual meeting of stockholders after the Initial Public Offering, directors elected to replace those of a Class whose terms expire at such annual meeting shall be elected to hold office until the third succeeding annual meeting after their election and until their respective successors shall have been duly elected and qualified. Prior to the Initial Public Offering, each director shall hold office until such director’s successor is duly elected and qualified or until his or her earlier death, resignation or removal. After the Initial Public Offering, each director shall hold office until the annual meeting of stockholders for the year in which such director’s term expires and a successor is duly elected and qualified or until his or her earlier death, resignation or removal. Nothing in this Certificate of Incorporation shall preclude a director from serving consecutive terms.

Section 5. Sun Cardinal Designated Directors . Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Certificate of Incorporation, for so long as Sun Cardinal, including through its Affiliates, beneficially owns at least thirty percent (30%) of the outstanding Common Stock of the Corporation: (i) Sun Cardinal, LLC (“ Sun Cardinal ”) shall have the right to designate a majority of the directors to the Board of Directors; provided that, at such time as the Corporation ceases to be a “controlled company,” the majority of the Board of Directors will be comprised of “independent” directors, as such terms are defined under the rules of the exchange on which the Corporation’s securities are listed; (ii) Sun Cardinal shall have the right to designate the Chairman of the Board of Directors; and (iii) Sun Cardinal shall have the right to designate the chairman of each committee designated by the Board of Directors; provided that, the committee membership of each committee designated by the Board of Directors will comply with the applicable rules of the exchange on which the Corporation’s securities are listed.

Section 6. Newly-Created Directorships and Vacancies . Subject to the rights of the holders of any series of Preferred Stock then outstanding, (i) newly created directorships resulting from any increase in the authorized number of directors and (ii) any vacancies in the Board of Directors resulting from death, resignation, disqualification, removal from office or any other cause may be filled only by (A) for so long as Sun Cardinal, including through its Affiliates, beneficially owns at least thirty percent (30%) of the outstanding Common Stock of the Corporation, Sun Cardinal or (B) thereafter, the Board of Directors (and not by stockholders),

 

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provided that a quorum is then in office and present, or by a majority of the directors then in office, if less than a quorum is then in office, or by the sole remaining director. Prior to the Initial Public Offering, a director chosen to fill a vacancy or a position resulting from an increase in the number of directors shall hold office until his or her successor is elected and qualified, or until his or her earlier death, resignation or removal. After the Initial Public Offering, a director elected to fill a vacancy shall be elected for the unexpired term of his or her predecessor in office and until his or her successor is elected and qualified, or until his or her earlier death, resignation or removal. After the Initial Public Offering, a director chosen to fill a position resulting from an increase in the number of directors shall hold office until the next election of the class for which such director shall have been chosen and until his or her successor is elected and qualified, or until his or her earlier death, resignation or removal. No decrease in the authorized number of directors shall shorten the term of any incumbent director.

Section 7. Removal of Directors . Subject to the rights of the holders of any series of Preferred Stock then outstanding and notwithstanding any other provision of this Certificate of Incorporation, (i) prior to the first date on which Sun Cardinal and its Affiliates cease to beneficially own (directly or indirectly) at least 30% of the voting power of the then outstanding shares of capital stock of the Corporation then entitled to vote generally in the election of directors (“ Voting Stock ”), directors may be removed with or without cause upon the affirmative vote of Sun Cardinal and its Affiliates which beneficially own outstanding shares of Voting Stock and (ii) on and after such date, directors may only be removed for cause (as defined below) and only upon the affirmative vote of stockholders representing at least a majority of the voting power of the then outstanding shares of Voting Stock, at a meeting of the Corporation’s stockholders called for that purpose. Unless the Board has made a determination that removal is in the best interests of the Corporation (in which case the following definition shall not apply), “cause” for removal of a director shall be deemed to exist only if (a) the director whose removal is proposed has been convicted of a felony by a court of competent jurisdiction and such conviction is no longer subject to direct appeal; (b) such director has been found by the affirmative vote of a majority of the directors then in office at any regular or special meeting of the Board called for that purpose, or by a court of competent jurisdiction, to have been guilty of willful misconduct in the performance of such director’s duties to the Corporation in a matter of substantial importance to the Corporation; or (c) such director has been adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction to be mentally incompetent, which mental incompetency directly affects such director’s ability to perform his or her obligations as a director of the Corporation. Any director may resign at any time upon written notice to the Corporation.

Section 8. Advance Notice . Advance notice of stockholder nominations for the election of directors and of business to be brought by stockholders before any meeting of the stockholders of the Corporation shall be given in the manner provided in the Bylaws of the Corporation.

ARTICLE SEVEN

To the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL as it now exists or may hereafter be amended (but, in the case of any such amendment, only to the extent that such amendment permits the Corporation to provide broader rights than permitted prior thereto), no director of the Corporation shall be liable to the Corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages arising

 

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from a breach of fiduciary duty owed to the Corporation or its stockholders. Any repeal or modification of the foregoing sentence shall not adversely affect any right or protection of a director of the Corporation existing at the time of such repeal or modification with respect to any act, omission or other matter occurring prior to the time of such repeal or modification.

ARTICLE EIGHT

Section 1. Action by Written Consent . From and after the first date (the “ Trigger Date ”) on which Sun Cardinal and its Affiliates cease to beneficially own (directly or indirectly) at least a majority of the voting power of the then outstanding shares of Voting Stock, any action required or permitted to be taken by the Corporation’s stockholders may be effected only at a duly called annual or special meeting of the Corporation’s stockholders and the power of stockholders to consent in writing without a meeting is specifically denied. Prior to the Trigger Date, any action which is required or permitted to be taken by the Corporation’s stockholders may be taken without a meeting, without prior notice and without a vote if a consent or consents in writing, setting forth the action so taken, is signed by the holders of outstanding stock having not less than the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to authorize or take such action at a meeting at which all shares of the Corporation’s stock entitled to vote thereon were present and voted.

Section 2. Special Meetings of Stockholders . Subject to the rights of the holders of any series of Preferred Stock then outstanding and to the requirements of applicable law, special meetings of stockholders of the Corporation may be called only (i) by or at the direction of the Board of Directors pursuant to a written resolution adopted by the affirmative vote of the majority of the total number of directors that the Corporation would have if there were no vacancies or (ii) prior to the Trigger Date, by the Secretary of the Corporation at the request of the holders of a majority of the voting power of the then outstanding shares of Voting Stock in the manner provided for in the Bylaws. Any business transacted at any special meeting of stockholders shall be limited to matters relating to the purpose or purposes stated in the notice of the meeting.

ARTICLE NINE

Section 1. Certain Acknowledgments . In recognition and anticipation that: (i) the principals, officers, members, managers and/or employees of the Sun Group (as defined below) may serve as directors or officers of the Corporation, (ii) members of the Sun Group engage and may continue to engage in the same or similar activities or related lines of business as those in which the Corporation, directly or indirectly, may engage and/or other business activities that overlay with or compete with those in which the Corporation, directly or indirectly, may engage, and (iii) that the Corporation and its Affiliate Companies (as defined below) may engage in material business transactions with the Sun Group, and that the Corporation is expected to benefit therefrom, the provisions of this ARTICLE NINE are set forth to regulate and define the conduct of certain affairs of the Corporation as they may involve the Sun Group and/or its respective principals, officers, members, managers and/or employees, including any of the foregoing who serve as officers or directors of the Corporation (collectively, the “Exempted Persons”), and the powers, rights, duties and liabilities of the Corporation and its officers, directors, stockholders and employees in connection therewith.

 

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Section 2. Competition and Corporate Opportunities . To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, neither the Sun Group nor any of its respective Exempted Persons shall have any fiduciary duty to refrain from engaging, directly or indirectly, in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as the Corporation or any of its Affiliated Companies, and no Exempted Person shall be liable to the Corporation or its stockholders for breach of any fiduciary or other duty (whether contractual or otherwise) solely by reason of any such activities of the Sun Group or such Exempted Person. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the Corporation, on behalf of itself and its Affiliated Companies, renounces any interest or expectancy of the Corporation and its Affiliated Companies in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, business opportunities that are from time to time presented to the Sun Group or any of its Exempted Persons, even if the opportunity is one that the Corporation or its Affiliated Companies might reasonably be deemed to have pursued or had the ability or desire to pursue if granted the opportunity to do so, and each Exempted Person shall have no duty to communicate or offer such business opportunity to the Corporation or its Affiliated Companies and, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, shall not be liable to the Corporation or any of its Affiliated Companies for breach of any fiduciary or other duty (whether contractual or otherwise), as a director, officer or stockholder of the Corporation solely, by reason of the fact that the Sun Group or any Exempted Person pursues or acquires such business opportunity, sells, assigns, transfers or directs such business opportunity, or information regarding such business opportunity, to the Corporation or any of its Affiliated Companies. For the avoidance of doubt, each member of the Sun Group and its Exempted Persons shall have the right to, and shall have no duty (whether contractual or otherwise) not to, directly or indirectly: (A) engage in the same, similar or competing business activities or lines of business as the Corporation or its Affiliated Companies, (B) do business with any client or customer of the Corporation or its Affiliated Companies, or (C) make investments in competing businesses of the Corporation or its Affiliated Companies, and such acts shall not be deemed wrongful or improper.

Section 3. Certain Matters Deemed not Corporate Opportunities . In addition to and notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this ARTICLE NINE, the Corporation renounces any interest or expectancy of the Corporation of any of its Affiliated Companies in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any business opportunity that the Corporation is not financially able or contractually permitted or legally able to undertake. Moreover, nothing in this ARTICLE NINE shall amend or modify in any respect any written contractual agreement between the Sun Group on one hand and the Corporation or any of its Affiliated Companies on the other hand.

Section 4. Certain Definitions. For purposes of this ARTICLE NINE, (i) “ Sun Group ” means Sun Capital Partners, Inc., its Affiliates and any of their respective managed investment funds and portfolio companies (other than the Corporation and its Affiliated Companies) and their respective partners, members, directors, employees, stockholders, agents, any successor by operation of law (including by merger) of any such person, and any entity that acquires all or substantially all of the assets of any such person in a single transaction or series of related transactions; (ii) “ Affiliated Company ” means any company controlled by the Corporation.

 

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Section 5. Amendment of this Article . Notwithstanding anything to the contrary elsewhere contained in this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation: (i) the affirmative vote of the holders of at least eighty percent (80%) of the voting power of all shares of Common Stock then outstanding, voting together as a single class, shall be required to alter, amend or repeal, or to adopt any provision inconsistent with, this ARTICLE NINE; provided however , that neither the alteration, amendment or repeal of this ARTICLE NINE nor the adoption of any provision of this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation inconsistent with this ARTICLE NINE shall apply to or have any effect on the liability or alleged liability of any Exempted Person for or with respect to any activities or opportunities which such Exempted Person becomes aware prior to such alteration, amendment, repeal or adoption.

Section 6. Deemed Notice . Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring or obtaining any interest in any capital stock of the Corporation shall be deemed to have notice and to have consented to the provisions of this ARTICLE NINE.

Section 7. Severability . To the extent that any provision or part of any provision of this ARTICLE NINE is found to be invalid or unenforceable, such invalidity or unenforceability shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision or part of any other provision of this ARTICLE NINE, and this ARTICLE NINE shall be construed in all respects as if such invalid or enforceable provisions or parts were omitted.

ARTICLE TEN

Section 1. Section 203 of the DGCL . The Corporation expressly elects not to be governed by Section 203 of the DGCL.

Section 2. Interested Stockholder Transactions . Notwithstanding any other provision in this Certificate of Incorporation to the contrary, the Corporation shall not engage in any Business Combination (as defined hereinafter) with any Interested Stockholder (as defined hereinafter) for a period of three years following the time that such stockholder became an Interested Stockholder, unless:

 

  (a) prior to such time the Board of Directors approved either the Business Combination or the transaction which resulted in such stockholder becoming an Interested Stockholder;

 

  (b) upon consummation of the transaction which resulted in such stockholder becoming an Interested Stockholder, such stockholder owned at least eighty-five percent (85%) of the Voting Stock (as defined hereafter) of the Corporation outstanding at the time the transaction commenced, excluding for purposes of determining the Voting Stock outstanding (but not the outstanding Voting Stock owned by such Interested Stockholder) those shares owned (i) by Persons (as defined hereinafter) who are directors and also officers of the Corporation and (ii) employee stock plans of the Corporation in which employee participants do not have the right to determine confidentially whether shares held subject to the plan will be tendered in a tender or exchange offer; or

 

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  (c) at or subsequent to such time the Business Combination is approved by the Board of Directors and authorized at an annual or special meeting of stockholders, and not by written consent, by the affirmative vote of at least 66 2/3% of the outstanding Voting Stock which is not owned by such Interested Stockholder.

Section 3. Exceptions to Prohibition on Interested Stockholder Transactions . The restrictions contained in this ARTICLE TEN shall not apply if:

 

  (a) a stockholder becomes an Interested Stockholder inadvertently and (i) as soon as practicable divests itself of ownership of sufficient shares so that the stockholder ceases to be an Interested Stockholder; and (ii) would not, at any time within the three-year period immediately prior to a Business Combination between the Corporation and such stockholder, have been an Interested Stockholder but for the inadvertent acquisition of ownership; or

 

  (b) the Business Combination is proposed prior to the consummation or abandonment of and subsequent to the earlier of the public announcement or the notice required hereunder of a proposed transaction which (i) constitutes one of the transactions described in the second sentence of this Section 3(b) of this ARTICLE TEN; (ii) is with or by a Person who either was not an Interested Stockholder during the previous three years or who became an Interested Stockholder with the approval of the Board of Directors; and (iii) is approved or not opposed by a majority of the directors then in office (but not less than one) who were directors prior to any Person becoming an Interested Stockholder during the previous three years or were recommended for election or elected to succeed such directors by a majority of such directors. The proposed transactions referred to in the preceding sentence are limited to (x) a merger or consolidation of the Corporation (except for a merger in respect of which, pursuant to Section 251(f) of the DGCL, no vote of the stockholders of the Corporation is required); (y) a sale, lease, exchange, mortgage, pledge, transfer or other disposition (in one transaction or a series of transactions), whether as part of a dissolution or otherwise, of assets of the Corporation or of any direct or indirect majority-owned subsidiary of the Corporation (other than to any direct or indirect wholly-owned subsidiary or to the Corporation) having an aggregate market value equal to fifty percent (50%) or more of either that aggregate market value of all of the assets of the Corporation determined on a consolidated basis or the aggregate market value of all the outstanding Stock (as defined hereinafter) of the Corporation; or (z) a proposed tender or exchange offer for fifty percent (50%) or more of the outstanding Voting Stock of the Corporation. The Corporation shall give not less than 20 days’ notice to all Interested Stockholders prior to the consummation of any of the transactions described in clause (x) or (y) of the second sentence of this Section 3(b) of this ARTICLE TEN.

 

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Section 4. Definitions . As used in this ARTICLE TEN only, and unless otherwise provided by the express terms of this ARTICLE TEN, the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed to them as set forth in this Section 4 of this ARTICLE TEN:

 

  (a) Affiliate ” means a Person that directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls, or is controlled by, or is under common control with, another Person;

 

  (b) Associate ,” when used to indicate a relationship with any Person, means: (i) any corporation, partnership, unincorporated association or other entity of which such Person is a director, officer or partner or is, directly or indirectly, the owner of twenty percent (20%) or more of any class of Voting Stock; (ii) any trust or other estate in which such Person has at least a twenty percent (20%) beneficial interest or as to which such Person serves as trustee or in a similar fiduciary capacity; and (iii) any relative or spouse of such Person, or any relative of such spouse, who has the same residence as such Person;

 

  (c) Business Combination ” means:

 

  (i) any merger or consolidation of the Corporation or any direct or indirect majority-owned subsidiary of the Corporation with (A) the Interested Stockholder, or (B) with any Person if the merger or consolidation is caused by the Interested Stockholder and as a result of such merger or consolidation Section 2 of this ARTICLE TEN is not applicable to the surviving entity;

 

  (ii) any sale, lease, exchange, mortgage, pledge, transfer or other disposition (in one transaction or a series of transactions), except proportionately as a stockholder of the Corporation, to or with the Interested Stockholder, whether as part of a dissolution or otherwise, of assets of the Corporation or of any direct or indirect majority-owned subsidiary of the Corporation which assets have an aggregate market value equal to ten percent (10%) or more of either the aggregate market value of all the assets of the Corporation determined on a consolidated basis or the aggregate market value of all the outstanding Stock of the Corporation;

 

  (iii)

any transaction or series of transactions which results in the issuance or transfer by the Corporation or by any direct or indirect majority-owned subsidiary of the Corporation of ten percent (10%) or more of any class or series of Stock of the Corporation or of such subsidiary to the Interested Stockholder, except: (A) pursuant to the exercise, exchange or conversion of securities exercisable for, exchangeable for or convertible into Stock of the Corporation or any such subsidiary which securities were outstanding prior to the time that the Interested Stockholder became such; (B) pursuant to a merger under Section 251(g) or Section 253 of the DGCL; (C) pursuant to a dividend or distribution paid or made, or the exercise,

 

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  exchange or conversion of securities exercisable for, exchangeable for or convertible into Stock of the Corporation or any such subsidiary which security is distributed, pro rata to all holders of a class or series of Stock of the Corporation subsequent to the time the Interested Stockholder became such; or (D) pursuant to an exchange offer by the Corporation to purchase Stock made on the same terms to all holders of such Stock.

 

  (d) Control ,” including the terms “ controlling ,” “ controlled by ” and “ under common control with ,” means the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of a Person, whether through the ownership of stock or other equity interests, by contract or otherwise. A Person who is the owner of twenty percent (20%) or more of the outstanding Voting Stock of any corporation, partnership, unincorporated association or other entity shall be presumed to have control of such entity, in the absence of proof by a preponderance of the evidence to the contrary; notwithstanding the foregoing, a presumption of control shall not apply where such Person holds Voting Stock, in good faith and not for the purpose of circumventing this ARTICLE TEN, as an agent, bank, broker, nominee, custodian or trustee for one or more owners who do not individually or as a group have control of such entity;

 

  (e)

Interested Stockholder ” means any Person (other than the Corporation and any direct or indirect majority-owned subsidiary of the Corporation) that (i) is the owner of fifteen percent (15%) or more of the outstanding Voting Stock of the Corporation, or (ii) is an Affiliate or Associate of the Corporation and was the owner of fifteen percent (15%) or more of the outstanding Voting Stock of the Corporation at any time within the three-year period immediately prior to the date on which it is sought to be determined whether such Person is an Interested Stockholder, and the Affiliates and Associates of such Person. Notwithstanding anything in this ARTICLE TEN to the contrary, the term “ Interested Stockholder ” shall not include: (x) Sun Cardinal or any of its Affiliates or its Associates, including any investment funds managed by Sun Capital Partners, Inc., or any other Person with whom any of the foregoing are acting as a group or in concert for the purpose of acquiring, holding, voting or disposing of shares of Stock of the Corporation; (y) any Person who would otherwise be an Interested Stockholder because of a transfer, sale, assignment, conveyance, hypothecation, encumbrance, or other disposition of five percent (5%) or more of the outstanding Voting Stock of the Corporation (in one transaction or a series of transactions) by any party specified in the immediately preceding clause (x) to such Person; provided , however , that such Person was not an Interested Stockholder prior to such transfer, sale, assignment, conveyance, hypothecation, encumbrance, or other disposition; or (z) any Person whose ownership of shares in excess of the fifteen percent (15%) limitation set forth herein is the result of action taken solely by the Corporation, provided that, for purposes of this clause

 

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  (z), such Person shall be an Interested Stockholder if thereafter such Person acquires additional shares of Voting Stock of the Corporation, except as a result of further action by the Corporation not caused, directly or indirectly, by such Person;

 

  (f) Owner ,” including the terms “ own ” and “ owned ,” when used with respect to any Stock, means a Person that individually or with or through any of its affiliates or associates beneficially owns such Stock, directly or indirectly; or has (A) the right to acquire such Stock (whether such right is exercisable immediately or only after the passage of time) pursuant to any agreement, arrangement or understanding, or upon the exercise of conversion rights, exchange rights, warrants or options, or otherwise; provided, however, that a Person shall not be deemed the owner of Stock tendered pursuant to a tender or exchange offer made by such Person or any of such Person’s Affiliates or Associates until such tendered Stock is accepted for purchase or exchange; or (B) the right to vote such Stock pursuant to any agreement, arrangement or understanding; provided, however, that a Person shall not be deemed the owner of any Stock because of such Person’s right to vote such Stock if the agreement, arrangement or understanding to vote such Stock arises solely from a revocable proxy or consent given in response to a proxy or consent solicitation made to 10 or more Persons; or has any agreement, arrangement or understanding for the purpose of acquiring, holding, voting (except voting pursuant to a revocable proxy or consent as described in (B) of this Section 4(f) of ARTICLE TEN), or disposing of such Stock with any other Person that beneficially owns, or whose affiliates or associates beneficially own, directly or indirectly, such Stock; provided, that, for the purpose of determining whether a Person is an Interested Stockholder, the Voting Stock of the Corporation deemed to be outstanding shall include Stock deemed to be owned by the Person through application of this definition of “owned” but shall not include any other unissued Stock of the Corporation which may be issuable pursuant to any agreement, arrangement or understanding, or upon exercise of conversion rights, warrants or options, or otherwise;

 

  (g) Person ” means any individual, corporation, partnership, unincorporated association or other entity;

 

  (h) Stock ” means, with respect to any corporation, capital stock and, with respect to any other entity, any equity interest; and

 

  (i) Voting Stock ” means, with respect to any corporation, Stock of any class or series entitled to vote generally in the election of directors and, with respect to any entity that is not a corporation, any equity interest entitled to vote generally in the election of the governing body of such entity. Every reference to a percentage of Voting Stock shall refer to such percentage of the votes of such Voting Stock.

 

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ARTICLE ELEVEN

Section 1. Amendments to the Bylaws . In furtherance and not in limitation of the powers conferred by law, prior to the Trigger Date, the Corporation’s Bylaws may be amended, altered or repealed and new bylaws made by, in addition to any other vote otherwise required by law, the affirmative vote of the holders of at least a majority of the voting power of all of the then outstanding shares of Voting Stock, voting together as a single class. On and after the Trigger Date, the Corporation’s Bylaws may be amended, altered or repealed and new bylaws made by (i) the Board of Directors or (ii) in addition to any other vote otherwise required by law, the affirmative vote of the holders of at least sixty-six and two-thirds percent ( 66 2/3%) of the voting power of the then outstanding Voting Stock, voting together as a single class.

Section 2. Amendments to this Certificate of Incorporation . The Corporation reserves the right at any time, and from time to time, to amend, alter, change or repeal any provision contained in this Certificate of Incorporation and other provisions authorized by the laws of the State of Delaware at the time in force may be added or inserted, in the manner now or hereafter prescribed herein and by law, and all rights, preferences and privileges of any nature conferred upon stockholders, directors or any other persons by and pursuant to this Certificate of Incorporation in its present form or as hereafter amended are granted subject to this reservation. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Certificate of Incorporation or the Bylaws of the Corporation, and notwithstanding the fact that a lesser percentage or separate class vote may be specified by law or otherwise, but in addition to any affirmative vote of the holders of any particular class or series of the capital stock required by law or otherwise, no provision of ARTICLE SIX, ARTICLE SEVEN, ARTICLE EIGHT, ARTICLE TEN, ARTICLE ELEVEN or ARTICLE TWELVE of this Certificate of Incorporation may be altered, amended or repealed in any respect, nor may any provision of this Certificate of Incorporation or the Bylaws inconsistent therewith be adopted, unless in addition to any other vote required by this Certificate of Incorporation or otherwise required by law, (i) prior to the Trigger Date, such alteration, amendment, repeal or adoption is approved by, in addition to any other vote otherwise required by law, the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of Voting Stock, voting together as a single class, and (ii) from and after the Trigger Date, such alteration, amendment, repeal or adoption is approved by, in addition to any other vote otherwise required by law, the affirmative vote of holders of at least sixty-six and two-thirds percent (66 2/3%) of the voting power of all outstanding shares of Voting Stock, voting together as a single class, at a meeting of the Corporation’s stockholders called for that purpose.

ARTICLE TWELVE

The Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware shall, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, be the sole and exclusive forum for any stockholder (including a beneficial owner) to bring (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of the Corporation, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer or other employee of the Corporation to the Corporation or the Corporation’s stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim against the Corporation, its directors, officers or employees arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL, this Certificate of Incorporation (as may be amended, altered, changed or repealed in accordance with Section 2 of ARTICLE ELEVEN) or the Bylaws of the Corporation or (iv) any action asserting a claim against the Corporation, its directors,

 

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officers or employees governed by the internal affairs doctrine, except for, as to each of (i) through (iv) above, any claim as to which the Court of Chancery determines that there is an indispensable party not subject to the jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery (and the indispensable party does not consent to the personal jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery within ten days following such determination), which is vested in the exclusive jurisdiction of a court or forum other than the Court of Chancery, or for which the Court of Chancery does not have subject matter jurisdiction. If any provision or provisions of this ARTICLE TWELVE shall be held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable as applied to any person or entity or circumstance for any reason whatsoever, then, to the fullest extent permitted by law, the validity, legality and enforceability of such provisions in any other circumstance and of the remaining provisions of this ARTICLE TWELVE (including, without limitation, each portion of any sentence of this ARTICLE TWELVE containing any such provision held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable that is not itself held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable) and the application of such provision to other persons or entities and circumstances shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any shares of the Corporation shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the provisions of this ARTICLE TWELVE.

ARTICLE THIRTEEN

The Effective Time of this Certificate of Incorporation shall be November 27, 2013 at 8:03 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (the “ Effective Time ”).

 

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Exhibit 3.2

AMENDED AND RESTATED BYLAWS

OF

VINCE HOLDING CORP.

A Delaware corporation

(Adopted as of November 27, 2013)

ARTICLE I

OFFICES

Section 1. Offices . Vince Holding Corp. (the “ Corporation ”) may have an office or offices other than its registered office at such place or places, either within or outside the State of Delaware, as the Board of Directors of the Corporation (the “ Board of Directors ”) may from time to time determine or the business of the Corporation may require.

ARTICLE II

MEETINGS OF STOCKHOLDERS

Section 1. Place of Meetings . The Board of Directors may designate a place, if any, either within or outside the State of Delaware, as the place of meeting for any annual meeting or for any special meeting.

Section 2. Annual Meeting . An annual meeting of the stockholders shall be held at such time as is specified by the Board of Directors. At the annual meeting, stockholders shall elect directors to succeed those whose terms expire at such annual meeting and transact such other business as properly may be brought before the annual meeting pursuant to Section 11 of this ARTICLE II. The Board of Directors may postpone, reschedule or cancel any annual meeting of stockholders previously scheduled by the Board of Directors.

Section 3. Special Meetings . Special meetings of the stockholders may only be called in the manner provided in the Corporation’s certificate of incorporation as then in effect (the “ Certificate of Incorporation ”). Business transacted at any special meeting of stockholders shall be limited to business brought by or at the direction of the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors may postpone, reschedule or cancel any special meeting of the stockholders previously scheduled by the Board of Directors.

Section 4. Notice of Meetings . Whenever stockholders are required or permitted to take action at a meeting, notice of the meeting shall be given that shall state the place, if any, date, and time of all meetings of the stockholders, the means of remote communications, if any, by which stockholders and proxyholders not physically present may be deemed to be present in person and vote at such meeting, the record date for determining the stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting, if such date is different from the record date for determining stockholders entitled to notice of the meeting, and, in the case of a special meeting, the purpose or purposes for which


the meeting is called. Such notice shall be given, not less than ten (10) nor more than sixty (60) days before the date on which the meeting is to be held, to each stockholder entitled to vote at such meeting as of the record date for determining the stockholders entitled to notice of the meeting, except as otherwise provided herein or required by law (meaning, here and hereinafter, as required from time to time by the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “ DGCL ”) or the Certificate of Incorporation).

(a) Form of Notice . All such notices shall be delivered in writing or in any other manner permitted by the DGCL. If mailed, such notice shall be deemed given when deposited in the United States mail, postage prepaid, addressed to the stockholder at his, her or its address as the same appears on the records of the Corporation. If given by facsimile telecommunication, such notice shall be deemed given when directed to a number at which the stockholder has consented to receive notice by facsimile. Subject to the limitations of Section 4(c) of this ARTICLE II, if given by electronic transmission, such notice shall be deemed to be delivered: (i) by electronic mail, when directed to an electronic mail address at which the stockholder has consented to receive notice; (ii) if by a posting on an electronic network together with separate notice to the stockholder of such specific posting, upon the later of (x) such posting and (y) the giving of such separate notice; and (iii) if by any other form of electronic transmission, when directed to the stockholder. An affidavit of the Secretary or an assistant Secretary of the Corporation, the transfer agent of the Corporation or any other agent of the Corporation that the notice has been given shall, in the absence of fraud, be prima facie evidence of the facts stated therein.

(b) Waiver of Notice . Whenever notice is required to be given under any provisions of the DGCL, the Certificate of Incorporation or these Amended and Restated Bylaws (these “ Bylaws ”), a written waiver thereof, signed by the stockholder entitled to notice, or a waiver by electronic transmission by the person or entity entitled to notice, whether before or after the time stated therein, shall be deemed equivalent to notice. Neither the business to be transacted at, nor the purpose of, any meeting of the stockholders of the Corporation need be specified in any waiver of notice of such meeting. Attendance of a stockholder of the Corporation at a meeting of such stockholders shall constitute a waiver of notice of such meeting, except when the stockholder attends for the express purpose of objecting at the beginning of the meeting to the transaction of any business because the meeting is not lawfully called or convened.

(c) Notice by Electronic Delivery . Without limiting the manner by which notice otherwise may be given effectively to stockholders of the Corporation pursuant to the DGCL, the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws, any notice to stockholders of the Corporation given by the Corporation under any provision of the DGCL, the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws shall be effective if given by a form of electronic transmission consented to by the stockholder of the Corporation to whom the notice is given. Any such consent shall be deemed revoked if: (i) the Corporation is unable to deliver by electronic transmission two (2) consecutive notices given by the Corporation in accordance with such consent; and (ii) such inability becomes known to the secretary or an assistant secretary of the Corporation or to the transfer agent or other person responsible for the giving of notice. However, the inadvertent failure to treat such inability as a revocation shall not invalidate any meeting or other action. For purposes of these Bylaws, except as otherwise limited by applicable

 

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law, the term “electronic transmission” means any form of communication not directly involving the physical transmission of paper that creates a record that may be retained, retrieved and reviewed by a recipient thereof, and that may be directly reproduced in paper form by such recipient through an automated process.

Section 5. List of Stockholders . The officer who has charge of the stock ledger of the Corporation shall prepare and make available, at least 10 days before each meeting of stockholders, a complete list of the stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting, provided , however , if the record date for determining the stockholders entitled to vote is less than 10 days before the meeting date, the list shall reflect the stockholders entitled to vote as of the 10th day before the meeting date, arranged in alphabetical order and showing the address of each such stockholder and the number of shares registered in the name of each such stockholder. Such list shall be open to the examination of any stockholder, for any purpose germane to the meeting for a period of at least 10 days prior to the meeting: (a) on a reasonably accessible electronic network, provided that the information required to gain access to such list is provided with the notice of the meeting, or (b) during ordinary business hours, at the principal place of business of the Corporation. In the event the Corporation determines to make the list available on an electronic network, the Corporation may take reasonable steps to ensure that such information is available only to stockholders of the Corporation. If the meeting is to be held at a place, the list shall also be produced and kept at the time and place, if any, of the meeting during the whole time thereof, and may be inspected by any stockholder who is present. If the meeting is to be held solely by means of remote communication, then the list shall also be open to the examination of any stockholder during the whole time of the meeting on a reasonably accessible electronic network, and the information required to access such list shall be provided with the notice of the meeting. Except as otherwise provided by law, the list shall be the only evidence as to who are the stockholders entitled to examine the list of stockholders required by this Section 5 or to vote in person or by proxy at any meeting of the stockholders.

Section 6. Quorum . The holders of a majority of the outstanding voting power of all shares of capital stock entitled to vote at the meeting, present in person or represented by proxy, shall constitute a quorum at all meetings of the stockholders, except as otherwise provided by law, by the Certificate of Incorporation, the rules of any stock exchange upon which the Corporation’s securities are listed or these Bylaws. If a quorum is not present, the chairman of the meeting or the holders of a majority of the voting power present in person or represented by proxy at the meeting and entitled to vote at the meeting may adjourn the meeting to another time and/or place from time to time until a quorum shall be present or represented by proxy. When a specified item of business requires a separate vote by a class or series (if the Corporation shall then have outstanding shares of more than one class or series) voting as a class or series, the holders of a majority of the voting power of such class or series shall constitute a quorum (as to such class or series) for the transaction of such item of business.

Section 7. Adjourned Meetings . When a meeting is adjourned to another time and place, notice need not be given of the adjourned meeting if the time and place, if any, thereof and the means of remote communications, if any, by which stockholders and proxyholders may be deemed to be present in person and vote at such adjourned meeting are announced at the meeting at which the adjournment is taken; provided, however, that if the adjournment is for more than 30 days, a notice of the place, if any, date and time of the adjourned meeting and the means of

 

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remote communications, if any, by which stockholders and proxyholders may be deemed to be present in person and vote at such adjourned meeting shall be given to each stockholder of record entitled to vote at the meeting. If after the adjournment a new record date for stockholders entitled to vote is fixed for the adjourned meeting, the Board of Directors or a committee thereof designated by the Board of Directors shall fix a new record date for notice of such adjourned meeting, which record date shall not precede the date upon which the resolution fixing the record date is adopted by the Board of Directors or such committee, as applicable, and, except as otherwise required by law, shall not be more than 60 days nor less than 10 days before the date of such adjourned meeting, and shall give notice of the adjourned meeting to each stockholder of record entitled to vote at such adjourned meeting as of the record date fixed for notice of such adjourned meeting. At the adjourned meeting the Corporation may transact any business which might have been transacted at the original meeting.

Section 8. Vote Required . When a quorum is present, the affirmative vote of the majority of voting power of capital stock present in person or represented by proxy at the meeting and entitled to vote on the subject matter shall be the act of the stockholders, unless by express provisions of an applicable law, the rules of any stock exchange upon which the Corporation’s securities are listed or the Certificate of Incorporation a different vote is required, in which case such express provision shall govern and control the decision of such question.

Section 9. Voting Rights . Except as otherwise provided by the DGCL, the Certificate of Incorporation, the certificate of designation relating to any outstanding class or series of preferred stock or these Bylaws, each stockholder entitled to vote at any meeting of stockholders shall be entitled to one vote in person or by proxy for each share of capital stock held by such stockholder which has voting power upon the matter in question. Voting at meetings of stockholders need not be by written ballot.

Section 10. Proxies . Each stockholder entitled to vote at a meeting of stockholders or to express consent to corporate action in writing without a meeting may authorize another person or persons to act for such stockholder by proxy, but no such proxy shall be voted or acted upon after three years from its date, unless the proxy provides for a longer period. A duly executed proxy shall be irrevocable if it states that it is irrevocable and if, and only as long as, it is coupled with an interest sufficient in law to support an irrevocable power. A proxy may be made irrevocable regardless of whether the interest with which it is coupled is an interest in the stock itself or an interest in the Corporation generally.

Section 11. Business Brought Before a Meeting of the Stockholders .

(a) Annual Meetings .

(i) At an annual meeting of the stockholders, only such nominations of persons for election to the Board of Directors shall be considered and such business shall be conducted as shall have been properly brought before the meeting. To be properly brought before an annual meeting, nominations and other business must be a proper matter for stockholder action under Delaware law and must be (A) specified in the notice of meeting (or any supplement thereto) given by or at the direction of the Board of Directors, (B) brought before the meeting by or at the direction of the Board of Directors

 

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or (C) otherwise properly brought before the meeting by a stockholder who (I) is a stockholder of record of the Corporation (and, with respect to any beneficial owner, if different, on whose behalf such business is proposed or such nomination or nominations are made, only if such beneficial owner is the beneficial owner of shares of the Corporation) both at the time the notice provided for in paragraph (a) of this Section 11 of this ARTICLE II is delivered to the secretary of the Corporation and on the record date for the determination of stockholders entitled to vote at the annual meeting of stockholders, (II) is entitled to vote at the meeting, and (III) complies with the notice procedures set forth in paragraph (a) of this Section 11 of this ARTICLE II. For nominations or other business to be properly brought before an annual meeting by a stockholder, the stockholder must have given timely notice thereof in writing and in proper form to the Secretary of the Corporation. To be timely, a stockholder’s notice must be delivered to or mailed and received at the principal executive offices of the Corporation, not later than the close of business on the ninetieth (90th) day nor earlier than the close of business on the one hundred twentieth (120th) day prior to the first anniversary of the preceding year’s annual meeting (provided, however, that in the event that the date of the annual meeting is more than thirty (30) days before or more than seventy (70) days after such anniversary date, notice by the stockholder must be so delivered not earlier than the close of business on the one hundred twentieth (120th) day prior to such annual meeting and not later than the close of business on the later of the ninetieth (90th) day prior to such annual meeting or the tenth (10th) day following the day on which Public Announcement of the date of such meeting is first made by the Corporation). In no event shall any adjournment, deferral or postponement of an annual meeting or the Public Announcement thereof commence a new time period (or extend any time period) for the giving of a stockholder’s notice as described above. Notwithstanding anything in this paragraph to the contrary, in the event that the number of directors to be elected to the Board of Directors at an annual meeting is increased and there is no Public Announcement by the Corporation naming the nominees for the additional directorships at least one hundred (100) days prior to the first anniversary of the preceding year’s annual meeting, a stockholder’s notice required by paragraph (a) of this Section 11 of this ARTICLE II shall also be considered timely, but only with respect to nominees for the additional directorships, if it shall be delivered to the Secretary at the principal executive offices of the Corporation not later than the close of business on the tenth (10th) day following the day on which such Public Announcement is first made by the Corporation.

(ii) A stockholder’s notice providing for the nomination of a person or persons for election as a director or directors of the Corporation shall set forth (A) as to the stockholder giving the notice and the beneficial owner, if any, on whose behalf the nomination is made (and for purposes of clauses (II) through (IX) below, including any interests described therein held by any affiliates or associates (each within the meaning of Rule 12b-2 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “ Exchange Act ”) for purposes of these Bylaws) of such stockholder or beneficial owner or by any member of such stockholder’s or beneficial owner’s immediate family sharing the same household, in each case as of the date of such stockholder’s notice, which information shall be confirmed or updated, if necessary, by such stockholder and beneficial owner as of the record date for determining the stockholders entitled to notice of the meeting of

 

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stockholders and as of the date that is ten (10) business days prior to such meeting of the stockholders or any adjournment or postponement thereof, and such confirmation or update shall be received by the Secretary at the principal executive offices of the Corporation not later than the close of business on the fifth (5th) business day after the record date for the meeting of stockholders (in the case of the update and supplement required to be made as of the record date), and not later than the close of business on the eighth (8th) business day prior to the date for the meeting of stockholders or any adjournment or postponement thereof (in the case of the update and supplement required to be made as of ten (10) business days prior to the meeting of stockholders or any adjournment or postponement thereof)) (I) the name and address of such stockholder, as they appear on the Corporation’s books, and of such beneficial owner, (II) the class or series and number of shares of capital stock of the Corporation which are, directly or indirectly, beneficially owned (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act) (provided that a person shall in all events be deemed to beneficially own any shares of any class or series and number of shares of capital stock of the Corporation as to which such person has a right to acquire beneficial ownership at any time in the future) and owned of record by such stockholder or beneficial owner, (III) the class or series, if any, and number of options, warrants, puts, calls, convertible securities, stock appreciation rights, or similar rights, obligations or commitments with an exercise or conversion privilege or a settlement payment or mechanism at a price related to any class or series of shares or other securities of the Corporation or with a value derived in whole or in part from the value of any class or series of shares or other securities of the Corporation, whether or not such instrument, right, obligation or commitment shall be subject to settlement in the underlying class or series of shares or other securities of the Corporation (each a “ Derivative Security ”), which are, directly or indirectly, beneficially owned by such stockholder or beneficial owner, (IV) any agreement, arrangement, understanding, or relationship, including any repurchase or similar so-called “stock borrowing” agreement or arrangement, engaged in, directly or indirectly, by such stockholder or beneficial owner, the purpose or effect of which is to mitigate loss to, reduce the economic risk (of ownership or otherwise) of any class or series of capital stock or other securities of the Corporation, manage the risk of share price changes for, or increase or decrease the voting power of, such stockholder or beneficial owner with respect to any class or series of capital stock or other securities of the Corporation, or that provides, directly or indirectly, the opportunity to profit from any decrease in the price or value of any class or series or capital stock or other securities of the Corporation, (V) a description of any other direct or indirect opportunity to profit or share in any profit (including any performance-based fees) derived from any increase or decrease in the value of shares or other securities of the Corporation, (VI) any proxy, contract, arrangement, understanding or relationship pursuant to which such stockholder or beneficial owner has a right to vote any shares or other securities of the Corporation, (VII) any rights to dividends on the shares of the Corporation owned beneficially by such stockholder or such beneficial owner that are separated or separable from the underlying shares of the Corporation, (VIII) any proportionate interest in shares of the Corporation or Derivative Securities held, directly or indirectly, by a general or limited partnership in which such stockholder or beneficial owner is a general partner or, directly or indirectly, beneficially owns an interest in a general partner, if any, (IX) a description of all agreements, arrangements,

 

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and understandings between such stockholder or beneficial owner and any other person(s) (including their name(s)) in connection with or related to the ownership or voting of capital stock of the Corporation or Derivative Securities, (X) any other information relating to such stockholder or beneficial owner that would be required to be disclosed in a proxy statement or other filings required to be made in connection with solicitations of proxies for the election of directors in a contested election pursuant to Section 14 of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, (XI) a statement as to whether either such stockholder or beneficial owner intends to deliver a proxy statement and form of proxy to holders of at least the percentage of the Corporation’s voting shares required under applicable law to elect such stockholder’s nominees and/or otherwise to solicit proxies from the stockholders in support of such nomination and (XII) a representation that the stockholder is a holder of record of shares of the Corporation entitled to vote at such meeting and intends to appear in person or by proxy at the meeting to propose such nomination, and (B) as to each person whom the stockholder proposes to nominate for election or reelection as a director, (I) all information relating to such person that would be required to be disclosed in a proxy statement or other filings required to be made in connection with solicitations of proxies for election of directors pursuant to the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder (including such person’s written consent to being named in the proxy statement as a nominee and to serving as a director if elected), (II) a description of all direct and indirect compensation and other material agreements, arrangements and understandings during the past three years, and any other material relationships, between or among such stockholder or beneficial owner, if any, and their respective affiliates and associates, or others acting in concert therewith, on the one hand, and each proposed nominee and his or her respective affiliates and associates, or others acting in concert therewith, on the other hand, including all information that would be required to be disclosed pursuant to Rule 404 promulgated under Regulation S-K if the stockholder making the nomination and any beneficial owner on whose behalf the nomination is made, or any affiliate or associate thereof or person acting in concert therewith, were the “registrant” for purposes of such rule and the nominee were a director or executive officer of such registrant, (III) a completed and signed questionnaire regarding the background and qualifications of such person to serve as a director, a copy of which may be obtained upon request to the Secretary of the Corporation, (IV) all information with respect to such person that would be required to be set forth in a stockholder’s notice pursuant to this Section 11 of this ARTICLE II if such person were a stockholder or beneficial owner, on whose behalf the nomination was made, submitting a notice providing for the nomination of a person or persons for election as a director or directors of the Corporation in accordance with this Section 11 of this ARTICLE II, and (V) such additional information that the Corporation may reasonably request to determine the eligibility or qualifications of such person to serve as a director or an independent director of the Corporation, or that could be material to a reasonable stockholder’s understanding of the qualifications and/or independence, or lack thereof, of such nominee as a director.

(iii) A stockholder’s notice regarding business proposed to be brought before a meeting of stockholders other than the nomination of persons for election to the Board of Directors shall set forth (A) as to the stockholder giving notice and the

 

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beneficial owner, if any, on whose behalf the proposal is made, the information called for by clauses (A)(I) through (A)(IX) of the immediately preceding paragraph (ii) (including any interests described therein held by any affiliates or associates of such stockholder or beneficial owner or by any member of such stockholder’s or beneficial owner’s immediate family sharing the same household, in each case as of the date of such stockholder’s notice, which information shall be confirmed or updated, if necessary, by such stockholder and beneficial owner as of the record date for determining the stockholders entitled to notice of the meeting of stockholders and as of the date that is ten (10) business days prior to such meeting of the stockholders or any adjournment or postponement thereof, and such confirmation or update shall be received by the Secretary at the principal executive offices of the Corporation not later than the close of business on the fifth (5th) business day after the record date for the meeting of stockholders (in the case of the update and supplement required to be made as of the record date), and not later than the close of business on the eighth (8th) business day prior to the date for the meeting of stockholders or any adjournment or postponement thereof (in the case of the update and supplement required to be made as of ten (10) business days prior to the meeting of stockholders or any adjournment or postponement thereof)), (B) a brief description of (I) the business desired to be brought before such meeting, (II) the reasons for conducting such business at the meeting and (III) any material interest of such stockholder or beneficial owner in such business, including a description of all agreements, arrangements and understandings between such stockholder or beneficial owner and any other person(s) (including the name(s) of such other person(s)) in connection with or related to the proposal of such business by the stockholder, (C) as to the stockholder giving notice and the beneficial owner, if any, on whose behalf the proposal is made, (I) a statement as to whether either such stockholder or beneficial owner intends to deliver a proxy statement and form of proxy to holders of at least the percentage of the Corporation’s voting shares required under applicable law to approve the proposal and/or otherwise to solicit proxies from stockholders in support of such proposal and (II) any other information relating to such stockholder or beneficial owner that would be required to be disclosed in a proxy statement or other filings required to be made in connection with solicitations of proxies in support of the business proposed to be brought before the meeting pursuant to Section 14 of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, (D) if the matter such stockholder proposes to bring before any meeting of stockholders involves an amendment to the Corporation’s Bylaws, the specific wording of such proposed amendment, (E) a representation that the stockholder is a holder of record of shares of the Corporation entitled to vote at such meeting and intends to appear in person or by proxy at the meeting to propose such business and (F) such additional information that the Corporation may reasonably request regarding such stockholder or beneficial owner, if any, and/or the business that such stockholder proposes to bring before the meeting. The foregoing notice requirements shall be deemed satisfied by a stockholder if the stockholder has notified the Corporation of his or her intention to present a proposal at an annual meeting in compliance with Rule 14a-8 (or any successor thereof) promulgated under the Exchange Act and such stockholder’s proposal has been included in a proxy statement that has been prepared by the Corporation to solicit proxies for such annual meeting.

 

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(iv) The presiding officer of an annual meeting shall, if the facts warrant, determine and declare to the meeting that a nomination was not properly made or that any business was not properly brought before the meeting, as the case may be, in accordance with the provisions of Section 11 of this ARTICLE II; if he or she should so determine, he or she shall so declare to the meeting and any such nomination not properly made or any business not properly brought before the meeting, as the case may be, shall not be transacted.

(b) Special Meetings of Stockholders . Only such business shall be conducted at a special meeting of stockholders as is a proper matter for stockholder action under Delaware law and as shall have been brought before the meeting by or at the direction of the Board of Directors. The notice of such special meeting shall include the purpose for which the meeting is called. Nominations of persons for election to the Board of Directors may be made at a special meeting of stockholders at which directors are to be elected pursuant to the Corporation’s notice of meeting (i) by or at the direction of the Board of Directors or (ii) provided that the Board of Directors has determined that directors shall be elected at such meeting, by any stockholder of the Corporation who (A) is a stockholder of record of the Corporation (and, with respect to any beneficial owner, if different, on whose behalf such nomination or nominations are made, only if such beneficial owner is the beneficial owner of shares of the Corporation) both at the time the notice provided for in paragraph (b) of this Section 11 of this ARTICLE II is delivered to the Corporation’s Secretary and on the record date for the determination of stockholders entitled to vote at the special meeting, (B) is entitled to vote at the meeting and upon such election, and (C) complies with the notice procedures set forth in the third sentence of paragraph (b) of this Section 11 of this ARTICLE II. In the event the Corporation calls a special meeting of stockholders for the purpose of electing one or more directors to the Board of Directors, any such stockholder entitled to vote in such election of directors may nominate a person or persons (as the case may be) for election to such position(s) as specified in the Corporation’s notice of meeting, if the stockholder’s notice required by paragraph (a)(ii) of this Section 11 of this ARTICLE II shall be delivered to the Corporation’s Secretary at the principal executive offices of the Corporation not earlier than the close of business on the one hundred twentieth (120th) day prior to such special meeting and not later than the close of business on the later of the ninetieth (90th) day prior to such special meeting or the tenth (10th) day following the day on which Public Announcement is first made of the date of the special meeting and of the nominees proposed by the Board of Directors to be elected at such meeting. In no event shall any adjournment, deferral or postponement of a special meeting or the public announcement thereof commence a new time period (or extend any time period) for the giving of a stockholder’s notice as described above.

(c) General .

(i) Only such persons who are nominated in accordance with the procedures set forth in this Section 11 of this ARTICLE II shall be eligible to be elected at an annual or special meeting of stockholders of the Corporation to serve as directors and only such business shall be conducted at a meeting of stockholders as shall have been brought before the meeting in accordance with the procedures set forth in this Section 11 of this ARTICLE II. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section 11 of this ARTICLE II, if the stockholder (or a qualified representative of the stockholder) does not

 

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appear at the annual or special meeting of stockholders of the Corporation to present a nomination or business, such nomination shall be disregarded and such proposed business shall not be transacted, notwithstanding that proxies in respect of such vote may have been received by the Corporation. For purposes of this Section 11, to be considered a qualified representative of the stockholder, a person must be a duly authorized officer, manager or partner of such stockholder or must be authorized by a writing executed by such stockholder or an electronic transmission delivered by such stockholder to act for such stockholder as proxy at the meeting of stockholders and such person must produce such writing or electronic transmission, or a reliable reproduction of the writing or electronic transmission, at the meeting of stockholders.

(ii) For purposes of this section, “ Public Announcement ” shall mean disclosure in a press release reported by the Dow Jones News Service, Associated Press, Business Wire, PR Newswire or a comparable national news service or in a document publicly filed by the Corporation with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Sections 13, 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act.

(iii) Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of these Bylaws, a stockholder shall also comply with all applicable requirements of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder with respect to the matters set forth in these Bylaws; provided, however, that any references in these Bylaws to the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder are not intended to and shall not limit the requirements applicable to any nomination or other business to be considered pursuant to Section 11 of this ARTICLE II.

(iv) Nothing in these Bylaws shall be deemed to (A) affect any rights of stockholders to request inclusion of proposals in the Corporation’s proxy statement pursuant to Rule 14a-8 under the Exchange Act, (B) confer upon any stockholder a right to have a nominee or any proposed business included in the Corporation’s proxy statement, or (C) affect any rights of the holders of any series of preferred stock to elect directors pursuant to any applicable provisions of the Certificate of Incorporation.

Section 12. Fixing a Record Date for Stockholder Meetings . In order that the Corporation may determine the stockholders entitled to notice of any meeting of stockholders or any adjournment thereof, the Board of Directors, or a committee designated by the Board of Directors, may fix, except as otherwise required by law, in advance, a record date, which record date shall not precede the date upon which the resolution fixing the record date is adopted by the Board of Directors or a committee thereof designated by the Board of Directors, as applicable, and which record date shall not be more than sixty (60) days nor less than ten (10) days before the date of such meeting. If the Board of Directors or a committee thereof so fixes a date, such date shall also be the record date for determining the stockholders entitled to vote at such meeting unless the Board of Directors or such committee determines, at the time it fixes such record date, that a later date on or before the date of the meeting shall be the date for making such determination. If no record date is fixed by the Board of Directors or a committee thereof designated by the Board of Directors, the record date for determining stockholders entitled to notice of and to vote at a meeting of stockholders shall be the close of business on the next preceding the day on which notice is first given, or, if notice is waived, at the close of business

 

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on the day next preceding the day on which the meeting is held. A determination of stockholders of record entitled to notice of or to vote at a meeting of stockholders shall apply to any adjournment of the meeting; provided, however, that the Board of Directors or a committee thereof designated by the Board of Directors may fix a new record date for determination of stockholders entitled to vote at the adjourned meeting; and in such case shall also fix as the record date for stockholders entitled to notice of such adjourned meeting the same or an earlier date as that fixed for determination of stockholders entitled to vote in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this Section 12 at the adjourned meeting.

Section 13. Action by Stockholders Without a Meeting . So long as stockholders of the Corporation have the right to act by written consent in accordance with Section 1 of ARTICLE EIGHT of the Certificate of Incorporation, the following provisions shall apply:

(a) Record Date . For the purpose of determining the stockholders entitled to consent to corporate action in writing without a meeting as may be permitted by the Certificate of Incorporation or the certificate of designation relating to any outstanding class or series of preferred stock, the Board of Directors, or a committee thereof designated by the Board of Directors, may fix a record date, which record date shall not precede the date on which the resolution fixing the record date is adopted by the Board of Directors or such committee, as applicable, and which record date shall not be more than ten (10) (or the maximum number permitted by applicable law) days after the date on which the resolution fixing the record date is adopted by the Board of Directors or such committee. Any stockholder of record seeking to have the stockholders authorize or take action by written consent shall, by written notice to the Secretary, request that the Board of Directors or a committee thereof designated by the Board of Directors fix a record date, which notice shall include the text of any proposed resolutions. If no record date has been fixed by the Board of Directors or committee thereof pursuant to this Section 13(a) or otherwise within ten (10) days of receipt of a valid request by a stockholder, the record date for determining stockholders entitled to consent to corporate action in writing without a meeting, when no prior action by the Board of Directors or any committee thereof is required pursuant to applicable law, shall be the first date on which a signed written consent setting forth the action taken or proposed to be taken is delivered to the Corporation pursuant to Section 13(b); provided, however, that if prior action by the Board of Directors or a committee thereof is required by applicable law, the record date for determining stockholders entitled to consent to corporate action in writing without a meeting shall in such an event be at the close of business on the day on which the Board of Directors or a committee thereof designated by the Board of Directors adopts the resolution taking such prior action.

(b) Generally . Every written consent shall bear the date of signature of each stockholder who signs the consent, and no written consent shall be effective to take the corporate action referred to therein unless written consents signed by a sufficient number of stockholders to take such action are delivered to the Corporation, in the manner required by this Section 13, within sixty (60) (or the maximum number permitted by applicable law) days of the date of the earliest dated consent delivered to the Corporation in the manner required by this Section 13. The validity of any consent executed by a proxy for a stockholder pursuant to an electronic transmission transmitted to such proxy holder by or upon the authorization of the stockholder shall be determined by or at the direction of the Secretary. A written record of the information upon which the person making such determination relied shall be made and kept in the records of

 

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the proceedings of the stockholders. Any such consent shall be inserted in the minute book as if it were the minutes of a meeting of stockholders. Prompt notice of the taking of the corporate action without a meeting by less than unanimous written consent shall be given by the Corporation (at its expense) to those stockholders who have not consented in writing and who, if the action had been taken at a meeting, would have been entitled to notice of the meeting if the record date for notice of such meeting had been the date that written consent signed by a sufficient number of holders to take the action were delivered to the Corporation.

Section 14. Conduct of Meetings .

(a) Generally . Meetings of stockholders shall be presided over by the Chairman of the Board, if any, or in the Chairman’s absence or disability by the Chief Executive Officer, or in the Chief Executive Officer’s absence or disability, by the President, or in the President’s absence or disability, by a Vice President, or in the absence or disability of the foregoing persons by a chairperson designated by the Board of Directors, or in the absence of such designation by a chairperson chosen at the meeting. The Secretary shall act as secretary of the meeting, but in the Secretary’s absence or disability the chairman of the meeting may appoint any person to act as secretary of the meeting.

(b) Rules, Regulations and Procedures . The Board of Directors may adopt by resolution such rules, regulations and procedures for the conduct of any meeting of stockholders of the Corporation as it shall deem appropriate including, without limitation, such guidelines and procedures as it may deem appropriate regarding the participation by means of remote communication of stockholders and proxyholders not physically present at a meeting. Except to the extent inconsistent with such rules, regulations and procedures as adopted by the Board of Directors, the chairman of any meeting of stockholders shall have the right and authority to prescribe such rules, regulations and procedures and to do all such acts as, in the judgment of such chairman, are appropriate for the proper conduct of the meeting. Such rules, regulations or procedures, whether adopted by the Board of Directors or prescribed by the chairman of the meeting, may include, without limitation, the following: (i) the establishment of an agenda or order of business for the meeting; (ii) rules and procedures for maintaining order at the meeting and the safety of those present; (iii) limitations on attendance at or participation in the meeting to stockholders of record of the Corporation, their duly authorized and constituted proxies or such other persons as shall be determined; (iv) restrictions on entry to the meeting after the time fixed for the commencement thereof; and (v) limitations on the time allotted to questions or comments by participants. The chairman of the meeting of stockholders, in addition to making any other determinations that may be appropriate to the conduct of the meeting, shall, if the facts warrant, determine and declare to the meeting that a nomination or matter or business was not properly brought before the meeting and if such chairman should so determine, such chairman shall so declare to the meeting and any such matter or business not properly brought before the meeting shall not be transacted or considered. Unless and to the extent determined by the Board of Directors or the chairman of the meeting, meetings of stockholders shall not be required to be held in accordance with the rules of parliamentary procedure. The chairman of the meeting shall announce at the meeting when the polls for each matter to be voted upon at the meeting will be opened and closed. After the polls close, no ballots, proxies or votes or any revocations or changes thereto may be accepted. The chairman of the meeting shall have the power, for any reason, to recess and/or to adjourn any meeting of stockholders to another place, if any, date and time.

 

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(c) Inspectors of Elections . The Corporation may, and to the extent required by law shall, in advance of any meeting of stockholders, appoint one or more inspectors of election to act at the meeting and make a written report thereof. One or more other persons may be designated as alternate inspectors to replace any inspector who fails to act. If no inspector or alternate is able to act at a meeting of stockholders, the chairman of the meeting shall appoint one or more inspectors to act at the meeting. Unless otherwise required by law, inspectors may be officers, employees or agents of the Corporation. No person who is a candidate for an office at an election may serve as an inspector at such election. Each inspector, before entering upon the discharge of such inspector’s duties, shall take and sign an oath faithfully to execute the duties of inspector with strict impartiality and according to the best of such inspector’s ability. The inspector shall have the duties prescribed by law and shall take charge of the polls and, when the vote is completed, shall make a certificate of the result of the vote taken and of such other facts as may be required by law. Every vote taken by ballots shall be counted by a duly appointed inspector or duly appointed inspectors.

ARTICLE III

DIRECTORS

Section 1. General Powers . The business and affairs of the Corporation shall be managed by or under the direction of the Board of Directors. In addition to such powers as are herein and in the Certificate of Incorporation expressly conferred upon it, the Board of Directors shall have and may exercise all the powers of the Corporation, subject to the provisions of the laws of the State of Delaware, the Certificate of Incorporation and these Bylaws.

Section 2. Election . Members of the Board of Directors shall be elected by a plurality of the votes of the shares present in person or represented by proxy at the meeting and entitled to vote in the election of directors; provided that, whenever the holders of any class or series of capital stock of the Corporation are entitled to elect one or more directors pursuant to the provisions of the Certificate of Incorporation (including, but not limited to, any duly authorized certificate of designation), such directors shall be elected by a plurality of the votes of such class or series present in person or represented by proxy at the meeting and entitled to vote in the election of such directors. Elections of directors need not be by written ballot unless the Bylaws of the Corporation shall so provide.

Section 3. Annual Meetings . The annual meeting of the Board of Directors shall be held without other notice than this Bylaw immediately after, and at the same place as, the annual meeting of stockholders.

Section 4. Regular Meetings and Special Meetings . Regular meetings, other than the annual meeting, of the Board of Directors may be held without notice at such time and at such place as shall from time to time be determined by resolution of the Board of Directors and publicized among all directors. Special meetings of the Board of Directors may be called by the Chairman of the Board, if any, or upon the written request of at least a majority of the directors then in office.

 

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Section 5. Notice of Meetings . Notice of regular meetings of the Board of Directors need not be given except as otherwise required by law or these Bylaws. Notice of each special meeting of the Board of Directors, and of each regular and annual meeting of the Board of Directors for which notice is required, shall be given by the Secretary as hereinafter provided in this Section 5. Such notice shall state the date, time and place, if any, of the meeting. Notice of any special meeting, and of any regular or annual meeting for which notice is required, shall be given to each director at least (a) twenty-four (24) hours before the meeting if by telephone or by being personally delivered or sent by telex, telecopy, email or similar means or (b) five (5) days before the meeting if delivered by mail to the director’s residence or usual place of business. Such notice shall be deemed to be delivered when deposited in the United States mail so addressed, with postage prepaid, or when transmitted if sent by telex, telecopy, email or similar means. Neither the business to be transacted at, nor the purpose of, any special meeting of the Board of Directors need be specified in the notice or waiver of notice of such meeting.

Section 6. Waiver of Notice and Presumption of Assent . Any director may waive notice of any meeting of directors by a writing signed by the director or by electronic transmission. Any member of the Board of Directors or any committee thereof who is present at a meeting shall be conclusively presumed to have waived notice of such meeting except when such member attends for the express purpose of objecting at the beginning of the meeting to the transaction of any business because the meeting is not lawfully called or convened. Such member shall be conclusively presumed to have assented to any action taken unless his or her dissent shall be entered in the minutes of the meeting or unless his or her written dissent to such action shall be filed with the person acting as the secretary of the meeting before the adjournment thereof or shall be forwarded by registered mail to the secretary of the Corporation immediately after the adjournment of the meeting. Such right to dissent shall not apply to any member who voted in favor of such action.

Section 7. Chairman of the Board, Quorum, Required Vote and Adjournment . The Board of Directors may elect, by the affirmative vote of a majority of the directors then in office, a Chairman of the Board. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Sun Cardinal, LLC shall have the right to designate the Chairman of the Board of Directors for so long as Sun Cardinal, LLC, including through its Affiliates, beneficially owns at least thirty percent (30%) of the outstanding Common Stock of the Corporation. The Chairman of the Board may be a director or an officer of the Corporation. Subject to the provisions of these Bylaws and the direction of the Board of Directors, he or she shall perform all duties and have all powers which are commonly incident to the position of Chairman of the Board or which are delegated to him or her by the Board of Directors, preside at all meetings of the stockholders and Board of Directors at which he or she is present and have such powers and perform such duties as the Board of Directors may from time to time prescribe. If the Chairman of the Board is not present at a meeting of the stockholders or the Board of Directors, the Chief Executive Officer (if the Chief Executive Officer is a director and is not also the Chairman of the Board) shall preside at such meeting, and, if the Chief Executive Officer is not present at such meeting, a majority of the directors present at such meeting shall elect one of the directors present at the meeting to so preside. A majority of the directors then in office shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. Unless by

 

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express provision of an applicable law, the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws a different vote is required, the affirmative vote of a majority of directors present at a meeting at which a quorum is present shall be the act of the Board of Directors. At any meeting of the Board of Directors, business shall be transacted in such order and manner as the Board of Directors may from time to time determine. If a quorum shall not be present at any meeting of the Board of Directors, the directors present thereat may, to the fullest extent permitted by law, adjourn the meeting from time to time, without notice other than announcement at the meeting, until a quorum shall be present.

Section 8. Committees . The Board of Directors (i) may, by resolution passed by a majority of the directors then in office, designate one or more committees, including an executive committee, consisting of one or more of the directors of the Corporation, and (ii) shall during such period of time as any securities of the Corporation are listed on any exchange, by resolution passed by a majority of the directors then in office, designate all committees required by the rules and regulations of such exchange. Sun Cardinal, LLC (“ Sun Cardinal ”) shall have the right to designate the chairman of each committee designated by the Board of Directors for so long as Sun Cardinal, including through its Affiliates, beneficially owns at least thirty percent (30%) of the outstanding Common Stock of the Corporation; provided that, the committee membership of each committee designated by the Board of Directors will comply with the applicable rules of the exchange on which any securities of the Corporation are listed. The Board of Directors may designate one or more directors as alternate members of any committee, who may replace any absent or disqualified member at any meeting of the committee. Except to the extent restricted by applicable law or the Certificate of Incorporation, each such committee, to the extent provided by the DGCL and in the resolution creating it, shall have and may exercise all the powers and authority of the Board of Directors. Each such committee shall serve at the pleasure of the Board of Directors as may be determined from time to time by resolution adopted by the Board of Directors or as required by the rules and regulations of such exchange, if applicable. Each committee shall keep regular minutes of its meetings and report the same to the Board of Directors upon request.

Section 9. Committee Rules . Each committee of the Board of Directors may fix its own rules of procedure and shall hold its meetings as provided by such rules, except as may otherwise be provided by a resolution of the Board of Directors designating such committee or as otherwise provided herein or required by law or the Certificate of Incorporation. Adequate provision shall be made for notice to members of all meetings. Unless otherwise provided in such a resolution, the presence of at least a majority of the members of the committee shall be necessary to constitute a quorum. All matters shall be determined by a majority vote of the members present at a meeting at which a quorum is present. Unless otherwise provided in such a resolution, in the event that a member and that member’s alternate, if alternates are designated by the Board of Directors, of such committee is or are absent or disqualified, the member or members thereof present at any meeting and not disqualified from voting, whether or not such member or members constitute a quorum, may unanimously appoint another member of the Board of Directors to act at the meeting in place of any such absent or disqualified member.

Section 10. Action by Written Consent . Unless otherwise restricted by the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws, any action required or permitted to be taken at any meeting of the Board of Directors, or of any committee thereof, may be taken without a meeting if all members

 

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of the Board of Directors or such committee, as the case may be, consent thereto in writing or by electronic transmission, and the writing or writings or electronic transmission or transmissions are filed with the minutes of proceedings of the board or committee. Such filing shall be in paper form if the minutes are maintained in paper form and shall be in electronic form if the minutes are maintained in electronic form.

Section 11. Compensation . Unless otherwise restricted by the Certificate of Incorporation, the Board of Directors shall have the authority to fix the compensation, including fees, reimbursement of expenses and equity compensation of directors for services to the Corporation in any capacity, including for attendance of meetings of the Board of Directors or participation on any committees. No such payment shall preclude any director from serving the Corporation in any other capacity and receiving compensation therefor.

Section 12. Reliance on Books and Records . A member of the Board of Directors, or a member of any committee designated by the Board of Directors shall, in the performance of such members’ duties, be fully protected in relying in good faith upon records of the Corporation and upon such information, opinions, reports or statements presented to the Corporation by any of the Corporation’s officers or employees, or committees of the Board of Directors, or by any other person as to matters the member reasonably believes are within such other person’s professional or expert competence and who has been selected with reasonable care by or on behalf of the Corporation.

Section 13. Telephonic and Other Meetings . Unless restricted by the Certificate of Incorporation, any one or more members of the Board of Directors or any committee thereof may participate in a meeting of the Board of Directors or such committee by means of conference telephone or other communications equipment by means of which all persons participating in the meeting can hear each other. Participation by such means shall constitute presence in person at a meeting.

ARTICLE IV

OFFICERS

Section 1. Number . The officers of the Corporation shall be elected by the Board of Directors and shall consist of a Chief Executive Officer, a President, one or more Vice Presidents, a Secretary, a Chief Financial Officer and such other officers and assistant officers as may be deemed necessary or desirable by the Board of Directors. Any number of offices may be held by the same person. In its discretion, the Board of Directors may choose not to fill any office for any period as it may deem advisable.

Section 2. Election and Term of Office . The officers of the Corporation shall be elected annually by the Board of Directors at its first meeting held after each annual meeting of stockholders or as soon thereafter as is convenient. The Chairman of the Board, if any, shall be elected annually by the Board of Directors at the first meeting of the Board of Directors held after each annual meeting of stockholders or as soon thereafter as is convenient. Vacancies may be filled or new offices created and filled by the Board of Directors. Each officer shall hold office until a successor is duly elected and qualified or until his or her earlier death, resignation or removal as hereinafter provided.

 

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Section 3. Removal . Any officer or agent elected by the Board of Directors may be removed with or without cause by the Board of Directors, a duly authorized committee thereof or by such officers as may be designated by a resolution of the Board of Directors, but such removal shall be without prejudice to the contract rights, if any, of the person so removed.

Section 4. Vacancies . Any vacancy occurring in any office because of death, resignation, removal, disqualification or otherwise may be filled by the Board of Directors.

Section 5. Compensation . Compensation of all executive officers shall be approved by the Board of Directors, a duly authorized committee thereof or by such officers as may be designated by resolution of the Board of Directors, and no officer shall be prevented from receiving such compensation by virtue of his or her also being a director of the Corporation.

Section 6. Chief Executive Officer . The Chief Executive Officer shall have the powers and perform the duties incident to that position. The Chief Executive Officer shall, in the absence of the Chairman of the Board, or if a Chairman of the Board shall not have been elected, preside at each meeting of (a) the Board of Directors if the Chief Executive Officer is a director or (b) the stockholders. Subject to the powers of the Board of Directors and the Chairman of the Board, the Chief Executive Officer shall be in general and active charge of the entire business and affairs of the Corporation, and shall be its chief policy making officer. The Chief Executive Officer shall have such other powers and perform such other duties as may be prescribed by the Board of Directors or provided in these Bylaws. The Chief Executive Officer is authorized to execute bonds, mortgages and other contracts requiring a seal, under the seal of the Corporation, except where required or permitted by law to be otherwise signed and executed and except where the signing and execution thereof shall be expressly delegated by the Board of Directors to some other officer or agent of the Corporation. Whenever the President is unable to serve, by reason of sickness, absence or otherwise, the Chief Executive Officer shall perform all the duties and responsibilities and exercise all the powers of the President.

Section 7. The President . The President of the Corporation shall, subject to the powers of the Board of Directors, the Chairman of the Board and the Chief Executive Officer, have general charge of the business, affairs and property of the Corporation, and control over its officers, agents and employees. The President shall see that all orders and resolutions of the Board of Directors are carried into effect. The President is authorized to execute bonds, mortgages and other contracts requiring a seal, under the seal of the Corporation, except where required or permitted by law to be otherwise signed and executed and except where the signing and execution thereof shall be expressly delegated by the Board of Directors to some other officer or agent of the Corporation. The President shall have such other powers and perform such other duties as may be prescribed by the Chairman of the Board, the Chief Executive Officer, the Board of Directors or as may be provided in these Bylaws. The President shall have the powers and perform the duties incident to that position.

 

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Section 8. Vice Presidents . The Vice President, or if there shall be more than one, the Vice Presidents, in the order determined by the Board of Directors or the Chairman of the Board, shall, in the absence or disability of the President, act with all of the powers and be subject to all the restrictions of the President. The Vice Presidents shall also perform such other duties and have such other powers as the Board of Directors, the Chairman of the Board, the Chief Executive Officer, the President or these Bylaws may, from time to time, prescribe. The Vice Presidents may also be designated as Executive Vice Presidents or Senior Vice Presidents, as the Board of Directors may from time to time prescribe. A Vice President shall have the powers and perform the duties incident to that position.

Section 9. The Secretary and Assistant Secretaries . The Secretary shall attend all meetings of the Board of Directors (other than executive sessions thereof) and all meetings of the stockholders and record all the proceedings of the meetings in a book or books to be kept for that purpose or shall ensure that his or her designee attends each such meeting to act in such capacity. Under the Board of Directors’ supervision, the Secretary shall give, or cause to be given, all notices required to be given by these Bylaws or by law; shall have such powers and perform such duties as the Board of Directors, the Chairman of the Board, the Chief Executive Officer, the President or these Bylaws may, from time to time, prescribe; and shall have custody of the corporate seal of the Corporation. The Secretary, or an Assistant Secretary, shall have authority to affix the corporate seal to any instrument requiring it and when so affixed, it may be attested by his or her signature or by the signature of such Assistant Secretary. The Board of Directors may give general authority to any other officer to affix the seal of the Corporation and to attest the affixing by his or her signature. The Assistant Secretary, or if there be more than one, any of the assistant secretaries, shall in the absence or disability of the Secretary, perform the duties and exercise the powers of the Secretary and shall perform such other duties and have such other powers as the Board of Directors, the Chairman of the Board, the Chief Executive Officer, the President, or Secretary may, from time to time, prescribe. The Secretary and any Assistant Secretary shall have the powers and perform the duties incident to those positions.

Section 10. The Chief Financial Officer . The Chief Financial Officer shall have the custody of the corporate funds and securities; shall keep full and accurate accounts of receipts and disbursements in books belonging to the Corporation as shall be necessary or desirable in accordance with applicable law or generally accepted accounting principles; shall deposit all monies and other valuable effects in the name and to the credit of the Corporation as may be ordered by the Chairman of the Board or the Board of Directors; shall receive, and give receipts for, moneys due and payable to the Corporation from any source whatsoever; shall cause the funds of the Corporation to be disbursed when such disbursements have been duly authorized, taking proper vouchers for such disbursements; and shall render to the Board of Directors, at its regular meeting or when the Board of Directors so requires, an account of the Corporation; shall have such powers and perform such duties as the Board of Directors, the Chairman of the Board, the Chief Executive Officer, the President or these Bylaws may, from time to time, prescribe. The Chief Financial Officer shall have the powers and perform the duties incident to that position.

Section 11. Other Officers, Assistant Officers and Agents . Officers, assistant officers and agents, if any, other than those whose duties are provided for in these Bylaws, shall have such authority and perform such duties as may from time to time be prescribed by resolution of the Board of Directors and, to the extent not so provided, as generally pertain to their respective offices, subject to the control of the Board of Directors.

 

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Section 12. Officers’ Bonds or Other Security . If required by the Board of Directors, any officer of the Corporation shall give a bond or other security for the faithful performance of his duties, in such amount and with such surety as the Board of Directors may require.

Section 13. Delegation of Authority . The Board of Directors may by resolution delegate the powers and duties of such officer to any other officer or to any director, or to any other person whom it may select.

ARTICLE V

CERTIFICATES OF STOCK

Section 1. Form . The shares of stock of the Corporation shall be represented by certificates, provided that the Board of Directors may provide by resolution that some or all of any or all classes or series of its stock shall be uncertificated shares. Any such resolution shall not apply to shares represented by a certificate until such certificate is surrendered to the Corporation. If shares are represented by certificates, the certificates shall be in such form as required by applicable law and as determined by the Board of Directors. Each certificate shall certify the number of shares owned by such holder in the Corporation and shall be signed by, or in the name of the Corporation by (i) the Chairman of the Board, the President or a Vice President and (ii) the Treasurer, an Assistant Treasurer, the Secretary or an Assistant Secretary of the Corporation designated by the Board of Directors. Any or all signatures on the certificate may be a facsimile. In case any officer, transfer agent or registrar who has signed, or whose facsimile signature or signatures have been used on, any such certificate or certificates shall cease to be such officer, transfer agent or registrar of the Corporation whether because of death, resignation or otherwise before such certificate or certificates have been issued by the Corporation, such certificate or certificates may nevertheless be issued as though the person or persons who signed such certificate or certificates or whose facsimile signature or signatures have been used thereon had not ceased to be such officer, transfer agent or registrar of the Corporation at the date of issue. All certificates for shares shall be consecutively numbered or otherwise identified. The Board of Directors may appoint a bank or trust company organized under the laws of the United States or any state thereof to act as its transfer agent or registrar, or both in connection with the transfer of any class or series of securities of the Corporation. The Corporation, or its designated transfer agent or other agent, shall keep a book or set of books to be known as the stock transfer books of the Corporation, containing the name of each holder of record, together with such holder’s address and the number and class or series of shares held by such holder and the date of issue. When shares are represented by certificates, the Corporation shall issue and deliver to each holder to whom such shares have been issued or transferred, certificates representing the shares owned by such holder, and shares of stock of the Corporation shall only be transferred on the books of the Corporation by the holder of record thereof or by such holder’s attorney duly authorized in writing, upon surrender to the Corporation or its designated transfer agent or other agent of the certificate or certificates for such shares endorsed by the appropriate person or persons, with such evidence of the authenticity of such endorsement, transfer, authorization and other matters as the Corporation may reasonably require, and accompanied by all necessary stock transfer stamps. In that event, it shall be the duty of the Corporation to issue a new certificate to the person entitled thereto, cancel the old certificate or certificates and record the transaction on its books. When shares are not

 

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represented by certificates, shares of stock of the Corporation shall only be transferred on the books of the Corporation by the holder of record thereof or by such holder’s attorney duly authorized in writing, with such evidence of the authenticity of such transfer, authorization and other matters as the Corporation may reasonably require, and accompanied by all necessary stock transfer stamps, and within a reasonable time after the issuance or transfer of such shares, the Corporation shall send the holder to whom such shares have been issued or transferred a written statement of the information required by applicable law. Unless otherwise provided by applicable law, the Certificate of Incorporation, Bylaws or any other instrument, the rights and obligations of the holders of uncertificated stock and the rights and obligations of the holders of certificates representing stock of the same class and series shall be identical.

Section 2. Lost Certificates . The Corporation may issue or direct a new certificate or certificates or uncertificated shares to be issued in place of any certificate or certificates previously issued by the Corporation alleged to have been lost, stolen or destroyed, upon the making of an affidavit of that fact by the person claiming the certificate of stock to be lost, stolen or destroyed. When authorizing such issue of a new certificate or certificates or uncertificated shares, the Corporation may, in its discretion and as a condition precedent to the issuance thereof, require the owner of such lost, stolen or destroyed certificate or certificates, or his or her legal representative, to give the Corporation a bond in such sum as it may direct, sufficient to indemnify the Corporation against any claim that may be made against the Corporation on account of the alleged loss, theft or destruction of any such certificate or the issuance of such new certificate or uncertificated shares.

Section 3. Registered Stockholders . The Corporation shall be entitled to recognize the exclusive right of a person registered on its records as the owner of shares of stock to receive dividends, to vote, to receive notifications and otherwise to exercise all the rights and powers of an owner. The Corporation shall not be bound to recognize any equitable or other claim to or interest in such share or shares of stock on the part of any other person, whether or not it shall have express or other notice thereof, except as otherwise required by applicable law.

Section 4. Fixing a Record Date for Purposes Other Than Stockholder Meetings or Actions by Written Consent . In order that the Corporation may determine the stockholders entitled to receive payment of any dividend or other distribution or allotment or any rights or the stockholders entitled to exercise any rights in respect of any change, conversion or exchange of stock, or for the purposes of any other lawful action (other than stockholder meetings and stockholder written consents which are expressly governed by Sections 12 and 13 of ARTICLE II hereof), the Board of Directors or a committee thereof designated by the Board of Directors may fix a record date, which record date shall not precede the date upon which the resolution fixing the record date is adopted, and which record date shall be not more than sixty (60) days prior to such action. If no record date is fixed, the record date for determining stockholders for any such purpose shall be at the close of business on the day on which the Board of Directors or a committee thereof designated by the Board of Directors adopts the resolution relating thereto.

Section 5. Regulations . The issue, transfer, conversion and registration of certificates of stock shall be governed by such other regulations as the Board of Directors may establish.

 

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ARTICLE VI

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Section 1. Dividends . Subject to the provisions of statutes and the Certificate of Incorporation, dividends upon the shares of capital stock of the Corporation may be declared and paid by the Board of Directors, in accordance with applicable law. Dividends may be paid in cash, in property or in shares of the Corporation’s theretofore unissued capital stock, subject to the provisions of applicable law and the Certificate of Incorporation. Before payment of any dividend, there may be set aside out of any funds of the Corporation available for dividends such sum or sums as the Board of Directors from time to time, in its absolute discretion, think proper as a reserve or reserves to meet contingencies, or for equalizing dividends, or for repairing or maintaining any property of the Corporation or for such other purpose as the Board of Directors may think conducive to the interests of the Corporation. The Board of Directors may modify or abolish any such reserves in the manner in which they were created.

Section 2. Checks, Notes, Drafts, Etc . All checks, notes, drafts or other orders for the payment of money of the Corporation shall be signed, endorsed or accepted in the name of the Corporation by such officer, officers, person or persons as from time to time may be authorized by the Board of Directors or by an officer or officers authorized by the Board of Directors to make such designation.

Section 3. Contracts . In addition to the powers otherwise granted to officers pursuant to ARTICLE IV hereof, the Board of Directors may authorize any officer or officers, or any agent or agents, in the name and on behalf of the Corporation to enter into or execute and deliver any and all deeds, bonds, mortgages, contracts and other obligations or instruments, and such authority may be general or confined to specific instances.

Section 4. Loans . Subject to compliance with applicable law (including Section 13(k) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934), the Corporation may lend money to, or guarantee any obligation of, or otherwise assist any officer or other employee of the Corporation or of its subsidiaries, including any officer or employee who is a director of the Corporation or its subsidiaries, whenever, in the judgment of the directors, such loan, guaranty or assistance may reasonably be expected to benefit the Corporation. The loan, guaranty or other assistance may be with or without interest, and may be unsecured, or secured in such manner as the Board of Directors shall approve, including, without limitation, a pledge of shares of stock of the Corporation. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to deny, limit or restrict the powers of guaranty or warranty of the Corporation at common law or under any statute.

Section 5. Fiscal Year . The fiscal year of the Corporation shall be fixed by resolution of the Board of Directors.

Section 6. Corporate Seal . The Board of Directors may provide a corporate seal which shall be in the form of a circle and shall have inscribed thereon the name of the Corporation and the words “Corporate Seal, Delaware.” The seal may be used by causing it or a facsimile thereof to be impressed or affixed or reproduced or otherwise. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no seal shall be required by virtue of this Section 6.

 

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Section 7. Voting Securities Owned By Corporation . The Chairman of the Board, the Chief Executive Officer, the President or the Chief Financial Officer shall have power to vote and otherwise act on behalf of the Corporation, in person or by proxy, at any meeting of stockholders of or with respect to any action of stockholders of any other corporation in which this Corporation may hold securities and otherwise to exercise any and all rights and powers which this Corporation may possess by reason of its ownership of securities in such other corporation, unless the Board of Directors specifically confers authority to vote or act with respect thereto, which authority may be general or confined to specific instances, upon some other person or officer. Any person authorized to vote securities shall have the power to appoint proxies, with general power of substitution.

Section 8. Time Periods . In applying any provision of these Bylaws which requires that an act be done or not be done a specified number of days prior to an event or that an act be done during a period of a specified number of days prior to an event, calendar days shall be used, the day of the doing of the act shall be excluded and the day of the event shall be included.

Section 9. Inspection of Books and Records . Subject to applicable law, the Board of Directors shall have power from time to time to determine to what extent and at what times and places and under what conditions and regulations the accounts and books of the Corporation, or any of them, shall be open to the inspection of the stockholders; and no stockholder shall have any right to inspect any account or book or document of the Corporation, except as conferred by the laws of the State of Delaware, unless and until authorized to do so by resolution of the Board of Directors.

Section 10. Facsimile Signatures . In addition to the provisions for use of facsimile signatures elsewhere specifically authorized in these Bylaws, facsimile signatures of any officer or officers of the Corporation may be used whenever and as authorized by the Board of Directors or a committee thereof.

Section 11. Section Headings . Section headings in these Bylaws are for convenience of reference only and shall not be given any substantive effect in limiting or otherwise construing any provision herein.

Section 12. Inconsistent Provisions . In the event that any provision of these Bylaws is or becomes inconsistent with any provision of the Certificate of Incorporation, the DGCL or any other applicable law, the provision of these Bylaws shall not be given any effect to the extent of such inconsistency but shall otherwise be given full force and effect.

 

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ARTICLE VII

INDEMNIFICATION

Section 1. Right to Indemnification and Advancement . Each person who was or is made a party or is threatened to be made a party to or is otherwise involved (including involvement, without limitation, as a witness) in any actual or threatened action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (a “ proceeding ”), by reason of the fact that he or she is or was a director or officer of the Corporation or, while a director or officer of the Corporation, is or was serving at the request of the Corporation as an employee or agent of the Corporation or as a director, officer, partner, member, trustee, administrator, employee or agent of another corporation or of a partnership, joint venture, limited liability company, trust or other enterprise, including service with respect to an employee benefit plan (an “ indemnitee ”), whether the basis of such proceeding is alleged action in an official capacity as a director or officer or in any other capacity while serving as a director or officer, shall be indemnified and held harmless by the Corporation to the fullest extent authorized by the DGCL, as the same exists or may hereafter be amended (but, in the case of any such amendment, only to the extent that such amendment permits the Corporation to provide broader indemnification rights than permitted prior thereto), against all expense, liability and loss (including attorneys’ fees and related disbursements, judgments, fines, excise taxes, penalties and amounts paid or to be paid in settlement) reasonably incurred or suffered by such indemnitee in connection therewith and such indemnification shall continue as to an indemnitee who has ceased to be a director, officer, partner, member, trustee, administrator, employee or agent and shall inure to the benefit of the indemnitee’s heirs, executors and administrators; provided, however, that, except as provided in this Section 1 of this ARTICLE VII with respect to proceedings to enforce rights to indemnification, the Corporation shall indemnify any such indemnitee in connection with a proceeding (or part thereof) initiated by such indemnitee only if such proceeding (or part thereof) was authorized by the Board of Directors of the Corporation. The right to indemnification conferred in this Section 1 of this ARTICLE VII shall be a contract right. In addition to the right to indemnification conferred herein, an indemnitee shall also have the right to be paid by the Corporation the expenses incurred in defending any such proceeding in advance of its final disposition (an “ advance of expenses ”); provided, however, that if and to the extent that the DGCL requires, an advance of expenses incurred by an indemnitee in his or her capacity as a director or officer (and not in any capacity in which service was or is rendered by such indemnitee, including without limitation, service to an employee benefit plan) shall be made only upon delivery to the Corporation of an undertaking (an “ undertaking ”), by or on behalf of such indemnitee, to repay all amounts so advanced if it shall ultimately be determined by final judicial decision from which there is no further right to appeal (a “ final adjudication ”) that such indemnitee is not entitled to be indemnified for such expenses under this Section 1 of this Article VII or otherwise. The Corporation may also, by action of its Board of Directors, provide indemnification and advancement of expenses to employees and agents of the Corporation.

Section 2. Procedure for Indemnification . Any indemnification of a director or officer of the Corporation or advance of expenses (including attorneys’ fees, costs and charges) under this Section 2 of this ARTICLE VII shall be made promptly, and in any event within forty-five days (or, in the case of an advance of expenses, twenty days, provided that the director or officer has delivered the undertaking contemplated by Section 1 of this ARTICLE VII if required), upon the written request of the director or officer. If the Corporation denies a written request for indemnification or advance of expenses, in whole or in part, or if payment in full pursuant to such request is not made within forty-five days (or, in the case of an advance of expenses, twenty days, provided that the director or officer has delivered the undertaking contemplated by Section 1 of this ARTICLE VII if required), the right to indemnification or advances as granted by this ARTICLE VII shall be enforceable by the director or officer in any court of competent

 

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jurisdiction. Such person’s costs and expenses incurred in connection with successfully establishing his or her right to indemnification, in whole or in part, in any such action shall also be indemnified by the Corporation, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law. It shall be a defense to any such action (other than an action brought to enforce a claim for the advance of expenses where the undertaking required pursuant to Section 1 of this ARTICLE VII, if any, has been tendered to the Corporation) that the claimant has not met the standards of conduct which make it permissible under the DGCL for the Corporation to indemnify the claimant for the amount claimed, but the burden of such defense shall be on the Corporation to the fullest extent permitted by law. Neither the failure of the Corporation (including its Board of Directors, independent legal counsel or its stockholders) to have made a determination prior to the commencement of such action that indemnification of the claimant is proper in the circumstances because he or she has met the applicable standard of conduct set forth in the DGCL, nor an actual determination by the Corporation (including its Board of Directors, independent legal counsel or its stockholders) that the claimant has not met such applicable standard of conduct, shall be a defense to the action or create a presumption that the claimant has not met the applicable standard of conduct. In any suit brought by the indemnitee to enforce a right to indemnification or to an advancement of expenses hereunder, or brought by the Corporation to recover an advancement of expenses pursuant to the terms of an undertaking, the burden of proving that the indemnitee is not entitled to be indemnified, or to such advancement of expenses, under this ARTICLE VII or otherwise shall be on the Corporation. The procedure for indemnification of other employees and agents for whom indemnification and advancement of expenses is provided pursuant to Section 1 of this ARTICLE VII shall be the same procedure set forth in this Section 2 of this ARTICLE VII for directors or officers, unless otherwise set forth in an action of the Board of Directors providing indemnification and advancement of expenses for such employee or agent.

Section 3. Insurance . The Corporation may purchase and maintain insurance on its own behalf and on behalf of any person who is or was or has agreed to become a director, officer, trustee, employee or agent of the Corporation or is or was serving at the request of the Corporation as a director, officer, partner, member, trustee, administrator, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, limited liability company, trust or other enterprise against any expense, liability or loss asserted against him or her and incurred by him or her in any such capacity, or arising out of his or her status as such, whether or not the Corporation would have the power to indemnify such person against such expenses, liability or loss under the DGCL.

Section 4. Service for Subsidiaries . Any person serving as a director, officer, partner, member, trustee, administrator, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, limited liability company, trust or other enterprise, at least 50% of whose equity interests are owned by the Corporation (a “ subsidiary ” for purposes of this ARTICLE VII) shall be conclusively presumed to be serving in such capacity at the request of the Corporation.

Section 5. Reliance . Persons who after the date of the adoption of this provision become or remain directors or officers of the Corporation or who, while a director or officer of the Corporation, become or remain a director, officer, employee or agent of a subsidiary, shall be conclusively presumed to have relied on the rights to indemnity, advance of expenses and other rights contained in this ARTICLE VII in entering into or continuing such service. The rights to

 

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indemnification and to the advance of expenses conferred in this ARTICLE VII shall apply to claims made against an indemnitee arising out of acts or omissions which occurred or occur both prior and subsequent to the adoption hereof. Any amendment, alteration or repeal of this ARTICLE VII that adversely affects any right of an indemnitee or its successors shall be prospective only and shall not limit, eliminate, or impair any such right with respect to any proceeding involving any occurrence or alleged occurrence of any action or omission to act that took place prior to such amendment or repeal.

Section 6. Non-Exclusivity of Rights; Continuation of Rights to Indemnification . The rights to indemnification and to the advance of expenses conferred in this ARTICLE VII shall not be exclusive of any other right which any person may have or hereafter acquire under the Certificate of Incorporation or under any statute, by-law, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors or otherwise. All rights to indemnification under this ARTICLE VII shall be deemed to be a contract between the Corporation and each director or officer of the Corporation who serves or served in such capacity at any time while this ARTICLE VII is in effect. Any repeal or modification of this ARTICLE VII or repeal or modification of relevant provisions of the DGCL or any other applicable laws shall not in any way diminish any rights to indemnification and advancement of expenses of such director or officer or the obligations of the Corporation arising hereunder with respect to any proceeding arising out of, or relating to, any actions, transactions or facts occurring prior to the final adoption of such repeal or modification.

Section 7. Merger or Consolidation . For purposes of this ARTICLE VII, references to the “Corporation” shall include, in addition to the resulting corporation, any constituent corporation (including any constituent of a constituent) absorbed in a consolidation or merger which, if its separate existence had continued, would have had power and authority to indemnify its directors, officers and employees or agents, so that any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of such constituent corporation, or is or was serving at the request of such constituent corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, shall stand in the same position under this ARTICLE VII with respect to the resulting or surviving corporation as he or she would have with respect to such constituent corporation if its separate existence had continued.

Section 8. Savings Clause . If this ARTICLE VII or any portion hereof shall be invalidated on any ground by any court of competent jurisdiction, then the Corporation shall nevertheless indemnify and advance expenses to each person entitled to indemnification under Section 1 of this ARTICLE VII as to all expense, liability and loss (including attorneys’ fees and related disbursements, judgments, fines, excise taxes, penalties and amounts paid or to be paid in settlement) actually and reasonably incurred or suffered by such person and for which indemnification and advancement of expenses is available to such person pursuant to this ARTICLE VII to the fullest extent permitted by any applicable portion of this ARTICLE VII that shall not have been invalidated and to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.

 

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ARTICLE VIII

AMENDMENTS

These Bylaws may be amended, altered, changed or repealed or new Bylaws adopted only in accordance with Section 1 of ARTICLE ELEVEN of the Certificate of Incorporation.

 

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Exhibit 10.1

 

 

 

SHARED SERVICES AGREEMENT

by and between

KELLWOOD COMPANY, LLC

and

VINCE, LLC

Dated as of November 27, 2013

 

 

 


TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

ARTICLE I Definitions

     1   

1.1  

  

Certain Defined Terms in this Agreement

     1   

1.2  

  

Interpretation

     4   

ARTICLE II Services

     4   

2.1  

  

Service Schedules

     4   

2.2  

  

Performance of Services

     4   

ARTICLE III Charges and Billing; Taxes

     6   

3.1  

  

Fees for Services

     6   

3.2  

  

Fees for New Services

     6   

3.3  

  

Fees for Services Provided by Third Party Service Providers

     6   

3.4  

  

Invoices

     6   

3.5  

  

Quarterly True-Up

     7   

3.6  

  

Late Payments

     8   

3.7  

  

Taxes

     8   

ARTICLE IV Term

     8   

4.1  

  

Agreement

     8   

4.2  

  

Service Schedules

     8   

4.3  

  

Termination for Cause

     8   

4.4  

  

Termination of Individual Services

     8   

4.5  

  

Termination Assistance

     9   

ARTICLE V Confidentiality

     9   

5.1  

  

Confidential Information

     9   

5.2  

  

Standard of Care; Disclosure

     10   

5.3  

  

Data Privacy

     10   

ARTICLE VI Indemnification

     10   

6.1  

  

Obligation of the Service Provider to Indemnify

     10   

6.2  

  

Obligation of the Recipient to Indemnify

     10   

ARTICLE VII Exclusion of Certain Damages and Sole Remedy

     10   

7.1  

  

EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES AND SOLE REMEDY

     10   

7.2  

  

Sole Remedy

     11   

7.3  

  

Disclaimer of Warranties

     11   

7.4  

  

Force Majeure

     11   

7.5  

  

Specific Performance

     11   

ARTICLE VIII Miscellaneous

     12   

8.1  

  

Shared Contracts

     12   

8.2  

  

Independent Contractors

     13   

8.3  

  

Employees

     13   

8.4  

  

Intellectual Property

     13   

8.5  

  

Dispute Resolution

     13   


8.6  

  

Notices

     14   

8.7  

  

Successors and Assigns

     15   

8.8  

  

Amendment and Waiver

     15   

8.9  

  

Counterparts

     15   

8.10

  

Headings

     15   

8.11

  

Governing Law

     15   

8.12

  

Severability

     15   

8.13

  

Entire Agreement

     15   

8.14

  

Further Assurances

     16   

8.15

  

Publicity

     16   

 

ii


SHARED SERVICES AGREEMENT

THIS SHARED SERVICES AGREEMENT (this “ A greement ”) is made and entered into as of November 27, 2013 (“ Effective Date ”) by and between Kellwood Company, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“ Kellwood ”) and Vince, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“ Vince ”). Each of Kellwood and Vince are referred to herein sometimes as a “ Party ” and together as the “ Parties .”

WITNESSETH:

WHEREAS, each of the Parties has requested that the other Party provide certain services to the first Party; and

WHEREAS, each of the Parties has agreed to provide services to and accept services from the other Party.

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and the respective representations, warranties, covenants, agreements, and conditions contained herein, the Parties agree as follows.

ARTICLE I

Definitions

1.1 Certain Defined Terms in this Agreement . The following terms when used in this Agreement with initial capital letters shall have the respective meanings set forth in this Section 1.1 .

(a) “ Accounting Firm ” shall mean Ernst & Young, and if Ernst & Young refuses or is unable to perform the requested services, Deloitte. If Deloitte refuses or is unable to perform the requested services, Kellwood and Vince shall negotiate in good faith to agree upon a different valuation firm, which valuation firm shall not be one of the ten largest accounting firms in the United States.

(b) “ Agreement ” shall have the meaning set forth in the preamble.

(c) “ Affiliate ” of any particular Person means any other Person controlling, controlled by or under common control with such particular Person, where “control” means the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct the management and policies of a Person whether through the ownership of voting securities, contract or otherwise; provided that with respect to either Party to this Agreement, the other Party shall not be deemed to be its Affiliate.

(d) “ Business Day ” means any day that is not a Saturday, a Sunday or a day on which banks are required to be closed in the state of New York.

(e) “ Confidential Information ” means all information of a confidential or proprietary nature (whether or not specifically labeled or identified as “confidential”), in any form or medium, that relates to the business, products, financial condition, services, or research


or development of either Party or their respective suppliers, distributors, customers, independent contractors or other business relations. Confidential Information includes, but is not limited to, the following: (i) internal business and financial information (including information relating to strategic and staffing plans and practices, business, finances, training, marketing, promotional and sales plans and practices, cost, rate and pricing structures and accounting and business methods); (ii) identities of, individual requirements of, specific contractual arrangements with, and information about, either Party’s suppliers, distributors, customers, independent contractors or other business relations and their confidential information; (iii) trade secrets, know-how, compilations of data and analyses, techniques, systems, formulae, recipes, research, records, reports, manuals, documentation, models, data and databases relating thereto; (iv) inventions, innovations, improvements, developments, methods, designs, analyses, drawings, reports and all similar or related information (whether or not patentable); and (v) other intellectual property rights. Notwithstanding the foregoing, “ Confidential Information ” does not include (a) information that either Party can demonstrate was or has become generally available to the public other than as a result of disclosure by such Party or its Affiliates, (b) information that is disclosed to a Party or its Affiliates, other than under an obligation of confidentiality, by a third party who had no obligation not to disclose such information to others or (c) information that is independently developed after the date hereof by a Party or its Affiliates without the use of the other Party’s or its Affiliates’ Confidential Information.

(f) “ Effective Date ” shall have the meaning set forth in the preamble.

(g) “ Fees ” shall mean the charges for the Services payable by the Recipient to Service Provider.

(h) “ Governmental Authority ” means any government, nation, state, province, territory or any political subdivision thereof and any department, commission, board, bureau, agency, instrumentality, or other regulatory authority of any of the foregoing, whether federal, state, local transnational or foreign.

(i) “ Law ” means any applicable law, rule, regulation, judgment, injunction, order, decree or other restriction of any Governmental Authority.

(j) “ Loss ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 6.1 .

(k) “ Kellwood Business ” means the business of Kellwood immediately prior to the Closing, other than the Vince Business.

(l) “ New Services ” means any services that prior to the date of this Agreement were not received by the Recipient through or from the Service Provider and which are added to the Schedules after the Effective Date pursuant to Section 2.1(b) upon mutual agreement by the Parties.

(m) “ New Services Fees ” means the fees for New Services, which shall be mutually agreed upon in good faith by the Parties.

 

2


(n) “ Person ” means an individual, sole proprietorship, a partnership, a corporation, a limited liability company, an association, a joint stock company, a trust, a joint venture, an unincorporated organization or a Governmental Authority.

(o) “ Prime Rate ” means the rate that Wells Fargo (or its successor or another major money center commercial bank agreed to by the parties) announces as its prime lending rate, as in effect from time to time.

(p) “ Recipient ” means a Party in its capacity of receiving Services from the other Party.

(q) “ Recipient Expense ” means any amounts that may be paid by Service Provider on behalf of Recipient, including payroll, benefits, taxes, vendor payments or any other Recipient related expenses.

(r) “ Schedule ” means a schedule attached hereto.

(s) “ Service Provider ” means a Party in its capacity of providing Services to the other Party.

(t) “ Service Term ” means the term of each Service which shall begin on the Effective Date, or such later date, if any, set forth on the Schedule related to such Service, and shall continue indefinitely unless (i) an express expiration date is set forth in the applicable Schedule with respect to such Service, in which case such Service Term shall be through the expiration date expressly set forth in the applicable Schedule with respect to such Service (unless terminated earlier pursuant to Section 4.3 or Section 4.4 ) or (ii) terminated pursuant to Section 4.3 or Section 4.4 .

(u) “ Services ” means (i) the services set forth on the Schedules attached hereto, (ii) if not set forth on the Schedules attached hereto, such other services that the Recipient received through or from the Service Provider in the ordinary course of business within the twelve (12) months prior to the date of this Agreement and which are requested in writing by the Recipient (other than legal services, store design and any other services that Vince is currently performing as of the date hereof, which shall not be services hereunder) and (iii) the New Services, in each case as further described in Article II .

(v) “ Third Party Service Provider ” means a third party that has been engaged by a Service Provider to assist in the delivery and performance of its obligations under this Agreement.

(w) “ Term ” means the period commencing on the Effective Date and, unless sooner terminated pursuant to the terms hereof, continuing in effect until the termination of all Service Terms.

(x) “ Vince Business ” means the design, development, manufacturing, sourcing, marketing, licensing, distribution and sale of Vince branded apparel and related accessories through wholesale, retail stores, e-commerce and any other distribution channels.

 

3


1.2 Interpretation . When a reference is made to an Article, Section or Schedule, such reference shall be to an Article, Section or Schedule of or to this Agreement unless otherwise indicated. Whenever the words “include,” “includes” or “including” are used in this Agreement, they shall be deemed to be followed by the words “without limitation” and, unless the context otherwise requires, “neither,” “nor,” “any,” “either” and “or” shall not be exclusive. Unless the context requires otherwise, words using the singular or plural number also include the plural or singular number, respectively, and the use of any gender herein shall be deemed to include the other genders.

ARTICLE II

Services

2.1 Service Schedules.

(a) Commencing on the Effective Date and continuing throughout the Service Term applicable to each Service, the Service Provider (including through its Affiliates and Third Party Service Providers) shall provide the Services to the Recipient pursuant to the terms of this Agreement and as set forth in the Schedules. In the event of any discrepancy between this Agreement and any Schedule, this Agreement shall govern unless the Schedule expressly overrides this Agreement.

(b) Unless otherwise expressly set forth on any particular Schedule or Schedules (in which such case the terms set forth on such Schedule or Schedules shall govern the modification or supplementation of such Schedule or Schedules), after the date hereof, the Schedules may be modified or supplemented only by mutual agreement of the Parties.

(c) Notwithstanding the fact that prior to the Effective Date the Service Provider may have performed Services without charge for the Recipient according to past practice in the ordinary course of business, the Recipient is hereby required to pay the Service Provider for such Services in accordance with the terms of the Agreement including Article III hereof.

2.2 Performance of Services.

(a) The Service Provider covenants that it shall perform the Services in a commercially reasonable and workmanlike manner, and in any case, in a manner consistent with the level of services such Service Provider would in similar circumstances provide to its Affiliates through its companies or businesses, or as otherwise provided in the Schedules. During the Term, the Service Provider shall use commercially reasonable efforts to maintain the resources appropriate to provide the Services with not less than the level of care, quality, and timeliness that the Service Provider would use to provide similar services to its own businesses. The Service Provider shall promptly notify the Recipient of any staffing or resource problems of which it becomes aware of that could reasonably be considered to materially affect the Services. The Parties shall work together in good faith to remedy any such problems.

(b) The Recipient understands that prior to the Effective Date, the Service Provider may have contracted with Third Party Service Providers to provide services in connection with all or any portion of the Services to be provided hereunder. The Service Provider reserves the right to continue in accordance with past practice in the ordinary course of business to subcontract with Third Party Service Providers to provide the Services.

 

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(c) The Service Provider shall perform the Services in compliance in all material respects with all applicable Laws. The Service Provider shall promptly notify the Recipient of any compliance problems of which it becomes aware that could reasonably be considered to materially and adversely affect the Services or the Recipient.

(d) Both Parties shall use commercially reasonable efforts to obtain as promptly as possible the consents, approvals, licenses or authorizations of any Person as may be necessary for the performance of its obligations pursuant to this Agreement, provided that the Service Provider shall be the primary point of contact with such Person. The Recipient shall be responsible for any costs associated with obtaining such consents, approvals, licenses or authorizations, provided that the Service Provider must obtain the Recipient’s prior consent to such costs before agreeing to or otherwise incurring such costs. In the event that the consent, approval, license or authorization of any such Person, if required, is not obtained within a reasonable time period after the Effective Date, the Parties shall work together to develop a commercially reasonable alternative for the provision of the Services affected by such failure to obtain consent. While the Parties are developing such an alternative plan, the Service Provider shall be relieved of its obligations as set forth in Section 2.2(e) and the Recipient shall not be obligated to pay for such Services. If the Parties elect such an alternative plan, the Service Provider shall provide the Services in such alternative manner at the Recipient’s sole cost and expense (unless otherwise agreed in writing by the Parties). If the Parties do not accept such alternative, or no commercially reasonable alternative exists, the Service Provider shall be relieved of its obligation to provide such Service and Recipient shall have no obligation to pay for such Service.

(e) The Service Provider’s inability to perform any of its responsibilities under this Agreement shall be excused if and to the extent the non-performance is caused by: (i) the failure of the Recipient, its third party providers, its subcontractors, or its or their employees or agents: (A) to perform the Recipient’s obligations under this Agreement, or (B) to provide resources the Service Provider reasonably requested when required; (ii) the wrongful or tortious actions of the Recipient, its third party providers, its subcontractors, or its or their employees or agents; (iii) the Service Provider’s compliance with the Recipient’s instructions, decisions, consents, notices, acceptances, authorizations, waivers, permissions or approvals; or (iv) the improper functioning or unavailability of technology for which Service Provider or any of its Third Party Service Providers does not have operational responsibility. In the event the Recipient fails to perform its obligations hereunder or to provide resources under this Agreement when required, the Service Provider will notify the Recipient in writing of any such failure and nonetheless use commercially reasonable efforts to provide the Services in the absence of such resources, provided that the Recipient will reimburse the Service Provider for any costs reasonably incurred by Service Provider in the course of mitigating, overcoming, or working around the effects of such non-performance.

(f) Review Meetings . The Parties agree to hold review meetings (the “ Review Meetings ”) not less than once each fiscal year of Vince on a date to be set by management of Vince with the consent of Kellwood, which shall not be unreasonably withheld,

 

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conditioned or delayed. Representatives of Vince and of Kellwood shall attend the Review Meeting (and Vince and Kellwood shall use commercially reasonable efforts to cause all Kellwood Affiliates and, if requested by either Party, Third Party Service Providers, in each case that are providing Services hereunder at the time of the meeting to attend the Review Meeting) and such attendees shall review and discuss any operational, strategic or other issues raised by any participant with respect to the provision of the Services, including any New Services or proposed New Services. The Parties intend that the information exchanged at such Review Meetings shall be in addition to ongoing communication between representatives of the Parties with respect to the provision of services hereunder. In the event either Party determines to change their fiscal year, it shall give not less than ninety (90) day’s written notice to the other Party of such change and the Parties shall work in good faith to make such changes as may be reasonably necessary to this Agreement and the Schedules as a result of such fiscal year change.

ARTICLE III

Charges and Billing; Taxes

3.1 Fees for Services . Unless otherwise set forth in the Schedules, the Fees for the Services (other than New Services) shall be the full amount of any and all actual out-of-pocket expenses, including base salary, wages, certain bonuses and other benefits (without providing for any margin of profit or allocation of depreciation or amortization expense) incurred by the Service Provider or its Affiliates in connection with the provision of the Services; provided that in no event shall the Fees be less than the actual out-of-pocket expenses, including base salary, wages, certain bonuses and other benefits (without providing for any margin of profit or allocation of depreciation or amortization expense) incurred by the Service Provider or its Affiliates in connection with the provision of the Services.

3.2 Fees for New Services . The Fees for the New Services shall be the New Services Fees.

3.3 Fees for Services Provided by Third Party Service Providers . The Fees for any Services that the Service Provider provides through a Third Party Service Provider shall be the actual cost incurred by the Service Provider in contracting with the Third Party Service Provider to provide such Service.

3.4 Invoices . The Service Provider shall provide an invoice for the Fees and amounts owed hereunder on a monthly basis in arrears, by the fifteenth (15th) Business Day following the end of each fiscal month commencing with the first completed fiscal month following the Effective Date. Each invoice shall set forth in reasonable detail the applicable Services provided during such period and the corresponding amounts owed for each of the Services. The Recipient shall pay the invoice in full within fifteen (15) Business Days of receiving such invoice. The Service Provider shall give reasonable advance notice of the amount of Recipient Expenses to the Recipient and the Recipient Expenses shall be deposited by Recipient into an account specified by Service Provider at least three (3) Business Days prior to being paid out by Service Provider. Any Recipient Expense that may be paid by Service Provider prior to such deposit shall be promptly, and no later than five (5) Business Days after requested by the Service Provider, reimbursed to the Service Provider by the Recipient. The Recipient shall have the right, upon reasonable written notice to the Service Provider, to

 

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reasonably inspect the books, accounts and records of the Service Provider relating directly to the Services solely for the purposes of verifying the amounts invoiced to the Recipient hereunder; provided , that such access does not unreasonably interfere with the operations of the Service Provider or any of its Affiliates. The Recipient shall bear the cost of any such inspection.

3.5 Quarterly True-Up . Within thirty (30) days following the end of each Vince fiscal quarter, the Service Provider shall deliver to the Recipient a statement (in its final and binding form, the “ True-Up Statement ”) setting forth, in reasonable detail, all (i) amounts invoiced for such fiscal quarter and (ii) the amount (the “ True-Up Amount ”), either to be paid by the Recipient to the Service Provider or by the Service Provider to the Recipient, required to reconcile the actual Fees for such fiscal quarter versus the amount of Fees paid for such fiscal quarter by the Recipient to the Service Provider. During the fifteen (15) days following the Recipient’s receipt of the True-Up Statement, the Recipient shall be permitted to review the Service Provider’s working papers relating to the True-Up Statement. The True-Up Statement shall become final and binding upon the parties fifteen (15) days following the Recipient’s receipt thereof, unless the Recipient gives written notice of its disagreement (a “ Notice of Disagreement ”) to the Service Provider prior to such date. Any Notice of Disagreement shall specify in reasonable detail the nature and dollar amount of any disagreement so asserted. If a timely Notice of Disagreement is received by the Service Provider, then the True-Up Statement (as revised in accordance with clause (x) or (y) below) shall become final and binding upon the parties on the earliest of (x) the date the Parties resolve in writing any differences they have with respect to the matters specified in the Notice of Disagreement or (y) the date all matters in dispute are finally resolved in writing by the Accounting Firm. The True-Up Amount, if any, shall be paid by the applicable Party within five (5) business days of the True-Up Statement becoming final. During the fifteen (15) days following delivery of a Notice of Disagreement, the Service Provider and the Recipient shall seek in good faith to resolve in writing any differences which they may have with respect to the matters specified in the Notice of Disagreement. During such period, the Service Provider shall be permitted to review the Recipient’s working papers relating to the Notice of Disagreement. At the end of such fifteen (15)-day period, the Service Provider and the Recipient shall submit to the Accounting Firm for review and resolution of all matters (but only such matters) that remain in dispute, and the Accounting Firm shall make a final determination of the True-Up Amount in accordance with the guidelines and procedures set forth in this Agreement. The Service Provider and the Recipient will cooperate with the Accounting Firm during the term of its engagement. The Accounting Firm’s determination of True-Up Amount shall be based solely on written presentations submitted by the Service Provider and the Recipient which are in accordance with the guidelines and procedures set forth in this Agreement ( i.e. , not on the basis of an independent review). The Accounting Firm shall consider only the disputed matters that were included in the Notice of Disagreement and the Accounting Firm may not assign a value to any item in dispute greater than the greatest value assigned by the Recipient, on the one hand, or the Service Provider, on the other hand, or less than the smallest value for such item assigned by the Recipient, on the one hand, or the Service Provider on the other hand. The True-Up Statement shall become final and binding on the Parties on the date the Accounting Firm delivers its final resolution in writing to the Parties (which the Accounting Firm shall be instructed to deliver not more than thirty (30) days following submission of such disputed matters). The fees and expenses of the Accounting Firm shall be allocated based upon the percentage which the portion of the contested amount not

 

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awarded to each Party bears to the amount actually contested by such Party in the written presentation to the Accounting Firm. For example, if the Recipient submits a Notice of Disagreement for $1,000, and if Service Provider contests only $500 of the amount claimed by the Recipient, and if the Accounting Firm ultimately resolves the dispute by awarding the Recipient $300 of the $500 contested, then the costs and expenses of the Accounting Firm will be allocated 60% ( i.e ., 300/500) to the Service Provider and 40% ( i.e ., 200/500) to the Recipient.

3.6 Late Payments . Fees not paid when due in accordance with the provisions of Section 3.4 shall bear interest at a rate per annum equal to the Prime Rate plus one percent (1%) from such date due until the date paid (including any disputed Fees to the extent finally determined in accordance with Section 3.5 to be due and payable).

3.7 Taxes . The Recipient shall pay any and all taxes incurred in connection with the Service Provider’s provision of the Services, including all sales, use, value-added, and similar taxes, but excluding taxes based on the Service Provider’s net income.

ARTICLE IV

Term

4.1 Agreement . This Agreement shall remain in effect during the Term; provided that, the provisions of Article V , Article VI , Article VII , and Article VIII , and any other provision of this Agreement and the Service Schedules which by their terms are intended to survive, shall survive the termination or the expiration of this Agreement.

4.2 Service Schedules . The term of each Service shall be the Service Term for that Service.

4.3 Termination for Cause . Either Party may terminate this Agreement if the other Party is in material breach of this Agreement, and such other Party fails to cure such breach within thirty (30) days following receipt of written notice thereof from the non-breaching Party; it being agreed that failure of the Recipient to timely pay invoices pursuant to Section 3.4 (subject to Section 3.5 ) shall constitute a material breach of this Agreement.

4.4 Termination of Individual Services . The Recipient may terminate any or all of the Services (including any portion of a specific Service) at any time for any reason (with or without cause) upon giving the Service Provider the required advanced notice for termination of such Service or Services as set forth in the Schedule applicable to such Service or Services; provided that if the Schedule does not specify a notice requirement for the applicable Service or Services to be terminated, ninety (90) days prior written notice shall be required to be given by the Recipient. The termination of any Service or a portion thereof shall not relieve the Recipient of the obligation to pay for any terminated Services that are provided prior to the effective date of such termination. The Recipient acknowledges that upon the termination of certain Services or portions thereof, the Service Provider may no longer be in a position to provide certain other Services or portions thereof that are related to such terminated Services or terminated portions thereof. Within ten (10) Business Days following the date upon which the Recipient notifies the Service Provider in writing that the Recipient no longer requires the Service Provider to provide a Service or portion thereof (the “ Proposed Terminated Services ”), the Service Provider shall

 

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notify the Recipient in writing of the related Services or portions thereof that the Service Provider will no longer be in a position to provide upon the termination of the Proposed Terminated Services (the “ Additional Terminated Services ”) and the Recipient shall, within five (5) Business Days of such notification by the Service Provider, respond in writing of the Recipient’s determination to (i) terminate the Proposed Terminated Services and the Additional Terminated Services or (ii) withdraw the initial election to terminate the Proposed Terminated Services.

4.5 Termination Assistance . Except as otherwise provided in Article V , upon termination of this Agreement or when any Confidential Information furnished by the disclosing party pursuant to this Agreement is no longer needed for the purposes contemplated by this Agreement, the receiving party shall, at the disclosing party’s written direction, promptly either return to the disclosing party all the disclosing party’s Confidential Information in a tangible form (including all copies thereof and all notes, extracts or summaries based thereon), or certify to the disclosing party that such Confidential Information has been destroyed; provided that the receiving party shall not be required to return or destroy Confidential Information that (a) is required to be retained by law, regulation, rule or policy of any stock exchange or regulatory authority or documented internal retention policies, or (b) is residing in data back-up systems and created in the ordinary course of business; and provided further that any Confidential Information so retained will treated consistent with the receiving party’s own confidential information.

ARTICLE V

Confidentiality

5.1 Confidential Information . Each Party shall maintain, and shall cause such Party’s controlling equity holders, directors, officers, employees, agents, consultants and contractors to maintain, in strict confidence and shall not disclose to any third party (except to its Affiliates and service providers in connection with the provision of the Services that are themselves bound by similar nondisclosure restrictions; provided , that the Party disclosing such Confidential Information to its Affiliates or service providers shall be liable for any disclosures made by such Affiliates or service providers that would, if made by the disclosing Party, violate this Section 5.1 as if the disclosing Party had made such disclosure) any and all Confidential Information, except as may be necessary in order to comply with a requirement of Law, in which case the receiving party shall, if permissible, promptly notify the disclosing party of any such requirement and such disclosing party shall be permitted to seek confidential treatment for such information; provided that any Party or its Affiliates may disclose the terms of this Agreement (without providing notice to the other Party) (i) in any registration statement relating to the initial public offering by Apparel Holding Corp., a Delaware corporation, of its common stock pursuant to an effective registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “ Initial Public Offering ”) and (ii) in order to comply with the disclosure requirements of the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (including but not limited to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended), and the rules and regulations of any exchange on which such Party’s securities are listed.

 

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5.2 Standard of Care; Disclosure . With respect to any such Confidential Information, each of the Parties shall: (i) use the same degree of care in safeguarding the other Party’s Confidential Information as it uses to safeguard its own information which is proprietary and/or treated as confidential; and (ii) upon the discovery of any inadvertent disclosure or unauthorized use of the Confidential Information, or upon obtaining notice of such disclosure or use from the other Party, take or cause to be taken all necessary actions to prevent any further inadvertent disclosure or unauthorized use.

5.3 Data Privacy . Each Party shall use commercially reasonable efforts to develop and implement a written comprehensive information security program to protect personal information and shall use commercially reasonable efforts to implement and maintain appropriate security measures to protect personal information, in each case to the extent required by applicable Laws.

ARTICLE VI

Indemnification

6.1 Obligation of the Service Provider to Indemnify . The Service Provider shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the Recipient, its Affiliates, and its and their respective equity holders, directors, officers, managers, employees, agents, representatives successors and permitted assigns (collectively, the “ Recipient Indemnitees ”) from and against any and all deficiencies, liabilities, obligations or out-of-pocket costs or expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses and costs and expenses of investigation (collectively, “ Losses ”) incurred or suffered by the Recipient Indemnitees attributable or relating to the Service Provider’s actual fraud or breach of this Agreement; provided , that, other than in the case of actual fraud or a breach of Article V hereof by the Service Provider, the amount of such indemnification shall not exceed an aggregate amount equal to the fees actually received by the Service Provider from the Recipient for provision of the Service or Services attributable to or relating to such Losses for the six calendar months preceding the date on which such claim for indemnification is made.

6.2 Obligation of the Recipient to Indemnify . The Recipient shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the Service Provider, its Affiliates and its and their respective equity holders, directors, officers, managers, employees, agents, representatives, successors and permitted assigns (collectively, the “ Service Provider Indemnitees ”) from and against any and all Losses incurred or suffered by any Service Provider Indemnitee attributable or relating to the Recipient’s actual fraud or breach of this Agreement.

ARTICLE VII

Exclusion of Certain Damages and Sole Remedy

7.1 EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES AND SOLE REMEDY . TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, EXCEPT FOR CLAIMS RELATING TO (A) A BREACH OF ARTICLE V OR (B) A PARTY’S GROSS NEGLIGENCE, WILLFUL MISCONDUCT OR ACTUAL FRAUD, NEITHER PARTY WILL BE LIABLE TO THE OTHER FOR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR LOST PROFITS, HOWEVER CAUSED, UNDER ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, ARISING FROM THE PERFORMANCE OF, OR RELATING TO, THIS AGREEMENT REGARDLESS OF WHETHER SUCH PARTY HAS

 

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BEEN NOTIFIED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF, OR THE FORESEEABILITY OF, SUCH DAMAGES. THE PARTIES AGREE THAT THE LIMITATIONS SPECIFIED IN THIS SECTION 7.1 SHALL SURVIVE AND APPLY EVEN IF ANY LIMITED REMEDY SPECIFIED IN THIS AGREEMENT IS FOUND TO HAVE FAILED OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE.

7.2 Sole Remedy . Except as set forth in Section 7.5 , the Parties acknowledge and agree that their sole and exclusive remedy against any other Party or any of their Affiliates and any equityholder, officer, manager, director, employee or agent of any of the foregoing, whether in any individual, corporate or any other capacity, with respect to any and all claims, other than claims for actual fraud or a breach of Article V relating (directly or indirectly) to the subject matter of this Agreement, regardless of the legal theory under which such liability or obligation may be sought to be imposed, whether sounding in contract or tort, or whether at law or in equity, or otherwise, shall be as set forth in Article VI .

7.3 Disclaimer of Warranties . EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY STATED IN THIS AGREEMENT, THE SERVICE PROVIDER AND THE RECIPIENT HEREBY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT, OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

7.4 Force Majeure . Each Party will be excused from acting, failing to act or delay in acting, and no such action, failure or delay shall constitute a breach of this Agreement or otherwise give rise to any liability of such Party, if such action, failure or delay is caused by circumstances beyond such Party’s reasonable control, including, but not limited to, emergency conditions, action or inaction of governmental, civil or military authority, fire, strike, lockout or other labor dispute, war, riot, theft, flood, earthquake or other natural disaster, breakdown of public or private or common carrier communications or transmission facilities, or failure to act or delay resulted from such Party’s reasonable belief based upon the advice of its counsel that the action would have violated Law; provided that if such Party’s failure to act or delay is pursuant to such advice of counsel, such Party shall immediately inform the other Party of such advice and shall propose for the other Party’s approval a commercially reasonable alternative to the advised-against action (and any additional or increased expenses associated with such alternative) and shall take such alternative action upon the other Party’s approval and any additional or increased expense shall be borne by the other Party. In any such event, the Recipient’s and the Service Provider’s obligations hereunder shall be postponed for such time as the performance is suspended or delayed on account of such event and the Parties shall seek to promptly identify and implement a commercially reasonable alternative to minimize any interruption, delay or failure in the provision of the Services hereunder. Each of the Recipient and the Service Provider shall promptly notify the other in writing upon learning of the occurrence of such event, such notice to provide reasonable detail as to the nature of such event, and each of the Recipient and the Service Provider will promptly use its commercially reasonable efforts to resume its performance with the least practicable delay.

7.5 Specific Performance . The Parties agree that money damages would not be an adequate remedy for any breach of the provisions of this Agreement, and any breach of the provisions of this Agreement would result in irreparable injury and damage for which no Party

 

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would have an adequate remedy at law. Therefore, in the event of a breach or a threatened breach of the provisions of this Agreement, each Party, in addition to any other rights and remedies existing in its favor at law or in equity, shall be entitled to specific performance or immediate injunctive or other equitable relief from a court of competent jurisdiction in order to enforce, or prevent any violations of, the provisions of this Agreement (without posting a bond or other security), without having to prove damages. The terms of this Section 7.5 shall not prevent any Party from pursuing any other available remedies for any breach or threatened breach of this Agreement.

ARTICLE VIII

Miscellaneous

8.1 Shared Contracts; Etc. . With respect to any contracts of Kellwood or its Affiliates that are used in the operation of the Vince Business or any contracts of Vince or its Affiliates that are used in the operation of the Kellwood Business (“ Shared Contracts ”), at the Recipient’s (which Recipient may be Kellwood or Vince) request, the Service Provider shall (and shall cause the applicable Affiliate to) use commercially reasonable efforts to assist the Recipient to obtain the agreement of any Third Party to such Shared Contract to the entering into of a new Contract with the Recipient pursuant to which the Recipient or its designated Affiliates will have access to the supplies or services covered by, and receive any other benefit conferred by, such Shared Contract with respect to the Vince Business or Kellwood Business, as applicable. To the extent the foregoing is not possible or practical or in the event that the Third Party does not agree to enter into a new Contract with the Recipient or one of its designated Affiliates, at the Recipient’s request, the Parties shall, in each case to the extent permitted under the applicable Shared Contract, design an arrangement pursuant to which the Recipient or its designated Affiliates will receive substantially all of the material rights and benefits (and will assume and discharge their proportionate share of the obligations or be invoiced for such amounts pursuant to Article III and as further described below) of such Shared Contracts as may be received by the Vince Business or the Kellwood Business, as applicable, prior to the date hereof. Such an arrangement shall include the obligation of the Service Provider or the applicable Affiliate to forward (where possible and practical) supplies or services, as the case may be, received from such Shared Contract with respect to the Vince Business or Kellwood Business, as applicable, to the Recipient or its designated Affiliates in accordance with reasonable instructions from the Recipient, until the term of such Shared Contract terminates in accordance with its terms. The Recipient shall be invoiced by and reimburse the Service Provider or the applicable Affiliate for its proportionate share of the reasonable out-of-pocket and third party costs incurred with respect such Shared Contracts. For example, if a the total amount owed to a third party under a Shared Contract is $1,000 per month by the Service Provider and the Recipient receives 20% of the product, services or benefit of such Shared Contract the Recipient shall be invoiced by and reimburse the Service Provider in an amount equal to $200 per month. Further, after the date hereof, Kellwood shall promptly (but in no event later than ten (10) days after receipt thereof) deliver to Vince any cash, checks or other property that it receives in connection with or relating to the Vince Business following the date hereof. After the date hereof, Vince agrees to promptly (but in no event later than ten (10) days after receipt thereof) deliver to Kellwood any cash, checks or other property that it receives the Kellwood Business.

 

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8.2 Independent Contractors . Except as otherwise agreed in writing in the Schedules by the Parties, in the performance of the Services to be rendered hereunder, the Service Provider shall at all times act as an independent contractor, and is not in any respect an agent, attorney, employee, representative, joint venturer, partner or fiduciary of the Recipient, and the Service Provider shall not declare or represent to any third party that the Service Provider is acting in any respect as agent, attorney, employee, representative, joint venturer or fiduciary of the Recipient. Neither the Service Provider nor the Recipient shall have any power or authority to negotiate or conclude any agreement, or to make any representation or to give any understanding on behalf of the other in any way whatsoever.

8.3 Employees . Individuals employed by the Service Provider, its Affiliates or any Third Party Service Provider who provide Services shall in no respect be considered employees of the Recipient or any of its Affiliates. The Service Provider is an independent contractor and will have exclusive control and direction of its employees engaged in performing the Services hereunder. The Service Provider assumes full responsibility for the payment of local, state, federal payroll, withholding taxes, severance obligations and termination costs for its employees engaged in the performance of Services hereunder.

8.4 Intellectual Property .

(a) Subject to the other terms and conditions of this Agreement and to the receipt of any required consents from the applicable third parties, each Party hereby grants to the other Party a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license, with the right to sublicense, to make, have made, use, sell, offer for sale, import, copy, maintain, modify, enhance, and create derivative works of the intellectual property of such property solely as necessary for the purpose of providing the Services under, in accordance with, and for the duration of, this Agreement.

(b) Each Party acknowledges that, except as expressly provided for in this Section 8.4 , it will acquire no right, title or interest (including any license rights or rights of use) in any intellectual property which is owned or licensed by any other Party, by reason of the provision of the Services provided hereunder. No Party shall remove or alter any copyright, trademark, confidentiality or other proprietary notices that appear on any intellectual property owned or licensed by the other Party, and each Party shall reproduce any such notices on any and all copies thereof. No Party shall attempt to decompile, translate, reverse engineer or make excessive copies of any intellectual property owned or licensed by the other Party, and each Party shall promptly notify the other Party of any such attempt, regardless of whether by such would-be notifying Party or any third party, of which such would-be notifying Party becomes aware.

8.5 Dispute Resolution .

(a) Except as set forth in Section 7.5 , and except disputes under Section 3.5 , any dispute between the Parties shall be resolved as provided in this Section 8.5 , which shall be the sole and exclusive procedure for the resolution of any such disputes. The Parties shall first attempt in good faith to resolve any dispute between them by negotiation. Any Party may give the other Party written notice of any dispute not resolved in the normal course of business. Within ten (10) Business Days after receipt of such written notice, the receiving Party

 

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shall submit to the other a written response. The notice and the response shall include a statement of each Party’s position, a summary of arguments supporting that position and any supporting documentation. Within five (5) Business Days after receipt of the written response by the other Party, the Parties shall meet at a mutually agreeable time and place, and thereafter as often as they reasonably deem necessary, to attempt to resolve the dispute.

(b) If the Parties are unable to resolve, or do not anticipate resolving, the dispute within thirty (30) days (or such longer period as the Parties may agree) after notice of such dispute is received by the non-disputing Party, then the dispute shall be referred to executives at the Service Provider and the Recipient who have authority to settle the dispute. Such executives shall attempt to resolve the dispute by good faith negotiation.

(c) If the Parties’ executives are unable to resolve any dispute within ten (10) Business Days (or such longer period as the parties may agree) after such dispute is referred to them, the Parties shall undertake to promptly initiate mediation and to appoint an independent mediator or, if the Parties cannot agree, the mediator shall be appointed by the American Arbitration Association office in New York, New York. Each Party shall bear its own costs of mediation and shall share equally the cost of the mediator and the mediation proceedings.

8.6 Notices . All notices, requests, demands and other communications permitted or required to be given or delivered under or by reason of the provisions of this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be deemed conclusively to have been given (i) when personally delivered, (ii) when sent by facsimile (with hard copy to follow) during a Business Day (or on the next Business Day if sent after the close of normal business hours or on any non-Business Day), (iii) when sent by electronic mail (with hard copy to follow) during a Business Day (or on the next Business Day if sent after the close of normal business hours or on any non-Business Day), (iv) one (1) Business Day after being sent by reputable overnight express courier (charges prepaid), or (v) three (3) Business Day following mailing by certified or registered mail, postage prepaid and return receipt requested. Unless another address is specified in writing, notices, requests, demands and communications to the Parties shall be sent to the addresses indicated below:

 

  

if to Kellwood :

       

Kellwood Company, LLC

600 Kellwood Parkway

Chesterfield, MO 63017

        Facsimile:    314-576-3388
        Attention:    General Counsel
        Email:    Keith.Grypp@Kellwood.com
   if to Vince :
       

Vince, LLC

1441 Broadway – 6th Floor

New York, New York 10018

        Facsimile:    855-640-3896
        Attention:    General Counsel
        Email:    jdubiner@vince.com

 

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8.7 Successors and Assigns . Neither this Agreement nor the rights or obligations of the Parties hereunder are assignable in whole or in part by either Party without the prior written consent of the other Party, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld; provided that either Party may, without the consent of the other Party, assign all or part of this Agreement to such Party’s lenders as collateral, such Party’s Affiliates or in connection with any transfer or disposition of all or any material portion of such Party’s business.

8.8 Amendment and Waiver.

(a) No failure or delay on the part of the Service Provider or the Recipient in exercising any right, power or remedy hereunder shall operate as a waiver thereof, nor shall any single or partial exercise of any such right, power, or remedy preclude any other or further exercise thereof, or the exercise of any other right, power or remedy. The remedies provided for herein are cumulative and are not exclusive of any remedies that may be available to the Parties at law, in equity or otherwise.

(b) Any amendment, supplement, or modification of or to any provision of this Agreement, any waiver of any provision of this Agreement, and any consent to any departure by any Party from the terms of any provision of this Agreement, shall be effective: (i) only if it is made or given in writing and signed by all the Parties; and (ii) only in the specific instance and for the specific purpose for which made or given.

8.9 Counterparts . This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts and by the Parties in separate counterparts, each of which when so executed shall be deemed to be an original and all of which taken together shall constitute one and the same agreement.

8.10 Headings . The headings in this Agreement are for convenience of reference only and shall not limit or otherwise affect the meaning hereof.

8.11 Governing Law . This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the Laws of the State of Delaware without regard to any conflict of law principles thereof.

8.12 Severability . If any one or more of the provisions contained herein, or the application thereof in any circumstance, is held invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any respect for any reason, the validity, legality and enforceability of any such provision in every other respect and of the remaining provisions hereof shall not be in any way impaired, unless the provisions held invalid, illegal or unenforceable shall substantially impair the benefits of the remaining provisions hereof.

8.13 Entire Agreement . This Agreement, together with the Schedules and exhibits hereto, are intended by the parties as a final expression of their agreement and intended to be a complete and exclusive statement of the agreement and understanding of the Parties in respect

 

15


of the subject matter contained herein and therein. There are no restrictions, promises, representations, warranties or undertakings relating to the subject matter hereof, other than those set forth or referred to herein or therein. This Agreement, together with the Schedules and exhibits hereto, supersede all prior agreements and understandings between the Parties with respect to such subject matter. In the event of any conflict between this Agreement, the Schedules, and the exhibits, the order of precedence shall be: this Agreement, the Schedules, and then the exhibits.

8.14 Further Assurances . Each Party shall cooperate and use commercially reasonable efforts to take or cause to be taken all appropriate actions and do, or cause to be done, all things necessary or appropriate to effectuate the provisions and purposes of this Agreement, including the execution of any additional documents or instruments and the taking of all such other actions as a Party may reasonably be requested to be taken by the other Party from time to time, consistent with the terms of this Agreement. Vince shall use reasonable best efforts to remove or replace any guaranties, letters of credit or similar instruments of Kellwood to the extent (and only to the extent) such instruments relate to assets owned by Vince.

8.15 Publicity . Except as set forth in Section 5.1 , no publicity release or announcement concerning this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby shall be issued without advance approval of the form and substance thereof by the Recipient and the Service Provider.

*        *        *         *        *        *        *        *         *

 

16


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, each of the parties hereto, by its duly authorized representative, has executed this Shared Services Agreement as of the Effective Date.

 

KELLWOOD COMPANY, LLC
By:  

/s/ Keith A. Grypp

Name:   Keith A. Grypp
Title:   Senior Vice President, Secretary and
  General Counsel
VINCE, LLC
By:  

/s/ Jay L. Dubiner

Name:   Jay L. Dubiner
Title:   Senior Vice President, Secretary and
  General Counsel

[Signature Page to Shared Services Agreement]


SCHEDULES TO SHARED SERVICES AGREEMENT

See attached.


Functional Area: Building Services NY

 

Term:    Effective Date through 12/31/2014
Service Provider:    Kellwood
Service Recipient:    Vince
Notice of Termination, Vince    Guaranteed Term through 7/31/2014, with 30 day notice of termination after 7/31/2014
Management:    Kellwood SVP of Shares Services oversight with Vince Controller and Vince VP Finance
Staffing:    Current staffing
Assumptions:   

- Vince will move to its new space between August 1, 2014 and December 31, 2014.

- Vince CFO will continue to occupy the NY apartment through September 2014.

- Vince will be allocated 75% of the 1441 Broadway - NY Building Services expenses (exclusive of Kellwood Facilities Manager), and 100% of the NY apartment rent and associated expenses.

- Kellwood’s NY Facilities Manager will not be allocated to Vince.

Services:   

1.      Access to and use of 6th Floor 1441 Broadway

2.      Utilities/Tax – 75%

3.      Access to and use of New York Apt

4.      Building Services Personnel (3) –75%

5.      Janitorial – 75%

6.      Office Supplies/Equip/Other – 75%


Functional Area: Treasury

 

Service Provider:    Kellwood
Service Recipient:    Vince
Notice of Termination, Vince    30 days
Management:    Kellwood Controller, Vince VP of Finance
Staffing:    1.    Existing Kellwood employees (Treasury Analyst) –fractional FTE + supervision
Assumptions:    1.    Kellwood and Vince operating on the same systems and same fiscal calendar
   2.    Vince utilizes Wells Fargo bank accounts
   3.    All actual banking fees and credit card processing fees charged directly to Vince
Services:    1.    Daily cash balancing and applicable reporting
   2.    Funding payables, duty, and payroll accounts as directed by Vince VP of Finance
   3.    Repaying or borrowing on credit facility as needed.
   4.    Maintenance of on-line account access and bank account signers.
   5.    Transition/Train Vince Team on current systems used to obtain the required data.


Functional Area: COI Finance

 

Service Provider:

  Kellwood

Service Recipient:

  Vince

Notice of Termination, Vince

 

30 days

Management:

  Kellwood VP Finance and Vince Controller

Staffing:

  Includes partial FTE’s in the Kellwood inventory, FDC and Shared Service departments.

Assumptions:

  Assumes Vince will continue using Kellwood inventory, FDC and A/P systems
Services:   1.         Inventory Control – Monthly Cycle count for piece goods and finished goods for Vince inventory at COI location, includes quarterly shipping cutoff testing and resolving inventory issues.
  2.   FDC (Freight, Duty, Commission) variance processing – includes tracking and matching in the Kellwood FDC system and notification and resolution of costing variances in these categories.
  3.   Invoice handling/processing – Includes the receipt, entering, routing, and coding of A/P invoices as well as expediting/confirmation of payments and resolution of issues with Vince or supplier personnel.
  4.   Payroll for non-exempt Vince employees
  5.   Customer invoice processing including processing, printing, and mailing of daily invoices


Functional Area: Corporate Accounting

 

Service Provider:   Kellwood
Service Recipient:   Vince
Notice of Termination, Vince   30 days
Management:   Kellwood Controller and Vince Controller
Staffing:   1.         All existing Kellwood employees (Corp Accounting/External Reporting) – fractional FTE’s + supervision
Assumptions:   1.   Kellwood and Vince operating on the same systems (whether the current systems or not), same fiscal calendar, same chart of accounts structure
  2.   Vince management assumes the responsibility for preparation and filing of required SEC documents.
Services:   1.   Service Provider will provide assistance and training to Vince in gathering data and information to support Vince’s public company reporting requirements at the direction of Vince management.


Functional Area: Tax

 

Term:   Effective Date through 12/31/2014
Service Provider:   Kellwood
Service Recipient:   Vince
Notice of Termination, Vince   60 days
Management:   Kellwood Tax Director; Vince Controller
Staffing:   1.         All existing Kellwood employees
  2.   Temporary staffing as Service Provider reasonably determines necessary; Kellwood will notify Vince if providing services through new third party or temporary staffing
Assumptions:   1.   Kellwood and Vince operating on the same systems and the same fiscal calendar
  2.   Financial information needed to prepare tax filings will be available in the same format and within the same timeframe as it is currently available
  3.   Quarterly estimated income tax payments will continue to not be made in accordance with current practice
  4.   Payroll tax function will be included in a separate schedule
Services:   1.   Preparation/filing of required sales tax returns
  2.   Preparation/filing of required NYC commercial rent tax returns
  3.   Preparation/filing of required franchise tax returns
  4.   Preparation/filing of required LLC tax returns
  5.   Preparation/filing of required property tax returns
  6.   Preparation/filing of required state annual reports
  7.   Respond to any notices from tax jurisdictions (excluding audit examinations)
  8.   Obtain sales tax licenses for new stores as needed
  9.   Preparation of periodic income tax accounting calculations and disclosures
  10.   Preparation/filing of required federal/state and local income tax returns
  11.   Management of audit examinations as necessary, to include providing audit examination support and defense under leadership and direction of Vince Management
  12.   Provide information requested by Vince personnel in support of Vince personnel obtaining and renewing business licenses


Functional Area: Operational Accounting

 

Service Provider:   Kellwood
Service Recipient:   Vince
Notice of Termination, Vince   60 days
Management:   Kellwood Controller and Vince Controller
Staffing:   1.         All existing Kellwood employees (Corporate/Divisional/General Accounting) – approx. 5 equivalent FTE’s
Assumptions:   1.   Kellwood and Vince operating on the same systems (whether the current systems or not), same fiscal calendar, same Chart of Account structure
  2.   Service provider will provide training and transition to Vince employees
Services:   1.   Service Provider will provide full cycle Accounting and reconciliation for Vince Business including:
    a.          Wholesale inventory, accounts receivable, payroll, T&E, accounts payable and accrued or prepaid expenses, rent, PP&E, applicable taxes
    b.    Ecommerce credit card receivable, gift cards, accruals, applicable taxes
    c.    Retail Sales Audit and Inventory Matching Functions, cash reconciliation, accounts payable, accrued or prepaid expenses, credit card receivable, gift cards, rent, PP&E, applicable taxes
    d.    Intangible Assets monthly amortization
    e.    New debt agreements
    f.    Administration and reconciliation related to this Agreement
  2.   Monthly trial balances provided
  3.   Monthly reconciliations provided upon request
Chargebacks:   1.   Actual credit card chargebacks as incurred for retail and ecommerce credit card transactions. Note these are already included in the monthly Vince P&Ls.


Functional Area: Compensation & Benefits

 

Term:   Effective Date through 12/31/2014
Service Provider:   Kellwood
Service Recipient:   Vince
Notice of Termination, Vince   30 days
Management:   Management provided by Kellwood. Kellwood will coordinate with designated Vince SVP of Human Resources and Vince VP Finance
Staffing:   Current Kellwood staffing
Assumptions:   1.          All services listed below are for Vince employees.
  2.    Vince employees can remain on all Kellwood benefit plans. Vince will not be allowed to make any benefit plan design changes (ie, different 401K match).
  3.    Vince will prefund the benefits expenses (employee withholdings and employer expense) on a bi-weekly bases. Kellwood will provide monthly reconciliation of the expenses.
  4.    Vince will be responsible for entering all employee information (ie, new hires, terminations, benefits, job changes, personal changes, PTO) directly in the HRIS system
Services:   1.    Kellwood will provide employee benefit services and administration
  2.    Kellwood and Vince will work together to ensure that Vince employees who are eligible to participate in benefits will be included in Kellwood’s benefits plans to the extent such employees desire to participate. Kellwood will be responsible for sending enrollment data to the carriers.
  3.    The benefit plans that are offered to Vince employees include, but are not limited to, health care, dental, vision, life insurance, LTD, AD&D, EAP services and 401K retirement savings accounts.
  4.    Kellwood will provide open enrollment materials and benefits communications to all Vince employees.
  5.    Kellwood will provide market pricing and compensation analysis support to Vince as reasonably requested.


Functional Area: Payroll

 

Service Provider:   Kellwood
Service Recipient:   Vince
Management:   Management provided by Kellwood. Kellwood will liaison with Vince SVP of Human Resources and Vince Controller
Assumptions:         1.      All services listed below are for Vince employees
  2.      Vince employees can remain on Kellwood’s payroll system
  3.      Vince will have a separate Wells account for funding net pay, payroll taxes, and CTS tax filing charges and will fund the accounts as requested by Payroll.
  4.      Vince will be responsible for employee salaries.
  5.      Vince will be responsible for employer payroll tax liabilities.
  6.      Vince will be responsible for any one time setup fees and any recurring monthly charges that extend beyond payroll processing
  7.      Vince will be responsible for entering all employee information for Vince Wholesale (ie, new hires, terminations, benefits, job changes, personal changes, PTO) directly in the HRIS system
  8.      Vince will adhere to payroll processing deadlines including the Friday noon deadline for all new hires, terminations, benefits, job changes, personal changes and PTO updates and Monday noon deadline for timesheets.
  9.      Vince will be responsible for notifying Kellwood payroll 2 days in advance of any special payment situations including termination checks.
Services:   1.      Kellwood will provide employee payroll services.
  2.      Kellwood will continue to provide payroll services which include biweekly payroll processing and distribution, the HRIS system, staffing, tax filing, garnishments, payroll reporting, W-2’s and general ledger information.
  3.      Kellwood, with Vince approval, will be responsible for entering all employee information for Vince Retail (ie, new hires, terminations, benefits, job changes, personal changes, PTO) directly in the HRIS system.
  4.      Kellwood will assist with payroll audits under the leadership and direction of Vince management.


Functional Area: Credit, Claims, Collections

 

Service Provider:

   Kellwood

Service Recipient:

   Vince

Management:

   Kellwood SVP of Shared Services and Vince Controller and Vince VP Finance

Staffing:

   5 Kellwood FTE’s

Assumptions:

  

1.      Kellwood processes all Credit, Collections, Payments and Chargebacks

2.      Credit limits and write-off limits TBD with Vince CFO

3.      All services provided will be performed on Kellwood’s business applications

4.      All banking fees will be directly charged from Vince bank accounts

5.      Vince’s accounts set up with Wells Fargo

Services:

  

Credit and Collections

 

1.      Manage and negotiate business terms of customer agreements including payment  terms, excluding markdowns, per Vince instructions.

2.      New customer setup and maintenance per Vince instruction

3.      Credit analysis for new and existing customers

4.      Manage International customer base and export insurance policy

5.      Manage credit hold process

6.      Process credit card payments for cash advance customers

7.      Manage online payment program

8.      Collect all open invoices, manage email invoice program

9.      Report all AR metrics including DSO, Collection Effectiveness, Chargebacks,  Cash App, and Bad Debt Activity

10.    Attend peer credit meetings to manage credit exposure

11.    Manage escheatment process for credits, including preparation of paperwork for  escheatment filing.

 

Chargebacks

 

1.      Challenge and recover deductions in all categories regardless of fault

2.      Prevent future chargebacks by partnering with DC, Sales, Customer Service and  Customer

3.      Advise Vince management on ways to reduce and prevent chargebacks. Vince  management will meet directly with all customers.

4.      Process and key all deductions by reason code/GL

5.      Manage automated Sales Allowance process for advertising and markdowns

 

Cash Application

 

1.      Post all payments from lockbox and wholesale credit card receipts

2.      Apply remittances to invoices, debit and credit memos

3.      Weekly reconciliation of cash applied to bank receipts.

4.      Manage wholesale credit card merchant Ids

 

Forecasting

 

1.      Provide 6 week AR forecast for all customers based on open invoices and  payment history on a weekly basis


Functional Area: Accounts Payable/T&E Management

 

Service Provider:

   Kellwood

Service Recipient:

   Vince

Notice of Termination, Vince

   60 days

Management:

   Kellwood SVP of Shared Services oversight with Vince Controller

Staffing:

  

1.      1.2 Kellwood FTE (Accounts Payable)

2.      25% Kellwood FTE (Travel & Expense)

Assumptions:

  

1.      Kellwood processes all Accounts Payable functions

2.      Vince staff approves invoices for payment

3.      All services provided will be performed on Kellwood’s business applications

4.      All expenses to be paid out of Vince accounts at their direction

5.      Kellwood processes all T&E functions (excluding approvals) until Vince has new  corporate card and travel provider

 

6.      Vince to use commercially reasonable efforts to implement a corporate card and  travel provider for Vince Business

 

7.      Vince to prefund expenses to be paid to Wells Fargo or employees

Services:

  

Accounts Payable

 

1.      Manage vendor base and negotiate payment terms per Vince instruction

2.      New vendor setup, maintenance and revisions

3.      Ensure vendors comply with Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)

4.      Manage Aspen including processing invoices, maintaining users and vendors and  help desk

5.      Execute all payments including checks, ACH, wires

6.      Manage Freight, Duty and Commission (FDC) process

7.      Banking reconciliation of AP, Duty and Tax accounts to bank statements

8.      Report all AP metrics including invoice count

9.      Manage escheatment process for credits, including preparation of paperwork for  escheatment filing.

10.    Issue 1099 at end of year

11.    Provide 6 week AP forecast for all customers based on open invoices and  payment history on a weekly basis.

 

Travel & Expense

 

1.      Manage corporate card issuance, cancellations and limits

2.      Manage Concur automated expense program for users

3.      Audit expense report and charges in compliance with Vince policy

4.      Provide ad-hoc reporting on all metrics

5.      Coordinate payments to Wells and Vince employees

6.      Manage travel program with AMEX and Protravel


Functional Area: Information Technology

 

Service Provider:

   Kellwood

Service Recipient:

   Vince

Notice of Termination, Vince

   180 days

Management:

   Management provided by Kellwood. Kellwood will liaison with designated IT contact at Vince

Staffing:

   Kellwood staffing leveraging internal and offshore resources.

Assumptions:

  

1.      There will be a single point of contact (for both Kellwood and Vince) for IT  related issues

2.      Vince will remain on all of the current systems and platforms. Vince will  transition to NextGen environment in 2015.

 

3.      Any additional licenses that are procured for Vince will be purchased by Vince  directly according to specifications provided by Service Provider.

 

4.      Communication Services (Data & Voice) will utilize the same carrier as  Kellwood Any circuits that cannot be transferred to Vince will be procured  directly by Vince and managed under this service agreement.

Services:

  

1.      IT Administration

2.      Deskside support (PCs, Laptops, Mobile Devices and printers)

3.      Support Center (Security, logon and desktop application support)

4.      Communications Support and Management for Data, Voice, Wireless and  Internet

5.      Enterprise Application support for EBA, Oracle Financials, EDI, Warehouse  Management, and Business Intelligence reporting and analysis tools

6.      Retail and Ecommerce Systems (back end interfaces only)

7.      Disaster recovery services

Transactional / Variable Fees:

  

1.      Telephone and cell phone usage/purchase charges – Per usage

2.      When resources are added temporarily to complete an approved work request that  is beyond normal support, the work order will include an estimated cost, but the  billing will be based on the actual costs from new Kellwood resources or third  party providers.

Monthly Fees:

The cost of providing IT services is based on actual Kellwood employee costs or costs from third party providers for hardware and software, maintenance, shared circuits and services. The total costs (without depreciation) are allocated to all users of those services based on formulas related to the percentage of total employees and percentage of total revenue. When there are adjustments to these costs, the allocation of these adjustments (either to increase or decrease charges) will be distributed across all brands following the same allocation process used today.


Functional Area: Ecommerce & Digital Support

 

Service Provider:

   Kellwood

Service Recipient:

   Vince

Notice of Termination – Vince

   180 days

Management:

   Management will be shared by Kellwood/Vince. Main contact between the services will reside with Kellwood’s account manager and Vince’s Ecommerce Director. Both positions will need to be in place to service the agreement.

Staffing:

   Approximately 10+ FTEs will provide backend support services and digital online marketing to Vince eCommerce that include backend operations, web development and systems support along with customer service, product photography as well as email reporting and digital marketing support. These are not dedicated people. They are part of a shared service. Some staffing FTE’s will be variable as business volume increases or decreases (e.g. Customer Service).

Assumptions:

  

1.      Backend functions consist of order capture and processing, return credit  processing, customer service, web-site & integrated system maintenance,  specifying web development and web updates as well as product photography and image loading to the site.

2.      Distribution – Pick / Pack / Ship – will be covered under a separate  Schedule.

3.      Campaign photography, retouching and product descriptions and description  uploading will be done by Vince and will not be a Service.

4.      Product images for the website will be provided by the backend Kellwood  team per style guide specifications provided by Vince.

5.      Frontend product publishing, site merchandising, pre-order order setup and  inventory release will be done by Vince and will not be a Service.

6.      The Kellwood backend operations team will be the liaison to Venda for site  Support and any development needs.

7.      There will be a single point of contact (for both Kellwood and Vince). All  account directive approval and all final creative assets will be provided by  Vince Ecommerce Director. Any system, process or account issues will be  communicated directly to Kellwood account manager.

8.      Third party contracts related to platform and digital marketing systems will  be managed as part of the backend operations team budget but costs related  to such contracts will be allocated to Vince proportionally and will vary if  new systems are needed. Kellwood to provide notice to Vince of any change  in third party contracts.

9.      Distribution / Shipping / Special Packaging will be included in a separate  Schedule. Free ground shipping and returns for the customer will be  considered a cost and thus paid by Vince.

10.    Any carry-over from the Vince new web-site development projects will be  handled as a separate Vince Capital Project and will not be a Service.

11.    Enhancements to the website will only be performed by mutual consent of  Kellwood and Vince and are not a Service. Upon request, these will be  estimated and billed separately. Kellwood will provide the initial work  estimates by scoping and gathering business requirements for feasibility and  budgetary estimates.

12.    Photography studio will manage all third party contracts (including stylists,  image processors, models, etc.), but expenses will be billed/allocated  directly to Vince for payment.

13.    Digital marketing budget will be set by Vince. The spend of the digital SEO/ SEM marketing budget will be managed and allocated by Kellwood team.  Spend will be invoiced or allocated back directly to Vince.

14.    Kellwood will not manage, handle or deploy emails and these functions will  not be Services. Kellwood will support email analytics and reporting.

15.    Digital marketing does not include affiliate marketing (and affiliate  marketing will not be a Service) If Vince chooses to launch an affiliate  marketing program, there may be one-time costs associated with the setup of  affiliate systems, analytics tagging and any needed product feed  development.


Services:

  

1. Customer Order Fulfillment at COI – Kellwood System interfaces stay intact

2. Customer Service 9 - 6 ET M-F (excluding holidays) through email and phone

3. International Shipping to 120+ countries

4. 7 x 24 technical support for hosted site from Venda SLA.

5. Venda Release Upgrades – up to 2 per year – May require IT Support

6. Lifestyle Content Refresh Monthly

7. Mobile site.

8. Platform operations and systems support.

9. Digital SEO/SEM marketing services and email reporting.

Standard of Service/SLA

  

1. Website content updates - Assets and message received by Thursday will be updated within 2 weeks; if more than one approval cycle is required, will be updated within 2 weeks of approval, with date being changed to reflect additional approval time needed.

2. 99.5% Uptime as managed and monitored by the Venda SASS agreement.

Monthly Fees

   Will be allocated to Vince and include system fees. All photography third party fees (e.g. models, image processes, stylists, etc.) and all digital marketing spend (e.g. Google Adwords) are not part of Fees and will be allocated or billed back directly to Vince.

Transactional/Variable Fees

   3% Gross Sales (Credit Card Fees) billed monthly (Include web-site and Mobile)

Special Requests

  

1. Photo shoot for anything outside of ecommerce product publishing. $15,000 - 2-day photo shoot or $7,500 - 1-day photo shoot, does not include third party services.

2. All site enhancements and functional changes will be estimated and billed separately

3. Email creative preparation and deployment. $2,000 per email.


Functional Area: Distribution, Storage, Fulfillment

(Finished Goods, Wholesale and Ecommerce)

 

Service Provider:

   Kellwood

Service Recipient:

   Vince

Notice of Termination, Vince:

   180 days

Management:

   Kellwood will provide management and oversight under direction of Vince

Staffing:

  

Kellwood will provide staffing based on forecasted processing requirements.

Vince will provide forecast of unit shipments each month to the weekly level. Both parties will agree to a weekly processing capacity in advance. This will be the first Friday of each fiscal month. Processing requirements in excess of the agreed upon capacities may result in an overtime premium charge. Current straight time capacity is 17,500 units/day.

Assumptions:

  

1.      Kellwood existing warehouse management system will be used to process  Distribution Center transactions.

 

2.      Freight contracts (including FedEx) are to be negotiated by Vince or its  customers, and freight costs shall be the responsibility of Vince.

 

3.      Separate rates will be negotiated for any new product types or categories

 

4.      Vince will provide Kellwood with Policies and Procedures providing guidance  regarding: Inbound freight, Warehouse Handling, Inventory Management, Order  Management and Outbound freight. In the absence of any formal SOP, Kellwood  will continue to process under general Kellwood guidelines.

 

5.      Any special storage requirements (e.g., seasonal rental of AC storage unit for  furs) shall be the responsibility of Vince.

Services:

  

1.      Receipt of goods / put-away and entry into system

2.      Returns to vendor

3.      Pick/pack orders

4.      Application of labels and inserts

5.      Routing of shipments

6.      Outbound loading

7.      Shipment verification in system processing of customer returns

8.      Processing of all direct shipments.

9.      Annual physical inventory (Vince will pay for physical inventory)

10.    Customer Service inquiry response


Functional Area: Piece Goods Warehousing

 

Service Provider:

   Kellwood

Service Recipient:

   Vince

Notice of Termination, Vince

   30 days

Management:

   Kellwood will provide management and oversight under direction of Vince

Staffing:

   Existing Kellwood staffing will be utilized

Assumptions:

  

1.      Services will be performed on Kellwood’s business applications

2.      Vince will provide Kellwood with Policies and Procedures providing guidance  regarding: Inbound freight, Warehouse Handling, Inventory Management, etc. In  the absence of such, Kellwood will continue using policies and procedures  already set in practice.

3.      Vince will provide monthly forecast to level of receipts and expected  disbursements by week. Vince and Kellwood will agree upon fabric receipts, QA,  and disbursement capacities at least one week in advance to insure proper  staffing levels are maintained.

Services:

  

1.      Receive fabric and tag at roll-level. Enter receipt into system.

2.      Perform industry standard QA inspection. Amount of fabric to be inspected is  determined by Vince.

3.      Cut shrink/wash test squares as directed by Vince. Squares are given to Vince.

4.      Store fabric in industry standard conditions.

5.      Disburse fabric for CMT work based on cut tickets provided by Vince. Post roll  transactions to relieve inventory.

6.      Disburse additional fabric to cutting service or samples as required.

7.      RTV fabric to vendor as required.

8.      Manage annual physical inventory (Vince will pay for physical inventory)


Functional Area: Quality Control & Marking & Grading

 

Service Provider:

   Kellwood

Service Recipient:

   Vince

Staffing:

  

1.      6.5 FTE in COI for Quality Control

2.      1 FTE in COI for Marker Making & Grading

Assumptions:

  

Quality Control

 

1.      Vince will provide a TOP or Approval sample for every style and color.

2.      Vince will confirm the quality audit procedure and requirements to follow in writing.

3.      Vince will provide a monthly forecast of units to inspect with the eta for all styles (Shipping status report).

 

Marking and Grading

 

1.      Vince will provide a Yield request form.

2.      Vince will provide the shrinkage(s) when requesting grading and marker making.

3.      Vince will provide a monthly forecast of units to grade and/or make markers

Services:

  

Quality Control

 

1.      Kellwood will conduct final audits based on the agreed upon requirements.

2.      Kellwood will conduct 100% inspections when directed to by Vince. Kellwood will provide detailed results (in writing and with photo’s) of the 100% inspection so Vince may issue a chargeback to their vendor if needed.

3.      Kellwood will not release any styles from Quality until receiving written confirmation of approval from Vince (Director or above).

 

Marking & Grading

 

1.      Kellwood will provide a Yield report.

2.      Kellwood will provide a check or complete the grading.

3.      Kellwood will provide a marker report and a mini marker.

4.      Kellwood will continue to provide pattern equipment hardware support. Vince is currently included on the Kellwood contracts and will need to be removed when the service agreement terminates.


Functional Area: Office Services (COI/Wilshire)

 

Service Provider:

  Kellwood

Service Recipient:

  Vince

Services:

 

1.      Driver (50%) and associated vehicle expenses.

2.      Mailroom clerk – 50% of time on Vince Retail supplies, equipment, etc

3.      Building Services manager provides purchasing, office supervision, store  openings, samples, and equipment

4.      Regular mail room services, FedEx, sample shipping, etc..


Functional Area: Human Resources

 

Service Provider:

   Kellwood

Service Recipient:

   Vince

Notice of Termination, Vince

   30 days

Management:

   SVP HR Kellwood; VP HR – California and Retail; SVP HR Vince

Staffing:

   Current Kellwood staffing

Assumptions:

  

1.      Kellwood will provide HR Generalist and Recruiting support to Vince

2.      Kellwood employees will not provide advice or make decisions involving the  hiring, disciplinary action, or termination of any Vince employee

3.      Kellwood employees will not provide any guidance or opinions on legal issues  pertaining to Vince employees

Services:

  

1.      Kellwood team will provide HR administrative support: recruiting, sourcing, on- boarding, data entry into the HRIS system (new hires, adjustments, terminations),  general assistance at direction of Vince management with HR/employee matters

Exhibit 10.2

 

 

 

TAX RECEIVABLE AGREEMENT

by and between

APPAREL HOLDING CORP.

(F/K/A KELLWOOD HOLDING CORP.),

THE STOCKHOLDERS

and

THE STOCKHOLDER REPRESENTATIVE

Dated as of November 27, 2013

 

 

 


TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

          Page  
ARTICLE I   
DEFINITIONS   
Section 1.01    Definitions      1   
ARTICLE II   
DETERMINATION OF REALIZED TAX BENEFIT   
Section 2.01    Tax Benefit Utilization      7   
Section 2.02    Tax Benefit Schedule      7   
Section 2.03    Procedures, Amendments      7   
ARTICLE III   
TAX BENEFIT PAYMENTS   
Section 3.01    Payments      8   
Section 3.02    No Duplicative Payments; Intent      9   
ARTICLE IV   
TERMINATION   
Section 4.01   

Termination, Early Termination and Breach of Agreement

     9   
Section 4.02    Early Termination Notice      10   
Section 4.03    Payment upon Early Termination      11   
ARTICLE V   
LATE PAYMENTS   
Section 5.01    Late Payments by the Company      11   
ARTICLE VI   
COMPANY TAX MATTERS; CONSISTENCY; COOPERATION   
Section 6.01   

The Stockholder Representative Participation in Company Tax Matters

     11   
Section 6.02    Consistency      11   
Section 6.03    Cooperation      12   
ARTICLE VII   
MISCELLANEOUS   
Section 7.01    Notices      12   
Section 7.02    Counterparts      13   
Section 7.03    Entire Agreement; Third Party Beneficiaries      13   
Section 7.04    Governing Law      13   

 

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Section 7.05   

Severability

     13   
Section 7.06   

Successors; Assignment; Amendments; Waivers

     13   
Section 7.07   

Titles and Subtitles

     14   
Section 7.08   

Waiver of Jury Trial

     14   
Section 7.09   

Reconciliation

     15   
Section 7.10   

Withholding

     15   
Section 7.11   

Affiliated Corporations; Admission of the Company into a Consolidated Group; Transfers of Corporate Assets

     16   
Section 7.12   

Confidentiality

     16   
Section 7.13   

Tax Treatment

     17   
Section 7.14   

Stockholder Representative

     17   
Section 7.15   

Headings

     18   

 

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TAX RECEIVABLE AGREEMENT

This TAX RECEIVABLE AGREEMENT (this “ Agreement ”), dated as of November 27, 2013, is hereby entered into by and between Apparel Holding Corp., a Delaware corporation, formerly known as Kellwood Holding Corp. (the “ Company ”), the Stockholders (as defined herein) and Sun Cardinal, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (along with any successor as provided in Section 7.06 ), as the “ Stockholder Representative ”). Capitalized terms used herein have the definitions set forth in Section 1.01 .

RECITALS

WHEREAS, the stockholders listed on Schedule A (the “ Stockholders ”) are the record owners of one-hundred percent (100%) of the Common Stock on the date hereof;

WHEREAS, the Company intends to consummate the IPO;

WHEREAS, the Company and certain of its present and former Subsidiaries have generated NOLs and Tax Credits prior to the IPO and will generate certain Section 197 Intangible Deductions that the Company and its Subsidiaries will be entitled to utilize;

WHEREAS, if utilized, the Pre-IPO Tax Benefits will reduce the actual liability for Taxes that the Company and its Subsidiaries might otherwise be required to pay;

WHEREAS, subject to the completion of the IPO, the parties hereto desire to make certain arrangements with respect to the effect of the Pre-IPO Tax Benefits on the actual liability for Taxes of the Company and its Subsidiaries;

WHEREAS, this Agreement is intended to provide payments to the Stockholders by the Company in an amount equal to eighty-five percent (85%) of the aggregate reduction in Taxes payable realized by the Company and its Subsidiaries from the utilization of the Pre-IPO Tax Benefits;

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing and the respective covenants and agreements set forth herein, and intending to be legally bound hereby, the parties hereto agree as follows:

ARTICLE I

DEFINITIONS

Section 1.01 Definitions.

As used in this Agreement, the terms set forth in this Article I shall have the following meanings (such meanings to be equally applicable to both the singular and plural forms of the terms defined).

Advisory Firm ” means Ernst & Young, and if Ernst & Young refuses or is unable to perform the requested services, Deloitte. If Deloitte refuses or is unable to perform the requested services, the Company and the Stockholder Representative shall negotiate in good faith to agree upon a different valuation firm, which valuation firm shall not be one of the twenty largest accounting firms in the United States.


Advisory Firm Letter ” shall mean a letter from the Advisory Firm (or any other “Big Four” accounting firm, including the Company’s third party tax return preparer) stating that the relevant schedule, notice or other information to be provided by the Company to the Stockholder Representative and all supporting schedules and work papers were prepared in a manner consistent with the terms of this Agreement and, to the extent not expressly provided in this Agreement, on a reasonable basis in light of the facts and applicable law in existence on the date to which such schedule, notice or other information relates.

Affiliate ” means, with respect to any Person, any other Person that directly or indirectly, through one or more intermediaries, Controls, is Controlled by or is under common Control with, such first Person.

Aggregate Tax Benefit Payment ” is defined in Section 3.01(b) of this Agreement.

Agreed Rate ” means a rate per annum equal to LIBOR plus 200 basis points.

Agreement ” is defined in the preamble of this Agreement.

Amended Schedule ” is defined in Section 2.03(b) of this Agreement.

Applicable Percentage ” with respect to any Stockholder means the quotient, expressed as a percentage set forth opposite such Stockholder’s name on Schedule A, obtained by dividing (i) the number of outstanding shares of Common Stock owned by such Stockholder immediately prior to the IPO by (ii) the aggregate number of shares of Common Stock issued and outstanding immediately prior to the IPO.

Board ” means the board of directors of the Company.

Business Day ” means Monday through Friday of each week, except that a legal holiday recognized as such by the government of the United States of America or the State of New York shall not be regarded as a Business Day.

Change of Control ” means an event or series of events by which (i) the Company shall cease directly or indirectly to own 100% of the Capital Stock of Vince, LLC; (ii) any “person” or “group” (as such terms are used in Section 13(d) and 14(d) of the Securities Exchange Act), other than one or more Permitted Investors, shall be the “beneficial owner” (as defined in Rules 13d-3 and 13d-5 under the Securities Exchange Act) of Capital Stock having more, directly or indirectly, than 35% of the total voting power of all outstanding Capital Stock of the Company in the election of directors, unless at such time the Permitted Investors are direct or indirect “beneficial owners” (as so defined) of Capital Stock of the Company having a greater percentage of the total voting power of all outstanding Capital Stock of the Company in the election of directors than that owned by each other “person” or “group” described above; (iii) for any reason whatsoever, a majority of the board of directors of the Company shall not be Continuing Directors; or (iv) a “Change of Control” (or comparable term) shall occur under (x) any term loan or revolving credit facility of the Company or its subsidiaries or (y) any unsecured, senior,

 

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senior subordinated or subordinated Indebtedness of the Company or its subsidiaries, if, in each case, the outstanding principal amount thereof is in excess of $15,000,000. Defined terms used in this definition shall have the meaning set forth in the Term Loan Credit Agreement as in effect on the date hereof.

Code ” means the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.

Common Stock ” means the issued and outstanding shares of common stock of the Company.

Company ” is defined in the preamble of this Agreement.

Company Return ” means the U.S. federal, state and local income tax returns of the Company and its Subsidiaries filed with respect to Taxes of any Taxable Year, including, for the avoidance of doubt, any Consolidated Return.

Confidential Information ” means all information of a confidential or proprietary nature (whether or not specifically labeled or identified as “confidential”), in any form or medium, that relates to the business, products, financial condition, services, or research or development of either party or their respective suppliers, distributors, customers, independent contractors or other business relations. Confidential Information includes, but is not limited to, the following: (i) internal business and financial information (including information relating to strategic and staffing plans and practices, business, finances, training, marketing, promotional and sales plans and practices, cost, rate and pricing structures and accounting and business methods); (ii) identities of, individual requirements of, specific contractual arrangements with, and information about, either party’s suppliers, distributors, customers, independent contractors or other business relations and their confidential information; (iii) trade secrets, know-how, compilations of data and analyses, techniques, systems, formulae, recipes, research, records, reports, manuals, documentation, models, data and databases relating thereto; (iv) inventions, innovations, improvements, developments, methods, designs, analyses, drawings, reports and all similar or related information (whether or not patentable); and (v) other intellectual property rights. Notwithstanding the foregoing, “ Confidential Information ” does not include (a) information that either party can demonstrate was or has become generally available to the public other than as a result of disclosure by such party or its Affiliates, (b) information that is disclosed to a party or its Affiliates, other than under an obligation of confidentiality, by a third party who had no obligation not to disclose such information to others or (c) information that is independently developed after the date hereof by a party or its Affiliates without the use of the other party’s or its Affiliates’ Confidential Information.

Consolidated Return ” is defined in Section 7.11(a) .

Control ” means the possession, direct or indirect, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of a Person, whether through ownership of voting securities, by contract or otherwise, and such “control” will be presumed if any Person owns 10% or more of the voting capital stock or other ownership interests, directly or indirectly, of any other Person.

Default Rate ” means a rate per annum equal to LIBOR plus 500 basis points.

 

3


Determination ” has the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 1313(a) of the Code or any other event (including the execution of a Form 870-AD) that finally and conclusively establishes the amount of any liability for Tax.

Early Termination Agreement Date ” is defined in Section 4.03(a) of this Agreement.

Early Termination Date ” means the date of an Early Termination Notice for purposes of determining the Early Termination Payment.

Early Termination Notice ” is defined in Section 4.02 of this Agreement.

Early Termination Option Notice ” is defined in Section 4.01(c) of this Agreement.

Early Termination Payment ” is defined in Section 4.03(b) of this Agreement.

Early Termination Rate ” means a rate per annum equal to the Agreed Rate.

Early Termination Schedule ” is defined in Section 4.02 of this Agreement.

Exchange Act ” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

Expert ” is defined in Section 7.08 of this Agreement.

Interest Amount ” is defined in Section 3.01(b) of this Agreement.

IPO ” means the initial public offering of Common Stock of the Company pursuant to the Registration Statement.

IRS ” means the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.

Law ” means any federal, state, local or foreign statute, law, ordinance, regulation, rule, code, order, injunction, judgment, determination, directive, ruling, decree, requirement or rule of law, or any other provision, decision or requirement having the force and effect of law.

LIBOR ” means for each month (or portion thereof) during any period, an interest rate per annum equal to the rate of interest published in The Wall Street Journal, Eastern Edition, two Business Days prior to the first day of such month as the “London Interbank Offered Rate” applicable to such month. In the event that The Wall Street Journal, Eastern Edition is not published or such rate does not appear in The Wall Street Journal, Eastern Edition, LIBOR shall be determined by any other publicly available source of such market rate for London interbank offered rates for U.S. dollar deposits for such month (or portion thereof).

Net Tax Benefit ” is defined in Section 3.01(b) of this Agreement.

Tax Benefit Payment ” is defined in Section 3.01(b) of this Agreement.

NOLs ” shall mean all net operating losses for U.S. federal, state and local income tax purposes.

 

4


Non-Tax Benefit Tax Liability ” means, with respect to any Taxable Year, the liability for Taxes of the Company and its Subsidiaries using the same methods, elections, conventions and similar practices used on the relevant Company Return, but assuming that there were no Pre-IPO Tax Benefits. If all or any portion of the liability for Taxes for the Taxable Year arises as a result of an audit by a Taxing Authority of such Taxable Year, such liability shall not be included in determining the Non-Tax Benefit Tax Liability unless and until there has been a Determination.

Objection Notice ” is defined in Section 2.03(a) of this Agreement.

Payment Date ” means any date on which a Tax Benefit Payment is required to be made by the Company pursuant to this Agreement.

Person ” means any individual, corporation, firm, partnership, joint venture, limited liability company, estate, trust, business association, organization, governmental entity or other entity.

Post-IPO Tax Benefits ” shall mean Tax Credits and NOLs generated by the Company and its Subsidiaries on or after November 28, 2013.

Pre-IPO Tax Benefits ” shall mean Tax Credits and NOLs generated by the Company and its Subsidiaries prior to November 28, 2013, and the Section 197 Intangible Deductions.

Realized Tax Benefit ” means, for a Taxable Year, the excess, if any, of (i) the Non-Tax Benefit Tax Liability over (ii) the actual liability for Taxes of the Company and its Subsidiaries for such Taxable Year. If all or a portion of the actual liability for Taxes for the Taxable Year arises as a result of an audit by a Taxing Authority of any Taxable Year, such liability shall not be included in determining the Realized Tax Benefit unless and until there has been a Determination.

Reconciliation Dispute ” is defined in Section 7.08 of this Agreement.

Reconciliation Procedures ” means those procedures set forth in Section 7.08 of this Agreement.

Registration Statement ” means the registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-191336) of the Company, as amended.

Schedule ” means any Tax Benefit Schedule and the Early Termination Schedule.

Section 197 Intangible Deductions ” means depreciation or amortization deductions with respect to “amortizable section 197 intangibles” as defined in Section 197(c) and (d) of the Code, which such “amortizable section 197 intangibles” are held by the Company and its Subsidiaries immediately after the IPO.

Stockholders ” is defined in the recitals to this Agreement.

Stockholder Representative ” is defined in the preamble to this Agreement.

 

5


Subsidiaries ” means, with respect to any Person, as of any date of determination, any other Person as to which such Person, owns, directly or indirectly, or otherwise controls more than fifty percent (50%) of the voting power or other similar interests or the sole general partner interest or managing member or similar interest of such Person.

Sun ” means Sun Capital Partners, Inc.

Sun Entity ” means Sun and any investment fund controlled by or under common control with Sun.

Tax Benefit Payment ” is defined in Section 3.01(b) of this Agreement.

Tax Benefit Schedule ” is defined in Section 2.02 of this Agreement.

Tax Credits ” means U.S. federal, state and local tax credits that may be utilized to offset U.S. federal, state and local income or alternative minimum Tax.

Tax Return ” means any return, declaration, report or similar statement required to be filed with respect to Taxes (including any attached schedules), including, without limitation, any information return, claim for refund, amended return, and declaration of estimated Tax.

Taxable Year ” means a taxable year as defined in Section 441(b) of the Code (and, therefore, for the avoidance of doubt, may include a period of less than twelve months for which a Company Return is made), ending on or after the date hereof. For all purposes of this Agreement, the year 2013 shall consist of two “Taxable Years” (i) February 3, 2013 through November 27, 2013 and (ii) November 28, 2013 through February 1, 2014.

Taxes ” means any and all U.S. federal, state and local taxes, assessments or similar charges measured with respect to net income or profits and any interest related to such Taxes.

Taxing Authority ” means any domestic, foreign, federal, national, state, county or municipal or other local government, any subdivision, agency, commission or authority thereof, or any quasi-governmental body exercising any taxing authority or any other authority exercising regulatory authority with respect to Taxes.

Term Loan Credit Agreement ” means that certain Credit Agreement, dated as of November 27, 2013, by and among Vince, LLC and Vince Intermediate Holding, LLC, as borrowers, Vince Holding Corp. as a guarantor, the lenders from time to time party thereto, and Bank of America, N.A., as administrative agent.

Treasury Regulations ” means the final, temporary and proposed regulations under the Code promulgated from time to time (including corresponding provisions and succeeding provisions) as in effect for the relevant taxable period.

Valuation Assumptions ” means, as of an Early Termination Date, the assumptions that (i) in each Taxable Year ending on or after such Early Termination Date, the Company and its Subsidiaries will have taxable income sufficient to fully utilize the Company’s and its Subsidiaries’ NOLs, Section 197 Intangible Deductions and other tax attributes (in accordance

 

6


with all applicable limitations) during such Taxable Year or future Taxable Years, as applicable; (ii) the utilization of the Pre-IPO Tax Benefits for such Taxable Year or future Taxable Years, as applicable, will be determined based on the Tax laws in effect on the Early Termination Date; and (iii) the federal, state and local Tax rates that will be in effect for each such Taxable Year will be those specified for each such Taxable Year by the Code as in effect on the Early Termination Date.

ARTICLE II

DETERMINATION OF REALIZED TAX BENEFIT

Section 2.01 Tax Benefit Utilization . The Company, on the one hand, and the Stockholders, on the other hand, acknowledge that the Company and its Subsidiaries may utilize the Pre-IPO Tax Benefits to reduce the amount of Taxes that the Company and its Subsidiaries would otherwise be required to pay in the future.

Section 2.02 Tax Benefit Schedule . Within forty-five calendar days after the filing of the Company Return for any Taxable Year, the Company shall provide to the Stockholder Representative a schedule showing, in reasonable detail, (i) the calculation, which may be $0.00, of the Realized Tax Benefit for such Taxable Year, if any, (ii) the calculation, which may be $0.00, of any payment to be made to the Stockholders pursuant to Article III with respect to such Taxable Year (together, a “ Tax Benefit Schedule ”), and (iii) supporting information (including work papers and valuation reports) reasonably necessary to support the calculation of such payment. The Schedule will become final as provided in Section 2.03(a) and may be amended as provided in Section 2.03(b) (subject to the procedures set forth in Section 2.03(a) ).

Section 2.03 Procedures, Amendments.

(a) Procedure . Every time the Company delivers to the Stockholder Representative an applicable Schedule under this Agreement, including, except as otherwise provided in Section 2.03(b) , any Amended Schedule delivered pursuant to Section 2.03(b) , and including any Early Termination Schedule or amended Early Termination Schedule, the Company shall also (x) deliver to the Stockholder Representative schedules, valuation reports, if any, and work papers providing reasonable detail regarding the preparation of the Schedule and an Advisory Firm Letter with respect to such Schedule and (y) allow the Stockholder Representative and its advisors reasonable access, at no cost, to the appropriate representatives, books, records and work papers at each of the Company and the preparer of the Advisory Firm Letter in connection with a review of such Schedule. The applicable Schedule shall become final and binding on all parties hereto upon mutual agreement of the parties hereto or final determination of the Expert pursuant to the Reconciliation Procedures in Section 7.08 . The applicable Schedule shall become final and binding on the parties hereto unless the Stockholder Representative, within forty-five calendar days after receiving any Schedule or amendment thereto, provides the Company with notice of an objection to such Schedule (“ Objection Notice ”) made in good faith. The Company and the Stockholder Representative shall cooperate in good faith to reconcile any items of disagreement set forth in the Objection Notice. If the parties, for any reason, are unable to successfully resolve the issues raised in any Objection Notice within thirty calendar days of receipt by the Company of such notice, the Company and the Stockholder Representative shall employ the Reconciliation Procedures.

 

7


(b) Amended Schedule . The Schedule for any Taxable Year shall be amended by the Company (i) in connection with a Determination affecting such Schedule, (ii) to correct material inaccuracies in the Schedule identified as a result of the receipt of additional factual information relating to a Taxable Year after the date the Schedule was provided to the Stockholder Representative, (iii) to comply with the Expert’s determination under the Reconciliation Procedures, (iv) to reflect a material change (relative to the amounts in the original Schedule or the prior Amended Schedule) in the Realized Tax Benefit for such Taxable Year attributable to a carryback or carryforward (including, to the extent affecting the Non-Tax Benefit Tax Liability, a hypothetical carryback or carryforward attributable to any Post-IPO Tax Benefits) of a loss or other tax item to such Taxable Year, or (v) to reflect a material change (relative to the amounts in the original Schedule) in the Realized Tax Benefit for such Taxable Year attributable to an amended Tax Return filed for such Taxable Year (such Schedule, an “ Amended Schedule ”; provided , however , that such a change under clause (i) attributable to an audit of a Tax Return by an applicable Taxing Authority shall not be taken into account on an Amended Schedule unless and until there has been a Determination with respect to such change). The Company shall provide any Amended Schedule to the Stockholder Representative within thirty calendar days of becoming aware of the occurrence of an event referred to in clauses (i) through (v) of the preceding sentence (or, to the extent such event occurs in connection with the preparation of a Company Return filing described in Section 2.02 , concurrently with the delivery of the Tax Benefit Schedule with respect to such Company Return pursuant to Section 2.02 ) and any such Amended Schedule shall be subject to the approval procedures described in Section 2.03(a) ; provided , however, that any Amended Schedule provided pursuant to an Expert’s determination under the Reconciliation Procedures as described in clause (iii) of the preceding sentence shall be final and binding on all parties hereto and not subject to the approval procedures described in Section 2.03 .

ARTICLE III

TAX BENEFIT PAYMENTS

Section 3.01 Payments.

(a) Timing of Payments to the Stockholders . Within five Business Days of a Tax Benefit Schedule with respect to a Taxable Year becoming final in accordance with Section 2.03(a) or Section 7.08 , the Company shall pay to each of the Stockholders the Tax Benefit Payments for such Taxable Year determined pursuant to Section 3.01(b) . Each such Tax Benefit Payment shall be made by wire transfer of immediately available funds to a bank account designated by the applicable Stockholder to the Company or as otherwise agreed by the Company and the applicable Stockholder. For the avoidance of doubt, no Tax Benefit Payment shall be made in respect of estimated tax payments, including, without limitation, estimated U.S. federal, state and local income tax payments.

(b) The “ Tax Benefit Payment ” with respect to any Stockholder means an amount equal to such Stockholder’s Applicable Percentage of the Aggregate Tax Benefit Payment. The “ Aggregate Tax Benefit Payment ” means an amount, not less than zero, equal to eighty-five percent (85%) of the sum of the Net Tax Benefit (as defined below) and the Interest Amount (as defined below). The “ Net Tax Benefit ” with respect to a Taxable Year shall equal (i) the Realized Tax Benefit, if any, for such Taxable Year plus (ii) for each prior Taxable Year,

 

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the excess, if any, of the Realized Tax Benefit reflected on an Amended Schedule applicable to such prior Taxable Year over the Realized Tax Benefit reflected on the original Tax Benefit Schedule for such prior Taxable Year, minus (iii) for each prior Taxable Year, the excess, if any, of the Realized Tax Benefit reflected on the original Tax Benefit Schedule for such prior Taxable Year over the Realized Tax Benefit reflected on the Amended Schedule for such prior Taxable Year; provided, however, that to the extent any of the adjustments described in Section 3.01(b)(ii) or (iii)  was reflected in the calculation of the Aggregate Tax Benefit Payment for any Taxable Year, such adjustments shall not be taken into account in determining the Aggregate Tax Benefit Payment for any subsequent Taxable Year; and provided, further, that for the avoidance of doubt, none of the Stockholders shall be required to return any portion of any previously made Tax Benefit Payment except through the adjustment described in clause (iii)  of the definition of Net Tax Benefit. The “ Interest Amount ” shall equal the interest on any Net Tax Benefit calculated at the Agreed Rate from the due date (without extensions) for filing the Company Return with respect to Taxes for the Taxable Year for which the Net Tax Benefit is being measured until the Payment Date. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, for purposes of determining the amount of Pre-IPO Tax Benefits, the first Taxable Year to which this Agreement applies and the amount of any Tax Benefit Payments attributable to 2013, the parties agree to treat the year 2013 as consisting of two Taxable Years, (i) February 3, 2013 through November 27, 2013 and (ii) November 28, 2013 through February 1, 2014.

Section 3.02 No Duplicative Payments; Intent . It is intended that the provisions of this Agreement will not result in duplicative payment of any amount (including interest) required under this Agreement. It is also intended that the provisions of this Agreement provide that eighty-five percent (85%) of the Company’s Realized Tax Benefit and Interest Amount for all years be paid to the Stockholders pursuant to this Agreement. Such amount shall be determined using a “ with and without ” methodology. Carryovers or carrybacks of (a) any U.S. federal tax item shall be considered to be subject to the rules of the Code (or any successor U.S. federal income tax statute) and the Treasury Regulations or (b) any state and local tax item, shall be considered subject to the appropriate provisions of Tax law, as applicable, governing the use, limitation and expiration of carryovers or carrybacks of the relevant type. If a carryover or carryback of any Tax item includes a portion that is attributable to the Pre-IPO Tax Benefits and another portion that is not, the Company’s Realized Tax Benefit shall be determined using such “with and without” methodology. The provisions of this Agreement shall be construed in the appropriate manner so that such intentions are realized.

ARTICLE IV

TERMINATION

Section 4.01 Termination, Early Termination and Breach of Agreement

(a) This Agreement shall terminate on the earliest to occur of (i) the date on which all Tax Benefit Payments have been made under this Agreement, (ii) the last day of the tax year including the tenth anniversary of the IPO or (iii) the mutual agreement of the Company and the Stockholder Representative.

 

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(b) Notwithstanding Section 4.01(a) , the Company may terminate this Agreement by paying to the Stockholders the Early Termination Payments. Upon payment of the Early Termination Payments by the Company, the Company shall not have any further payment obligations under this Agreement, other than any (i) Tax Benefit Payment agreed to by the Company and the Stockholder Representative as due and payable but unpaid as of the date the Early Termination Notice is delivered and (ii) Tax Benefit Payment due for a Taxable Year ending prior to, with or including the date of the Early Termination Notice (except to the extent that such amount is included in the Early Termination Payment).

(c) Notwithstanding Section 4.01(a) , the Stockholder Representative may terminate this Agreement in connection with a Change of Control The Company hereby agrees to provide ten (10) days prior written notice to the Stockholder Representative of a Change of Control (an “ Early Termination Option Notice ”). Within five (5) days of receipt of the Early Termination Option Notice, the Stockholder Representative shall provide written notice of its determination whether to require the Company to make the Early Termination Payments and terminate this Agreement. If the Stockholder Representative determines to require the Company to make the Early Termination Payments and terminate the Agreement in accordance with this Section 4.01(c) , then the Company shall make the Early Termination Payments in accordance with Section 4.03 . Upon payment of the Early Termination Payments by the Company, the Company shall not have any further payment obligations under this Agreement, other than any (i) Tax Benefit Payment agreed to by the Company and the Stockholder Representative as due and payable but unpaid as of the date the Early Termination Notice is delivered and (ii) Tax Benefit Payment due for a Taxable Year ending prior to, with or including the date of the Early Termination Notice (except to the extent that such amount is included in the Early Termination Payment). For the avoidance of doubt, if the Early Termination Payments have not been made by the date of the sale of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company, the Company shall cause such acquirer of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company to assume the Company’s obligations under this Agreement.

(d) In the event that the Company breaches any of its material obligations under this Agreement by operation of law as a result of the rejection of this Agreement in a case commenced under the Bankruptcy Code, then all obligations hereunder shall be accelerated and such obligations shall be calculated as if an Early Termination Notice had been delivered on the date of the filing of such case and shall include, but not be limited to, (i) the Early Termination Payment calculated as if an Early Termination Notice had been delivered on the date of filing of such case, (ii) any Tax Benefit Payment agreed to by the Company and the Stockholder Representative as due and payable but unpaid as of such date and (iii) any Tax Benefit Payment due for the Taxable Year ending prior to, with or including such date.

Section 4.02 Early Termination Notice . If the Company or the Stockholder Representative chooses to exercise its right of early termination under Section 4.01 above, the Company shall deliver to the Stockholder Representative, other than in the case of termination pursuant to Section 4.01(c) above, notice of such intention to exercise such right (“ Early Termination Notice ”) and, including in the case of termination pursuant to Section 4.01(c) above, a schedule (the “ Early Termination Schedule ”) showing in reasonable detail the information required pursuant to Section 2.02 and the calculation of the Aggregate Early Termination Payment. The delivery and finalization of such Early Termination Schedule shall be governed by Section 2.03 (including, for the avoidance of doubt, in the case of termination pursuant to Section 4.01(c) above).

 

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Section 4.03 Payment upon Early Termination .

(a) Within five Business Days after the Early Termination Schedule becomes final and binding on the parties hereto, the Company shall pay to the Stockholders the Early Termination Payment. Such payment shall be made by wire transfer of immediately available funds to a bank account designated by the applicable Stockholder or as otherwise agreed by the Company and such Stockholder.

(b) The “ Early Termination Payment ” with respect to any Stockholder means an amount equal to such Stockholder’s Applicable Percentage of the Aggregate Early Termination Payment. The “ Aggregate Early Termination Payment ” as of the date of the delivery of an Early Termination Schedule shall equal the present value, discounted at the Early Termination Rate as of such date, of all Tax Benefit Payments that would be required to be paid by the Company to the Stockholders beginning from the Early Termination Date applying the Valuation Assumptions. For purposes of calculating the present value pursuant to this Section 4.03(b) of all Tax Benefit Payments that would be required to be paid, it shall be assumed that absent the Early Termination Notice all Tax Benefit Payments would be paid on the due date (without extensions) for filing the Company Return with respect to Taxes for each Taxable Year.

ARTICLE V

LATE PAYMENTS

Section 5.01 Late Payments by the Company . The amount of all or any portion of any Tax Benefit Payment or Early Termination Payment required to be made by the Company to any Stockholder under this Agreement not made to such Stockholder when due under the terms of this Agreement shall be payable together with any interest thereon, computed at the Default Rate and commencing from the date on which such payment was due and payable.

ARTICLE VI

COMPANY TAX MATTERS; CONSISTENCY; COOPERATION

Section 6.01 The Stockholder Representative Participation in Company Tax Matters . Except as otherwise provided herein, the Company shall have full responsibility for, and sole discretion over, all Tax matters concerning the Company including without limitation the preparation, filing or amending of any Tax Return and defending, contesting or settling any issue pertaining to Taxes, subject to a requirement that the Company act in good faith in connection with its control of any matter which is reasonably expected to affect the Stockholders’ rights and obligations under this Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall notify the Stockholder Representative of, and keep the Stockholder Representative reasonably informed with respect to, the portion of any audit of the Company by a Taxing Authority the outcome of which is reasonably expected to affect the Stockholders’ rights and obligations under this Agreement, and shall give the Stockholder Representative reasonable opportunity to provide information and participate in the applicable portion of such audit.

Section 6.02 Consistency . Except upon the written advice of an Advisory Firm, the Company, the Stockholder Representative and the Stockholders (through the Stockholder Representative) agree to report and cause to be reported for all purposes, including federal, state,

 

11


local and foreign tax purposes and financial reporting purposes, all Tax-related items (including without limitation the Tax Benefit Payments) in a manner consistent with that specified by the Company in any Schedule or statement required to be provided by or on behalf of the Company under this Agreement or under applicable Tax law. Any dispute concerning such advice shall be subject to the Reconciliation Procedures; provided , however , that only the Stockholder Representative shall have the right to object to such advice pursuant to this Section 6.02 . In the event that an Advisory Firm is replaced with another firm acceptable to the Company and the Stockholder Representative pursuant to the definition of “ Advisory Firm, ” such replacement Advisory Firm shall be required to perform its services under this Agreement using procedures and methodologies consistent with those used by the previous Advisory Firm, unless otherwise required by law (or the Company and the Stockholder Representative agree to the use of other procedures and methodologies).

Section 6.03 Cooperation . Each of the Company, on the one hand, and the Stockholder Representative and the Stockholders, on the other hand, shall (a) furnish to the other party in a timely manner such information, documents and other materials as the other party may reasonably request for purposes of making or approving any determination or computation necessary or appropriate under this Agreement, preparing any Tax Return or contesting or defending any audit, examination or controversy with any Taxing Authority relating to this Agreement, (b) make itself available to the other party and its representatives to provide explanations of documents and materials and such other information as the requesting party or its representatives may reasonably request in connection with any of the matters described in clause (a) above, and (c) reasonably cooperate in connection with any such matter, and the requesting party shall reimburse the other party for any reasonable third-party costs and expenses incurred pursuant to this Section 6.03 .

ARTICLE VII

MISCELLANEOUS

Section 7.01 Notices . All notices, requests, claims, demands and other communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed duly given and received (a) on the date of delivery if delivered personally, or by facsimile upon confirmation of transmission by the sender’s fax machine if sent on a Business Day (or otherwise on the next Business Day), (b) on the first Business Day following the date of dispatch if delivered by a recognized next-day courier service or (c) when sent by electronic mail (with hard copy to follow) during a Business Day (or on the next Business Day if sent after the close of normal business hours or on any non-Business Day). All notices hereunder shall be delivered as set forth below, or pursuant to such other instructions as may be designated in writing by the party to receive such notice:

If to the Company, to:

Apparel Holding Corp. (f/k/a Kellwood Holding Corp)

1441 Broadway – 6th Floor

New York, New York 10018

Facsimile: 855-640-3896

Attn: Chief Executive Officer

     General Counsel

 

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If to the Stockholder Representative or any Stockholder, to:

c/o Sun Capital Advisors V, L.P.

5200 Town Center Circle, Suite 600

Boca Raton, Florida 33486

Facsimile: 561-394-0540

Attn: C. Deryl Couch, Jason H. Neimark and Brian McGee

Any party hereto may change its address or fax number by giving the other party hereto written notice of its new address or fax number in the manner set forth above.

Section 7.02 Counterparts . This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, all of which shall be considered one and the same agreement and shall become effective when one or more counterparts have been signed by each of the parties and delivered to the other parties, it being understood that all parties need not sign the same counterpart. Delivery of an executed signature page to this Agreement by facsimile transmission shall be as effective as delivery of a manually signed counterpart of this Agreement.

Section 7.03 Entire Agreement; Third Party Beneficiaries . This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings, both written and oral, among the parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof. Nothing in this Agreement, express or implied, is intended to or shall confer upon any Person other than the parties hereto any right, benefit or remedy of any nature whatsoever under or by reason of this Agreement.

Section 7.04 Governing Law . This Agreement shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the law of the State of Delaware, without regard to the conflicts of laws provisions thereof.

Section 7.05 Severability . Whenever possible, each provision of this Agreement will be interpreted in such manner as to be effective and valid under applicable Law, but if any provision of this Agreement is held to be prohibited by or invalid under applicable Law, such provision will be ineffective only to the extent of such prohibition or invalidity, without invalidating the remainder of such provision or the remaining provisions of this Agreement.

Section 7.06 Successors; Assignment; Amendments; Waivers .

(a) The Stockholder Representative may assign this Agreement to any person without the prior written consent of the Company or the Stockholders.

(b) No Stockholder may assign his or her rights under this Agreement without the prior written consent of the Stockholder Representative; provided , however , that the rights hereunder may be freely assigned without the consent of the Company or the Stockholder

 

13


Representative from one Stockholder to another Stockholder provided that the Company receives notice of such assignment within five days after the effective date of such assignment. Any assignment of a Stockholder’s rights meeting the requirements of this paragraph shall be referred to herein as a “ Permitted Assignment ”.

(c) Except as otherwise provided herein (including, without limitation, Section 7.06(a) , Section 7.06(b) , Section 7.06(c) and Section 7.14 ), neither this Agreement nor any of the rights, interests or obligations under this Agreement may be assigned or delegated without the prior written consent of the other party hereto, such consent not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed, and any purported assignment or delegation in violation hereof shall be null and void (it being agreed and understood that, in accordance with Section 7.14 a consent of the Stockholder Representative shall be deemed to be a consent of, and shall be binding upon all of, the Stockholders); provided that any party hereto may assign its rights under this Agreement without the consent of any other party hereto, in whole but not in part, to any Affiliate of such assigning party, to any lender as collateral security or in connection with any transfer or disposition of all or any material portion of such party’s business.

(d) No provision of this Agreement may be amended unless such amendment is approved in writing by the Company and the Stockholder Representative. For the avoidance of doubt, any amendment of this Agreement that is approved in writing by the Company and the Stockholder Representative shall be binding upon the Stockholders. No provision of this Agreement may be waived unless such waiver is in writing and signed by the party against whom the waiver is to be effective. Notwithstanding anything contained herein to the contrary, the Stockholder Representative may, in its good faith discretion, amend Schedule A without the consent of any other party hereto; provided that such amendment does not materially, adversely and disproportionately affect any Stockholder vis-à-vis any other Stockholder.

(e) All of the terms and provisions of this Agreement shall be binding upon, shall inure to the benefit of and shall be enforceable by the parties hereto and their respective successors, assigns, heirs, executors, administrators and legal representatives. The Company shall require and cause any direct or indirect successor (whether by purchase, merger, consolidation or otherwise) to all or substantially all of the business or assets of the Company, by written agreement, expressly to assume and agree to perform this Agreement in the same manner and to the same extent that the Company would be required to perform if no such succession had taken place.

Section 7.07 Titles and Subtitles . The titles of the sections and subsections of this Agreement are for convenience of reference only and are not to be considered in construing this Agreement.

Section 7.08 Waiver of Jury Trial . EACH PARTY HERETO HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES ALL RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY LITIGATION, ACTION, PROCEEDING, CROSS-CLAIM, OR COUNTERCLAIM IN ANY COURT (WHETHER BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT, OR OTHERWISE) ARISING OUT OF, RELATING TO OR IN CONNECTION WITH (I) THIS AGREEMENT OR THE VALIDITY, PERFORMANCE, INTERPRETATION, COLLECTION OR ENFORCEMENT HEREOF OR (II) THE ACTIONS OF THE PARTIES IN THE NEGOTIATION, AUTHORIZATION, EXECUTION, DELIVERY, ADMINISTRATION, PERFORMANCE OR ENFORCEMENT HEREOF.

 

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Section 7.09 Reconciliation . In the event that the Company and the Stockholder Representative are unable to resolve a disagreement with respect to the matters governed by Section 2.03 , Section 4.02 and Section 6.02 (which matters, for the avoidance of doubt, may include the calculations of any amounts set forth in any Schedule or Amended Schedule) within the relevant period designated in this Agreement (“ Reconciliation Dispute ”), the Reconciliation Dispute shall be submitted for determination to a nationally recognized expert (the “ Expert ”) in the particular area of disagreement mutually acceptable to both parties. The Expert shall be a partner in a nationally recognized accounting firm or a law firm (other than the Advisory Firm or the preparer of the Advisory Firm Letter), and the Expert shall not, and the firm that employs the Expert shall not, have any material relationship with the Company or the Stockholder Representative or other actual or potential conflict of interest. If the parties are unable to agree on an Expert within fifteen (15) days of receipt by the respondent(s) of written notice of a Reconciliation Dispute, the Expert shall be appointed by the International Chamber of Commerce Centre for Expertise. The Expert shall resolve any matter relating to the Early Termination Schedule or an amendment thereto within thirty calendar days and shall resolve any matter relating to a Tax Benefit Schedule or an amendment thereto within fifteen calendar days or as soon thereafter as is reasonably practicable, in each case after the matter has been submitted to the Expert for resolution. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, if the matter is not resolved before any payment that is the subject of a disagreement is due or any Tax Return reflecting the subject of a disagreement is due, such payment shall be made on the date prescribed by this Agreement and such Tax Return may be filed as prepared by the Company, subject to adjustment (by an increase or decrease in the amount of subsequent payments otherwise due under this Agreement) or amendment of such Tax Returns upon resolution. The costs and expenses relating to the engagement of such Expert or amending any Tax Return shall be borne inversely based upon the relative success (in terms of percentages) of each party’s claims. For example, if the final determination reflects a 60-40 compromise of the parties’ claims, the costs and expenses would be allocated 40% to the party whose claim was determined to be 60% successful and 60% to the party whose claim was determined to be 40% successful. Any dispute as to whether a dispute is a Reconciliation Dispute within the meaning of this Section 7.08 shall be decided by the Expert. The Expert shall finally determine any Reconciliation Dispute and the determinations of the Expert pursuant to this Section 7.08 shall be binding on the Company and all Stockholders and may be entered and enforced in any court having jurisdiction. The determination of the Expert with respect to any dispute that is submitted to it for determination pursuant to this Section 7.08 shall be based solely on presentations and materials provided by the parties hereto which are in accordance with the guidelines and procedures set forth in this Agreement ( i.e. , such determination shall not be made on the basis of an independent review by the Expert). The Expert shall not assign a value to any Reconciliation Dispute that is greater than the greatest value for such item assigned by the Company, on the one hand, or the Stockholder Representative, on the other hand, or less than the smallest value for such assigned by the Company, on the one hand, and The Stockholder Representative, on the other hand.

Section 7.10 Withholding . The Company shall be entitled to deduct and withhold from any amount payable to any Stockholder pursuant to this Agreement such amounts as the Company is required to deduct and withhold under the Code or any provision of state, local or

 

15


foreign tax law, with respect to entering into or making payments under this Agreement. To the extent that amounts are so withheld and paid over to the appropriate governmental authority by the Company, such withheld amounts shall be treated for all purposes of this Agreement as having been paid to the Stockholder in respect of whom such withholding was made. The Company shall provide evidence of such payment to such Stockholder. To the extent the amount of any withholding hereunder cannot be finally determined until after the end of the taxable year in which the amount otherwise payable to such Stockholder pursuant to this Agreement is required to be paid, the Company shall be entitled to deduct and withhold the maximum amount of tax that, in the Company’s reasonable judgment, may be required to be remitted to the applicable government authority with respect to such Stockholder, and after the applicable amount of withholding is finally determined, the Company shall promptly pay over any excess withheld amounts to such Stockholder.

Section 7.11 Affiliated Corporations; Admission of the Company into a Consolidated Group; Transfers of Corporate Assets .

(a) If the Company was, is or becomes a member of an affiliated, combined, unitary or consolidated group of corporations that files a consolidated income tax return pursuant to Sections 1501 et seq. of the Code or any comparable provision of applicable state or local Tax law (a “ Consolidated Return ”): (i) the provisions of this Agreement relating to the Company shall be applied with respect to the group as a whole as of any date of determination; and (ii) Tax Benefit Payments shall be computed with reference to the consolidated taxable income of the group as a whole.

(b) If any Person the income of which is included in the income of the Company’s affiliated or consolidated group transfers one or more assets to a corporation or any Person treated as such for Tax purposes with which such entity does not file a consolidated tax return pursuant to Section 1501 of the Code, for purposes of calculating the amount of any Tax Benefit Payment (e.g., calculating the gross income of the Company’s affiliated or consolidated group and determining the Realized Tax Benefit) due hereunder, such Person shall be treated as having disposed of such asset in a fully taxable transaction on the date of such transfer. The consideration deemed to be received by such entity shall be determined as if such transfer occurred on an arm’s-length basis with an unrelated third party.

Section 7.12 Confidentiality .

(a) Each party shall maintain in strict confidence and shall not disclose to any third party (except to its Affiliates in connection with performing any duties as necessary for the other party hereunder) any and all Confidential Information, except as may be necessary in order to comply with a requirement of Law, in which case the receiving party shall, if permissible, promptly notify the disclosing party of any such requirement and such disclosing party shall be permitted to seek confidential treatment for such information; provided that any party hereto or its Affiliates may disclose the terms of this Agreement in any registration statement relating to the IPO.

 

16


(b) With respect to any such Confidential Information, each of the parties hereto shall: (i) use the same degree of care in safeguarding the other party’s Confidential Information as it uses to safeguard its own information which is proprietary and/or treated as confidential; and (ii) upon the discovery of any inadvertent disclosure or unauthorized use of the Confidential Information, or upon obtaining notice of such disclosure or use from the other party, take or cause to be taken all necessary actions to prevent any further inadvertent disclosure or unauthorized use.

Section 7.13 Tax Treatment . Each Stockholder, the Stockholder Representative and the Company agree that by entering into this Agreement, each Stockholder is receiving a distribution in an amount equal to the fair market value of its rights under this Agreement, as jointly determined by the Company and the Stockholder Representative, and that such distribution is subject to Section 301 of the Code for U.S. federal income tax purposes and any similar or comparable state law provision for state tax purposes. Each such party shall file all Tax Returns in accordance with such treatment described in the previous sentence, unless otherwise required by a “determination” within the meaning of Section 1313 of the Code.

Section 7.14 Stockholder Representative.

(a) Appointment . Without further action of any of the Company, the Stockholder Representative or any Stockholder, and as partial consideration of the benefits conferred by this Agreement, the Stockholder Representative is hereby irrevocably constituted and appointed, with full power of substitution, to act in the name, place and stead of each Stockholder with respect to the taking by the Stockholder Representative of any and all actions and the making of any decisions required or permitted to be taken by the Stockholder Representative under this Agreement. The power of attorney granted herein is coupled with an interest and is irrevocable and may be delegated by the Stockholder Representative. No bond shall be required of the Stockholder Representative, and the Stockholder Representative shall receive no compensation for their services.

(b) Expenses . If at any time a Stockholder Representative shall incur out of pocket expenses in connection with the exercise of its duties hereunder, upon written notice to the Company from the Stockholder Representative of documented costs and expenses (including fees and disbursements of counsel and accountants) incurred by the Stockholder Representative in connection with the performance of its rights or obligations under this Agreement and the taking of any and all actions in connection therewith, the Company shall reduce any future payments (if any) due to the Stockholders hereunder pro rata (based on their respective Applicable Percentages) by the amount of such expenses which it shall instead remit directly to the requesting Stockholder Representative. In connection with the performance of its rights and obligations under this Agreement and the taking of any and all actions in connection therewith, a Stockholder Representative shall not be required to expend any of its own funds (though, for the avoidance of doubt, it may do so at any time and from time to time in its sole discretion).

(c) Limitation on Liability . The Stockholder Representative shall not be liable to any Stockholder for any act of the Stockholder Representative arising out of or in connection with the acceptance or administration of its duties under this Agreement, except to the extent any liability, loss, damage, penalty, fine, cost or expense is actually incurred by such Stockholder as a proximate result of the gross negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct of the Stockholder Representative (it being understood that any act done or omitted pursuant to the advice of legal

 

17


counsel shall be conclusive evidence of such good faith and reasonable judgment). The Stockholder Representative shall not be liable for, and shall be indemnified by the Stockholders (on a several but not joint basis) for, any liability, loss, damage, penalty or fine incurred by the Stockholder Representative (and any cost or expense incurred by the Stockholder Representative in connection therewith and herewith and not previously reimbursed pursuant to subsection (b) above) arising out of or in connection with the acceptance or administration of its duties under this Agreement, except to the extent that any such liability, loss, damage, penalty, fine, cost or expense is the proximate result of the gross negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct of the Stockholder Representative (it being understood that any act done or omitted pursuant to the advice of legal counsel shall be conclusive evidence of such good faith and reasonable judgment); provided, however, in no event shall any Stockholder be obligated to indemnify the Stockholder Representative hereunder for any liability, loss, damage, penalty, fine, cost or expense to the extent (and only to the extent) that the aggregate amount of all liabilities, losses, damages, penalties, fines, costs and expenses indemnified by such Stockholder hereunder is or would be in excess of the aggregate payments under this Agreement actually remitted to such Stockholder.

(d) Actions of the Stockholder Representative . A decision, act, consent or instruction of the Stockholder Representative shall constitute a decision of all Stockholders and shall be final, binding and conclusive upon each Stockholder, and the Company may rely upon any decision, act, consent or instruction of the Stockholder Representative as being the decision, act, consent or instruction of each Stockholder. The Company is hereby relieved from any liability to any person for any acts done by the Company in accordance with any such decision, act, consent or instruction of the Stockholder Representative. Each Stockholder hereby agrees that the Stockholder Representative may, at any time and in its sole discretion, elect to enter into a transaction which is likely to result in the assignment, in whole or in part, of this Agreement to a Person (upon such election, an “ Approved Assignment ”), and each such Stockholder will raise no objections against such Approved Assignment, regardless of the consideration (if any) being paid in such Approved Assignment, so long as such Approved Assignment does not materially and adversely impact such Stockholders in a manner materially adverse to the other Stockholders. Each Stockholder will take all actions requested by Stockholder Representative in connection with the consummation of an Approved Assignment, including the execution of all agreements, documents and instruments in connection therewith requested by Stockholder Representative of such Stockholder. Upon the consummation of the Approved Assignment, each Stockholder will receive their Applicable Percentage of such consideration, if any, relating to such Approved Assignment. Stockholders will bear their Applicable Percentage of the costs of any Approved Assignment to the extent such costs are incurred for the benefit of all Stockholders.

(e) Involvement in Company Determinations . In the event that any determination must be made under this Agreement by the Stockholder Representative or any dispute arises hereunder, should any representatives of the Stockholder Representative or their Affiliates then be serving on the Board, such directors shall be excluded from all deliberations and actions of the Board related to such determination or dispute.

Section 7.15 Headings . The headings in this Agreement are for convenience of reference only and shall not limit or otherwise affect the meaning hereof.

*        *        *         *        *        *        *        *         *

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Company, the Stockholder Representative and the Stockholders have duly executed this Agreement as of the date first written above.

 

APPAREL HOLDING CORP.

(F/K/A KELLWOOD HOLDING CORP.)

By:  

/s/ Jay L. Dubiner

Name:   Jay L. Dubiner
Title:  

Senior Vice President, Secretary and

General Counsel

SUN CARDINAL, LLC, AS STOCKHOLDER REPRESENTATIVE
By:  

/s/ Michael J. McConvery

Name:   Michael J. McConvery
Title:   Vice President and Assistant Secretary
SUN CARDINAL, LLC
By:  

/s/ Michael J. McConvery

Name:   Michael J. McConvery
Title:   Vice President and Assistant Secretary
SCSF CARDINAL, LLC
By:  

/s/ Michael J. McConvery

Name:   Michael J. McCovnery
Title:   Vice President and Assistant Secretary

[ Signatures Continue Next Page ]

Signature Page to Tax Receivable Agreement


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Company, the Stockholder Representative and the Stockholders have duly executed this Agreement as of the date first written above.

 

H.I.G. SUN PARTNERS, LLC
By:  

/s/ Richard Siegel

Name:   Richard Siegel
Title:   Authorized Signatory

Signature Page to Tax Receivable Agreement


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Company, the Stockholder Representative and the Stockholders have duly executed this Agreement as of the date first written above.

 

DAVID FALWELL
By:  

/s/ David Falwell

Signature Page to Tax Receivable Agreement


Schedule A

STOCKHOLDERS

Sun Cardinal, LLC - 74.8345%

SCSF Cardinal, LLC - 24.9449%

H.I.G. Sun Partners, LLC - 0.0210%

David Falwell - 0.1996%

Schedules A to Tax Receivable Agreement

Exhibit 10.3

CONSULTING AGREEMENT

This CONSULTING AGREEMENT (this “ Agreement ”), dated as of November 27, 2013, is entered into by and between Apparel Holding Corp., a Delaware corporation (the “ Company ”) and Sun Capital Partners Management V, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “ Consultant ”). The Company and Consultant are referred to herein as the “ Parties ”.

W I T N E S S E T H :

WHEREAS, the Company filed a Form S-1 Registration Statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 24, 2013 with the intent of making an initial public offering of shares as soon as practicable after the Registration Statement becomes effective (the “ IPO ”);

WHEREAS, historically, the Consultant has provided to the Company the consulting services set forth on Exhibit A (the “ Services ”), and received compensation for providing the Services pursuant to that certain Management Services Agreement, dated as of May 29, 2008 by and between Kellwood Company and Consultant (as amended from time to time, the “ Management Services Agreement ”);

WHEREAS, in connection with the IPO the Management Services Agreement will be terminated;

WHEREAS, after the IPO, the Consultant has expressed the willingness to continue to provide to the Company the Services without compensation, other than as set forth herein;

WHEREAS, after the IPO, the Company and its direct and indirect subsidiaries (the “ Subsidiaries ”) desire to continue to receive the Services from the Consultant and to obtain the benefit of the experience of the Consultant in business and financial management;

WHEREAS, after the IPO, the Consultant desires to provide the Services to the Company and the Subsidiaries pursuant to the terms of this Agreement; and

WHEREAS, the arrangements set forth in this Agreement are designed to reimburse the Consultant for expenses incurred while providing the Services to the Company and the Subsidiaries and provide the Consultant with indemnity from Losses as described herein.

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual agreements hereinafter set forth, the Company and the Consultant hereby agree as follows:

 

  1. Agreement; Term .

(a) The Company and the Subsidiaries have requested that the Consultant perform the Services. To the extent the Consultant performs such Services for the Company and/or any Subsidiary, unless otherwise agreed to by the Parties and specified in writing, the terms and conditions by which the Consultant will provide such Services are specified herein. The Parties agree and acknowledge that the Consultant shall have no obligation to perform any such Services except as agreed to by the Consultant from time to time.


(b) It is expressly understood and agreed that the Consultant shall devote only so much time, and shall consult with and advise the officers and directors of the Company and/or any Subsidiary only to such extent and at such times and places as may be mutually agreed by the Company and/or such Subsidiary and the Consultant. Subject to Section 22 , the Consultant shall be free to provide similar services to such other business enterprises or activities as the Consultant may deem fit without any limitation or restriction whatsoever.

(c) The term of this Agreement shall commence as of the completion of the IPO (the “ Effective Date ”) and shall terminate on the tenth (10 th ) anniversary of the Effective Date, and shall be extended automatically thereafter on a year-to-year basis; provided that the Consultant may (in its sole discretion) elect in writing to terminate this Agreement at any time; provided , further that the Company may (in its sole discretion) elect in writing to terminate this Agreement if SCSF Cardinal, LLC, Sun Cardinal, LLC and/or their respective affiliates’ aggregate ownership of the Company’s equity interests falls below thirty percent (30%). Notwithstanding any other provisions hereof, (A) the Company’s obligation to pay amounts due with respect to periods prior to the termination hereof and (B) the provisions of Sections 3 through 21 hereof, in each case shall survive any termination of this Agreement.

 

  2. Compensation and Expenses.

(a) Except as contemplated hereby or as approved by a majority of the Company’s Unaffiliated Directors (as defined below), the Company shall have no obligation to pay the Consultant and/or any of its affiliates (other than, for the avoidance of doubt, the Company and the Subsidiaries) (each, a “ Consultant Affiliate ”) any fees for the Services rendered hereunder and all matters related thereto (the “ Consulting Fees ”). As used herein, the term “ Unaffiliated Directors ” shall mean the Company’s directors who are not employees of the Consultant and/or any Consultant Affiliate.

(b) The Company shall reimburse, or cause the Subsidiaries to reimburse, the Consultant, any Consultant Affiliate or any of their respective members, managers, partners, directors, officers, employees or agents from time to time at the request of such party for the cost of all reasonable out-of-pocket fees and expenses incurred by such party in the performance of the Services rendered hereunder and all matters related thereto (the “ Consultant Expenses ”). Such out-of-pocket costs shall include, but are not limited to, the costs of airfare, lodging and transportation, as well as the costs of any service providers, attorneys, accountants, investment bankers, management, restructuring, real estate or other consultants, or other similar agents, advisors, or representatives engaged by the Consultant or Consultant Affiliate for the Company’s or any Subsidiary’s benefit, and shall not include any portion of salary or bonuses paid to any employee of the Consultant; provided that Consultant shall not be reimbursed for fees to such third party service providers except to the extent that such engagement is approved by Company, such approval not to be unreasonably conditioned, withheld or delayed. For the avoidance of doubt, reimbursement of such Consultant Expenses shall not be conditioned on the approval of the Unaffiliated Directors and shall be in addition to any Consulting Fees payable hereunder.

(c) The aforementioned Consulting Fees and Consultant Expenses (together, the “ Fees ”) will be payable promptly, but in no event more than fifteen (15) business days following the date which Consultant or any Consultant Affiliate submits to the Company an invoice (in form and substance consistent with past practice) for such fees and expenses (which may be more than once per month).

 

2


(d) The Company agrees and acknowledges that certain Consultant Affiliates (including, without limitation, Sun Capital Partners Sourcing, LLC, Neuheim Lux Group Holding V, S.a.r.l., and certain restructuring consultants) may provide certain Services to the Company and/or the Subsidiaries. For the avoidance of doubt, the fees and expense paid by the Company to such Consultant Affiliates for such Services shall be Consultant Expenses. All such services provided by a Consultant Affiliate shall be covered by the terms hereof and the Consultant and each Consultant Affiliate shall be considered a Consultant Indemnitee with respect to such services provided. The Company agrees that each Consultant Affiliate shall also be a third party beneficiary hereunder. For avoidance of doubt, when used herein, the term “affiliate” includes, without limitation, Sun Capital Advisors, Inc. and any similar entities (it being understood and agreed that the failure to list any entity as an affiliate shall in no way suggest any entity is not an affiliate).

3. Relationship of the Parties . The Consultant is providing services hereunder as an independent contractor. Nothing in this Agreement shall be deemed to constitute the Parties hereto as joint venturers, alter egos, partners or participants in an unincorporated business or other separate entity, nor in any manner create any employer-employee or principal-agent relationship between the Company and/or any of the Subsidiaries on the one hand, and the Consultant or any of the Consultant’s members, managers, agents, sub-contractors, officers or employees on the other hand (notwithstanding the fact that the Company and the Consultant may have in common any officers, directors, stockholders, members, managers, employees, or other personnel).

4. Directors and Officers . Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to relieve the directors or officers of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries from the performance of their respective duties or limit the exercise of their powers in accordance with the Company’s or such Subsidiary’s, as applicable, charter, bylaws, operating agreement, other constituent documents, applicable law, or otherwise. The activities of the Company and each of the Subsidiaries shall at all times be subject to the control and direction of their respective directors, managers and officers. The Company and the Subsidiaries reserve the right to make all decisions with regard to any matter upon which the Consultant or any Consultant Affiliate has rendered its advice and consultation. The Parties expressly acknowledge and agree that the Consultant is being engaged by the Company to provide consulting services to the Company and the Subsidiaries, for which the Consultant will be compensated pursuant to the terms of this Agreement. The Consultant shall not, and shall have no authority to, control the Company or any of the Subsidiaries or the Company’s or any of the Subsidiaries’ day-to-day operations, whether through the performance of the Consultant’s duties hereunder or otherwise. Moreover, although the Company and/or any of the Subsidiaries may grant to the Consultant authority to sign, review or approve the Company’s and/or such Subsidiary’s checks, payments, expenditures, transfers and/or conveyances, any such grant of authority shall be made by the Company or such Subsidiary, as applicable, and accepted by the Consultant with the express understanding and limitation that the Consultant shall possess and exercise such authority solely in its capacity as a provider of consulting services pursuant to the terms of this Agreement and in no other capacity, and that no inference shall be drawn therefrom as to any ability of the Consultant to control the Company or such Subsidiary or the Company’s or such Subsidiary’s day-to-day operations or as to any

 

3


liability or responsibility therefor. The Company’s and each of the Subsidiaries’ directors, managers, officers and employees shall retain all responsibility for the Company or such Subsidiary, as applicable, and its operations as and to the extent required by the Company’s or such Subsidiary’s charter, bylaws, operating agreement, other constituent documents, and applicable law.

5. Limitation of Liability . Neither the Consultant nor any of its affiliates, nor any of their respective past, current or future members, managers, partners, directors, officers, employees, agents and/or controlling persons, nor any successor by operation of law (including by merger) of any such person, nor any entity that acquires all or substantially all of the assets of any such person in a single transaction or series of related transactions (all of the foregoing, collectively, the “ Consultant Indemnitees ”) shall be liable to the Company or any of the Subsidiaries or affiliates or any of the security holders or creditors of the Company or any of its affiliates for (a) any damage, loss, liability, deficiency, diminution in value, action, suit, claim, proceeding, investigation, audit, demand, assessment, fine, judgment, cost or other expense (including, without limitation, legal fees and expenses) (collectively “ Liabilities ”) directly or indirectly (whether direct or indirect, in contract or tort or otherwise) arising out of, related to, caused by, based upon or in connection with the performance of services contemplated by this Agreement unless such Liability shall be proven to result directly and primarily from the willful misconduct of such person or (b) any Outside Activities (as defined in Section 17 below). The Consultant makes no representations or warranties, express or implied, in respect of the services provided by any Consultant Indemnitee. In no event will any Consultant Indemnitee be liable to (i) the Company or any of the Subsidiaries or affiliates (x) for any special, indirect, punitive, incidental or consequential damages, including, without limitation, loss of profits or savings or lost business, whether or not such damages are foreseeable or such Consultant Indemnitee has been advised of the possibility of such damages or (y) in respect of any Liabilities relating to any third party claims (whether based in contract, tort or otherwise), except as set forth in Section 5 below or (ii) to any of the security holders or creditors of the Company for any Liability whatsoever. Under no circumstances will the aggregate of any and all Liabilities of the Consultant Indemnitees exceed the aggregate of the fees actually paid to the Consultant hereunder.

6. Indemnification; Advancement . The Company and the Subsidiaries shall jointly and severally reimburse, defend, indemnify and hold the Consultant Indemnitees, and each of them, harmless from and against any Liabilities arising out of, related to, caused by, based upon or in connection with (a) any act or omission of, or on behalf of, the Company, any of the Subsidiaries, the Consultant or any of the Consultant Indemnitees, except to the extent proven to result directly and primarily from the willful misconduct or gross negligence of the person seeking indemnification, or (b) any act or omission made at the direction of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries (collectively, the items in (a) and (b) above, “ Claims ”). The Company, the Subsidiaries and any of their affiliates (other than the Consultant Indemnitees) shall jointly and severally defend at their own cost and expense any and all suits or actions (just or unjust) which may be brought against the Company, any of the Subsidiaries or any of their affiliates, or any Consultant Indemnitee or in which any Consultant Indemnitee may be impleaded with others upon any Claims, or upon any matter, directly or indirectly arising out of, related to, caused by, based upon or in connection with this Agreement or the performance (or failure of performance) hereof by any Consultant Indemnitee. Reasonable expenses incurred by a Consultant Indemnitee entitled to be indemnified under this Section 6 who was, is or is threatened to be made subject to

 

4


a Claim shall be paid by the Company in advance of the final disposition of the Claim upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of such Consultant Indemnitee to repay such amount if it shall ultimately be determined that he, she or it is not entitled to be indemnified by the Company and the Subsidiaries. If the Company has acknowledged in writing its indemnification obligations hereunder with respect to a Claim and is actively defending a Claim, a Consultant Indemnitee shall not be entitled to reimbursement of expenses related to the engagement of separate legal counsel with respect to such Claim unless Consultant Indemnitee, in good faith upon the advice of counsel, believes a conflict of interest necessitates the engagement of such legal counsel. Neither Party may settle any Claim without the consent of the other Party, such consent not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed. The Company hereby acknowledges that the Consultant Indemnities have certain rights to advancement and/or indemnification by certain affiliates of Sun Capital Partners, Inc. (collectively, the “ Fund Indemnitors ”). The Company hereby agrees that the Company is the indemnitor of first resort (i.e., its obligations to the Consultant Indemnitees are primary and those of the Fund Indemnitors are secondary), that the Company shall be liable for the full amount of payments of indemnification required by any organizational document of such entity or any agreement to which such entity is a party, and that the Company irrevocably and unconditionally waives any claims against the Fund Indemnitors for contribution, subrogation, exoneration, reimbursement or any other recovery of any kind for which it is liable pursuant to any organizational document or agreement including this Agreement. The Company further agrees that no payment for indemnification by the Fund Indemnitors on behalf of any Indemnified Party with respect to any claim for which an Indemnified Party has sought payment from it shall affect the foregoing, and the Fund Indemnitors, to the extent of such payment, shall be subrogated to all of the rights of recovery of such Indemnified Party against it.

7. Notices . All notices, requests, demands and other communications permitted or required to be given or delivered under or by reason of the provisions of this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be deemed conclusively to have been given (i) when personally delivered, (ii) when sent by facsimile (with hard copy to follow) during a business day (or on the next business day if sent after the close of normal business hours or on any non-business day), (iii) when sent by electronic mail (with hard copy to follow) during a business day (or on the next business day if sent after the close of normal business hours or on any non-business day), (iv) one (1) business day after being sent by reputable overnight express courier (charges prepaid), or (v) three (3) business day following mailing by certified or registered mail, postage prepaid and return receipt requested. Unless another address is specified in writing, notices, requests, demands and communications to the Parties shall be sent to the addresses indicated below:

If to the Company:

Apparel Holding Corp.

1441 Broadway – 6th Floor

New York, New York 10018

Attention: Chief Executive Officer and General Counsel

Facsimile: (855) 640-3896

 

5


If to the Consultant:

Sun Capital Partners Management V, LLC

c/o Sun Capital Partners, Inc.

5200 Town Center Circle, Suite 600

Boca Raton, FL 33486

Attention: C. Deryl Couch, Jason H. Neimark and Brian McGee

Facsimile: (561) 394-0540

8. Assignment; Successors and Assigns . This Agreement and the rights, duties and obligations of the Company and the Subsidiaries hereunder may not be assigned or delegated by the Company or any Subsidiary without the prior written consent of the Consultant. All covenants, promises and agreements by or on behalf of the Parties contained in this Agreement shall be binding upon and shall inure to the benefit of the Parties hereto and their respective heirs, legal representatives, successors and assigns.

9. Amendments . No modification, amendment, supplement or supplement of any provision of this Agreement shall be effective unless the same shall be in writing and signed by the Consultant and the Company. No waiver of any provision of this Agreement shall be effective unless the same shall be in writing and signed by the waiving Party.

10. Applicable Law . This Agreement shall be governed by, and construed and enforced in accordance with, the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to the conflicts of laws provisions thereof.

11. WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL . EACH PARTY HERETO HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES ALL RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY LITIGATION, ACTION, PROCEEDING, CROSS-CLAIM, OR COUNTERCLAIM IN ANY COURT (WHETHER BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT, OR OTHERWISE) ARISING OUT OF, RELATING TO OR IN CONNECTION WITH (I) THIS AGREEMENT OR THE VALIDITY, PERFORMANCE, INTERPRETATION, COLLECTION OR ENFORCEMENT HEREOF OR (II) THE ACTIONS OF THE PARTIES IN THE NEGOTIATION, AUTHORIZATION, EXECUTION, DELIVERY, ADMINISTRATION, PERFORMANCE OR ENFORCEMENT HEREOF.

12. Section Headings . The headings of each section are contained herein for convenience of reference only and shall not affect in any way the meaning or interpretation of this Agreement.

13. Entire Agreement . This Agreement sets forth the entire agreement of the Parties hereto with regard to the subject matter hereof and supersedes and replaces all prior agreements, understandings and representations, oral or written, with regard to such matters.

14. Severability . If any provision of this Agreement or application thereof under any circumstances is adjudicated to be invalid or unenforceable in any jurisdiction, such invalidity or unenforceability shall not affect any other provision or application of this Agreement which can be given effect without the invalid or unenforceable provision or application and shall not invalidate or render unenforceable such provision or application in any other jurisdiction. If any provision is held void, invalid or unenforceable with respect to particular circumstances, it shall nevertheless remain in full force and effect in all other circumstances.

 

6


15. Electronic Delivery; Counterparts . This Agreement and any signed agreement or instrument entered into in connection with this Agreement, and any amendments hereto or thereto, may be executed in one or more counterparts, all of which shall constitute one and the same instrument. Any such counterpart, to the extent delivered by means of a facsimile machine or by .pdf, .tif, .gif, .peg or similar attachment to electronic mail (any such delivery, an “ Electronic Delivery ”) shall be treated in all manner and respects as an original executed counterpart and shall be considered to have the same binding legal effect as if it were the original signed version thereof delivered in person. At the request of any Party hereto, each other Party hereto or thereto shall re-execute the original form of this Agreement and deliver such form to all other Parties. No Party hereto shall raise the use of Electronic Delivery to deliver a signature or the fact that any signature or agreement or instrument was transmitted or communicated through the use of Electronic Delivery as a defense to the formation of a contract, and each such Party forever waives any such defense, except to the extent such defense relates to lack of authenticity.

16. Further Assurances . Each Party hereto agrees to use all reasonable efforts to obtain all consents and approvals, and to do all other things, necessary for the transactions contemplated by this Agreement. The Parties agree to take such further action and to deliver or cause to be delivered any additional agreements or instruments as any of them may reasonably request for the purpose of carrying out this Agreement and the agreements and transactions contemplated hereby.

17. Attorneys’ Fees . If any action at law or in equity is necessary or desirable to enforce or interpret the terms of this Agreement, to protect the rights obtained hereunder, or where any provision hereof is validly asserted as a defense, then the Consultant, if the Consultant is the prevailing party in such action, shall be entitled to recover from the Company and/or from any Subsidiary its reasonable attorneys’ fees incurred in connection therewith, including attorneys’ fees on appeal, and all costs and disbursements, in addition to any other available relief or remedy to which it may be entitled.

18. Outside Activities . The Company hereby acknowledges and agrees that one or more of the Consultant Indemnitees have had, and from time to time may have, outside activities or interests that conflict or may conflict with the best interests of the Company, any Subsidiary or any of their affiliates (collectively, “ Outside Activities ”), including (without limitation) investment opportunities or investments in, ownership of, or participation in entities that are or could be complementary to, or competitive with, the Company, any Subsidiary or any of their affiliates or for which the Company or its Subsidiaries or affiliates could have an expectancy, interest or desire to engage. The Company hereby approves and consents to all Outside Activities not in violation of Section 22 , and no Consultant Indemnitee shall be liable to the Company, any Subsidiary or any of their affiliates for breach of any duty (contractual or otherwise), including without limitation any fiduciary duties, by reason of any such activities or of such person’s participation therein. No Consultant Indemnitee shall have any duty to communicate or offer any opportunity or the existence of any Outside Activities to the Company, its Subsidiaries or its affiliates, and no Consultant Indemnitee shall have any duty to refrain therefrom (directly, indirectly or through any assignee or transferee). In the event that any Consultant Indemnitee acquires knowledge of a potential transaction or matter that may be

 

7


a corporate opportunity for both the Company, any Subsidiary or any of their affiliates, on the one hand, and any Consultant Indemnitee, on the other hand, or any other person, no Consultant Indemnitee shall have any duty (contractual or otherwise), including without limitation any fiduciary duties, to communicate, present or offer such corporate opportunity to the Company or such Subsidiary or affiliate and, notwithstanding any provision of this Agreement to the contrary, shall not be liable to the Company or such Subsidiary or affiliate for breach of any duty (contractual or otherwise), including, without limitation any fiduciary duties, by reason of the fact that any Consultant Indemnitee directly or indirectly pursued or acquired such opportunity for itself, directed such opportunity to another person, or did not present or communicate such opportunity to the Company or such Subsidiary or affiliate, even though such corporate opportunity may be of a character that, if presented to the Company or such Subsidiary or affiliate, could be taken by the Company or such Subsidiary or affiliate, as applicable. The Company hereby renounces any interest, right, or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any such opportunity not offered to it by any Consultant Indemnitee to the fullest extent permitted by law, including pursuant to §122(17) of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware.

19. Intellectual Property . The Consultant shall retain all forms of legal rights and protections in any country of the world, including all right, title and interest arising under common and statutory law, in and to all: (a) letters patents, provisional patents, design patents, patent cooperation treaty filings and other rights to inventions or designs; (b) trade secret and equivalent rights in confidential or proprietary information and know-how; (c) copyrights, mask works, moral rights or other literary property or authors’ rights; (d) rights regarding trade names, logos, domain names, URLs, trademarks, service marks and other proprietary indicia or addresses and all goodwill associated therewith; (e) any similar, corresponding or equivalent rights relating to intangible intellectual property; and (f) all applications, registrations, issuances, divisions, continuations, renewals, reissuances and extensions of the foregoing, in each of the clauses (a) through (f) above in and to any work product or deliverables created for, or provided to, the Company or any Subsidiary under this Agreement or otherwise developed in connection with the services provided hereunder (collectively, the “ Consultant Owned Materials ”); provided that the Consultant Owned Materials shall not include any of the foregoing to the extent created exclusively for, and provided exclusively to, the Company or any Subsidiary under the Agreement. The Consultant has no obligation to provide any Consultant Owned Materials to the Company or any Subsidiary, but if the Consultant does so provide any Consultant Owned Materials to the Company or any Subsidiary, then the Consultant hereby grants to the Company and any such Subsidiary, a revocable, non-transferable and non-sublicensable, worldwide royalty-free, nonexclusive license, during the term of this Agreement, to copy, use and distribute such Consultant Owned Materials solely in connection with the use of the services by the Company or any such Subsidiary contemplated by this Agreement.

20. Construction . The construction of this Agreement shall not take into consideration the Party who drafted or whose representative drafted any portion of this Agreement, and no canon of construction shall be applied that resolves ambiguities against the drafter of a document.

21. Review by Board . Each of the Company and each Subsidiary represent and warrant to each Consultant Indemnitee that the execution of this Agreement has been duly authorized by the Company and each Subsidiary. The Company agrees to take, and cause the Subsidiaries and affiliates to take, all action requested by any Consultant Indemnitee such that such Consultant Indemnitee receives the full benefit contemplated by the terms hereof (including those set forth and contemplated by Sections 6 and 18 ).

 

8


22. Confidential Information . To the extent that, after the date hereof, Consultant becomes aware of any Confidential Information of the Company or its Subsidiaries from the Company or its Subsidiaries, Consultant will not, directly or indirectly, without the prior written consent of the Company, disclose or use any Confidential Information (including, without limitation, Confidential Information with respect to strategy, acquisitions, retail real estate opportunities, sourcing, pricing, vendors and customers); provided that such Confidential Information will not include (i) any information generally available to, or known by, the public (other than as a result of disclosure in violation hereof), (ii) any information independently developed after the date hereof without use or referring to any Confidential Information of the Company or its Subsidiaries, (iii) any information that is also Confidential Information of the Consultant or its affiliates or (iv) any information that becomes available to Consultant from a source other than the Company (provided that such source is not known to by Consultant to be bound by a confidentiality agreement with the Company); provided further that the provisions of this Section 22 will not restrict the use by the Consultant or any of its respective agents, consultants, advisors, representatives or affiliates’ overall knowledge and understanding of the Company’s industry that is not specific to the Company for the Consultant’s own purposes, including the purchase, sale, consideration of, advice regarding and decisions related to, investments; and provided further that the provisions of this Section 22 will not prohibit any retention of copies of records or disclosure (A) required by any applicable Law so long as reasonable prior notice is given to the Company of such disclosure and a reasonable opportunity is afforded to the Company to contest the same or (B) made in connection with the enforcement of any right or remedy relating to, or the performance of any obligation arising under, this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby. As used herein, the term “ Confidential Information ” means information if (A) the owner thereof has taken reasonable measures to keep such information secret and (B) such information derives independent economic value, actual or potential, from not being generally known to, and not being readily ascertainable through proper means by the public. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, “ Confidential Information ” shall include acquisition opportunities of the Company and its subsidiaries disclosed by the Company or its subsidiaries to the Consultant or its affiliates if (i) such acquisition opportunity is first learned of by the Consultant or its affiliates from the Company and (ii) the Company has requested that the Consultant or its affiliates (and the Consultant or its affiliate has agreed to) be involved in the evaluation of such acquisition. Notwithstanding anything contained herein to the contrary, the Consultant shall be entitled to disclose Confidential Information to its agents, consultants, advisors, representatives and affiliates (but not portfolio companies) and the partners, investors or equivalent members of Sun Capital Partners V, L.P, Sun Capital Securities Fund, L.P. and Sun Capital Securities Offshore Fund, Ltd to the extent such persons or entities are subject to confidentiality obligations to the Consultant.

23. Securities Laws . The Consultant acknowledges that the Company is an issuer with securities that will be registered pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and that the disclosure of material nonpublic information regarding the Company or any of its subsidiaries by the Consultant or trading in the securities of the Company by the Consultant while in the possession of such information may, depending on the facts and circumstances, subject the Consultant to liability under certain securities laws.

 

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[REMAINDER OF PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK]

 

10


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have executed this Consulting Agreement as of the date first above written.

 

SUN CAPITAL PARTNERS MANAGEMENT V, LLC
By:   /s/ Michael J. McConvery
Name:   Michael J. McConvery
Title:   Vice President and Assistant Secretary
APPAREL HOLDING CORP.
By:   /s/ Jay L. Dubiner
Name:   Jay L. Dubiner
Title:  

Senior Vice President, Secretary and

General Counsel

[Signature Page to Consulting Agreement]


Exhibit A

Services

Services related to:

Finance and Accounting

Human Resources and Employee Benefits

Intellectual Property

Purchasing, Distribution and Customer Services

Licensing

Facilities and Equipment

Regulatory Compliance

Mergers, Acquisitions, Divestitures and Debt Financings

Capital Markets

Strategy

Corporate Governance

Insurance

Other Historically Provided Services

Exhibit A to Consulting Agreement

Exhibit 10.4

 

 

 

CREDIT AGREEMENT

Dated as of November 27, 2013

among

Vince, LLC,

as the Borrower,

The Guarantors Named Herein,

BANK OF AMERICA, N.A.,

as Agent

and

The Other Lenders Party Hereto

MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH INCORPORATED ,

as Sole Lead Arranger and Sole Bookrunner

 

 

 


TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

          Section        Page  

ARTICLE I DEFINITIONS AND ACCOUNTING TERMS

     1   

1.01

  Defined Terms      1   

1.02

  Other Interpretive Provisions      48   

1.03

  Accounting Terms      49   

1.04

  [Reserved]      50   

1.05

  Rounding      50   

1.06

  Times of Day      50   

1.07

  Letter of Credit Amounts      50   

1.08

  Currency Equivalents Generally      50   

1.09

  Pro Forma Basis      51   

ARTICLE II THE COMMITMENTS AND CREDIT EXTENSIONS

     51   

2.01

  Committed Loans; Reserves      51   

2.02

  Borrowings, Conversions and Continuations of Committed Loans      52   

2.03

  Letters of Credit      54   

2.04

  Swing Line Loans      63   

2.05

  Prepayments; Loan Reallocation      65   

2.06

  Termination or Reduction of Commitments      67   

2.07

  Repayment of Obligations      67   

2.08

  Interest      67   

2.09

  Fees      68   

2.10

  Computation of Interest and Fees      68   

2.11

  Evidence of Debt      69   

2.12

  Payments Generally; Agent’s Clawback      69   

2.13

  Sharing of Payments by Lenders      71   

2.14

  Settlement Amongst Lenders      71   

2.15

  Increase in Commitments      72   

2.16

  Defaulting Lenders      74   

2.17

  Extensions of Loans      76   

ARTICLE III TAXES, YIELD PROTECTION AND ILLEGALITY

     79   

3.01

  Taxes      79   

3.02

  Illegality      82   

3.03

  Inability to Determine Rates      83   

3.04

  Increased Costs; Reserves on LIBOR Rate Loans      83   

3.05

  Compensation for Losses      84   

3.06

  Mitigation Obligations      85   

3.07

  Survival      85   

ARTICLE IV CONDITIONS PRECEDENT TO CREDIT EXTENSIONS

     85   

4.01

  Conditions to Initial Credit Extension      85   

4.02

  Conditions to all Credit Extensions      88   

ARTICLE V REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES

     89   

5.01

  Financial Condition      89   

 

(i)


5.02

  No Change      89   

5.03

  Existence, Compliance with Requirements of Law      89   

5.04

  Corporate Power; Authorization; Enforceable Obligations      90   

5.05

  No Legal Bar      90   

5.06

  No Material Litigation      90   

5.07

  No Default      91   

5.08

  Ownership of Property; Liens      91   

5.09

  Intellectual Property      91   

5.10

  Taxes      91   

5.11

  Federal Regulations      92   

5.12

  ERISA      92   

5.13

  Investment Company Act      93   

5.14

  Subsidiaries.      93   

5.15

  Environmental Compliance      93   

5.16

  Accuracy of Information, etc.      93   

5.17

  Security Documents      94   

5.18

  Solvency      95   

5.19

  Senior Indebtedness      95   

5.20

  Labor Matters      95   

5.21

  Regulation H      95   

5.22

  Anti-Money Laundering and Economic Sanctions Laws      95   

5.23

  Insurance      96   

5.24

  Deposit Accounts; Credit Card Arrangements      96   

5.25

  Shared Services Agreement      96   

ARTICLE VI AFFIRMATIVE COVENANTS

     97   

6.01

  Financial Statements      97   

6.02

  Certificates; Other Information      98   

6.03

  Notices      100   

6.04

  Payment of Obligations      101   

6.05

  Preservation of Existence, Etc.      101   

6.06

  Maintenance of Properties      101   

6.07

  Maintenance of Insurance      102   

6.08

  Compliance with Requirements of Laws      103   

6.09

  [Reserved]      103   

6.10

  Inspection Rights      103   

6.11

  Additional Collateral and Additional Loan Parties      103   

6.12

  Cash Management      106   

6.13

  Cycle Counts; Physical Count      107   

6.14

  Environmental Laws      107   

6.15

  Further Assurances      107   

6.16

  Post-Closing Obligations      108   

ARTICLE VII NEGATIVE COVENANTS

     108   

7.01

  Liens      108   

7.02

  Investments      111   

7.03

  Indebtedness      113   

7.04

  Fundamental Changes      115   

7.05

  Dispositions      116   

7.06

  Restricted Payments      118   

 

(ii)


7.07

  Prepayments of Indebtedness      119   

7.08

  Change in Nature of Business      119   

7.09

  Transactions with Affiliates      120   

7.10

  Burdensome Agreements      120   

7.11

  Use of Proceeds      121   

7.12

  Amendment of Material Documents; Designation of Indebtedness.      121   

7.13

  Fiscal Year      121   

7.14

  Deposit Accounts; Credit Card Processors      121   

7.15

  Sales and Leasebacks      121   

7.16

  Clauses Restricting Subsidiary Distributions      122   

7.17

  Limitation on Hedge Agreements      123   

7.18

  Financial Covenant      123   

7.19

  Tax Receivable Agreement. Terminate, or agree to the termination of, the Tax Receivable Agreement      123   

ARTICLE VIII EVENTS OF DEFAULT AND REMEDIES

     123   

8.01

  Events of Default      123   

8.02

  Remedies Upon Event of Default      126   

8.03

  Application of Funds      127   

ARTICLE IX THE AGENT

     128   

9.01

  Appointment      128   

9.02

  [Reserved]      129   

9.03

  [Reserved]      129   

9.04

  Delegation of Duties      129   

9.05

  Exculpatory Provisions      129   

9.06

  Reliance by Agent      130   

9.07

  Notice of Default      130   

9.08

  Non-Reliance on Agent and Other Lenders      130   

9.09

  Indemnification      131   

9.10

  Rights as a Lender      131   

9.11

  Successor Agent      131   

9.12

  Collateral and Guaranty Matters      132   

9.13

  No Other Duties, Etc      132   

9.14

  Agent May File Proofs of Claim      133   

9.15

  Notice of Transfer      133   

9.16

  Reports and Financial Statements      133   

9.17

  Agency for Perfection      134   

9.18

  Relation among Lenders      134   

9.19

  Risk Participation      134   

ARTICLE X MISCELLANEOUS

     135   

10.01

  Amendments and Waivers      135   

10.02

  Notices; Effectiveness; Electronic Communications      137   

10.03

  No Waiver; Cumulative Remedies      139   

10.04

  Expenses; Indemnity; Damage Waiver      140   

10.05

  Payments Set Aside      141   

10.06

  Successors and Assigns      142   

10.07

  Treatment of Certain Information; Confidentiality      146   

10.08

  Right of Setoff      147   

 

(iii)


10.09

  Interest Rate Limitation      147   

10.10

  Counterparts; Integration; Effectiveness      147   

10.11

  Survival      148   

10.12

  Severability      148   

10.13

  Replacement of Lenders      148   

10.14

  GOVERNING LAW      149   

10.15

  SUBMISSION TO JURISDICTION; WAIVERS      149   

10.16

  Waivers of Jury Trial      150   

10.17

  No Advisory or Fiduciary Responsibility      150   

10.18

  USA PATRIOT Act; Proceeds of Crime Act      150   

10.19

  Foreign Asset Control Regulations      151   

10.20

  Time of the Essence      151   

10.21

  [Reserved]      151   

10.22

  Press Releases      151   

10.23

  Additional Waivers      151   

10.24

  Judgment Currency      152   

10.25

  No Strict Construction      153   

10.26

  Attachments      153   

10.27

  Electronic Execution of Assignments and Certain Other Documents      153   

SIGNATURES

       S-1   

 

(iv)


SCHEDULES

 

1.01

   Guarantors

2.01

   Commitments and Applicable Percentages

4.01

   Unrestricted Subsidiaries

4.01(m)

   Certain Properties: Mortgages; Title Reports; Title Insurance; Surveys

5.01

   Contingent Obligations; Certain Indebtedness

5.08(a)

   Excepted Property

5.08(b)

   Owned and Leased Real Estate

5.14

   Subsidiaries

5.17

   Filing Jurisdictions

5.24

   Insurance

5.25(a)

   DDAs

5.25(b)

   Credit Card Arrangements

6.02

   Financial and Collateral Reporting

6.16

   Post-Closing Obligations

7.01(f)

   Existing Liens

7.02

   Existing Investments

7.03(d)

   Existing Indebtedness

7.09

   Affiliate Transactions

7.10

   Existing Burdensome Agreements

7.16

   Existing Restrictions on Subsidiary Distributions

10.02

   Agent’s Office; Certain Addresses for Notices

 

(v)


EXHIBITS

 

   Form of

A-1

   Committed Loan Notice

A-2

   Swing Line Loan Notice

B-1

   Revolving Note

B-2

   Swing Line Note

C

   Compliance Certificate

D

   Assignment and Assumption

E-1

   Foreign Lender Exemption Certificate

E-2

   Foreign Lender U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate

E-3

   Alternative Form Foreign Lender U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate

E-4

   Foreign Partnership U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate

F

   Closing and Solvency Certificate

G

   Representations and Warranties Certificate

H

   Credit Card Notification

I

   Borrowing Base Certificate

J

   Joinder Agreement

K

   Closing Checklist

L

   Intercreditor Agreement

 

(vi)


CREDIT AGREEMENT

This CREDIT AGREEMENT (“ Agreement ”) is entered into as of November 27, 2013, among

VINCE, LLC , a Delaware limited liability company (the “ Borrower ”),

the Guarantors named on Schedule 1.01 hereto,

each Lender from time to time party hereto,

each L/C Issuer from time to time party hereto, and

BANK OF AMERICA, N.A. , as administrative agent, collateral agent and an l/c issuer.

The Borrower has requested that the Lenders provide a revolving credit facility, and the Lenders have indicated their willingness to lend and the L/C Issuers have indicated their willingness to issue Letters of Credit, in each case on the terms and conditions set forth herein.

In consideration of the mutual covenants and agreements herein contained, the parties hereto covenant and agree as follows:

ARTICLE I

DEFINITIONS AND ACCOUNTING TERMS

1.01 Defined Terms.

As used in this Agreement, the following terms shall have the meanings set forth below:

ABL Priority Collateral ” has the meaning set forth in the Intercreditor Agreement.

Accelerated Borrowing Base Delivery Event ” means either (i) the occurrence and continuance of any Event of Default or (ii) the failure of the Borrower to maintain Excess Availability of at least the Trigger Amount for three (3) consecutive Business Days. For purposes of this Agreement, the occurrence of an Accelerated Borrowing Base Delivery Event shall be deemed continuing (x) so long as such Event of Default has not been waived in accordance with the terms hereof, and/or (y) if such Accelerated Borrowing Base Delivery Event arises as a result of the Borrower’s failure to achieve Excess Availability of at least the Trigger Amount for three (3) consecutive Business Days, until the date Excess Availability shall have been at least equal to the Trigger Amount for thirty (30) consecutive calendar days. The termination of an Accelerated Borrowing Base Delivery Event as provided herein shall in no way limit, waive or delay the occurrence of a subsequent Accelerated Borrowing Base Delivery Event in the event that the conditions set forth in this definition again arise.

Acceptable Document of Title ” means, with respect to any Inventory, a tangible bill of lading or other Document (as defined in the UCC) that (a) is issued to the order of a Loan Party or, if so requested by the Agent solely with respect to negotiable Documents (as defined in the UCC), to the order of the Agent, (b) is not subject to any Lien (other than in favor of the Agent and the Term Agent), and (c) is on terms otherwise reasonably acceptable to the Agent.

Accommodation Payment ” as defined in Section 10.23(d) .

 

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Account ” means “accounts” as defined in the UCC and also means a right to payment of a monetary obligation, whether or not earned by performance, (a) for property that has been or is to be sold, leased, licensed, assigned, or otherwise disposed of, (b) for services rendered or to be rendered, or (c) arising out of the use of a credit or charge card or information contained on or for use with the card. The term “Account” does not include (a) rights to payment evidenced by chattel paper or an instrument, (b) commercial tort claims, (c) deposit accounts, (d) investment property, or (e) letter of credit rights or letters of credit.

ACH ” means automated clearing house transfers.

Acquisition ” means, with respect to any Person (a) an Investment in or a purchase of fifty percent (50%) or greater interest in, the Equity Interests of any other Person, (b) a purchase or other acquisition of all or substantially all of the assets or properties of, another Person, (c) a purchase or acquisition of a Real Estate portfolio or stores from any other Person or assets constituting a business unit, line of business or division of any other Person, (d) any merger or consolidation of such Person with any other Person or other transaction or series of transactions resulting in the acquisition of all or substantially all of the assets, or greater than fifty percent (50%) of the Equity Interests, of any Person, in each case, in any transaction or group of transactions which are part of a common plan.

Additional Commitment Lender ” shall have the meaning provided in Section 2.15(c) .

Adjusted LIBOR Rate ” means, with respect to any LIBOR Borrowing for any Interest Period, an interest rate per annum (rounded upwards, if necessary, to the next 1/16 of one percent (1%)) equal the LIBOR Rate for such Interest Period multiplied by the Statutory Reserve Rate. The Adjusted LIBOR Rate will be adjusted automatically as to all LIBOR Borrowings then outstanding as of the effective date of any change in the Statutory Reserve Rate.

Adjustment Date ” means the first day of each Fiscal Quarter, commencing February 2, 2014.

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

Affiliate ” means, with respect to any Person, any other Person that, directly or indirectly, is in control of, is controlled by, or is under common control with, such Person. For purposes of this definition, “control” of a Person means the power, directly or indirectly to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of such Person, in either case whether by contract or otherwise.

Agent ” means Bank of America in its capacity as administrative agent and collateral agent under any of the Loan Documents, or any successor thereto.

Agent Parties ” shall have the meaning specified in Section 10.02(c) .

Agent’s Office ” means the Agent’s address and, as appropriate, account as set forth on Schedule 10.02 , or such other address or account as the Agent may from time to time notify the Borrower and the Lenders.

Aggregate Commitments ” means the Commitments of all the Lenders. As of the Closing Date, the Aggregate Commitments equal $50,000,000.

Agreement ” means this Credit Agreement.

 

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Allocable Amount ” has the meaning specified in Section 10.23(d) .

Amended or Refinanced ” means, in respect of any obligation, or the agreement or contract pursuant to which such obligation is incurred, (a) such obligation (or any portion thereof) or related agreement or contract as extended, renewed, defeased, amended, amended and restated, supplemented, modified, restructured, consolidated, refinanced, replaced, refunded or repaid from time to time and (b) any other obligation issued in exchange or replacement for or to refinance such obligation, in whole or in part, whether with same or different lenders, arrangers and/or agents and whether with a larger or smaller aggregate principal amount and/or a shorter or longer maturity, in each case to the extent not prohibited under the terms of the Loan Documents then in effect. “ Amend or Refinance ” and “ Amendment or Refinancing ” shall have correlative meanings.

Anti-Money Laundering Laws ” means any and all laws, judgments, orders, executive orders, decrees, ordinances, rules, regulations, statutes, case law or treaties applicable to a Loan Party, its Subsidiaries or Affiliates, related to terrorism financing or money laundering including any applicable provision of Title III of the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act (USA PATRIOT Act) of 2001 (Title III of Pub. L. 107-56) and The Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act (also known as the “Bank Secrecy Act”, 31 U.S.C. §§ 5311-5330 and 12 U.S.C. §§ 1818(s), 1820(b) and 1951-1959).

Applicable Lenders ” means the Required Lenders, the Required Supermajority Lenders, all affected Lenders, or all Lenders, as the context may require.

Applicable Margin ” means:

(a) From and after the Closing Date until the first Adjustment Date, the percentages set forth in Level I of the pricing grid below; and

(b) From and after the first Adjustment Date and on each Adjustment Date thereafter, the Applicable Margin shall be determined from the following pricing grid based upon Average Daily Excess Availability as of the Fiscal Quarter ended immediately preceding such Adjustment Date; provided , however, that upon the occurrence of an Event of Default, the Agent may, and at the direction of the Required Lenders shall, immediately increase the Applicable Margin to that set forth in Level III (even if the Average Daily Excess Availability requirements for a different Level have been met); provided further if the information set forth in any Borrowing Base Certificates proves to be false or incorrect due to intentional misrepresentation by the Borrower such that the Applicable Margin would have been higher than was otherwise in effect during any period, without constituting a waiver of any Default or Event of Default arising as a result thereof, interest due under this Agreement shall be immediately recalculated at such higher rate for any applicable periods and shall be due and payable on demand.

 

Level

  

Average Daily Excess Availability

   LIBOR
Margin
    Base Rate
Loan Margin
 
I    Greater than 40% of the Aggregate Commitments      1.25     0.25
II    Greater than or equal to 20% of the Aggregate Commitments but less than or equal to 40% of the Aggregate Commitments      1.50     0.50
III    Less than 20% of the Aggregate Commitments      1.75     0.75

 

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Applicable Percentage ” means with respect to any Lender at any time, the percentage (carried out to the ninth decimal place) of the Aggregate Commitments represented by such Lender’s Commitment at such time, subject to adjustment as provided in Sections 2.16 and 10.06 . If the Commitment of each Lender to make Loans and the obligation of each L/C Issuer to make L/C Credit Extensions have been terminated pursuant to Section 2.06 or Section 8.02 or if the Aggregate Commitments have expired, then the Applicable Percentage of each Lender shall be determined based on the Applicable Percentage of such Lender most recently in effect, giving effect to any subsequent assignments. The initial Applicable Percentage of each Lender is set forth opposite the name of such Lender on Schedule 2.01 or in the Assignment and Assumption or other instrument pursuant to which such Lender becomes a party hereto, as applicable.

Applicable Rate ” means, at any time of calculation, (a) with respect to Commercial Letters of Credit, a per annum rate equal to the Applicable Margin for Loans which are LIBOR Rate Loans less 0.50%, and (b) with respect to Standby Letters of Credit, a per annum rate equal to the Applicable Margin for Loans which are LIBOR Rate Loans.

Appraised Value ” means the appraised orderly liquidation value, net of costs and expenses to be incurred in connection with any such liquidation, which value is expressed as a percentage of Cost of Eligible Inventory as set forth in the inventory stock ledger of the applicable Loan Party, which value shall be determined from time to time by the most recent appraisal undertaken by an independent appraiser reasonably satisfactory to the Agent.

Approved Fund ” means, with respect to any Lender, any Fund that is administered or managed by (a) such Lender, (b) an Affiliate of such Lender or (c) an entity or an Affiliate of an entity that administers or manages such Lender.

Arranger ” means Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, in its capacity as sole lead arranger and sole bookrunner.

Assignee Group ” means two or more Eligible Assignees that are Affiliates of one another or two or more Approved Funds managed by the same investment advisor.

Assignment and Assumption ” means an assignment and assumption entered into by a Lender and an Eligible Assignee (with the consent of any party whose consent is required by Section 10.06) , and accepted by the Agent, in substantially the form of Exhibit D or any other form approved by the Agent.

Audited Financial Statement ” means the audited income statement of the Borrower for the Fiscal Year ended February 2, 2013, including the notes thereto.

Auto-Extension Letter of Credit ” shall have the meaning specified in Section 2.03(b)(iii) .

 

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Availability ” means, as of any date of determination thereof by the Agent, the result, if a positive number, equal to the lesser of (a)(i) the Loan Cap minus (ii) aggregate unpaid balance of the Credit Extensions, and (b)(i) the Loan Cap minus (ii) the Total Outstandings on such date.

Availability Period ” means the period from and including the Closing Date to the Termination Date.

Availability Reserves ” means any Reserves established by the Agent in its Permitted Discretion which relate to any factor which the Agent reasonably determines, without duplication of any other Reserves or items that are otherwise addressed or excluded through eligibility criteria or factored into the advance rates (a) to reflect the impediments to the Agent’s ability to realize upon the ABL Priority Collateral, (b) to reflect claims and liabilities that the Agent determines will need to be satisfied in connection with the realization upon the ABL Priority Collateral, or (c) to reflect criteria, events, conditions, contingencies or risks which adversely affect any component of the Borrowing Base, the aggregate value of the Collateral reflected in the Borrowing Base or the validity or enforceability of the Loan Documents or the material remedies of the Credit Parties thereunder. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, Availability Reserves may include, in the Agent’s Permitted Discretion, (but are not limited to) reserves based on: (i) rent; (ii) customs duties, and other costs to release Inventory which is being imported into the United States; (iii) outstanding Taxes and other governmental charges, including, without limitation, ad valorem, real estate, personal property, sales, claims of the PBGC and other Taxes which may have priority over the interests of the Agent in the Collateral; (iv) salaries, wages, vacation pay and benefits due to employees of any Loan Party, (v) Customer Credit Liabilities, (vi) customer deposits, (viii) reserves for reasonably anticipated changes in the Appraised Value of Eligible Inventory between appraisals, (viii) warehousemen’s, carrier’s or bailee’s charges and other Permitted Encumbrances which have priority over the interests of the Agent in the Collateral, (ix) amounts due to vendors on account of consigned goods and up to 30% of Eligible Inventory which is consigned by the Loan Parties to third parties (x) Cash Management Reserves, (xi) Bank Products Reserves, (xii) obligations with respect to the Loan Parties’ self-insurance; (xiii) amounts due to vendors on account of Eligible In-Transit Inventory (but only to the extent such amounts are not supported by a Commercial Letter of Credit), (xiv) reserves for pension plan contributions; (xv) reserves based on dilution of Accounts, and (xvi) reserves in the Agent’s Permitted Discretion for any non-retail third party location (including fulfillment centers) in which Collateral with a value in excess of $500,000 of inventory is maintained, whether or not such location is in a Landlord Lien State (or, to the extent that more than $2,500,000 of Collateral in the aggregate is maintained at all such locations, even if the value of the Collateral at any location is less than $500,000) (including based on fees charged by the operator of any such facility); provided , that (i) notwithstanding the foregoing, (a) the Agent shall only be permitted to impose rent reserves with respect to any leased location of any Loan Party equal to one (1) month’s rent (plus any past due rent) against the assets included in the Borrowing Base if the Loan Parties do not deliver to the Agent a Collateral Access Agreement by the 90th day after the Closing Date for (x) any leased location of any Loan Party that is located in a Landlord Lien State, (y) any leased distribution center of any Loan Party in which Collateral with a value in excess of $500,000 of inventory is maintained at any time, whether or not such location is in a Landlord Lien State (or, to the extent that more than $2,500,000 of Collateral in the aggregate is maintained at all such leased distribution centers, even if the value of the Collateral at any leased distribution center is less than $500,000), and (z) the headquarters location, and (b) the Agent shall only be permitted to impose reserves equal to two (2) month’s fees (calculated based on the average monthly fees charged by the applicable third party warehouse location during the most recently completed twelve month period) or one (1) month’s rent (plus any past due rent), as applicable, for any third party warehouse location (including any fulfillment center) not leased or owned by a Loan Party in which Collateral with a value in excess of $500,000 of inventory is maintained, whether or not such third party warehouse location is in a Landlord Lien State

 

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(or, to the extent that more than $2,500,000 of Collateral in the aggregate is maintained at all such third party warehouse locations, even if the value of the Collateral at any third party warehouse location is less than $500,000)); (ii) Cash Management Reserves may be imposed only when a Cash Dominion Event has occurred and is continuing; (iii) Bank Product Reserves in respect of Hedge Agreements secured by the Collateral shall require the consent of the Borrower; and (iv) any Reserve with respect to Customer Credit Liabilities under clause (a) of the definition thereof shall not exceed 50% of such Customer Credit Liabilities.

Average Daily Excess Availability ” shall mean the average daily Excess Availability for the immediately preceding Fiscal Quarter.

Average Revolving Loan Utilization ” means, at any Adjustment Date, a percentage equal to (x) the average daily aggregate Outstanding Amount of all Loans and Letters of Credit (excluding any outstanding Swing Line Loans) for the Fiscal Quarter immediately preceding such Adjustment Date, divided by (y) the Aggregate Commitments at such time.

Bank of America ” means Bank of America, N.A. and its successors.

Bank Products ” means any services or facilities provided to any Loan Party by the Agent, any Lender, or any of their respective branches or Affiliates on account of (a) Hedge Agreements, (b) leasing, and (c) factoring (but only to the extent that the applicable Loan Party and the Credit Party furnishing such services or facilities notify the Agent in writing that such services or facilities are to be deemed Bank Products hereunder), but excluding Cash Management Services.

Bank Product Reserves ” means such reserves as the Agent from time to time determine in its Permitted Discretion as being appropriate to reflect the liabilities and obligations of the Loan Parties with respect to Bank Products then provided or outstanding.

Banker’s Acceptance ” means a time draft or bill of exchange or other deferred payment obligation relating to a Commercial Letter of Credit which has been accepted by an L/C Issuer.

Base Rate ” means for any day a fluctuating rate per annum equal to the highest of (a) the rate of interest in effect for such day as publicly announced from time to time by Bank of America as its “prime rate”; (b) the Federal Funds Rate for such day, plus 0.50%; and (c) the LIBOR Rate for a one month interest period as determined on such day, plus 1.0%. The “prime rate” is a rate set by Bank of America based upon various factors including Bank of America’s costs and desired return, general economic conditions and other factors, and is used as a reference point for pricing some loans, which may be priced at, above, or below such announced rate. Any change in Bank of America’s prime rate, the Federal Funds Rate or the LIBOR Rate, respectively, shall take effect at the opening of business on the day specified in the public announcement of such change.

Base Rate Loan ” means a Loan that bears interest based on the Base Rate.

Blocked Account ” means any deposit account in which any funds of any of the Loan Parties from one or more DDAs (other than any Excluded DDA) are concentrated and with respect to which a Blocked Account Agreement has been, or is required to be, executed in accordance with the terms hereof.

Blocked Account Agreement ” means with respect to an account established by a Loan Party, an agreement, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Agent, establishing control (as defined in the UCC) of such account by the Agent and whereby the bank maintaining such account agrees upon the occurrence and during the continuance of a Cash Dominion Event, to comply only with the instructions originated by the Agent without the further consent of any Loan Party.

 

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Blocked Account Bank ” has the meaning provided in Section 6.12 .

Borrower Intellectual Property ” has the meaning specified in Section 5.09 .

Borrower Materials ” has the meaning specified in Section 6.02 .

Borrower ” has the meaning set forth in the preamble.

Borrowing ” means a Committed Borrowing or a Swing Line Borrowing made to the Borrower, as the context may require.

Borrowing Base ” means, at any time of calculation, an amount equal to (but not less than zero):

(a) the face amount of Eligible Trade Receivables of the Loan Parties multiplied by 85%;

plus

(b) the face amount of Eligible Credit Card Receivables of the Loan Parties multiplied by 90%;

plus

(c) 90% multiplied by the Appraised Value of Eligible Inventory of the Loan Parties multiplied by the Cost of such Eligible Inventory, net of Inventory Reserves;

minus

(d) the then amount of all Availability Reserves relating to the Loan Parties.

Borrowing Base Certificate ” means a certificate substantially in the form of Exhibit I hereto (with such changes therein as may be reasonably required by the Agent to reflect the components of and Reserves against the Borrowing Base as provided for hereunder from time to time), executed and certified as accurate and complete in all material respects by a Responsible Officer of the Borrower which shall include appropriate exhibits, schedules, supporting documentation, and additional reports as reasonably requested by the Agent.

Business Day ” means (a) any day other than a Saturday, Sunday or other day on which commercial banks are authorized to close under the Requirements of Law of, or are in fact closed in, the state where the Agent’s Office in the applicable jurisdiction is located and (b) if such day relates to any interest rate settings as to a LIBOR Rate denominated in Dollars, any fundings, disbursements, settlements and payments in Dollars in respect of any such LIBOR Rate Loan, or any other dealings in Dollars to be carried out pursuant to this Agreement in respect of any such LIBOR Rate Loan, means any such day on which dealings in deposits in Dollars are conducted by and between banks in the London interbank eurodollar market.

Capital Expenditures ” means, for any period, with respect to any Person, the aggregate of all cash expenditures by such Person for the acquisition or leasing (pursuant to Capital Lease Obligations but

 

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excluding any amount representing capitalized interest) of fixed or capital assets or additions to equipment (including replacements, capitalized repairs and improvements during such period) which are required to be capitalized under GAAP on a balance sheet of such Person; provided that in any event the term “Capital Expenditures” shall exclude: (i) any Permitted Acquisition and any other Investment permitted hereunder; (ii) expenditures to the extent financed with the proceeds from any casualty insurance or condemnation or eminent domain, to the extent that the proceeds therefrom are utilized (or are contractually committed to be utilized) for capital expenditures within twelve (12) months of the receipt of such proceeds; (iii) expenditures for leasehold improvements for which such Person has been reimbursed or received a credit; and (iv) expenditures to the extent they are made with the proceeds of equity contributions (other than Specified Equity Contributions and other than in respect of Disqualified Stock) made to the Borrower after the Closing Date, (v) the purchase price of equipment that is purchased simultaneously with the trade-in of existing equipment solely to the extent that the gross amount of such purchase price is reduced by the credit granted by the seller of such equipment for the equipment being traded in at such time; (vi) without duplication of the provisions of clause (iii), above, expenditures that are accounted for as capital expenditures by the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary and that actually are paid for by a Person other than the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary and for which neither the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower nor any Restricted Subsidiary has provided or is required to provide or incur, directly or indirectly, any consideration or obligation to such Person or any other Person (whether before, during or after such period); (vii) expenditures that constitute operating lease expenses in accordance with GAAP; (viii) any capitalized interest expense reflected as additions to property, plant or equipment in the consolidated balance sheet of the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower and the Restricted Subsidiaries; and (ix) any non-cash compensation or other non-cash costs reflected as additions to property, plant or equipment in the consolidated balance sheet of the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower and the Restricted Subsidiaries.

Capital Lease Obligations ” means, with respect to any Person for any period, 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, for the purposes of this Agreement, the amount of such obligations at any time shall be the capitalized amount thereof at such time determined in accordance with GAAP.

Cash Collateral Account ” means, with respect to the L/C Obligations, an account (which may, in accordance with Section 2.03(g) and at the Borrower’s option, be established as an interest-bearing account) established by the Borrower with Bank of America, and in the name of, the Agent (or as the Agent shall otherwise direct) and under the sole and exclusive dominion and control of the Agent, in which deposits are required to be made in accordance with Section 2.03 or Section 8.02 .

Cash Collateralize ” means to deposit in the Cash Collateral Account or to pledge and deposit with or deliver to the Agent, for the benefit of one or more of the Agent, the L/C Issuer or the Lenders, as collateral for L/C Obligations or obligations of the Lenders to fund participations in respect thereof (as the context may require), cash or deposit account balances or, if the Agent and the L/C Issuer shall agree in their sole discretion, other credit support, in each case pursuant to documentation in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Agent and the L/C Issuer and in an amount equal to 103% of the maximum stated amount of any such Letter of Credit, determined in the manner set forth in Section 1.07 hereof. “Cash Collateral” shall have a meaning correlative to the foregoing and shall include the proceeds of such cash collateral and other credit support. Any such amounts on deposit may, at the option of the Agent after request by the Borrower, be invested in Cash Equivalents.

 

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Cash Dominion Event ” means either (i) the occurrence and continuance of any Specified Event of Default, or (ii) the failure of the Borrower to maintain Excess Availability of at least the Trigger Amount for three (3) consecutive Business Days. For purposes of this Agreement, the occurrence of a Cash Dominion Event shall be deemed continuing (i) so long as such Specified Event of Default has not been waived, and/or (ii) if the Cash Dominion Event arises as a result of the Borrower’s failure to achieve Excess Availability of at least the Trigger Amount for three (3) consecutive Business Days, until the date Excess Availability shall have been at least equal to the Trigger Amount for thirty (30) consecutive calendar days; provided that a Cash Dominion Event may be discontinued only three (3) times during any 365 day period. The termination of a Cash Dominion Event as provided herein shall in no way limit, waive or delay the occurrence of a subsequent Cash Dominion Event in the event that the conditions set forth in this definition again arise.

Cash Equivalents ” means (a) marketable direct obligations issued by, or unconditionally guaranteed by, the United States government or issued by any agency thereof and backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, in each case maturing within one year from the date of acquisition; (b) certificates of deposit, time deposits, eurodollar time deposits or overnight bank deposits having maturities of one year or less from the date of acquisition issued by any Lender or by any commercial bank organized under the laws of the United States or any state thereof having combined capital and surplus of not less than $500,000,000; (c) commercial paper of an issuer rated at least A-2 by S&P or P-2 by Moody’s, or carrying an equivalent rating by a nationally recognized rating agency if both of the two named rating agencies cease publishing ratings of commercial paper issuers generally, and maturing within one year from the date of acquisition; (d) repurchase obligations of any Lender or of any commercial bank satisfying the requirements of clause (b) of this definition, having a term of not more than 30 days with respect to securities issued or fully guaranteed or insured by the United States government; (e) securities with maturities of one year or less from the date of acquisition issued or fully guaranteed by any state, commonwealth or territory of the United States, by any political subdivision or taxing authority of any such state, commonwealth or territory or by any foreign government, the securities of which state, commonwealth, territory, political subdivision, taxing authority or foreign government (as the case may be) are rated at least A by S&P or A by Moody’s; (f) securities with maturities of one year or less from the date of acquisition backed by standby letters of credit issued by any Lender or any commercial bank satisfying the requirements of clause (b) of this definition; and (g) shares of money market mutual or similar funds which invest exclusively in assets satisfying the requirements of any of clauses (a) through (f) of this definition; or (h) money market funds that (i) purport to comply generally with the criteria set forth in SEC Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, (ii) are rated AAA by S&P or Aaa by Moody’s or carrying an equivalent rating by a nationally recognized rating agency, and (iii) have portfolio assets of at least $5,000,000,000; or (i) in the case of Foreign Subsidiaries, (i) such local currencies in those countries in which such Foreign Subsidiary transacts business from time to time in the ordinary course of business and (ii) investments of comparable tenor and credit quality to those described above customarily utilized in the countries in which such Foreign Subsidiaries operate for short-term cash management purposes.

Cash Management Reserves “ means such Reserves as the Agent, from time to time, after the occurrence and during the continuation of a Cash Dominion Event, determines in its Permitted Discretion as being appropriate to reflect the reasonably anticipated liabilities and obligations of the Loan Parties with respect to Cash Management Services then provided or outstanding.

Cash Management Services ” means any cash management services provided to any Loan Party by the Agent or any Lender or any of their respective Affiliates, including, without limitation, (a) ACH transactions, (b) controlled disbursement services, treasury, depository, overdraft, and electronic funds transfer services, (c) credit card processing services, (d) credit or debit cards, (e) purchase cards, (f)

 

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supply chain finance services (including, without limitation, electronic trade payable services and supplier accounts receivable purchases), and (g) foreign exchange facilities (but only to the extent that the applicable Loan Party and the Credit Party furnishing such cash management services notify the Agent in writing that such cash management services are to be deemed Cash Management Services hereunder). For the avoidance of doubt, Cash Management Services do not include Hedge Agreements.

CERCLA ” means the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, 42 U.S.C. § 9601 et seq.

CERCLIS ” means the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Information System maintained by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

CFC ” means any Subsidiary that is a “controlled foreign corporation” within the meaning of Section 957 of the Code.

CFC Holdco ” any Domestic Subsidiary that has no material assets other than the Equity Interests of and, if applicable, Indebtedness of one or more Foreign Subsidiaries that are CFCs.

Change in Law ” means the occurrence, after the date of this Agreement, of any of the following: (a) the adoption or taking effect of any law, rule, regulation or treaty, (b) any change in any law, rule, regulation or treaty or in the administration, interpretation, implementation or application thereof by any Governmental Authority or (c) the making or issuance of any request, rule, guideline or directive (whether or not having the force of law) by any Governmental Authority; provided that notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, (x) the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and all requests, rules, guidelines or directives thereunder or issued in connection therewith and (y) 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 or foreign 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.

Change of Control ” means an event or series of events by which:

(a) the Parent shall cease directly or indirectly to own 100% of the Equity Interests of Holdings and the Borrower (except to the extent Holdings is permitted to merge with the Borrower pursuant to Section 7.04 ); or

(b) any “person” or “group” (as such terms are used in Section 13(d) and 14(d) of the Securities Exchange Act), other than one or more Permitted Investors shall be the “beneficial owner” (as defined in Rules 13d-3 and 13d-5 under the Securities Exchange Act) of Equity Interests having more, directly or indirectly, than 35% of the total voting power of all outstanding Capital Stock of the Parent in the election of directors, unless at such time the Permitted Investors are direct or indirect “beneficial owners” (as so defined) of Equity Interests of the Parent having a greater percentage of the total voting power of all outstanding Equity Interests of the Parent in the election of directors than that owned by each other “person” or “group” described above; or

(c) for any reason whatsoever, a majority of the Board of Directors of the Parent shall not be Continuing Directors; or

(d) a “Change of Control” (or comparable term) shall occur under the Term Facility, any Junior Indebtedness or the documentation for any Amendment or Refinancing of the foregoing, in each case (other than the Term Facility), if the outstanding principal amount thereof is in excess of $15,000,000.

 

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Closing Date ” means the first date all the conditions precedent in Section 4.01 are satisfied or waived in accordance with Section 10.01 , which date is November 27, 2013.

Code ” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and the regulations promulgated thereunder, as amended and in effect.

Collateral ” means any and all “Collateral”, “Security Assets” or “Mortgaged Property” as defined in any applicable Security Document and all other property that is subject to Liens in favor of the Agent under the terms of the Security Documents.

Collateral Access Agreement ” means an agreement reasonably satisfactory in form and substance to the Agent executed by (a) a bailee or other Person in possession of Collateral, or (b) any landlord of Real Estate leased by any Loan Party, pursuant to which such Person (i) acknowledges the Agent’s Lien on the Collateral, (ii) releases or subordinates such Person’s Liens in the Collateral held by such Person or located on such Real Estate, (iii) provides the Agent with access to the Collateral held by such bailee or other Person or located in or on such Real Estate, and (iv) makes such other agreements with the Agent as the Agent may reasonably require.

Collection Account ” has the meaning provided in Section 6.12 .

Commercial Letter of Credit ” means any letter of credit or similar instrument (including, without limitation, Bankers’ Acceptances) issued for the purpose of providing the primary payment mechanism in connection with the purchase of any materials, goods or services by a Loan Party in the ordinary course of business of such Loan Party.

Commitments ” means, as to each Lender, its obligation to make Committed Loans to the Borrower pursuant to Section 2.01 , (b) purchase participations in L/C Obligations, and (c) purchase participations in Swing Line Loans, in an aggregate principal amount at any one time outstanding not to exceed the amount set forth opposite such Lender’s name on Schedule 2.01 or in the Assignment and Assumption or other instrument pursuant to which such Lender becomes a party hereto, as applicable, as such amount may be adjusted from time to time in accordance with this Agreement. As of the Closing Date, the total Commitments of all Lenders is $50,000,000.

Commitment Fee Percentage ” means, for any day, 0.25%.

Committed Borrowing ” means a borrowing consisting of simultaneous Committed Loans of the same Type and, in the case of LIBOR Rate Loans, having the same Interest Period made by each of the Lenders pursuant to Section 2.01 .

Committed Loan ” means any loan at any time made by any Lender pursuant to Section 2.01 .

Committed Loan Notice ” means a notice of (a) a Committed Borrowing, (b) a Conversion of Committed Loans from one Type to the other, or (c) a continuation of LIBOR Rate Loans pursuant to Section 2.02(b) , which, if in writing, shall be substantially in the form of Exhibit A-1 (Committed Loan Notice).

Commonly Controlled Entity ” means an entity, whether or not incorporated, that is under common control with the Parent within the meaning of Section 4001 of ERISA.

 

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Commonly Controlled Plan ” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.12(b) .

Compliance Certificate ” means a certificate substantially in the form of Exhibit C .

Consent ” means actual consent given by a Lender from whom such consent is sought; or the passage of seven (7) Business Days from receipt of written notice to a Lender from the Agent of a proposed course of action to be followed by the Agent without such Lender’s giving the Agent written notice of that Lender’s objection to such course of action.

Consolidated ” means, when used to modify a financial term, test, statement, or report of a Person, the application or preparation of such term, test, statement or report (as applicable) based upon the consolidation, in accordance with GAAP, of the financial condition or operating results of such Person and its Subsidiaries.

Consolidated EBITDA ” of any Person, means, of any Person for any period, Consolidated Net Income of such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries for such period plus , without duplication and to the extent reflected as a charge in the statement of such Consolidated Net Income, the sum of (a) income tax (or any alternative tax in lieu thereof) expense (including state franchise and similar taxes), (b) Consolidated Net Interest Expense of such Person and its Subsidiaries, amortization or writeoff of debt discount and debt issuance costs and commissions, discounts and other fees and charges associated with Indebtedness (including commitment and administrative fees and charges with respect to this Agreement, the Term Facility, any Junior Indebtedness and any Permitted Amendment or Refinancing of any of the foregoing), (c) depreciation and amortization expense, (d) amortization or impairment of intangibles (including, but not limited to, goodwill) and organization costs, (e) any extraordinary, unusual or non-recurring expenses or losses (including, whether or not otherwise includable as a separate item in the statement of such Consolidated Net Income for such period, losses on sales of assets outside of the ordinary course of business), (f) stock-option based and other equity-based compensation expenses, (g) transaction costs, fees and expenses (including those relating to the transactions contemplated hereby and by the Term Facility (including any Amendment or Refinancing or waivers of the Loan Documents and/or the Term Facility), and those payable in connection with the sale of Equity Interests (including any secondary or follow-on offerings), the incurrence, repayment, redemption, repurchase or defeasance of Indebtedness permitted under Section 7.03 , any disposition of Property permitted under Section 7.05 or any recapitalization or any Permitted Acquisition or other Investment permitted under Section 7.02 or any other Specified Transaction (in each case whether or not successful)), including the IPO, (h) [reserved], (i) expenses or losses with respect to liability or casualty events and proceeds from any business interruption insurance, in each case, to the extent covered by insurance and actually reimbursed or otherwise paid, or, so long as the Borrower has made a determination that there exists reasonable evidence that such amount will in fact be reimbursed or otherwise paid by the insurer and only to the extent that such amount is (A) not denied by the applicable carrier in writing within 180 days and (B) in fact reimbursed or otherwise paid within 365 days of the date of such evidence (with a deduction for any amount so added back to the extent not so reimbursed or otherwise paid within such 365 days) (in the case of this clause (i) to the extent not reflected as revenue or income in such statement of such Consolidated Net Income), (j) to the extent actually reimbursed, expenses incurred to the extent covered by indemnification provisions in any agreement in connection with any Investment, Permitted Acquisition or any sale, conveyance, transfer or other Disposition of assets permitted under this Agreement, (k) any call premium, tender premium, original issue discount or expenses associated with the repurchase, redemption, defeasance, or repayment of Indebtedness, (l) the amount of any restructuring charges or reserves (which, for the avoidance of doubt, shall include retention, severance, systems establishment cost, excess pension charges, contract termination costs, future lease commitments, costs to consolidate facilities and relocate employees, costs related to the winddown of leases and costs related to store

 

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closures) deducted in such period in computing such Consolidated Net Income, (m) any non-cash charges, expenses or losses (including any impairment charges and the impact of purchase accounting, including, but not limited to, the amortization of inventory step-up) reducing such Consolidated Net Income for such period (excluding any such charge that represents an accrual or reserve for a cash expenditure for a future period, other than straight-line rent expense determined in accordance with GAAP) and (n) one-time costs and expenses related to the replacement of services provided to the Borrower on the Closing Date under the terms of the Shared Services Agreement, minus , to the extent included in the statement of such Consolidated Net Income for such period, the sum of (a) any extraordinary, unusual or non-recurring income or gains (including, whether or not otherwise includable as a separate item in the statement of such Consolidated Net Income for such period, gains on the sales of assets outside of the ordinary course of business) and (b) any non-cash items increasing Consolidated Net Income for such Person for such period (excluding any items which represent the reversal of any accrual of, or cash reserve for, anticipated cash charges made in any prior period or which will result in the receipt of cash in a future period or the amortization of lease incentives), all as determined on a consolidated basis; provided that for purposes of calculating Consolidated EBITDA of the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries for any period, (A) the Consolidated EBITDA of any Person acquired by the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower or its Restricted Subsidiaries during such period shall be included on a pro forma basis for such period to give effect to the transactions on the Closing Date and any Specified Transactions (but assuming the consummation of such Specified Transaction and the incurrence or assumption of any Indebtedness in connection therewith occurred on the first day of such period, and assuming any synergies and cost savings to the extent certified by the Borrower as having been determined in good faith to be reasonably anticipated to be realizable within 12 months following such Specified Transaction and provided that the aggregate amount of synergies and costs savings included in Consolidated EBITDA for any period of four consecutive fiscal quarters shall not exceed 10% off Consolidated EBITDA for such four fiscal quarter period (before giving effect to such adjustment), (B) the Consolidated EBITDA of any Person Disposed of by the Parent, Holdings the Borrower or its Restricted Subsidiaries during such period shall be excluded for such period (assuming the consummation of such Disposition and the repayment of any Indebtedness in connection therewith occurred on the first day of such period), (C) to the extent included in such Consolidated Net Income, there shall be excluded in determining Consolidated EBITDA for any period any income (loss) for such period attributable to the early extinguishment of (i) Indebtedness, (ii) obligations under any Hedge Agreements or (iii) other derivative instruments, (D) to the extent included in Consolidated Net Income, there shall be excluded in determining Consolidated EBITDA for any period any net after-tax gain or loss resulting from Hedge Agreement or other derivative instruments and the application of Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 133 and International Accounting Standard No. 39 and their respective related pronouncements and interpretations, and (E) any gains or losses attributable to foreign currency translations, including those relating to mark-to-market of Indebtedness denominated in foreign currencies resulting from the application of GAAP, including FAS No. 52. For purposes of determining compliance with the financial covenant set forth in Section 7.18 only (and not any other provision of this Agreement, including any such other provision that utilizes a calculation of Consolidated EBITDA), any cash common equity contribution made by the Parent or Holdings to the Borrower on or after the end of any fiscal quarter and prior to the day that is 10 Business Days after the day on which financial statements are required to be delivered for such Fiscal Quarter (it being understood that each such contribution shall be credited with respect to only one Fiscal Quarter; provided that such credit shall be effective as to such Fiscal Quarter for all periods in which such Fiscal Quarter is included) will, at the request of the Borrower, be deemed to increase, dollar for dollar, Consolidated EBITDA for such Fiscal Quarter for the purposes of determining compliance with such financial covenant at the end of such Fiscal Quarter and applicable subsequent periods (any such equity contribution so included in the calculation of Consolidated EBITDA, a “ Specified Equity Contribution ”); provided that (a) in each four Fiscal Quarter period there shall be at least two Fiscal Quarter in which no Specified Equity Contribution is made, (b) no more than five (5) Specified Equity Contributions shall be

 

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made in the aggregate during the term of this Agreement and (c) the amount of any Specified Equity Contribution shall be no greater than the amount required to cause the Parent to be in compliance with the financial covenant set forth in Section 7.18 hereof and Section 7.1 of the Term Loan Agreement; provided , further that (A) any cash or Cash Equivalents held as a result of a Specified Equity Contribution shall be disregarded for the purposes of calculating the Consolidated Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio for such period, and (B) all Specified Equity Contributions shall be disregarded for the purposes of determining financial ratio-based conditions (other than compliance with the financial covenant set forth in Section 7.18 as described above in this paragraph) or any baskets with respect to the covenants contained in this Agreement.

Consolidated Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio ” means, at any date of determination, with respect to the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries, the ratio of (a) (i) Consolidated EBITDA for such period minus (ii) Capital Expenditures (other than Financed Capital Expenditures) made in cash during such period, minus (iii) the aggregate amount of federal, state, provincial, territorial, municipal, local and foreign income Taxes paid in cash during such period (but not less than zero) and all amounts paid by the Loan Parties under the Tax Receivable Agreement to (b) the sum of (i) Consolidated Net Interest Expense for such period, plus (ii) scheduled payments of principal on Indebtedness during such period (after giving effect to any reduction thereof due to mandatory or permitted prepayments on such Indebtedness), plus (iii) the aggregate amount of Restricted Payments made pursuant to Section 7.06(e) , (f)  and (g ) hereof during such period (but excluding Restricted Payments to the extent funded by an issuance by the Borrower of Indebtedness permitted under Section 7.03 hereof, a Permitted Equity Issuance or a capital contribution to the Borrower).

Consolidated Net Income ” means, of any Person for any period, the consolidated net income (or loss) of such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries for such period, determined on a consolidated basis in accordance with GAAP; provided that in calculating Consolidated Net Income of the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries for any period, there shall be excluded (a) the income (or deficit) of any Person accrued prior to the date it becomes a Restricted Subsidiary or is merged into or consolidated with the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries and (b) the income (or deficit) of any Person (other than a Restricted Subsidiary) in which the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries has an ownership interest, except to the extent that any such income is actually received by the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower or such Restricted Subsidiary in the form of dividends or similar distributions (which dividends and distributions shall be included in the calculation of Consolidated Net Income). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the effect of any non-cash items resulting from any amortization, write-up, write-down or write-off of assets or liabilities (including intangible assets, goodwill, deferred financing costs and the effect of straight-lining of rents as a result of purchase accounting adjustments) in connection with any future Permitted Acquisition, Investment permitted under Section 7.02 , Disposition, merger, consolidation or similar transaction or any other non-cash impairment charges incurred subsequent to the Closing Date resulting from the application at SFAS Nos. 141, 142 or 144 (excluding any non-cash item to the extent that it represents an accrual of or reserve for cash expenditures in any future period except to the extent such item is subsequently reversed) shall be excluded from Consolidated Net Income.

Consolidated Net Interest Expense ” means, of any Person for any period, (a) total cash interest expense (including that attributable to Capital Lease Obligations) of such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries for such period with respect to all outstanding Indebtedness of such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries, minus (b) the sum of (i) total cash interest income of such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries for such period, in each case determined in accordance with GAAP plus (ii) one-time financing fees (to the extent included in such Person’s consolidated interest expense for such period), including, those paid in connection with the transactions occurring on the Closing Date or in connection

 

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with any Amendment or Refinancing hereof. For purposes of the foregoing, interest expense of any Person shall be determined after giving effect to any net payments made or received by such Person with respect to interest rate Hedge Agreements (other than early termination payments) permitted hereunder.

Continuing Directors ” means the directors of the Parent on the Closing Date, and each other director if, in each case, such other director’s nomination for election to the board of directors of the Parent is recommended by at least a majority of the then Continuing Directors or such other director receives the affirmative vote or consent of, or is appointed or otherwise approved by, the Sponsor, or those Permitted Investors which then hold a majority of the voting Equity Interests in the Parent then held by all Permitted Investors, in his or her election by the shareholders of the Parent.

Contractual Obligation ” means, as to any Person, any provision of any security issued by such Person or of any agreement, instrument or other undertaking to which such Person is a party or by which it or any of its property is bound.

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.

Convert ”, “ Conversion ” and “ Converted ” each refers to a conversion of Committed Loans of one Type into Committed Loans of the other Type.

Cost ” means the cost of purchases of Inventory, based upon the Borrower’s accounting practices, known to the Agent, which practices are in effect on the Closing Date as such calculated cost is determined from invoices received by the Borrower, the Borrower’s purchase journals or the Borrower’s stock ledger. “Cost” does not include inventory capitalization costs or other non-purchase price charges (such as freight) used in the Borrower’s calculation of cost of goods sold.

Covenant Compliance Event ” means that Excess Availability at any time is less than the greater of (a) fifteen (15%) percent of the Loan Cap or (b) $7,500,000. For purposes hereof, the occurrence of a Covenant Compliance Event shall be deemed continuing until Excess Availability has exceeded the amounts set forth above for thirty (30) consecutive days, in which case a Covenant Compliance Event shall no longer be deemed to be continuing for purposes of this Agreement. The termination of a Covenant Compliance Event as provided herein shall in no way limit, waive or delay the occurrence of a subsequent Covenant Compliance Event in the event that the conditions set forth in this definition again arise.

Credit Extensions ” mean each of the following: (a) a Borrowing and (b) a L/C Credit Extension.

Credit Card Issuer ” shall mean any person (other than Borrower or other Loan Party) who issues or whose members issue credit cards, including, without limitation, MasterCard or VISA bank credit or debit cards or other bank credit or debit cards issued through MasterCard International, Inc., Visa, U.S.A., Inc. or Visa International and American Express, Discover, Diners Club, Carte Blanche, JCB, NYCE, Star/Mac, Tyme, Pulse, Accel, AFF, Shazam, CU244, Alaska Option, Maestro, Novus, Interac, Push Funds, Switch, Solo, Visa Delta and other non-bank credit or debit cards, including, without limitation, credit or debit cards issued by or through American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc., and Novus Services, Inc. and other issuers reasonably approved by the Agent.

Credit Card Processor ” shall mean any servicing or processing agent or any factor or financial intermediary who facilitates, services, processes or manages the credit authorization, billing transfer and/or payment procedures with respect to any Loan Party’s sales transactions involving credit card or debit card purchases by customers using credit cards or debit cards issued by any Credit Card Issuer.

 

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Credit Card Notifications ” has the meaning provided in Section 6.12 .

Credit Card Receivables ” means, collectively, (a) all present and future rights of the Borrower or a Guarantor to payment from any Credit Card Issuer or Credit Card Processor arising from sales of goods or rendition of services to customers who have purchased such goods or services using a credit or debit card and (b) all present and future rights of the Borrower or a Guarantor to payment from any Credit Card Issuer or Credit Card Processor in connection with the sale or transfer of Accounts arising pursuant to the sale of goods or rendition of services to customers who have purchased such goods or services using a credit card or a debit card, including, but not limited to, all amounts at any time due or to become due from any Credit Card Issuer or Credit Card Processor under the Credit Card Agreements or otherwise, in each case above calculated net of prevailing interchange charges.

Credit Extensions ” mean each of the following: (a) a Borrowing and (b) an L/C Credit Extension.

Credit Party ” or “ Credit Parties ” means (a) individually, (i) each Lender and its Affiliates, (ii) the Agent and its Affiliates, (iii) each L/C Issuer, (iv) the Arranger, (v) each holder of any Other Liabilities, and (vi) each successor and permitted assign of each of the foregoing, and (b) collectively, all of the foregoing, in each case, to the extent relating to the services provided to, and obligations owing by or guaranteed by, the Loan Parties.

Currency Due ” has the meaning provided in Section 10.24 .

Customer Credit Liabilities ” means at any time, the aggregate remaining balance at such time of (a) outstanding gift certificates and gift cards of the Loan Parties entitling the holder thereof to use all or a portion of the certificate or gift card to pay all or a portion of the purchase price for any Inventory, and (b) outstanding merchandise credits of the Loan Parties.

Customs Broker/Carrier Agreement ” means an agreement in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Agent among a Loan Party, a customs broker, freight forwarder, consolidator, or carrier, and the Agent, in which the customs broker, freight forwarder, consolidator, or carrier acknowledges that it has control over and holds the documents evidencing ownership of the subject Inventory for the benefit of the Agent and agrees, upon notice from the Agent (which notice shall be delivered only upon the occurrence and during the continuance of an Event of Default), to hold and dispose of the subject Inventory solely as directed by the Agent.

DDA ” means any checking, savings or other demand deposit account maintained by any of the Loan Parties. All funds in each DDA shall be conclusively presumed to be Collateral and proceeds of Collateral and the Agent and the Lenders shall have no duty to inquire as to the source of the amounts on deposit in any DDA.

Debtor Relief Laws ” means each of (i) the Bankruptcy Code of the United States and (ii) all other liquidation, conservatorship, bankruptcy, assignment for the benefit of creditors, moratorium, rearrangement, receivership, insolvency, reorganization, or similar debtor relief Requirement of Laws of the United States from time to time in effect and affecting the rights of creditors generally.

 

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Default ” means any event or condition that constitutes an Event of Default or that, with the giving of any notice, the passage of time, or both, would be an Event of Default.

Default Rate ” means (a) when used with respect to Letter of Credit Fees, a rate equal to the Applicable Rate plus two percent (2%) per annum, and (b) otherwise, when used with respect to Obligations, an interest rate equal to two percent (2%) per annum in excess of the rate then applicable to such Obligation.

Defaulting Lender ” means, subject to Section 2.17(b) , any Lender that (a) has failed to (i) fund all or any portion of its Loans within one Business Day of the date such Loans were required to be funded hereunder, or (ii) pay to the Agent, the L/C Issuer, the Swing Line Lender or any other Lender any other amount required to be paid by it hereunder (including in respect of its participation in Letters of Credit or Swing Line Loans) within one Business Day of the date when due, (b) has notified the Company, the Agent, the L/C Issuer or the Swing Line Lender in writing that it does not intend to comply with its funding obligations hereunder, or has made a public statement to that effect, (c) has failed, within three Business Days after written request by the Agent or the Company, to confirm in writing to the Agent and the Company that it will comply with its prospective funding obligations hereunder (provided that such Lender shall cease to be a Defaulting Lender pursuant to this clause (c) upon receipt of such written confirmation by the Agent and the Company), or (d) has, or has a direct or indirect parent company that has, (i) become the subject of a proceeding under any Debtor Relief Law, or (ii) has been deemed insolvent or (iii) had appointed for it a receiver, custodian, conservator, trustee, administrator, assignee for the benefit of creditors or similar Person charged with reorganization or liquidation of its business or assets, including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other state or federal regulatory authority acting in such a capacity; provided that a Lender shall not be a Defaulting Lender solely by virtue of the ownership or acquisition of any Equity Interest in that Lender or any direct or indirect parent company thereof by a Governmental Authority so long as such ownership interest does not result in or provide such Lender with immunity from the jurisdiction of courts within the United States or from the enforcement of judgments or writs of attachment on its assets or permit such Lender (or such Governmental Authority) to reject, repudiate, disavow or disaffirm any contracts or agreements made with such Lender. Any determination by the Agent that a Lender is a Defaulting Lender under any one or more of clauses (a) through (d) above, and of the effective date of such status, shall be conclusive and binding absent manifest error, and such Lender shall be deemed to be a Defaulting Lender (subject to Section 2.17(b) ) as of the date established therefor by the Agent in a written notice of such determination, which shall be delivered by the Agent to the Company, the L/C Issuer, the Swing Line Lender and each other Lender promptly following such determination.

“Delegate” means any delegate, agent, attorney or co-trustee appointed by the Agent (in its capacity as security trustee) as appointed under Section 9.02 of this Agreement.

Determination Date ” shall mean the date upon which each of the following has occurred:

(a) the Commitments have been terminated by the Borrower or the Required Lenders (or are deemed terminated) upon the occurrence of an Event of Default; and

(b) the Obligations have been declared to be due and payable (or have become automatically due and payable) and have not been paid in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.

Disposition ” or “ Dispose ” means with respect to any Property, any sale, sale and leaseback, assignment, conveyance, transfer or other effectively complete disposition thereof. The terms “Dispose” and “Disposed of” shall have correlative meanings. For the avoidance of doubt, it is understood and

 

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agreed that the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower and any Restricted Subsidiary may, in the ordinary course of business, grant licenses to Intellectual Property owned or developed by, or licensed to, such entity and that, for purposes of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents, such licenses shall not constitute a “Disposition” of such Intellectual Property; provided, that the terms of such licenses shall not restrict the right of the Agent to use such Intellectual Property in connection with the conduct of a Liquidation.

Disqualified Institution ”: (a) those banks, financial institutions and other entities designated in writing by the Borrower to the Agent prior to the Closing Date, in each case, together with their respective Affiliates, and (b) any corporate competitors of the Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries and the Affiliates of such corporate competitors (other than bona fide debt funds or investors) designated in writing by the Borrower to the Agent from time to time. The Agent will make the list of Disqualified Institutions available to any Lender upon request.

Disqualified Stock ” means any Equity Interest that (a) requires the payment of any dividends (other than dividends payable solely in shares of Qualified Stock), (b) matures or is mandatorily redeemable or subject to mandatory repurchase or redemption or repurchase at the option of the holders thereof, in each case in whole or in part and whether upon the occurrence of any event, pursuant to a sinking fund obligation on a fixed date or otherwise (including as the result of a failure to maintain or achieve any financial performance standards), prior to the date that is 91 days after the final scheduled maturity date of the Obligations (other than (i) upon Payment in Full of the Obligations or (ii) if the issuer has the option to settle for Qualified Stock (and cash in lieu of fractional shares thereof in de minimis amounts) or (c) are convertible or exchangeable, automatically or at the option of any holder thereof, into any Indebtedness, Equity Interest or other assets other than Qualified Stock; provided that if such Equity Interests are issued pursuant to a plan for the benefit of Holdings, any Parent Company, the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower, or any Restricted Subsidiary or by any such plan to such employees, such Equity Interests shall not constitute Disqualified Stock solely because it may be required to be repurchased by the Borrower or its Restricted Subsidiaries in order to satisfy applicable statutory or regulatory obligations or as a result of such employee’s termination, death or disability.

Dollars ” and “ $ ” mean lawful money of the United States.

Domestic Subsidiary ” means any direct or indirect Restricted Subsidiary organized under the laws of United States, any state thereof or the District of Columbia (excluding, for the avoidance of doubt, any Subsidiary organized under the laws of Puerto Rico or any other territory) other than (i) a Domestic Subsidiary of a Foreign Subsidiary that is a CFC or (ii) any CFC Holdco.

Economic Sanctions Laws ” means any and all laws, judgments, orders, executive orders, decrees, ordinances, rules, regulations, statutes, case law or treaties applicable to a Loan Party, its Subsidiaries or Affiliates relating to economic sanctions and terrorism financing, including any applicable provisions of the Trading with the Enemy Act (50 U.S.C. App. §§ 5(b) and 16, as amended), the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, (50 U.S.C. §§ 1701-1706, as amended) and Executive Order 13224 (effective September 24, 2001), as amended.

Eligible Assignee ” means (a) a Credit Party or any of its Affiliates under common control with such Credit Party; (b) a bank, insurance company, or company engaged in the business of making commercial loans, which Person, together with its Affiliates, has a combined capital and surplus in excess of $250,000,000; (c) an Approved Fund; and (d) any other Person (other than a natural Person) satisfying the requirements of Section 10.06(b) hereof; provided that notwithstanding the foregoing, “Eligible Assignee” shall not include a Disqualified Institution, a Permitted Investor, a Loan Party or any of their respective Affiliates or Subsidiaries other than a Permitted Holder Lender.

 

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Eligible Credit Card Receivables ” means at the time of any determination thereof, each Credit Card Receivable that satisfies the following criteria at the time of creation and continues to satisfy such criteria at the time of such determination: such Credit Card Receivable (i) has been earned by performance and represents the bona fide amounts due to a Loan Party from a Credit Card Issuer or Credit Card Processor, and in each case is originated in the ordinary course of business of such Loan Party, and (ii) in each case is not ineligible for inclusion in the calculation of the Borrowing Base, pursuant to any of clauses (a) through (g) below. Without limiting the foregoing, to qualify as an Eligible Credit Card Receivable, an Account shall indicate no Person other than a Loan Party as payee or remittance party. In determining the amount to be so included, the face amount of an Account shall be reduced by, without duplication, to the extent not reflected in such face amount, (i) the amount of all accrued and actual discounts, claims, credits or credits pending, promotional program allowances, price adjustments, finance charges or other allowances (including any amount that a Loan Party may be obligated to rebate to a customer, a Credit Card Issuer or Credit Card Processor pursuant to the terms of any agreement or understanding (written or oral)) and (ii) the aggregate amount of all cash received in respect of such Account but not yet applied by the Loan Parties to reduce the amount of such Credit Card Receivable. Except as otherwise agreed by the Agent, any Credit Card Receivable included within any of the following categories shall not constitute an Eligible Credit Card Receivable:

(a) Credit Card Receivables which do not constitute an Account;

(b) Credit Card Receivables that have been unpaid for more than five (5) Business Days from the date of sale (or such longer period(s) as may be approved by the Agent in its Permitted Discretion);

(c) Credit Card Receivables (i) that are not subject to a perfected first-priority security interest in favor of the Agent (subject to Liens permitted under Section 7.01 having priority by operation of applicable Requirement of Law), for the benefit of itself and to such Credit Parties, or (ii) with respect to which a Loan Party does not have good and valid title thereto, free and clear of any Lien (other than Liens granted to the Agent pursuant to the Security Documents, or to the Term Agent under the Term Facility, or any Permitted Amendment or Refinancing of the foregoing and other Liens having priority by operation of applicable Requirement of Law);

(d) Credit Card Receivables which are disputed, are with recourse, or with respect to which a claim, counterclaim, offset or chargeback (other than chargebacks in the ordinary course by the Credit Card Processors) has been asserted (to the extent of such claim, counterclaim, offset or chargeback);

(e) Credit Card Receivables as to which a Credit Card Issuer or a Credit Card Processor has the right under certain circumstances to require a Loan Party to repurchase such Loan Party’s entire portfolio of Accounts from such Credit Card Issuer or Credit Card Processor (it being acknowledged and understood that any right of a Credit Card Issuer or Credit Card Processors to chargeback a Credit Card Receivable shall not be deemed a right of such Credit Card Issuer or Credit Card Processor to require a Loan Party to repurchase such Loan Party’s Accounts under this clause (e));

(f) Credit Card Receivables due from a Credit Card Issuer or a Credit Card Processor of the applicable credit card which is the subject of any bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings; or

 

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(g) Credit Card Receivables which the Agent determines in its Permitted Discretion to be uncertain of collection or which do not meet such other reasonable eligibility criteria for Credit Card Receivables as the Agent may determine.

Eligible In-Transit Inventory ” means, as of any date of determination thereof, without duplication of other Eligible Inventory, In-Transit Inventory:

(i) Which has been shipped from a foreign location for receipt by a Loan Party, but which has not yet been delivered to such Loan Party, which In-Transit Inventory has been in transit for sixty (60) days or less from the date of shipment of such Inventory;

(ii) For which the purchase order is in the name of a Loan Party and title and risk of loss has passed to such Loan Party;

(iii) For which an Acceptable Document of Title has been issued and delivered to a Loan Party or to a customs broker thereof with which the Agent has entered into a Customs Broker/Carrier Agreement;

(iv) Which is insured in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents (including, without limitation, marine cargo insurance);

(v) unless the Agent shall otherwise agree in its Permitted Discretion, for which payment of the purchase price has been made by the applicable Loan Party or the purchase price is supported by a Commercial Letter of Credit; and

(vi) Which otherwise would constitute Eligible Inventory;

provided that the Agent may, in its discretion, and upon notice to the Borrower, exclude any particular Inventory from the definition of “Eligible In-Transit Inventory” in the event the Agent determines in its Permitted Discretion that such Inventory is subject to any Person’s right of reclamation, repudiation, stoppage in transit, which is (or is capable of being) senior to, or pari passu with, the Lien of the Agent or may otherwise adversely impact the ability of the Agent to realize upon such Inventory.

Eligible Inventory ” means, as of the date of determination thereof, without duplication, (i) Eligible In-Transit Inventory of the Loan Parties, (ii) items of Inventory of a Loan Party that are raw materials and (iii) items of Inventory of a Loan Party that are finished goods, merchantable and readily saleable to the public in the ordinary course of such Loan Party’s business, in each case that is not excluded as ineligible for inclusion in the calculation of the Borrowing Base by virtue of one or more of the criteria set forth below. Except as otherwise agreed by the Agent, in its Permitted Discretion, the following items of Inventory shall not be included in Eligible Inventory:

(a) Inventory that is not solely owned by a Loan Party or a Loan Party does not have good and valid title thereto free and clear of any Lien, including any Inventory the subject of any retention of title arrangements (other than Liens granted to the Agent pursuant to the Security Documents and to the Term Agent under the Term Facility and Liens permitted by Section 7.01 having priority by operation of applicable Requirements of Law or other Liens of record by landlords permitted by Section 7.01 which have been subordinated to the Lien of the Agent pursuant to a subordination agreement on terms reasonable satisfactory to the Agent);

 

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(b) Inventory that is leased by or is on consignment to a Loan Party, except for Inventory of the Loan Parties on concession to third parties in the United States located at retail stores of such third parties, for which the Loan Parties have taken such actions as are required by the UCC or other applicable Requirements of Law to perfect their consignment liens on such Inventory and which liens and security interests have been assigned to the Agent pursuant to applicable Requirements of Law, and which is consigned by a Loan Party to a Person which is not a Loan Party;

(c) Inventory (other than (i) Eligible In-Transit Inventory or (ii) Inventory in-transit between the Loan Parties’ locations or in storage trailers at Loan Parties’ locations) that is not located in the United States of America (excluding territories or possessions of the United States) at a location that is owned or leased by a Loan Party, provided that notwithstanding the foregoing, the following items of Inventory shall be deemed eligible if all of the other eligibility criteria set forth in this definition are satisfied: (x) Inventory in transit between such owned or leased locations or (y) Inventory at any other location to the extent that (A) the Loan Parties have furnished the Agent with any UCC financing statement or other documents that the Agent may determine to be necessary to perfect its security interest in such Inventory at such location, and (B) (I) the Agent has obtained a Collateral Access Agreement covering all Inventory stored at such location, or (II) the Agent has established adequate Reserves covering such location in accordance with the terms of this Agreement;

(d) Inventory that is comprised of goods which (i) are damaged, defective, or otherwise unmerchantable, (ii) are to be returned to the vendor, (iii) are obsolete or slow moving, or custom items, work-in-process, or that constitute samples, spare parts for equipment, promotional, marketing, labels, bags and other packaging and shipping materials or supplies used or consumed in a Loan Party’s business, (iv) are not in compliance in all material respects with all standards imposed by any Governmental Authority having regulatory authority over such Inventory, its use or sale, or (vi) are bill and hold goods;

(e) Inventory that is not subject to a perfected first-priority security interest in favor of the Agent (subject to Liens permitted by Section 7.01 which have priority by operation of applicable Requirements of Law);

(f) Inventory as to which casualty insurance in compliance with the provisions of Section 6.07 hereof is not in effect;

(g) Inventory that has been sold but not yet delivered or as to which a Loan Party has accepted a deposit;

(h) Inventory that is subject to any licensing, patent, royalty, trademark, trade name or copyright agreement with any third party from which any Loan Party or any of its Subsidiaries has received notice of a dispute in respect of any such agreement (but ineligibility shall be limited to the amount of such dispute);or

(i) Inventory acquired in a Permitted Acquisition or which is not of the type usually sold in the ordinary course of the Loan Parties’ business, unless and until the Agent has completed or received (A) an appraisal of such Inventory from appraisers reasonably satisfactory to the Agent and establishes Inventory Reserves (if applicable) therefor, provided such Inventory is not otherwise ineligible as a result of any of clauses (a) to (i) above, and (B) such other due diligence as the Agent may reasonably require, all of the results of the foregoing to be reasonably satisfactory to the Agent in its Permitted Discretion; provided it is agreed that so long as the Agent has received reasonable prior notice of such Permitted Acquisition and the Loan Parties

 

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reasonably cooperate (and cause the Person being acquired to reasonably cooperate) with the Agent, the Agent shall use reasonable best efforts to complete such due diligence and related appraisal on or prior to the closing date of such Permitted Acquisition.

Eligible Trade Receivables ” means Accounts arising from the sale of the Loan Parties’ Inventory (other than those consisting of Credit Card Receivables) or rendition of services that satisfy the following criteria at the time of creation and meets the same at the time of such determination: such Account (i) has been earned by performance and represents the bona fide amounts due to a Loan Party from an account debtor, and in each case is originated in the ordinary course of business of such Loan Party, and (ii) is not ineligible for inclusion in the calculation of the Borrowing Base pursuant to any of clauses (a)  through (r)  below. Without limiting the foregoing, to qualify as an Eligible Trade Receivable, an Account shall indicate no Person other than a Loan Party as payee or remittance party. In determining the amount to be so included, the face amount of an Account shall be reduced by, without duplication, to the extent not reflected in such face amount, (i) the amount of all accrued and actual discounts, claims, credits or credits pending, promotional program allowances, shared advertising costs, price adjustments, finance charges or other allowances (including any amount that a Loan Party may be obligated to rebate to a customer pursuant to the terms of any agreement or understanding (written or oral)) (collectively “ Account Allowances ”) and (ii) the aggregate amount of all cash received in respect of such Account but not yet applied by the Loan Parties to reduce the amount of such Eligible Trade Receivable. Except as otherwise agreed by the Agent, any Account included within any of the following categories shall not constitute an Eligible Trade Receivable:

(a) Accounts that are not evidenced by an invoice;

(b) Accounts that have been outstanding for more than (x) sixty (60) days from the due date or (y) ninety (90) days past the invoice date (or one hundred twenty (120) days past the invoice date for Accounts due from those account debtors agreed to in writing by the Agent from time to time acting in its Permitted Discretion);

(c) Accounts due from any account debtor fifty percent (50%) or more of whose Accounts are not eligible under clause (b) , above.

(d) Except as set forth in the proviso hereto, all Accounts owed by an account debtor and/or its Affiliates together exceed fifteen percent (15%) (or any other percentage now or hereafter established by the Agent for any particular account debtor) of the amount of all Accounts at any one time (the “ Concentration Limit ”) (but the portion of the Accounts not in excess of the applicable percentage may be deemed Eligible Trade Receivables, in the Agent’s Permitted Discretion), provided that the Concentration Limit for Accounts due from (x) Nordstrom shall equal forty percent (40%), (y) Saks Fifth Avenue shall equal thirty percent (30%) and (z) Neiman Marcus shall equal twenty percent (30%);

(e) Accounts (i) that are not subject to a perfected first-priority security interest in favor of the Agent (other than Liens permitted by Section 7.01 which have priority by operation of applicable Requirements of Law), or (ii) with respect to which a Loan Party does not have good and valid title thereto, free and clear of any Lien (other than Liens granted to the Agent pursuant to the Security Documents and Liens granted to the Term Agent under the Term Facility and other Liens permitted by Section 7.01 which have priority by operation of applicable Requirements of Law);

 

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(f) Accounts which are disputed or with respect to which a claim, counterclaim, offset or chargeback has been asserted, but only to the extent of such dispute, counterclaim, offset or chargeback;

(g) Accounts which arise out of any sale (i) not made in the ordinary course of business, or (ii) made on a basis other than upon credit terms usual to the business of the Loan Parties;

(h) Accounts which are owed by any Affiliate or any employee of a Loan Party ( provided that this clause (h) shall not exclude any Account of any Account Debtor solely on the basis that it is a portfolio company of the Sponsor);

(i) Accounts for which all consents, approvals or authorizations of, or registrations or declarations with any Governmental Authority required to be obtained, effected or given in connection with the performance of such Account by the account debtor or in connection with the enforcement of such Account by the Agent have been duly obtained, effected or given and are in full force and effect;

(j) Accounts due from an account debtor which is the subject of any bankruptcy or insolvency proceeding, has had a trustee or receiver appointed for all or a substantial part of its property, has made an assignment for the benefit of creditors or has suspended its business;

(k) Accounts due from any Governmental Authority except to the extent that the subject account debtor is the federal government of the United States of America and the Loan Parties have complied with the Federal Assignment of Claims Act of 1940 have been complied with;

(l) Accounts (i) owing from any Person that is also a supplier to, or creditor of, a Loan Party or any of its Subsidiaries unless such Person has waived any right of setoff in a manner reasonably acceptable to the Agent or (ii) representing any manufacturer’s or supplier’s credits, discounts, incentive plans or similar arrangements entitling a Loan Party or any of its Subsidiaries to discounts on future purchase therefrom; provided , that the existence of any Account Allowance as described above with respect to an Account shall not cause the applicable account debtor to be a supplier to, or creditor of, a Loan Party for the purposes of subclause (l)(i) above;

(m) Accounts arising out of sales on a bill-and-hold, guaranteed sale, sale-or-return, sale on approval or consignment basis or subject to any right of return;

(n) Accounts owing from (i) any Embargoed Person, or (ii) any Person located in a in a foreign jurisdiction other than Canada; provided, that up to $2,000,000 in the aggregate of Accounts owing from Persons located in a foreign jurisdiction other than Canada shall constitute Eligible Trade Receivables, provided, that such Accounts would otherwise constitute Eligible Trade Receivables;

(o) Accounts evidenced by a promissory note or other instrument;

(p) Accounts consisting of amounts due from vendors as rebates or allowances;

(q) Accounts which include extended payment terms (datings) beyond those generally furnished in the ordinary course of business;

 

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(r) Accounts acquired in a Permitted Acquisition, unless and until the Agent has (A) completed or received such due diligence as the Agent may require with respect thereto, all of the results of the foregoing to be reasonably satisfactory to the Agent, and (B) otherwise agrees that such Accounts shall be deemed Eligible Trade Receivables; or

(s) Accounts which are not (i) billed and collected in the United States; and (ii) payable in Dollars.

Embargoed Person ” means any party that (i) is publicly identified on the most current list of “Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons” published by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“ OFAC ”) or (ii) resides, is organized or chartered, or has a place of business in a country or territory that is the subject of OFAC sanctions programs.

Environmental Laws ” means any and all applicable laws, rules, orders, regulations, statutes, ordinances, codes or decrees (including, without limitation, common law) of any international authority, foreign government, the United States, or any state, provincial, local, municipal or other governmental authority, regulating, relating to or imposing liability or standards of conduct concerning protection of the environment, as has been, is now, or at any time hereafter is, in effect.

Environmental Liability ” means any liability, claim, action, suit, judgment or order under or relating to any Environmental Law for any damages, injunctive relief, losses, fines, penalties, fees, expenses (including reasonable fees and expenses of attorneys and consultants) or costs, whether contingent or otherwise, including those arising from or relating to: (a) compliance or non-compliance with any Environmental Law, (b) the generation, use, handling, transportation, storage, treatment or disposal of any Materials of Environmental Concern, (c) exposure to any Materials of Environmental Concern, (d) the Release of any Materials of Environmental Concern or (e) any contract, agreement or other consensual arrangement pursuant to which liability is assumed or imposed with respect to any of the foregoing.

Equipment ” has the meaning set forth in the UCC or any other applicable Requirement of Law.

Equity Interests ” means any and all shares, interests, participations or other equivalents (however designated) of capital stock of a corporation, any and all equivalent ownership interests in a Person (other than a corporation).

Equity Issuance ” means any issuance by the Parent of its Qualified Stock in a public or private offering, other than any Specified Equity Contribution.

ERISA ” means the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.

ERISA Affiliate ” means any trade or business (whether or not incorporated) under common control with the Loan Parties within the meaning of Section 414(b) or (c) of the Code (and Sections 414(m) and (o) of the Code for purposes of provisions relating to Section 412 of the Code).

Event of Default ” has the meaning specified in Section 8.01 .

Excess Availability ” means the difference, at any time of calculation, between the Loan Cap and the Total Outstandings.

Excluded DDA ” means (i) any deposit account exclusively used for payroll or employee benefits, and (ii) any deposit account which is a trust or fiduciary account.

 

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Excluded Subsidiary ” means (a) any Subsidiary that is not directly or indirectly a wholly owned Subsidiary of the Parent, (b) any Immaterial Subsidiary, (c) any Subsidiary that is prohibited by applicable Requirements of Law or, to the extent mutually agreed the same would prevent the granting thereof, Contractual Obligations that are in existence on the Closing Date or at the time of acquisition of such Subsidiary and not entered into in contemplation thereof from providing a Facility Guaranty or if providing a Facility Guaranty by such Subsidiary would require governmental (including regulatory) consent, approval, license or authorization (unless such consent, approval license or authorization has been obtained), (d) any Foreign Subsidiary, (e) any Unrestricted Subsidiary, (f) any Subsidiary that is a captive insurance company and (i) any other Subsidiary with respect to which, in the reasonable judgment of the Agent and the Borrower, the burden or cost or other consequences of providing a Facility Guaranty shall be excessive in view of the benefits to be obtained by the Credit Parties therefrom. For the avoidance of doubt, each Excluded Subsidiary is a Non-Guarantor Subsidiary hereunder

Excluded Swap Obligations ” means, with respect to any Guarantor, any obligation (a “ Swap Obligation ”) to pay or perform under any agreement, contract or transaction that constitutes a “swap” within the meaning of section 1a(47) of the Commodity Exchange Act, if, and to the extent that, all or a portion of the Guarantee Obligation of such Guarantor of, or the grant by such Guarantor of a security interest to secure, such Swap Obligation (or any Guarantee Obligation with respect thereto) is or becomes illegal or unlawful under the Commodity Exchange Act or any rule, regulation or order of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (or the application or official interpretation of any thereof) by virtue of such Guarantor’s failure for any reason not to constitute an “eligible contract participant” as defined in the Commodity Exchange Act (determined after giving effect to Section 2.8 of the Guarantee and Collateral Agreement) at the time the Guarantee Obligation of such Guarantor or the grant of such security interest would otherwise have become effective with respect to such related Swap Obligation but for such Guarantor’s failure to constitute an “eligible contract participant” under the Commodity Exchange Act or any such rule, regulation or order at such time.

Excluded Taxes ” means any of the following Taxes imposed on or with respect to any Recipient or required to be withheld or deducted from a payment to a Recipient, (a) Taxes imposed on or measured by net or gross income (however denominated), Taxes imposed on or measured by net or gross profits, franchise or capital Taxes, and branch profits Taxes, in each case, (i) imposed as a result of such Recipient’s being organized under the laws of, or having its principal office or, in the case of any Lender, its Lending Office located in, the jurisdiction imposing such Tax (or any political subdivision thereof) or (ii) that are Other Connection Taxes, (b) in the case of a Lender, any withholding Taxes imposed on amounts payable to or for the account of such Lender with respect to an applicable interest in a Loan or Commitment pursuant to a law in effect on the date on which (i) such Lender (or its assignor, if any) acquires such interest in the Loan or Commitment (or designates a new lending office) (other than pursuant to an assignment request by the Borrower under Section 10.13 ) or (ii) such Lender changes its Lending Office, except in each case to the extent that, pursuant to Section 3.01(a) or (c) , amounts with respect to such Taxes were payable either to such Lender’s assignor immediately before such Lender became a party hereto or to such Lender immediately before it changed its Lending Office, (c) Taxes attributable to such Recipient’s failure to comply with Section 3.01(e) and (d) any U.S. federal withholding Taxes imposed pursuant to FATCA.

Existing Revolver Tranche ” has the meaning provided in Section 2.17(a) .

Extended Commitments ” has the meaning provided in Section 2.17(a) .

Extending Lender ” has the meaning provided in Section 2.17(b) .

 

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Extension Amendment ” has the meaning provided in Section 2.17(d) .

Extension Request ” has the meaning provided in Section 2.17(a) .

Extension Election ” has the meaning provided in Section 2.17(b) .

Extension Series ” has the meaning provided in Section 2.17(a) .

Facility Guaranty ” means a Guarantee of the Obligations made by any Person in favor of the Agent and the other Credit Parties pursuant to the Security Agreement or in such other form reasonably satisfactory to the Agent.

FATCA ” means Sections 1471 through 1474 of the Code, as of the date of this Agreement (or any amended or successor version that is substantively comparable and not materially more onerous to comply with) and any current or future regulations or official interpretations thereof.

Federal Funds Rate ” means, for any day, the rate per annum equal to the weighted average of the rates on overnight Federal funds transactions with members of the Federal Reserve System arranged by Federal funds brokers on such day, as published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on the Business Day next succeeding such day; provided that (a) if such day is not a Business Day, the Federal Funds Rate for such day shall be such rate on such transactions on the next preceding Business Day as so published on the next succeeding Business Day, and (b) if no such rate is so published on such next succeeding Business Day, the Federal Funds Rate for such day shall be the average rate (rounded upward, if necessary, to a whole multiple of 1/100 of 1%) charged to Bank of America on such day on such transactions as determined by the Agent.

Fee Letter ” means the letter agreement, dated as of the date hereof, between the Borrower and the Agent.

Financed Capital Expenditures ” shall mean Capital Expenditures made through purchase money financing (other than from Credit Extensions hereunder) or Capital Lease transactions permitted hereunder.

Fiscal Month ” means one of the three fiscal periods in a Fiscal Quarter each of which is approximately one month in duration. There are 12 Fiscal Months in each Fiscal Year.

Fiscal Quarter ” means one of the four 13-week, or, if applicable, 14-week quarters in a Fiscal Year, with the first of such quarters beginning on the first day of a Fiscal Year and ending on a Saturday of the thirteenth (or fourteenth, if applicable) week in such quarter.

Fiscal Year ” means the fiscal year ending on the Saturday closest to January 31 in any calendar year.

Flood Insurance Laws ” means collectively, (i) the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 as now or hereafter in effect or any successor statute thereto, (ii) the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 as now or hereafter in effect or any successor statue thereto, (iii) the National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994 as now or hereafter in effect or any successor statute thereto and (iv) the Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2004 as now or hereafter in effect or any successor statute thereto.

Foreign Lender ” means any Lender that is not a U.S. Person.

 

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Foreign Subsidiary ” means any Subsidiary that is not a Domestic Subsidiary.

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

Fronting Exposure ” means, at any time there is a Defaulting Lender, (a) with respect to any L/C Issuer, such Defaulting Lender’s Applicable Percentage of the outstanding L/C Obligations other than L/C Obligations as to which such Defaulting Lender’s participation obligation has been reallocated to other Lenders or Cash Collateralized in accordance with the terms hereof, and (b) with respect to the Swing Line Lender, such Defaulting Lender’s Applicable Percentage of Swing Line Loans other than Swing Line Loans as to which such Defaulting Lender’s participation obligation has been reallocated to other Lenders in accordance with the terms hereof.

Fund ” means any Person (other than a natural person) that is (or will be) engaged in making, purchasing, holding or otherwise investing in commercial loans and similar extensions of credit in the ordinary course of its business.

GAAP ” means generally accepted accounting principles in the United States set forth in the opinions and pronouncements of the Accounting Principles Board and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and statements and pronouncements of the Financial Accounting Standards Board or such other principles as may be approved by a significant segment of the accounting profession in the United States, that are applicable to the circumstances as of the date of determination, consistently applied.

Governmental Authority ”: any nation or government, any state, province or other political subdivision thereof and any governmental entity exercising executive, legislative, judicial, regulatory or administrative functions of or pertaining to government and, as to any Lender, any securities exchange and any self regulatory organization (including the National Association of Insurance Commissioners).

Guarantee Obligation ” means, as to any Person (the “ guaranteeing person ”), any obligation of (a) the guaranteeing person or (b) another Person (including, without limitation, any bank under any letter of credit) to induce the creation of which the guaranteeing person has issued a guarantee, reimbursement, counterindemnity or similar obligation, in either case guaranteeing or by which such Person becomes contingently liable for any Indebtedness, net worth, working capital earnings, leases, dividends or other distributions upon the stock or equity interests (the “ primary obligations ”) of any other third Person (the “ primary obligor ”) in any manner, whether directly or indirectly, including, without limitation, any obligation of the guaranteeing person, whether or not contingent, (i) to purchase any such primary obligation or any Property constituting direct or indirect security therefor, (ii) to advance or supply funds (1) for the purchase or payment of any such primary obligation or (2) to maintain working capital or equity capital of the primary obligor or otherwise to maintain the net worth or solvency of the primary obligor, (iii) to purchase Property, securities or services primarily for the purpose of assuring the owner of any such primary obligation of the ability of the primary obligor to make payment of such primary obligation or (iv) otherwise to assure or hold harmless the owner of any such primary obligation against loss in respect thereof; provided , however , that the term Guarantee Obligation shall not include endorsements of instruments for deposit or collection in the ordinary course of business, guarantees of operating leases in the ordinary course of business, and reasonable indemnity obligations in effect on the Closing Date or entered into in connection with any acquisition or disposition of assets or any Investment permitted under this Agreement. The amount of any Guarantee Obligation of any guaranteeing person shall be deemed to be such guaranteeing person’s maximum reasonably anticipated liability in respect thereof as determined by the Borrower in good faith.

 

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Guarantor ” means (i) the Parent, (ii) Holdings and (ii) each Subsidiary of the Parent that executes and delivers a Facility Guaranty pursuant hereto; provided that no Excluded Subsidiary shall be required to be a Guarantor hereunder.

Hedge Agreements ” means all interest rate swaps, caps or collar agreements or similar arrangements entered into by the Borrower or its Subsidiaries providing for protection against fluctuations in interest rates or currency exchange rates or the exchange of nominal interest obligations or the price of commodities, raw materials, utilities and energy, either generally or under specific contingencies.

Holdings ” means Vince Intermediate Holding, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company.

Honor Date ” has the meaning specified in Section 2.03(c)(i) .

Immaterial Subsidiary ” means, on any date, any Subsidiary of the Company that (i) had less than 3% of consolidated assets and 3% of annual consolidated revenues of the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries as reflected on the most recent financial statements delivered pursuant to Section 6.01 prior to such date and (ii) has been designated as such by the Borrower in a written notice delivered to the Agent (other than any such Subsidiary as to which the Borrower has revoked such designation by written notice to the Agent so long as such Subsidiary either provides a Facility Guaranty upon such designation and complies with Section 6.11 or otherwise qualifies as an Excluded Subsidiary hereunder); provided that no Subsidiary with Property of the type included in the Borrowing Base may be designated as an Immaterial Subsidiary, and provided further that at no time shall all Immaterial Subsidiaries so designated by the Borrower have in the aggregate consolidated assets or annual consolidated revenues (as reflected on the most recent financial statements delivered pursuant to Section 6.01 prior to such time) in excess of 3% of consolidated assets or annual consolidated revenues, respectively, of the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries.

Increase Effective Date ” shall have the meaning provided therefor in Section 2.15(d) .

Indebtedness ” means, of any Person at any date, without duplication, (a) all indebtedness of such Person for borrowed money, (b) all obligations of such Person for the deferred purchase price of Property or services (other than (i) trade payables, current accounts and similar obligations incurred in the ordinary course of such Person’s business and not more than 90 days past due (unless being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings) and (ii) earn-outs and other contingent payments in respect of acquisitions except to the extent that the liability on account of any such earn-out or contingent payment becomes fixed), (c) all obligations of such Person evidenced by notes, bonds, debentures or other similar instruments, (d) all indebtedness created or arising under any conditional sale or other title retention agreement with respect to Property acquired by such Person (even though the rights and remedies of the seller or lender under such agreement in the event of default are limited to repossession or sale of such Property, in which case only the lesser of the amount of such obligation and the fair market value of such Property shall constitute Indebtedness), (e) all Capital Lease Obligations of such Person, (f) all obligations of such Person, contingent or otherwise, as an account party or applicant under acceptance, letter of credit or similar facilities, (g) all obligations of such Person in respect of Disqualified Stock, except for agreements with directors, officers and employees to acquire such Equity Interest upon the death or termination of employment of such director, officer or employee, (h) all Guarantee Obligations of such Person in respect of obligations of the kind referred to in clauses (a) through (f) above, other than guarantees of operating leases in the ordinary course of business, and (i) all obligations of the kind referred to in clauses (a) through (h) above secured by (or for which the holder of such obligation has an existing right, contingent or otherwise, to be secured by) any Lien on Property (including, without limitation, accounts and contract rights) owned by such Person, whether or not such Person has assumed

 

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or become liable for the payment of such obligation (and in the event such Person has not assumed or become liable for payment of such obligation, only the lesser of the amount of such obligation and the fair market value of such Property shall constitute Indebtedness. 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 therefore 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.

Indemnitees ” has the meaning specified in Section 10.04(b) .

Information ” has the meaning specified in Section 10.07 .

Insolvency ” means, with respect to any Multiemployer Plan, the condition that such Plan is insolvent within the meaning of Section 4245 of ERISA.

Insolvent ” means pertaining to a condition of Insolvency.

Intellectual Property ” means the collective reference to all rights, priorities and privileges relating to intellectual property, whether arising under United States, multinational or foreign laws or otherwise, including, without limitation, copyrights, domain names, patents, trademarks, trade names, technology, know-how and processes, and all rights to sue at law or in equity for any infringement or other impairment thereof, including the right to receive all proceeds and damages therefrom.

Intercreditor Agreement ” means (i) the Intercreditor Agreement, dated as of the Closing Date, by and among the Agent and the Term Agent, as it may be amended, amended and restated, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time in accordance with the terms hereof and thereof or (ii) any other intercreditor agreement among the Agent and any agent or trustee with respect to the Term Facility or any Permitted Amendment or Refinancing thereof, as it may be amended, amended and restated, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time in accordance with the terms hereof and thereof.

Interest Payment Date ” means, (a) as to any LIBOR Rate Loan, the last day of each Interest Period applicable to such Loan and the Maturity Date; provided, however, that if any Interest Period for a LIBOR Rate Loan exceeds three months, the respective dates that fall every three months after the beginning of such Interest Period shall also be Interest Payment Dates; and (b) as to any Base Rate Loan (including a Swing Line Loan), the first Business Day of each month and the Maturity Date.

Interest Period ” means as to each LIBOR Rate Loan, the period commencing on the date such LIBOR Rate Loan is disbursed or Converted to or continued as a LIBOR Rate Loan and ending on the date one, two, three or six months thereafter, as selected by the Borrower in a Committed Loan Notice or, if available by all relevant Lenders, such other period that is two weeks or twelve months requested by the Borrower and Consented to in writing by all of the applicable Lenders; provided that:

(i) any Interest Period that would otherwise end on a day that is not a Business Day shall be extended to the next succeeding Business Day unless such Business Day falls in another calendar month, in which case such Interest Period shall end on the next preceding Business Day;

(ii) any Interest Period that begins on the last Business Day of a calendar month (or on a day for which there is no numerically corresponding day in the calendar month at the end of such Interest Period) shall end on the last Business Day of the calendar month at the end of such Interest Period; and

 

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(iii) no Interest Period shall extend beyond the Maturity Date.

For purposes hereof, the date of a Borrowing initially shall be the date on which such Borrowing is made and thereafter shall be the effective date of the most recent Conversion or continuation of such Borrowing.

In-Transit Inventory ” means Inventory of a Loan Party which is in the possession of a common carrier and is in transit from a foreign vendor of a Loan Party to a location of a Loan Party.

Inventory ” has the meaning given that term in the UCC or other applicable Requirement of Law, and shall also include, without limitation, all: (a) goods which (i) are leased by a Person as lessor, (ii) are held by a Person for sale or lease or to be furnished under a contract of service, (iii) are furnished by a Person under a contract of service, or (iv) consist of raw materials, work in process, or materials used or consumed in a business; (b) goods of said description in transit; (c) goods of said description which are returned, repossessed or rejected; and (d) packaging, advertising, and shipping materials related to any of the foregoing.

Inventory Reserves ” means such reserves as may be established from time to time by the Agent in its Permitted Discretion, without duplication of any other Reserves or items that are otherwise addressed or excluded through eligibility criteria or factored into the advance rates, to reflect the changes in the determination of the saleability, at retail, of the Eligible Inventory or which reflect such other factors as negatively affect the market value of the Eligible Inventory.

Investment ” has the meaning given to such term in Section 7.02 hereof.

IPO ” means the initial public offering of the common stock of Holdings, pursuant to the Registration Statement on Form S-1, filed with the SEC on September 24, 2013, as amended.

IRS ” means the United States Internal Revenue Service.

ISP ” means, with respect to any Letter of Credit, the “International Standby Practices 1998” published by the Institute of International Banking Law & Practice (or such later version thereof as may be in effect at the time of issuance).

Issuer Documents ” means with respect to any Letter of Credit, the Letter Credit Application, and any other document, agreement and instrument entered into by an L/C Issuer and the Borrower or in favor of an L/C Issuer and relating to any such Letter of Credit.

Joinder Agreement ”: an agreement substantially in the form of Exhibit J .

Judgment Currency ” has the meaning given to such term in Section 10.24 .

Junior Indebtedness ” has the meaning given to such term in Section 7.03(m) .

“Kellwood” means Kellwood, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company.

Landlord Lien State ” means any state, province or territory in which a landlord’s claim for rent has priority by operation of applicable Requirement of Law over the Lien of the Agent in any of the Collateral.

 

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Latest Maturity Date ” means, at any date of determination, the latest Maturity Date applicable to any Loan or Commitment hereunder at such time, including the latest termination date of any Extended Commitment or New Commitment, as applicable, as extended in accordance with this Agreement from time to time.

L/C Advance ” means with respect to each Lender, such Lender’s funding of its participation in any L/C Borrowing in accordance with its Applicable Percentage.

L/C Borrowing ” means an extension of credit resulting from a drawing under any Letter of Credit which has not been reimbursed on or prior to the date required to be reimbursed by the Borrower pursuant to Section 2.03(c)(i) or refinanced as a Committed Borrowing.

L/C Credit Extension ” means, with respect to any Letter of Credit, the issuance thereof or extension of the expiry thereof, or the increase of the amount thereof.

L/C Issuer ” means (a) Bank of America, in its capacity as issuer of Letters of Credit hereunder, or any successor issuer of Letters of Credit hereunder and (b) one other Lender selected by the Borrower with the consent of the Agent (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld). Any L/C Issuer may, in its discretion, arrange for one or more Letters of Credit to be issued by Affiliates of such L/C Issuer, in which case the term “L/C Issuer” shall include any such Affiliate with respect to Letters of Credit issued by such Affiliate.

L/C Obligations ” means, at any date of determination and without duplication, the aggregate Stated Amount of all outstanding Letters of Credit plus the aggregate of all Unreimbursed Amounts under Letters of Credit, including all L/C Borrowings. For purposes of computing the amounts available to be drawn under any Letter of Credit, the amount of such Letter of Credit shall be determined in accordance with Section 1.07 . For all purposes of this Agreement, if on any date of determination a Letter of Credit has expired by its terms but any amount may still be drawn thereunder by reason of the operation of Rule 3.14 of the ISP, such Letter of Credit shall be deemed to be “outstanding” in the amount so remaining available to be drawn.

Lease ” means any agreement pursuant to which a Loan Party is entitled to the use or occupancy of any real property for any period of time.

Lenders ” means the Lenders having Commitments from time to time or at any time and, unless the context requires otherwise, includes the Swing Line Lender. Any Lender may, in its reasonable discretion, arrange for one or more Loans to be made by Affiliates or branches of such Lender, in which case the term “Lender” shall include any such Affiliate or branch with respect to Loans made by such Affiliate or branch.

Lending Office ” means, as to any Lender, the office or offices of such Lender described as such in such Lender’s Administrative Questionnaire, or such other office or offices as a Lender may from time to time notify the Borrower and the Agent.

Letter of Credit ” means each Banker’s Acceptance, each Standby Letter of Credit and each Commercial Letter of Credit issued hereunder.

Letter of Credit Application ” means an application and agreement for the issuance or amendment of a Letter of Credit in the form from time to time in use by the applicable L/C Issuer.

 

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Letter of Credit Expiration Date ” means the day that is seven days prior to the Maturity Date then in effect (or, if such day is not a Business Day, the next preceding Business Day).

Letter of Credit Fee ” has the meaning specified in Section 2.03(i) .

Letter of Credit Sublimit ” means an amount equal to $25,000,000 plus the amount of any increase in the Aggregate Commitments made pursuant to Section 2.15 hereof. The Letter of Credit Sublimit is part of, and not in addition to, the Aggregate Commitments. A permanent reduction of the Aggregate Commitments shall not require a corresponding pro rata reduction in the Letter of Credit Sublimit; provided , however , that if the Aggregate Commitments are reduced to an amount less than the Letter of Credit Sublimit, then the Letter of Credit Sublimit shall be reduced to an amount equal to (or, at Borrower’s option, less than) the Aggregate Commitments.

LIBOR Borrowing ” means a Borrowing comprised of LIBOR Rate Loans.

LIBOR Rate ” means:

(a) for any Interest Period with respect to a LIBOR Rate Loan, the rate per annum equal to (i) the British Bankers Association LIBOR Rate (“ BBA LIBOR ”), as published by Reuters (or such other commercially available source providing quotations of BBA LIBOR as may be designated by the Agent from time to time) at approximately 11:00 a.m., London time, two London Banking Days prior to the commencement of such Interest Period, for Dollar deposits (for delivery on the first day of such Interest Period) with a term equivalent to such Interest Period or, (ii) if such rate is not available at such time for any reason, the rate per annum determined by the Agent to be the rate at which deposits in Dollars for delivery on the first day of such Interest Period in same day funds in the approximate amount of the LIBOR Rate Loan being made, continued or converted and with a term equivalent to such Interest Period would be offered by Bank of America’s London Branch to major banks in the London interbank eurodollar market at their request at approximately 11:00 a.m. (London time) two London Banking Days prior to the commencement of such Interest Period; and

(b) for any interest calculation with respect to a Base Rate Loan on any date, the rate per annum equal to (i) BBA LIBOR, at approximately 11:00 a.m., London time determined two London Banking Days prior to such date for Dollar deposits being delivered in the London interbank market for a term of one month commencing that day or (ii) if such published rate is not available at such time for any reason, the rate per annum determined by the Agent to be the rate at which deposits in Dollars for delivery on the date of determination in same day funds in the approximate amount of the Base Rate Loan being made or maintained and with a term equal to one month would be offered by Bank of America’s London Branch to major banks in the London interbank Eurodollar market at their request at the date and time of determination.

LIBOR Rate Loan ” means a Committed Loan that bears interest at a rate based on the Adjusted LIBOR Rate.

LIBOR Unavailability Period ” means any period of time during which a notice delivered to the Borrower in accordance with Section 3.03 shall remain in force and effect.

Lien ” means any mortgage, pledge, hypothecation, collateral assignment, encumbrance, lien (statutory or other), charge or other security interest or any other security agreement of any kind or nature whatsoever (including any conditional sale or other title retention agreement and any capital lease having substantially the same economic effect as any of the foregoing). For the avoidance of doubt, it is

 

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understood and agreed that the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower and any of its Restricted Subsidiaries may, as part of their business, grant licenses to Intellectual Property owned or developed by, or licensed to, such entity. For purposes of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents, such licensing activity shall not constitute a “Lien” on such Intellectual Property; provided , that the terms of such licenses shall not restrict the right of the Agent to use such Intellectual Property in connection with the conduct of a Liquidation.

Liquidation ” means the exercise by the Agent of those rights and remedies accorded to the Agent under the Loan Documents and applicable Requirements of Laws as a creditor of the Loan Parties with respect to the realization on the Collateral, including (after the occurrence and during the continuation of an Event of Default) the conduct by the Loan Parties acting with the consent of the Agent, of any public, private or “going-out-of-business”, “store closing” or other similar sale or any other disposition of the Collateral for the purpose of liquidating the Collateral. Derivations of the word “Liquidation” (such as “Liquidate”) are used with like meaning in this Agreement.

Liquidation Percentage ” shall mean, for any Lender, a fraction, the numerator of which is the sum of such Lender’s Commitment on the Determination Date and the denominator of which is the Aggregate Commitments on the Determination Date.

Loan ” means an extension of credit by a Lender to the Borrower under Article II in the form of a Committed Loan or a Swing Line Loan.

Loan Account ” has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.11 .

Loan Cap ” means, at any time of determination, the lesser of (a) the Aggregate Commitments and (b) the Borrowing Base.

Loan Documents ” means this Agreement, each Note, each Issuer Document, the Fee Letter, all Borrowing Base Certificates, the Blocked Account Agreements, all Collateral Access Agreements, all Credit Card Notifications, the Security Documents, any Facility Guaranty, any Joinder Agreement, any Extension Amendment, and the Intercreditor Agreement, each as amended and in effect from time to time.

Loan Parties ” means, collectively, the Borrower and the Guarantors. “Loan Party” means any one of such Persons.

Management Investors ” means the directors, officers and other employees of the Parent and its Subsidiaries.

Material Adverse Effect ” means a material adverse effect on (i) the operations, business, properties, or financial condition of the Parent and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole; or (ii) the validity or enforceability of the Loan Documents or the material rights and remedies of the Agent and the Lenders thereunder, in each case, taken as a whole.

Material Indebtedness ” means Indebtedness (other than the Obligations) of the Loan Parties in an aggregate principal amount exceeding $15,000,000.

Material Subsidiary ” means any Subsidiary that is not an Immaterial Subsidiary.

Materials of Environmental Concern ” means any gasoline or petroleum (including crude oil or any fraction thereof) or petroleum products, polychlorinated biphenyls, urea-formaldehyde insulation, asbestos, pollutants, contaminants, radioactivity and any other substances that are defined as hazardous or toxic under any Environmental Law, that are regulated pursuant to any Environmental Law.

 

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Maturity Date ” means, subject to the proviso below, the later of (a) November 27, 2018 and (b) with respect to any Lender which participates in any Extension Series pursuant to Section 2.17 , such extended maturity date relating to such Extension Series as determined pursuant to such Section 2.17 .

Maximum Rate ” has the meaning provided therefor in Section 10.09 .

Monthly Reporting Event ” means any of the following: (i) the occurrence and continuance of any Event of Default, (ii) the occurrence and continuance of any Covenant Compliance Event, or (iii) any period during which the Outstanding Amount of all Loans exceeds 50% of the Borrowing Base for a period of three (3) consecutive Business Days. For purposes of this Agreement, the occurrence of a Monthly Reporting Event shall be deemed continuing (i) so long as such Event of Default has not been waived, (ii) so long as such Covenant Compliance Event is continuing in accordance with terms set forth in the definition thereof, and/or (iii) if the Monthly Reporting Period arises due to the Outstanding Amount of all Loans exceeding 50% of the Borrowing Base for a period of three (3) consecutive Business Days, until the date that the Outstanding Amount of all Loans is falls below 50% of the Borrowing Base for a period of thirty (30) consecutive calendar days. For the avoidance of doubt, the termination of a Monthly Reporting Event as provided herein shall in no way limit, waive or delay the occurrence of a subsequent Monthly Reporting Event in the event that the conditions set forth in this definition again arise.

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

Mortgages ” means any mortgage, deed of trust, hypothec or other similar document made by any Loan Party in favor of, or for the benefit of, the Agent for the benefit of the Secured Parties, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Agent and the Borrower (taking into account the law of the jurisdiction in which such mortgage, deed of trust, hypothec or similar document is to be recorded), as the same may be amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time.

Most Recently Ended ” means, with respect to any period, the most recently ended period for which the financial statements required by Section 6.01(a) , Section 6.01(b) or Section 6.01(c) , as applicable, have been delivered or required to have been delivered.

Multiemployer Plan ” means any employee benefit plan of the type described in Section 4001(a)(3) of ERISA, to which the Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate makes or is obligated to make contributions, or during the preceding five plan years, has made or been obligated to make contributions.

Multiple Employer Plan ” means a Plan which has two or more contributing sponsors (including the Borrower or any ERISA Affiliate) at least two of whom are not under common control, as such a plan is described in Section 4064 of ERISA.

New Commitment ” has the meaning provided in Section 2.17(c) .

New Commitment Lender ” has the meaning provided in Section 2.17(c) .

Non-Consenting Lender ” has the meaning provided therefor in Section 10.01(c) .

Non-Defaulting Lender ” means, at any time, each Lender that is not a Defaulting Lender at such time.

 

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Non-Excluded Taxes ” means all Taxes other than Excluded Taxes and Other Taxes.

Non-Extension Notice Date ” has the meaning specified in Section 2.03(b)(iii) .

Non-Guarantor Subsidiary ” means any Subsidiary of the Borrower which is not a Subsidiary Guarantor.

Non-Recourse Debt ” means Indebtedness (a) no default with respect to which would permit (upon notice, lapse of time or both) any holder of any other Indebtedness of the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to declare a default on such other Indebtedness or cause the payment thereof to be accelerated or payable prior to its stated maturity, and (b) as to which the lenders or holders thereof have been notified in writing that they will not have any recourse to the capital stock or assets of the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries (other than the Equity Interests of an Unrestricted Subsidiary which is the issuer or a guarantor or the direct or indirect parent of the issuer or guarantor of such indebtedness).

Note ” means a Revolving Note or a Swing Line Note, as applicable.

Obligations ” means (a) all advances to, and debts (including principal, interest, fees, and reasonable costs and expenses), liabilities, obligations, covenants, indemnities, and duties of, any Loan Party arising under any Loan Document or otherwise with respect to any Loan or Letter of Credit (including payments in respect of reimbursement of disbursements, interest thereon and obligations to provide cash collateral therefor), whether direct or indirect (including those acquired by assumption), absolute or contingent, due or to become due, now existing or hereafter arising and including interest, fees, and reasonable costs and expenses and indemnities that accrue after the commencement by or against any Loan Party or any Affiliate thereof of any proceeding under any Debtor Relief Laws naming such Person as the debtor in such proceeding, regardless of whether such interest, fees costs, expenses and indemnities are allowed claims in such proceeding, and (b) any Other Liabilities; provided that the Obligations shall exclude all Excluded Swap Obligations.

OFAC ” has the meaning set forth in the definition of “Embargoed Person”.

Other Connection Taxes ” means, with respect to any Recipient, Taxes imposed as a result of a present or former connection between such Recipient and the jurisdiction imposing such Tax (other than connections arising solely from such Recipient having executed, delivered, become a party to, performed its obligations under, received payments under, received or perfected a security interest under, engaged in any other transaction pursuant to or enforced any Loan Document, or sold or assigned an interest in any Loan or Loan Document).

Other Liabilities ” means any obligation on account of (a) any Cash Management Services furnished to any of the Loan Parties or any of the Restricted Subsidiaries and/or (b) any Bank Product furnished to any of the Loan Parties and/or any of the Restricted Subsidiaries.

Other Taxes ” means all present or future stamp, court or documentary, intangible, recording, filing or similar Taxes that arise from any payment made under, from the execution, delivery, performance, enforcement or registration of, from the receipt or perfection of a security interest under, or otherwise with respect to, any Loan Document, except any such Taxes that are Other Connection Taxes imposed with respect to an assignment (other than an assignment made pursuant to Section 3.06 ).

 

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Outstanding Amount ” means (i) with respect to Committed Loans and Swing Line Loans on any date, the amount of the aggregate outstanding principal amount thereof after giving effect to any borrowings and prepayments or repayments of Loans occurring on such date; and (ii) with respect to any L/C Obligations on any date, the amount of the aggregate outstanding amount of such L/C Obligations on such date after giving effect to any L/C Credit Extension occurring on such date and any other changes in the aggregate amount of the L/C Obligations as of such date, including as a result of any reimbursements by the Borrower of Unreimbursed Amounts.

Overadvance ” means a Credit Extension to the extent that, immediately after the making of such Credit Extension, the aggregate principal balance of all Credit Extensions then outstanding exceeds the Loan Cap as then in effect.

Parent ” means Vince Holding Corp., a Delaware corporation.

Participant ” has the meaning specified in Section 10.06(d) .

Participant Register ” has the meaning provided therefor in Section 10.06(d)(iii) .

Payment Conditions ” means, at the time of determination with respect to any specified transaction or payment, that (i) no Event of Default exists or would arise as a result of entering into such transaction or the making of such payment, (ii) immediately after giving pro forma effect to such transaction or payment and projected on a pro forma basis for the immediately succeeding six (6) Fiscal Months following such transaction or payment, Excess Availability shall be at least the greater of (x) 20% of the Loan Cap and (y) $7,500,000 for each Fiscal Month during such projected six month period and (iii) the Consolidated Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio for the Most Recently Ended period of twelve months preceding such transaction or payment shall be greater than or equal to 1.0 to 1.0 (after giving pro forma effect to such transaction or payment as if such transaction or payment had been made as of the first day of such period), provided that the provisions of this clause (iii) shall not be applicable if Excess Availability, immediately after giving pro forma effect to such transaction or payment and projected for the immediately succeeding six (6) Fiscal Months following such transaction or payment, at least the greater of (x) 35% of the Loan Cap and (y) $10,000,000; and (iv) the Borrower shall have delivered a Compliance Certificate to the Agent including a reasonably detailed calculation of such calculated Excess Availability and, if applicable, Consolidated Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio.

Payment in Full ” means (a) the termination of the Aggregate Commitments and (b) the payment in Dollars in full in cash or immediately available funds of all outstanding Obligations (excluding contingent indemnification obligations for which a claim has not then been asserted) including, with respect to (i) amounts available to be drawn under outstanding Letters of Credit (or indemnities or other undertakings issued in respect of outstanding Letters of Credit), the cancellation of such Letters of Credit or the Cash Collateralization thereof or the delivery and provision of backstop letters of credit in respect thereof and (ii) outstanding ABL Obligations with respect to Bank Products and Cash Management Services (or indemnities or other undertakings issued pursuant thereto in respect of outstanding Bank Products and Cash Management Services), the delivery or provision of cash collateral or backstop letters of credit in respect thereof other than (i) unasserted contingent indemnification Obligations, (ii) any Obligations relating to Bank Products that, at such time, are allowed by the applicable Bank Product provider to remain outstanding without being required to be repaid or collateralized, and (iii) any Obligations relating to Cash Management Services that, at such time, are allowed by the applicable provider of such Cash Management Services to remain outstanding without being required to be repaid or collateralized.

 

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Payoff Indebtedness ” means Indebtedness under (a) that certain Credit Agreement, dated as of October 19, 2011, by and among Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as the agent, the lenders party thereto, Kellwood Intermediate Holding, LLC, Kellwood and the other “Borrowers” party thereto, as the same may be amended, amended and restated, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time until the date that is immediately prior to the Closing Date, (b) that certain Term Loan Agreement, dated as of October 19, 2011, among Kellwood and certain of its domestic Subsidiaries (including the Borrower), the financial institutions from time to time party thereto and Cerberus Business Finance, LLC, as collateral agent, (c) those certain 12  7 / 8 % Second-Priority Senior Secured PIK Notes due 2014 issued pursuant to that certain Indenture, dated as of July 23, 2009, among Kellwood, certain Subsidiaries of Kellwood from time to time party thereto (including the Borrower) and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as trustee and as collateral agent, (d) that certain Second Amended and Restated Term A Loan Agreement, dated as of April 20, 2012, among Kellwood, certain of its domestic Subsidiaries from time to time party thereto (including the Borrower), the financial institutions from time to time party thereto, and Sun Kellwood Finance, LLC, as collateral agent, (e) that certain Fifth Amended and Restated Term Loan Agreement, dated as of June 28, 2013, among Kellwood, certain of its domestic Subsidiaries from time to time party thereto (including the Borrower), the financial institutions from time to time party thereto and Sun Kellwood Finance, LLC, as collateral agent, and (f) that certain Promissory Note, dated as of the date hereof, by Holdings and payable to Kellwood.

PBGC ” means the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

PCAOB ” means the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.

Pension Plan ” means any employee pension benefit plan (including a Multiple Employer Plan or a Multiemployer Plan) that is maintained or is contributed to by the Borrower and any ERISA Affiliate and is either covered by Title IV of ERISA or is subject to the minimum funding standards under Section 412 of the Code.

Permitted Acquisition ” means (i) any acquisition (including, if applicable, in the case of any Intellectual Property, by way of license) approved by the Required Lenders or (ii) an Acquisition in which all of the following conditions are satisfied:

(a) Such Acquisition shall have been approved by the Board of Directors of the Person (or similar governing body if such Person is not a corporation) which is the subject of such Acquisition and such Person shall not have announced that it will oppose such Acquisition or shall not have commenced any action which alleges that such Acquisition shall violate applicable Law;

(b) in the event the purchase price for the Acquisition exceeds $15,000,000, (i) the Agent shall have received the then current drafts of the documentation to be executed in connection with such Acquisition (with final copies of such documentation to be delivered to the Agent promptly upon becoming available), including all schedules and exhibits thereto and (ii) the Agent shall have received notice of the closing date for such Acquisition; provided that such notice shall be given unless doing so would materially interfere with, or would cause materially adverse economic consequences with respect to, the consummation of such Acquisition;

(c) any Person or assets or division acquired is, at the time of such Acquisition, and shall be in the same business or lines of business, or business reasonably related, ancillary or complementary thereto, in which the Borrower and/or its Subsidiaries are engaged as of the Closing Date;

 

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(d) [Reserved];

(e) such Person shall have become a Restricted Subsidiary and, if such Person shall be a wholly-owned Domestic Subsidiary (and not an Excluded Subsidiary), a Guarantor and the provisions of Section 6.11 shall have been complied with to the reasonable satisfaction of the Agent provided that, notwithstanding the foregoing, the aggregate consideration expended in respect of Persons that shall not become Guarantors or wholly owned Subsidiaries may not exceed $15,000,000; and

(f) The Loan Parties shall have satisfied the Payment Conditions; provided, that with respect to an Acquisition being financed solely with the proceeds of incremental borrowings under the Term Facility, the condition set forth in this clause (f) shall only be required to be satisfied on the date on which definitive agreements with respect to such Acquisition are entered into, assuming that such incremental borrowings under the Term Facility are funded on such date, the proceeds thereof are applied on such date and the applicable Acquisition is consummated on such date.

Permitted Amendment or Refinancing ” shall mean, with respect to any Person, any Amendment or Refinancing of any Indebtedness of such Person; provided that (a) other than with respect to a Permitted Amendment or Refinancing in respect of Indebtedness of the Loan Parties under the Term Facility, the principal amount (or accreted value, if applicable) thereof does not exceed the principal amount (or accreted value, if applicable) of the Indebtedness so Amended or Refinanced except (i) by an amount equal to unpaid accrued interest and premium (including tender premiums and make whole amounts), thereon plus other reasonable and customary fees and expenses (including upfront fees, original issue discount and defeasance costs) incurred in connection with such Amendment or Refinancing and (ii) by an amount equal to any existing commitments unutilized thereunder, (b) other than with respect to a Permitted Amendment or Refinancing in respect of Indebtedness permitted pursuant to Section 7.03(c), the Indebtedness resulting from such Amendment or Refinancing has a final maturity date equal to or later than the final maturity date of, and has a Weighted Average Life to Maturity equal to or greater than the Weighted Average Life to Maturity of, the Indebtedness being Amended or Refinanced, (c) other than with respect to a Permitted Amendment or Refinancing in respect of Indebtedness permitted pursuant to Sections 7.03(c), at the time thereof, no Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing, (d) if such Indebtedness being Amended or Refinanced is Indebtedness permitted pursuant to Section 7.03(d), 7.03(i), 7.03(m), 7.03(n), 7.03(o) or 7.03(p), (i) to the extent such Indebtedness being Amended or Refinanced is subordinated in right of payment or in lien priority to the Obligations, the Indebtedness resulting from such Amendment or Refinancing is subordinated in right of payment or in lien priority, as applicable, to the Obligations on terms at least as favorable to the Lenders as those contained in the documentation governing the Indebtedness being Amended or Refinanced, (ii) the terms and conditions of any such Amended or Refinanced Indebtedness under Section 7.03(m), 7.03(o) or 7.03(p) shall be usual and customary for high yield securities of the type issued, (iii) the other terms and conditions (including, if applicable, as to collateral but excluding as to subordination, pricing, premiums and optional prepayment or optional redemption provisions) of any such Amended or Refinanced Indebtedness, taken as a whole, are not materially less favorable to the Loan Parties or the Lenders than the terms and conditions of the Indebtedness being Amended or Refinanced, taken as a whole (provided that a certificate of a Responsible Officer delivered to the Agent at least five Business Days prior to the incurrence of such Indebtedness, together with a reasonably detailed description of the material terms and conditions of such Indebtedness or drafts of the documentation relating thereto, stating that the Borrower has determined in good faith that such terms and conditions satisfy the foregoing requirement shall be conclusive evidence that such terms and conditions satisfy the requirements of clause (ii) and this clause (iii) unless the Agent notifies the Borrower within such five Business Day period that it disagrees with

 

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such determination (including a reasonable description of the basis upon which it disagrees)) and (iv) the obligors (including any guarantors) in respect of the Indebtedness resulting from such modification, refinancing, refunding, renewal, replacement or extension shall be the same as the obligors (including any guarantors) of the Indebtedness being Amended or Refinanced and (e) in the case of any Permitted Amendment or Refinancing in respect of the Term Facility, such Permitted Amendment or Refinancing is secured only by all or any portion of the collateral securing the Indebtedness being Amended or Refinanced and (f) in the case of any Permitted Amendment or Refinancing that is guaranteed (including in respect of the Term Facility), such Permitted Amendment or Refinancing is guaranteed only by the Guarantors guaranteeing the Indebtedness being Amended or Refinanced. When used with respect to any specified Indebtedness, “Permitted Amendment or Refinancing” shall mean the Indebtedness incurred to effectuate a Permitted Amendment or Refinancing of such specified Indebtedness.

Permitted Discretion ” means a determination made by the Agent, in the exercise of its reasonable credit judgment from the viewpoint of an asset based lender, exercised in good faith in accordance with customary business practices for comparable asset based lending transactions.

Permitted Holder Lender ” means the Sponsor and its Affiliates (but excluding any portfolio companies of the foregoing), provided such Permitted Holder Lender executes a waiver in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Agent that it shall have no right whatsoever with respect to that portion of the Commitments which it holds (a) to consent to any amendment, modification, waiver, consent or other such action with respect to any of the terms of any Loan Document, (b) otherwise to vote on any matter related to any Loan Document ( provided that , with respect to any amendment or other matter requiring a vote of the Lenders hereunder, the Commitments held by such Permitted Holder Lender (and any Obligation with respect thereto) shall be deemed to have been voted by such Permitted Holder Lender in the same proportion as the allocation of voting with respect to such matter by Lenders who are not Permitted Holder Lenders), (c) to require the Agent or any Lender to undertake any action (or refrain from taking any action) with respect to any Loan Document, (d) to attend any meeting with the Agent or any Lender or receive any information from the Agent or any Lender including pursuant to Section 9.16(c) , (e) to the benefit of any advice provided by counsel to the Agent or the other Lenders or to challenge the attorney-client privilege of the communications between the Agent, such other Lenders and such counsel, or (f) to make or bring any claim, in its capacity as Lender, against the Agent with respect to the fiduciary duties of the Agent or Lender and the other duties and obligations of the Agent hereunder; except, that, no amendment, modification or waiver to any Loan Document shall, without such Permitted Holder Lender’s consent, deprive any Permitted Holder Lender of its pro rata share of any payments to which the Lenders as a group are otherwise entitled hereunder or otherwise single out, or intentionally discriminate against, the Permitted Holder Lender as such; and provided further that the amount of the Total Outstanding and Commitments held by Permitted Holder Lenders may not exceed 10% in the aggregate of all the Total Outstanding and Commitments outstanding.

Permitted Investors ” means the collective reference to (i) the Sponsor and Sponsor Affiliates, (ii) the Management Investors, (iii) any Permitted Transferees of any of the foregoing Persons, , and (iv) any ‘‘group’’ (within the meaning of Section 13(d)(3) or Section 14(d)(2) of the Securities Exchange Act or any successor provision) of which any of the foregoing are members; provided that in the case of such ‘‘group’’ and without giving effect to the existence of such ‘‘group’’ or any other ‘‘group,’’ such Persons specified in clauses (i), (ii) or (iii) above, collectively, have beneficial ownership, directly or indirectly, of more than 50% of the total voting power of the voting stock of Holdings held by such ‘‘group,” and provided further, that, in no event shall the Sponsor own a lesser percentage of voting stock than any other Person or group referred to in clauses (ii), (iii) and (iv).

 

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Permitted Overadvance ” means an Overadvance made by the Agent to the Borrower, in its discretion, which:

(a) is made to maintain, protect or preserve the Collateral and/or the Credit Parties’ rights under the Loan Documents or which is otherwise for the benefit of the Credit Parties; or

(b) is made to enhance the likelihood of, or to maximize the amount of, repayment of any Obligation;

(c) is made to pay any other amount chargeable to any Loan Party hereunder; and

(d) together with all other Permitted Overadvances then outstanding, shall not (i) exceed five percent (5%) of the Borrowing Base at any time or (ii) unless a Liquidation is occurring, remain outstanding for more than forty-five (45) consecutive Business Days, unless in each case, the Required Lenders otherwise agree.

provided however , that the foregoing shall not (i) modify or abrogate any of the provisions of Section 2.03 regarding the Lenders’ obligations with respect to Letters of Credit or Section 2.04 regarding the Lenders’ obligations with respect to Swing Line Loans, or (ii) result in any claim or liability against the Agent (regardless of the amount of any Overadvance) for Unintentional Overadvances, and such Unintentional Overadvances shall not reduce the amount of Permitted Overadvances allowed hereunder, and further provided that in no event shall the Agent make an Overadvance, if after giving effect thereto, the principal amount of the Credit Extensions would exceed the Aggregate Commitments (as in effect prior to any termination of the Commitments pursuant to Section 2.06 hereof).

Permitted Seller Note ” means a promissory note containing subordination and other related provisions reasonably acceptable to the Agent, representing Indebtedness of the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries incurred in connection with any acquisition permitted under Section 7.02(f) and payable to the seller in connection therewith.

Permitted Store Closings ” means (a) store closures and related dispositions which do not exceed (i) in any Fiscal Year of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries, the greater of five (5) stores and 25% of the total number of stores in existence on the first day of such Fiscal Year (net of new store openings), and (b) the related Inventory is disposed of at such stores in accordance with liquidation agreements and with professional liquidators acceptable to the Agent.

Permitted Transferee ”: means (a) in the case of the Sponsor, (i) any Sponsor Affiliate, (ii) any managing director, general partner, limited partner, director, officer or employee of the Sponsor or any Sponsor Affiliate (collectively, the “ Sponsor Associates ”), (iii) the heirs, executors, administrators, testamentary trustees, legatees or beneficiaries of any Sponsor Associate and (iv) any trust, the beneficiaries of which, or a corporation or partnership, the stockholders or partners of which, include only a Sponsor Associate, his or her spouse, parents, siblings, members of his or her immediate family (including adopted children and step children) and/or direct lineal descendants; and (b) in the case of any Management Investor, (i) his or her executor, administrator, testamentary trustee, legatee or beneficiaries, (ii) his or her spouse, parents, siblings, members of his or her immediate family (including adopted children and step children) and/or direct lineal descendants or (iii) a trust, the beneficiaries of which, or a corporation or partnership, the stockholders or partners of which, include only a Management Investor and his or her spouse, parents, siblings, members of his or her immediate family (including adopted children) and/or direct lineal descendants.

 

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

Plan ” means at a relevant time, any employee benefit plan within the meaning of Section 3(3) of ERISA and in respect of which the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries is (or, if such plan were terminated at such time, would under Section 4069 of ERISA be deemed to be) an “employer” as defined in Section 3(5) of ERISA.

Platform ” has the meaning specified in Section 6.02 .

Property ” means any right or interest in or to property of any kind whatsoever, whether real, personal or mixed and whether tangible or intangible, including, without limitation, Equity Interests.

Public Lender ” has the meaning specified in Section 6.02 .

Qualified Stock ” means any Equity Interests that are not Disqualified Stock.

Real Estate ” means all Leases and all land, together with the buildings, structures, parking areas, and other improvements thereon, now or hereafter owned by any Loan Party, including all easements, rights-of-way, and similar rights relating thereto and all leases, tenancies, and occupancies thereof.

Recipient ” means the Agent, any Lender, the L/C Issuer or any other recipient of any payment to be made by or on account of any obligation of any Loan Party hereunder.

Recovery Event ” means any settlement of or payment in respect of any property or casualty insurance claim or any condemnation proceeding relating to any asset of the Borrowers or any Subsidiary Guarantor.

Register ” has the meaning specified in Section 10.06(c) .

Registered Public Accounting Firm ” has the meaning specified by the Securities Laws and shall be independent of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries as prescribed by the Securities Laws.

Related Parties ” means, with respect to any Person, such Person’s Affiliates and the partners, directors, officers, employees, agents, trustees, administrators, managers, advisors and representatives of such Person and of such Person’s Affiliates.

Release ” means any release, spill, emission, leaking, dumping, injection, pouring, deposit, disposal, discharge, dispersal, leaching or migration into or through the environment or within or upon any building, structure or facility.

Reorganization ” means with respect to any Multiemployer Plan, the condition that such plan is in reorganization within the meaning of Section 4241 of ERISA.

Reportable Event ” means any of the events set forth in Section 4043(c) of ERISA, other than events for which the 30 day notice period has been waived.

Reports ” has the meaning provided in Section 9.16(c) .

 

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Request for Credit Extension ” means (a) with respect to a Borrowing, Conversion or continuation of Committed Loans, a Committed Loan Notice, (b) with respect to an L/C Credit Extension, a Letter of Credit Application, and (c) with respect to a Swing Line Loan, a Swing Line Loan Notice.

Required Lenders ” means, as of any date of determination, at least two (2) Lenders (or one (1) Lender to the extent that there is only one (1) Lender) holding more than 50% of the Aggregate Commitments or, if the Commitment of each Lender to make Loans and the obligation of the L/C Issuer to make L/C Credit Extensions have been terminated, Lenders holding in the aggregate more than 50% of the Total Outstandings (with the aggregate amount of each Lender’s risk participation and funded participation in L/C Obligations and Swing Line Loans being deemed “held” by such Lender for purposes of this definition); provided that the Commitment of, and the portion of the Total Outstandings held or deemed held by, any Defaulting Lender shall be excluded for purposes of making a determination of Required Lenders.

Required Supermajority Lenders ” means, as of any date of determination, Lenders holding more than 66 2/3% of the Aggregate Commitments or, if the commitment of each Lender to make Loans and the obligation of the L/C Issuer to make L/C Credit Extensions have been terminated pursuant to Section 8.02 , Lenders holding in the aggregate more than 66 2/3% of the Total Outstandings (with the aggregate amount of each Lender’s risk participation and funded participation in L/C Obligations and Swing Line Loans being deemed “held” by such Lender for purposes of this definition); provided that the Commitment of, and the portion of the Total Outstandings held or deemed held by, any Defaulting Lender shall be excluded for purposes of making a determination of Required Supermajority Lenders.

Requirement of Law ” means as to any Person, the certificate of incorporation and by-laws or other organizational or governing documents of such Person, and any law, treaty, rule or regulation or determination of an arbitrator or a court or other Governmental Authority, in each case applicable to or binding upon such Person or any of its property or to which such Person or any of its property is subject.

Reserves ” means all Inventory Reserves and Availability Reserves. The Agent shall have the right, at any time and from time to time after the Closing Date in its Permitted Discretion to establish or modify Reserves upon three (3) Business Days prior written notice to the Borrower (during which period the Agent shall be available to discuss any such proposed Reserve with the Borrower and the Borrower may take such action as may be required so that the event, condition or matter that is the basis for such Reserve no longer exists, in a manner and to the extent reasonably satisfactory to the Agent), provided that no such prior notice shall be required for (1) changes to any Availability Reserves resulting solely by virtue of mathematical calculations of the amount of the Reserve in accordance with the methodology of calculation previously utilized (such as, but not limited to, rent and Customer Credit Liabilities), or (2) if a Specified Event of Default has occurred and is continuing; provided further that all such Reserves (including the amount of such Reserve) shall bear a reasonable relationship to the circumstances, conditions, events or contingencies that are the basis for such Reserve. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, Reserves shall not duplicate eligibility criteria contained in the definition of Eligible Credit Card Receivables, Eligible In-Transit Inventory, Eligible Inventory, Eligible Trade Receivables or reserves criteria deducted in computing the Appraised Value of Eligible Inventory. In the event the circumstances, conditions, events or contingencies underlying any such Reserve cease to exist or the liability that is the basis for any such Reserve has been reduced, such Reserve shall be rescinded or reduced by an amount as determined in the Agent’s Permitted Discretion.

Responsible Officer ” means the chief executive officer, president, chief financial officer (or similar title), chief operating officer, controller or treasurer (or similar title) of the Parent, Holdings or the Borrower, as applicable, or (with respect to Section 6.03 ) any Restricted Subsidiary and, with respect to financial matters, the chief financial officer (or similar title) or treasurer (or similar title) of the Parent, Holdings or the Borrower, as applicable.

 

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Restricted Payment ” has the meaning given to such term in Section 7.06 hereof.

Restricted Subsidiary ” means any Subsidiary of the Borrower which is not an Unrestricted Subsidiary.

Retail DDA ” means a DDA of any Loan Party used solely in the operation of a store location.

Revolving Note ” means the promissory note of the Borrower substantially in the form of Exhibit B-1, payable to the order of each Lender, evidencing the Committed Loans made by such Lender from time to time.

RP Conditions ” means, at the time of determination with respect to any Restricted Payment, that (i) no Event of Default exists or would arise as a result of the making of such Restricted Payment, (ii) immediately after giving pro forma effect to such Restricted Payment and projected on a pro forma basis for the immediately succeeding six (6) Fiscal Months following such Restricted Payment, Excess Availability shall be at least the greater of (1) 20% of the Loan Cap for each Fiscal Month during such projected six month period and (2) $7,500,000, and (iii) the Consolidated Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio for the Most Recently Ended period of twelve Fiscal Months preceding such Restricted Payment shall be greater than or equal to 1.1 to 1.0 (after giving pro forma effect to such Restricted Payment as if such Restricted Payment had been made as of the first day of such period), provided that the provisions of this clause (iii) shall not be applicable if Excess Availability, immediately after giving pro forma effect to such Restricted Payment and projected for the immediately succeeding six (6) Fiscal Months following such Restricted Payment, is at least the greater of (x) 35% of the Loan Cap and (y) $10,000,000; and (iv) the Borrower shall have delivered a Compliance Certificate to the Agent including a reasonably detailed calculation of such calculated Excess Availability and, if applicable, Consolidated Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio.

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

Sarbanes-Oxley ” means the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

SEC ” means the Securities and Exchange Commission, or any Governmental Authority succeeding to any of its principal functions.

Securities Laws ” means the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Sarbanes-Oxley, and the applicable accounting and auditing principles, rules, standards and practices promulgated, approved or incorporated by the SEC or the PCAOB.

Security Agreement ” means the Guarantee and Collateral Agreement dated as of the Closing Date among the Loan Parties and the Agent.

Security Documents ” means the Security Agreement, the Blocked Account Agreements, the Mortgages, the Intercreditor Agreement, the Credit Card Notifications and each other security agreement or other instrument or document executed and delivered to the Agent pursuant to this Agreement or any other Loan Document granting a Lien to secure any of the Obligations.

Settlement Date ” has the meaning provided in Section 2.14(a) .

 

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“Shared Services Agreement” the Shared Services Agreement, dated as of the date hereof, between the Borrower and Kellwood.

Single Employer Plan ” means any Plan that is covered by Title IV of ERISA, but which is not a Multiemployer Plan.

Solvent ” means with respect to any Person, as of any date of determination, (a) on a going concern basis the amount of the “fair value” of the assets of such Person will, as of such date, exceed the amount of all “liabilities of such Person, contingent or otherwise”, as of such date, as such quoted terms are determined in accordance with applicable federal, state, provincial, territorial, municipal, local and foreign laws governing determinations of the insolvency of debtors, (b) the present fair saleable value of the assets of such Person will, as of such date, be greater than the amount that will be required to pay the liability of such Person on its debts as such debts become absolute and matured, (c) such Person will not have, as of such date, an insufficient amount of capital with which to conduct its business, (d) such Person will be able to pay its debts as they mature, and (e) such Person is not “insolvent” within the meaning of Section 101(32) of the Bankruptcy Code. For purposes of this definition, (i) “debt” means liability on a “claim”, (ii) “claim” means any (x) right to payment, whether or not such a right is reduced to judgment, liquidated, unliquidated, fixed, contingent, matured, unmatured, disputed, undisputed, legal, equitable, secured or unsecured or (y) right to an equitable remedy for breach of performance if such breach gives rise to a right to payment, whether or not such right to an equitable remedy is reduced to judgment, fixed, contingent, matured or unmatured, disputed, undisputed, secured or unsecured and (iii) except as otherwise provided by applicable law, the amount of “contingent liabilities” at any time shall be the amount thereof which, in light of all the facts and circumstances existing at such time, can reasonably be expected to become actual or matured liabilities.

Specified Equity Contribution ” has the meaning given to such term in the definition of Consolidated EBITDA.

Specified Event of Default ” means the occurrence of any Event of Default described in any of Sections 8.01(a) , 8.01(b ) (but only insofar as such an Event of Default arises from a breach of the provisions of Section 6.12 or Section 7.18 hereof), 8.01(b)(ii) ( provided that , for purposes of this definition only, the grace period applicable thereto shall be five (5) Business Days), 8.01(d) (but only insofar as such Event of Default arises from a material misrepresentation contained in any Borrowing Base Certificate), or 8.01(f) .

Specified Transaction ” means (a) any Investment that results in a Person becoming a Restricted Subsidiary or an Unrestricted Subsidiary, any Permitted Acquisition or any Disposition that results in a Restricted Subsidiary ceasing to be a Subsidiary of the Borrower, any Investment constituting an acquisition of assets constituting a business unit, line of business or division of another Person or any Disposition of a business unit, line of business or division of the Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary, any designation of a Subsidiary as a Restricted Subsidiary or Unrestricted Subsidiary, in each case whether by merger, consolidation, amalgamation or otherwise or (b) any incurrence or repayment of Indebtedness (other than Indebtedness incurred or repaid under any revolving credit facility or line of credit), Restricted Payment, and New Commitments that by the terms of this Agreement requires such test to be calculated on a “pro forma basis” or after giving “pro forma effect.”

Sponsor ” means Sun Capital Partners V, L.P. and any Affiliates thereof (but excluding any portfolio companies of the foregoing).

 

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Sponsor Affiliate ” means the collective reference to any entities (other than a portfolio company) controlled directly or indirectly by the Sponsor.

Spot Rate ” for a currency means the rate determined by the Agent or the L/C Issuer, as applicable, to be the rate quoted by the Person acting in such capacity as the spot rate for the purchase by such Person of such currency with another currency through its principal foreign exchange trading office at approximately 11:00 a.m. on the date two Business Days prior to the date as of which the foreign exchange computation is made; provided that the Agent or the L/C Issuer may obtain such spot rate from another financial institution designated by the Agent or the L/C Issuer if the Person acting in such capacity does not have as of the date of determination a spot buying rate for any such currency.

Standby Letter of Credit ” means any Letter of Credit that is not a Commercial Letter of Credit and that (a) is used in lieu or in support of performance guaranties or performance, surety or similar bonds (excluding appeal bonds) arising in the ordinary course of business, (b) is used in lieu or in support of stay or appeal bonds, (c) supports the payment of insurance premiums for reasonably necessary casualty insurance carried by any of the Loan Parties, or (d) supports payment or performance for identified purchases or exchanges of products or services in the ordinary course of business.

Stated Amount ” means at any time the maximum amount for which a Letter of Credit may be honored.

Statutory Reserve Rate ” means 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 aggregate of the maximum reserve percentages (including any marginal, special, emergency or supplemental reserves) expressed as a decimal established by the FRB to which the Agent is subject with respect to the Adjusted LIBOR Rate, for eurocurrency funding (currently referred to as “Eurocurrency Liabilities” in Regulation D of the Board). Such reserve percentages shall include those imposed pursuant to such Regulation D. LIBOR Rate 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 such 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.

Subordinated Indebtedness ” means Indebtedness which is expressly subordinated in right of payment to the prior Payment in Full of the Obligations and which is in form and on terms reasonably satisfactory to the Agent.

Subsidiary ” of a Person means a corporation, partnership, joint venture, limited liability company, unlimited liability company or other business entity of which a majority of the shares of Equity Interests having ordinary voting power for the election of directors or other governing body are at the time beneficially owned, or the management of which is otherwise controlled, directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, or both, by such Person. Unless otherwise specified, all references herein to a “Subsidiary” or to “Subsidiaries” shall refer to a Subsidiary or Subsidiaries of the Loan Parties.

Subsidiary Guarantors ” means each Subsidiary of the Borrower that is a Guarantor hereunder.

Substantial Liquidation ” means either (a) the Liquidation of substantially all of the Collateral, or (b) the sale or other disposition of substantially all of the Collateral by the Loan Parties.

 

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Swing Line Borrowing ” means a borrowing of a Swing Line Loan pursuant to Section 2.04 .

Swing Line Lender ” means Bank of America in its capacity as provider of Swing Line Loans, or any successor swing line lender hereunder.

Swing Line Loan ” has the meaning specified in Section 2.04(a) .

Swing Line Loan Notice ” means a notice of a Swing Line Borrowing pursuant to Section 2.04(b) , which, if in writing, shall be substantially in the form of Exhibit A-2.

Swing Line Note ” means the promissory note of the Borrower substantially in the form of Exhibit B-2, payable to the order of the Swing Line Lender, evidencing the Swing Line Loans made by the Swing Line Lender.

Swing Line Sublimit ” means an amount equal to the lesser of (a) $25,000,000 and (b) the Commitments. The Swing Line Sublimit is part of, and not in addition to, the Commitments. A permanent reduction of the Commitments shall not require a corresponding pro rata reduction in the Swing Line Sublimit; provided, however, that if the Commitments are reduced to an amount less than the Swing Line Sublimit, then the Swing Line Sublimit shall be reduced to an amount equal to (or, at Borrower’s option, less than) the Commitments.

Tax Credit ” means a credit against, relief or remission for, or repayment of, any Taxes.

Tax Deduction ” means a deduction or withholding from a payment under any Loan Document for and on account of any taxes, levies, imposts, duties, fees, assessments or other charges of whatever nature now or hereafter imposed by any jurisdiction or by any political subdivision or taxing authority thereof or therein with respect to such payments and all interest, penalties or similar liabilities with respect thereto.

Taxes ” means all present or future taxes, levies, imposts, duties, deductions, withholdings (including backup withholding), assessments, fees or other similar fees or charges in the nature of a tax, levy, et cetera, imposed by any Governmental Authority, including any interest, additions to tax or penalties applicable thereto.

Tax Receivable Agreement ” means that certain Tax Receivable Agreement, dated as of the date hereof and effective immediately prior to the IPO, by and among the Parent, the stockholders of the Parent party thereto and Sun Cardinal LLC, as stockholder representative, as amended, modified or supplemented from time to time not in violation of this Agreement.

Term Agent ” means Bank of America, N.A., in its capacity as administrative agent under the Term Facility, and any successor thereto.

Term Facility ” means the term loan financing facility evidenced by that certain Credit Agreement dated as of the Closing Date among Holdings and the Borrower, as borrowers, the Parent, as a guarantor, Bank of America, as administrative agent, the lenders party thereto and the other agents, arrangers and bookrunners identified therein, and any Permitted Amendment or Refinancing thereof.

Termination Date ” means the earliest to occur of (i) the Latest Maturity Date, (ii) the date on which the maturity of the Obligations is accelerated (or deemed accelerated) and the Commitments are irrevocably terminated (or deemed terminated) in accordance with Article VIII , or (iii) the termination of the Commitments in accordance with the provisions of Section 2.06 hereof.

 

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Total Outstandings ” means, without duplication, the aggregate Outstanding Amount of all Loans and all L/C Obligations.

Trading with the Enemy Act ” has the meaning set forth in Section 10.19 .

Trigger Amount ” means, on any date, the greater of (x) 15% of the Loan Cap in effect on such date and (y) $5,000,000.

Type ” means, (i) when used with respect to a Committed Loan, its character as a Base Rate Loan or a LIBOR Rate Loan, and (ii) when used with respect to commitments, refers to whether such commitment is a Commitment, an Extended Commitment of a given Extension Series or a New Commitment.

UCC ” or “Uniform Commercial Code” means the Uniform Commercial Code as in effect from time to time in the New York; provided, however, that if a term is defined in Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code differently than in another Article thereof, the term shall have the meaning set forth in Article 9; provided further that, if by reason of mandatory provisions of law, perfection, or the effect of perfection or non-perfection, of a security interest in any Collateral or the availability of any remedy hereunder is governed by the Uniform Commercial Code as in effect in a jurisdiction other than New York, “Uniform Commercial Code” means the Uniform Commercial Code as in effect in such other jurisdiction for purposes of the provisions hereof relating to such perfection or effect of perfection or non-perfection or availability of such remedy, as the case may be.

UCP 600 ” means, with respect to any Letter of Credit, the Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits, International Chamber of Commerce (“ICC”) Publication No. 600 (or such later version thereof as may be in effect at the time of issuance).

UFCA “ has the meaning specified in Section 10.23(d) .

UFTA ” has the meaning specified in Section 10.23(d) .

Unintentional Overadvance ” means an Overadvance which, to the Agent’s knowledge, did not constitute a Overadvance when made but which has become a Overadvance resulting from changed circumstances beyond the control of the Credit Parties, including, without limitation, a reduction in the Appraised Value of property or assets included in the Borrowing Base or misrepresentation by any of the Loan Parties.

United States ” and “ U.S. ” mean the United States of America.

Unreimbursed Amount ” has the meaning specified in Section 2.03(c)(i) .

Unrestricted Subsidiary ” means (i) any Subsidiary of the Borrower designated as such and listed on Schedule 4.01 on the Closing Date and (ii) any Subsidiary of the Borrower that is designated by a resolution of the board of directors of the Borrower as an Unrestricted Subsidiary, but only to the extent that, in the case of each of clauses (i) and (ii), such Subsidiary: (a) has no Indebtedness other than Non-Recourse Debt; (b) is not party to any agreement, contract, arrangement or understanding with the Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary unless the terms of any such agreement, contract, arrangement or understanding are no less favorable to the Borrower or such Restricted Subsidiary than those that might be obtained at the time from Persons who are not Affiliates of the Borrower; (c) is a Person with respect to which neither the Borrower nor any of the Restricted Subsidiaries has any direct or indirect obligation (x) to subscribe for additional Equity Interest or warrants, options or other rights to acquire Equity

 

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Interests or (y) to maintain or preserve such Person’s financial condition or to cause such Person to achieve any specified levels of operating results; (d) has not guaranteed or otherwise provided credit support at the time of such designation for any Indebtedness of the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries; (e) does not hold any assets constituting ABL Priority Collateral or otherwise of the type included in the Borrowing Base; and (f) to the extent requested by the Agent, such Subsidiary shall have entered into an agreement with the Agent, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Agent, allowing the use of the assets and other property of such Subsidiary as may be necessary or desirable for the Liquidation of the ABL Priority Collateral or such other assets. If, at any time, any Unrestricted Subsidiary would fail to meet the foregoing requirements as an Unrestricted Subsidiary, it shall thereafter cease to be an Unrestricted Subsidiary for purposes hereof. Subject to the foregoing, the board of directors of the Borrower may at any time designate any Unrestricted Subsidiary to be a Restricted Subsidiary or any Restricted Subsidiary to be an Unrestricted Subsidiary; provided that (i) such designation shall only be permitted if no Default or Event of Default would be in existence following such designation and the Loan Parties would be in compliance with Section 7.18 on the date of such designation after giving pro forma effect to such designation, (ii) any designation of an Unrestricted Subsidiary as a Restricted Subsidiary shall be deemed to be an incurrence of Indebtedness by a Restricted Subsidiary of any outstanding Indebtedness of such Unrestricted Subsidiary and (iii) any designation of a Restricted Subsidiary as an Unrestricted Subsidiary shall be deemed to be an Investment in an Unrestricted Subsidiary and shall reduce amounts available for Investments in Unrestricted Subsidiaries permitted by Section 7.02 in an amount equal to the fair market value of the Subsidiary so designated; provided that the Borrower may subsequently redesignate any such Unrestricted Subsidiary as a Restricted Subsidiary so long as the Borrower does not subsequently re-designate such Restricted Subsidiary as an Unrestricted Subsidiary for a period of the succeeding four Fiscal Quarters.

U.S. Person ” means any Person that is a “United States Person” as defined in Section 7701(a)(30) of the Code.

U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate ” has the meaning specified in Section 3.01(e)(ii)(B)(III) .

Weighted Average Life to Maturity ” shall mean, when applied to any Indebtedness at any date, the number of years obtained by dividing: (i) the sum of the products obtained by multiplying (a) the amount of each then remaining installment, sinking fund, serial maturity or other required payments of principal, including payment at final maturity, in respect thereof, by (b) the number of years (calculated to the nearest one-twelfth) that will elapse between such date and the making of such payment; by (ii) the then outstanding principal amount of such Indebtedness; provided, that for purposes of determining the Weighted Average Life to Maturity of any Indebtedness that is being Amended or Refinanced (the “ Applicable Indebtedness ”), the effects of any amortization of or prepayments made on such Applicable Indebtedness prior to the date of the applicable Amendment or Refinancing shall be disregarded.

1.02 Other Interpretive Provisions.

With reference to this Agreement and each other Loan Document, unless otherwise specified herein or in such other Loan Document:

(a) 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, (i) any definition of or reference to any agreement, instrument or other document shall be construed as referring to such

 

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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 or in any other Loan Document), (ii) any reference herein to any Person shall be construed to include such Person’s successors and permitted assigns, (iii) the words “ herein ,” “ hereof ” and “ hereunder ,” and words of similar import when used in any Loan Document, shall be construed to refer to such Loan Document in its entirety and not to any particular provision thereof, (iv) all references in a Loan Document to Articles, Sections, Exhibits and Schedules shall be construed to refer to Articles and Sections of, and Exhibits and Schedules to, the Loan Document in which such references appear, (v) any reference to any law shall include all statutory and regulatory provisions consolidating, amending, replacing or interpreting such law and any reference to any law or regulation shall, unless otherwise specified, refer to such law or regulation as amended, modified or supplemented from time to time, and (vi) 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.

(b) In the computation of periods of time from a specified date to a later specified date, the word “ from ” means “ from and including ;” the words “ to ” and “ until ” each mean “ to but excluding ;” and the word “ through ” means “ to and including .”

(c) Section headings herein and in the other Loan Documents are included for convenience of reference only and shall not affect the interpretation of this Agreement or any other Loan Document.

1.03 Accounting Terms.

(a) Generally . All accounting terms not specifically or completely defined herein shall be construed in conformity with, and all financial data (including financial ratios and other financial calculations) required to be submitted pursuant to this Agreement shall be prepared in conformity with, GAAP applied on a consistent basis, as in effect from time to time, applied in a manner consistent with that used in preparing the Audited Financial Statement, except as otherwise specifically prescribed herein.

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

(ii) Notwithstanding any other provision contained herein, any lease that is treated as an operating lease for purposes of GAAP as of the date hereof shall not be treated as Indebtedness and shall continue to be treated as an operating lease (and any future lease, if it were in effect on the date hereof, that would be treated as an operating lease for purposes of GAAP as of the date hereof shall be treated as an operating lease), in each case for purposes of this Agreement, notwithstanding any change in GAAP after the date hereof.

(iii) Notwithstanding any other provision contained herein, all terms of an accounting or financial nature used here shall be construed, and all computations of

 

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amounts and ratios referred to herein shall be made, without giving effect to Statement of Financial Accounting Standards 141R or ASC 805 (or any other financial accounting standard having a similar result or effect).

1.04 [Reserved]

1.05 Rounding.

Any financial ratios required to be maintained by the Loan Parties pursuant to this Agreement shall be calculated by dividing the appropriate component by the other component, carrying the result to two places more than the number of places by which such ratio is expressed herein and rounding the result up or down to the nearest number (with a rounding-up if there is no nearest number).

1.06 Times of Day.

Unless otherwise specified, all references herein to times of day shall be references to Eastern time (daylight or standard, as applicable).

1.07 Letter of Credit Amounts.

Unless otherwise specified herein, the amount of a Letter of Credit at any time shall be deemed to be the the maximum amount available to be drawn under such Letter of Credit as in effect at such time; provided , however , that with respect to any Letter of Credit that, by its terms or the terms of any Issuer Document related thereto, provides for one or more automatic increases in the maximum stated amount thereof, the amount of such Letter of Credit shall be deemed to be the the maximum amount available to be drawn under such Letter of Credit after giving effect to all such increases, whether or not such maximum stated amount is in effect at such time.

1.08 Currency Equivalents Generally.

(a) For purposes of determining compliance with Sections 7.02 and 7.03 with respect to any amount of Indebtedness or Investment in a currency other than Dollars, no Default shall be deemed to have occurred solely as a result of changes in rates of currency exchange occurring after the time such Indebtedness or Investment is incurred (so long as such Indebtedness or Investment, at the time incurred, made or acquired, was permitted hereunder); provided that, for the avoidance of doubt, the below provisions of Section 1.09 shall otherwise apply to such Sections, including with respect to determining whether any Investment or Indebtedness may be incurred or made at any time under such Sections.

(b) For purposes of determining the Consolidated Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio, amounts denominated in a currency other than Dollars will be converted to Dollars at the currency exchange rates used in preparing the Borrower’s financial statements corresponding to the test period with respect to the applicable date of determination and will, in the case of Indebtedness, reflect the currency translation effects, determined in accordance with GAAP, of Hedge Agreements permitted hereunder for currency exchange risks with respect to the applicable currency in effect on the date of determination of the Dollar equivalent of such Indebtedness; provided that, notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, Loans and L/C Obligations denominated in a currency other than Dollars will be converted to Dollars at the Spot Rate.

 

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1.09 Pro Forma Basis.

(a) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, the Consolidated Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio shall be calculated in the manner prescribed by this Section 1.09 .

(b) For purposes of calculating the Consolidated Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio, Specified Transactions (and the incurrence or repayment of any Indebtedness in connection therewith) that have been made (i) during the applicable period and (ii) subsequent to such period and prior to or simultaneously with the event for which the calculation of any such ratio is made shall be calculated on a pro forma basis assuming that all such Specified Transactions (and any increase or decrease in Consolidated EBITDA and the component financial definitions used therein attributable to any Specified Transaction) had occurred on the first day of the applicable period. If since the beginning of any applicable period any Person that subsequently became a Restricted Subsidiary or was merged, amalgamated or consolidated with or into the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries since the beginning of such period shall have made any Specified Transaction that would have required adjustment pursuant to this Section 1.09 , then the Consolidated Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio shall be calculated to give pro forma effect thereto in accordance with this Section 1.09 .

(c) Whenever pro forma effect is to be given to a Specified Transaction, the pro forma calculations shall be made in good faith by a Responsible Officer of the Borrower and include, for the avoidance of doubt, the amount of cost savings and synergies projected by the Borrower in good faith to be reasonably anticipated to be realizable within 12 months after the closing date of such Specified Transaction (provided that to the extent any such operational changes are not associated with a transaction, such changes shall be limited to those for which all steps have been taken for realizing such savings and are factually supportable, reasonably identifiable and supported by an officer’s certificate delivered to the Agent) (calculated on a pro forma basis as though such cost savings and synergies had been realized on the first day of such period as if such cost savings and synergies were realized during the entirety of such period) relating to such Specified Transaction, net of the amount of actual benefits realized during such period from such actions; provided that any increase in Consolidated EBITDA as a result of cost savings and synergies shall be subject to the limitations set forth in the definition of Consolidated EBITDA.

(d) In the event that the Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary incurs (including by assumption or guarantees) or repays (including by redemption, repayment, retirement or extinguishment) any Indebtedness included in the calculations of the Consolidated Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio, as the case may be (in each case, other than Indebtedness incurred or repaid under any revolving credit facility in the ordinary course of business for working capital purposes), (i) during the applicable period and (ii) subsequent to the end of the applicable period and prior to or simultaneously with the event for which the calculation of any such ratio is made, then the Consolidated Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio shall be calculated giving pro forma effect to such incurrence or repayment of Indebtedness, to the extent required, as if the same had occurred on the last day of the applicable period.

ARTICLE II

THE COMMITMENTS AND CREDIT EXTENSIONS

2.01 Committed Loans; Reserves

Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, each Lender severally agrees to make Committed Loans to the Borrower from time to time, on any Business Day during the Availability Period, in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed at any time outstanding the lesser of (x) the amount of the Commitment of such Lender, and (y) such Lender’s Applicable Percentage of the Borrowing Base; subject in each case to the following limitations:

(a) after giving effect to any Committed Borrowing, the Total Outstandings shall not exceed Availability,

 

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(b) after giving effect to any Committed Borrowing, the aggregate Outstanding Amount of the Committed Loans of any Lender, plus such Lender’s Applicable Percentage of the Outstanding Amount of all L/C Obligations, plus such Lender’s Applicable Percentage of the Outstanding Amount of all Swing Line Loans made to the Borrower shall not exceed the Commitment of such Lender, and

(c) The Outstanding Amount of all L/C Obligations shall not at any time exceed the Letter of Credit Sublimit.

Within the limits of the Commitment for each Lender, and subject to the other terms and conditions hereof, the Borrower may borrow under this Section 2.01 , prepay under Section 2.05 , and reborrow under this Section 2.01 .

2.02 Borrowings, Conversions and Continuations of Committed Loans .

(a) Committed Loans (other than Swing Line Loans) shall be either Base Rate Loans or LIBOR Rate Loans as the Borrower may request subject to and in accordance with this Section 2.02 . All Swing Line Loans shall be only Base Rate Loans. All Committed Loans shall be made in Dollars.

(b) Subject to the other provisions of this Section 2.02 , Committed Borrowings of more than one Type may be incurred at the same time. Each Committed Borrowing, each Conversion of Committed Loans from one Type to the other, and each continuation of LIBOR Rate Loans shall be made upon the Borrower’s irrevocable notice to the Agent, which may be given by telephone. Each such notice must be received by the Agent not later than 1:00 p.m. (i) three Business Days prior to the requested date of any Borrowing of, Conversion to or continuation of LIBOR Rate Loans or of any Conversion of LIBOR Rate Loans to Base Rate Loans, and (ii) one Business Day prior to the requested date of any Borrowing of Base Rate Loans ; provided , however , that if the Borrower wishes to request LIBOR Rate Loans having an Interest Period other than one, two, three or six months in duration as provided in the definition of “Interest Period”, the applicable notice must be received by the Agent not later than 1:00 p.m. four Business Days prior to the requested date of such Borrowing, Conversion or continuation, whereupon the Agent shall give prompt notice to the Lenders of such request and determine whether the requested Interest Period is acceptable to all of them. Not later than 1:00 p.m., three Business Days before the requested date of such Borrowing, Conversion or continuation, the Agent shall notify the Borrower (which notice may be by telephone) whether or not the requested Interest Period has been consented to by all the Lenders. Each telephonic notice by the Borrower pursuant to this Section 2.02(b) must be confirmed promptly by delivery to the Agent of a written Committed Loan Notice, appropriately completed and signed by a Responsible Officer of the Borrower. Each Borrowing of, Conversion to or continuation of LIBOR Rate Loans shall be in a principal amount of $1,000,000 or a whole multiple of $1,000,000 in excess thereof. Except as provided in Sections 2.03(c) and 2.04(c) , each Borrowing of or Conversion to Base Rate Loans shall be in sum minimum amounts as the Agent may require. Each Committed Loan Notice (whether telephonic or written) shall specify (i) whether the Borrower is requesting a Committed Borrowing, a Conversion of Committed Loans from one Type to the other, or a continuation of LIBOR Rate Loans, (ii) the requested date of the Borrowing, Conversion or continuation, as the case may be (which shall be a Business Day), (iii) the principal amount of Committed Loans to be borrowed, Converted or continued, (iv) the Type of Committed Loans to be borrowed or to which existing Committed Loans are to be Converted, and (v) if applicable, the duration of the Interest Period with respect thereto. If the Borrower fails to specify a

 

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Type of Committed Loan in a Committed Loan Notice or if the Borrower fails to give a timely notice requesting a Conversion or continuation, then the applicable Committed Loans shall be made as, or Converted to, Base Rate Loans. Any such automatic Conversion to Base Rate Loans shall be effective as of the last day of the Interest Period then in effect with respect to the applicable LIBOR Rate Loans. If the Borrower requests a Borrowing of, Conversion to, or continuation of LIBOR Rate Loans in any such Committed Loan Notice, but fails to specify an Interest Period, it will be deemed to have specified an Interest Period of one month. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, a Swing Line Loan may not be Converted to a LIBOR Rate Loan.

(c) Following receipt of a Committed Loan Notice, the Agent shall promptly notify each Lender of the amount of its Applicable Percentage of the applicable Committed Loans, and if no timely notice of a Conversion or continuation is provided by the Borrower, the Agent shall notify each Lender of the details of any automatic Conversion to Base Rate Loans described in Section 2.02(b) . In the case of a Committed Borrowing, each Lender shall make the amount of its Committed Loan available to the Agent in immediately available funds at the Agent’s Office not later than 1:00 p.m. on the Business Day specified in the applicable Committed Loan Notice. Upon satisfaction of the applicable conditions set forth in Section 4.02 (and, if such Borrowing is the initial Credit Extension, Section 4.01) the Agent shall make all funds so received available to the Borrower in like funds as received by the Agent either by (i) crediting the account of the Borrower on the books of Bank of America with the amount of such funds or (ii) wire transfer of such funds, in each case in accordance with instructions provided to (and reasonably acceptable to) the Agent by the Borrower; provided , however , that if, on the date the Committed Loan Notice with respect to such Borrowing is given by the Borrower, there are L/C Borrowings outstanding with respect to the Borrower, then the proceeds of such Borrowing, first , shall be applied to the payment in full of any such L/C Borrowings, and second , shall be made available to the Borrower as provided above.

(d) To the extent not paid by the Borrower when due (after taking into consideration any grace period), the Agent, without the request of the Borrower, may advance any interest, fee, service charge (including direct wire fees), expenses, or other payment to which any Credit Party is entitled from the Loan Parties pursuant hereto or any other Loan Document and may charge the same to the Loan Account notwithstanding that an Overadvance may result thereby; provided, that the Agent may not charge amounts owing in respect of Other Liabilities to the Loan Account to the extent an Overadvance may result thereby. The Agent shall advise the Borrower of any such advance or charge promptly after the making thereof. Such action on the part of the Agent shall not constitute a waiver of the Agent’s rights and the Borrower’s obligations under Section 2.05(c) . Any amount which is added to the principal balance of the Loan Account as provided in this Section 2.02(d) shall bear interest at the interest rate then and thereafter applicable to Base Rate Loans.

(e) Except as otherwise provided herein, a LIBOR Rate Loan may be continued or converted only on the last day of an Interest Period for such LIBOR Rate Loan. During the existence of any Event of Default, no Loans may be requested as, converted to or continued as LIBOR Rate Loans without the consent of the Required Lenders.

(f) The Agent shall promptly notify the Borrower and the Lenders of the interest rate applicable to any Interest Period for LIBOR Rate Loans upon determination of such interest rate. At any time that Base Rate Loans are outstanding, the Agent shall notify the Borrower and the Lenders of any change in Bank of America’s “prime rate” used in determining the Base Rate promptly following the public announcement of such change.

 

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(g) After giving effect to all Committed Borrowings, all Conversions of Committed Loans from one Type to another in accordance with the terms hereof, and all continuations of Committed Loans as the same Type, there shall not be more than (i) three (3) Interest Periods in effect with respect to Committed Loans having an Interest Period of two weeks, or (ii) ten (10) Interest Periods in effect unless otherwise agreed to between the Agent and the Borrower with respect to all Committed Loans.

(h) The Agent, the Lenders, the Swing Line Lender and the L/C Issuer shall have no obligation to make any Loan or to provide any Letter of Credit if an Overadvance would result. The Agent may, in its discretion, make Permitted Overadvances to the Borrower without the consent of any of the Borrower, the Lenders, the Swing Line Lender and the L/C Issuer and the Borrower and each Lender and L/C Issuer shall be bound thereby. Any Permitted Overadvance may constitute a Swing Line Loan. A Permitted Overadvance is for the account of the Borrower and shall constitute a Base Rate Loan and an Obligation and shall be repaid by the Borrower in accordance with the provisions of Section 2.05(c) . The making of any such Permitted Overadvance on any one occasion shall not obligate the Agent or any Lender to make or permit any Permitted Overadvance on any other occasion or to permit such Permitted Overadvances to remain outstanding. The making by the Agent of a Permitted Overadvance shall not modify or abrogate any of the provisions of Section 2.03 regarding the Lenders’ obligations to purchase participations with respect to Letter of Credits issued for the Borrower or of Section 2.04 regarding the Lenders’ obligations to purchase participations with respect to Swing Line Loans. The Agent shall have no liability for, and no Loan Party or Credit Party shall have the right to, or shall, bring any claim of any kind whatsoever against the Agent with respect to Unintentional Overadvances regardless of the amount of any such Overadvances.

2.03 Letters of Credit .

(a) The Letter of Credit Commitment .

(i) Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, (A) the L/C Issuer agrees, in reliance upon the agreements of the Lenders set forth in this Section 2.03 , (1) from time to time on any Business Day during the period from the Closing Date until the Letter of Credit Expiration Date, to issue Letters of Credit in Dollars for the account of the Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary, and to amend or extend Letters of Credit previously issued by it, in accordance with Section 2.03(b) below, and (2) to honor drawings under the Letters of Credit; and (B) the applicable Lenders severally agree to participate in Letters of Credit issued for the account of the Borrower or Restricted Subsidiary and any drawings thereunder; provided that after giving effect to any L/C Credit Extension with respect to any Letter of Credit, (x) the Total Outstandings shall not exceed the Loan Cap, (y) the aggregate Outstanding Amount of the Committed Loans of any Lender, plus such Lender’s Applicable Percentage of the Outstanding Amount of all L/C Obligations, plus such Lender’s Applicable Percentage of the Outstanding Amount of all Swing Line Loans shall not exceed such Lender’s Commitment, and (z) the Outstanding Amount of the L/C Obligations shall not exceed the applicable Letter of Credit Sublimit. Each request by the Borrower for the issuance or amendment of a Letter of Credit shall be deemed to be a representation by the Borrower that the L/C Credit Extension so requested complies with the conditions set forth in the proviso to the preceding sentence. Within the foregoing limits, and subject to the terms and conditions hereof, the Borrower’s ability to obtain Letters of Credit shall be fully revolving, and accordingly the Borrower may, during the foregoing period, obtain Letters of Credit to replace Letters of Credit that have expired or that have been drawn upon and reimbursed. All Existing Letters of Credit shall be deemed to have been issued pursuant hereto, and from and after the Closing Date shall be subject to and governed by the terms and conditions hereof.

 

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(ii) The L/C Issuer shall not issue any Letter of Credit, if:

(A) subject to Section 2.03(b)(iii) , the expiry date of such requested Standby Letter of Credit would occur more than twelve months after the date of issuance or last extension (or such other period as may be acceptable to the Agent and the L/C Issuer), unless the Required Lenders have approved such expiry date; or

(B) the expiry date of such requested Commercial Letter of Credit would occur more than one (1) year after the date of issuance (or such other period as may be acceptable to the Agent and the Issuer), unless the Required Lenders have approved such expiry date; or

(C) the expiry date of such requested Letter of Credit would occur after the Letter of Credit Expiration Date, unless either such Letter of Credit is Cash Collateralized on or prior to the date of issuance of such Letter of Credit or, with respect to an Auto-Extension Letter of Credit, on or prior to the date of any extension of such Letter of Credit which would extend the expiry date thereof to a date beyond the Letter of Credit Expiration Date (or, in each case, such later date as to which the Agent may agree) or all the Lenders have approved such expiry date; or.

(D) any order, judgment or decree of any Governmental Authority or arbitrator having binding powers shall by its terms purport to enjoin or restrain the L/C Issuer from issuing such Letter of Credit, or any Requirement of Law applicable to the L/C Issuer or any request or directive (whether or not having the force of law) from any Governmental Authority with jurisdiction over the L/C Issuer shall prohibit, or request that the L/C Issuer refrain from, the issuance of letters of credit generally or such Letter of Credit in particular or shall impose upon the L/C Issuer with respect to such Letter of Credit any restriction, reserve or capital requirement (for which the L/C Issuer is not otherwise compensated hereunder) not in effect on the Closing Date, or shall impose upon the L/C Issuer any unreimbursed loss, cost or expense which was not applicable on the Closing Date and which the L/C Issuer in good faith deems material to it (for which the L/C Issuer is not otherwise compensated);

(E) the issuance of such Letter of Credit would violate one or more policies of the L/C Issuer applicable to letters of credit generally;

(F) such Letter of Credit is to be denominated in a currency other than Dollars, except as may be approved by the Agent and the L/C Issuer, each in their sole discretion;

(G) the L/C Issuer does not as of the issuance date of such requested Letter of Credit issue Letters of Credit in the requested currency;

(H) such Letter of Credit contains any provisions for automatic reinstatement of the Stated Amount after any drawing thereunder; or

(I) any Lender is at that time a Defaulting Lender, unless (i) after giving effect to the requested issuance, there would exist no Fronting Exposure (in the good faith determination of the L/C Issuer) or (ii) the L/C Issuer has entered into arrangements, including the delivery of Cash Collateral, satisfactory to the L/C Issuer (in its good faith determination) with the Borrower or such Lender to eliminate the L/C Issuer’s actual or potential Fronting

 

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Exposure (after giving effect to Section 2.16(a)(iv) ) with respect to the Defaulting Lender arising from either the Letter of Credit then proposed to be issued or that Letter of Credit and all other L/C Obligations as to which the L/C Issuer has actual or potential Fronting Exposure, as it may elect in its sole discretion.

(iii) The L/C Issuer shall not amend any Letter of Credit if the L/C Issuer would not be permitted at such time to issue such Letter of Credit in its amended form under the terms hereof or if the beneficiary of such Letter of Credit does not accept the proposed amendment to such Letter of Credit.

(iv) The L/C Issuer shall act on behalf of the Lenders with respect to any Letters of Credit issued by it and the documents associated therewith, and the L/C Issuer shall have all of the benefits and immunities (A) provided to the Agent in Article IX with respect to any acts taken or omissions suffered by the L/C Issuer in connection with Letters of Credit issued by it or proposed to be issued by it and Issuer Documents pertaining to such Letters of Credit as fully as if the term “Agent” as used in Article IX included the L/C Issuer with respect to such acts or omissions, and (B) as additionally provided herein with respect to the L/C Issuer.

(b) Procedures for Issuance and Amendment of Letters of Credit; Auto-Extension Letters of Credit .

(i) Each Letter of Credit shall be issued or amended, as the case may be, upon the request of the Borrower delivered to the L/C Issuer (with a copy to the Agent) in the form of a Letter of Credit Application, appropriately completed and signed by a Responsible Officer of the Borrower and the Borrower. Such Letter of Credit Application may be sent by facsimile, by United States mail, by overnight courier, by electronic transmission using the system provided by the L/C Issuer, by personal delivery or by any other means acceptable to the L/C Issuer. Such Letter of Credit Application must be received by the L/C Issuer and the Agent not later than 1:00 p.m. at least two Business Days (or such other date and time as the Agent and the L/C Issuer may agree in a particular instance in their sole discretion) prior to the proposed issuance date or date of amendment, as the case may be. In the case of a request for an initial issuance of a Letter of Credit, such Letter of Credit Application shall specify in form and detail reasonably satisfactory to the L/C Issuer: (A) the proposed issuance date of the requested Letter of Credit (which shall be a Business Day); (B) the amount and currency thereof; (C) the expiry date thereof; (D) the name and address of the beneficiary thereof; (E) the documents to be presented by such beneficiary in case of any drawing thereunder; (F) the full text of any certificate to be presented by such beneficiary in case of any drawing thereunder; (G) the Borrower or Restricted Subsidiary for whose account the Letter of Credit is being issued, and (H) such other matters as the L/C Issuer may reasonably require. In the case of a request for an amendment of any outstanding Letter of Credit, such Letter of Credit Application shall specify in form and detail reasonably satisfactory to the L/C Issuer (A) the Letter of Credit to be amended; (B) the proposed date of amendment thereof (which shall be a Business Day); (C) the nature of the proposed amendment; and (D) such other matters as the L/C Issuer may reasonably require. Additionally, the Borrower shall furnish to the L/C Issuer and the Agent such other documents and information pertaining to such requested Letter of Credit issuance or amendment, including any Issuer Documents, as the L/C Issuer or the Agent may reasonably require.

(ii) Subject to the provisions of Section 2.02(b)(iv) hereof, promptly after receipt of any Letter of Credit Application, the L/C Issuer will confirm with the Agent (by telephone or in writing) that the Agent has received a copy of such Letter of Credit Application from the Borrower and, if not, the L/C Issuer will provide the Agent with a copy thereof. Unless the L/C Issuer has received written notice from any Lender, the Agent or any Loan Party, at least one Business Day prior to the requested

 

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date of issuance or amendment of the applicable Letter of Credit, that one or more applicable conditions contained in Article IV shall not then be satisfied or unless the L/C Issuer would not be permitted, or would have no obligation, at such time to issue such Letter of Credit under the terms hereof (by reason of the provisions of Section 2.03(a)(ii) or otherwise), then, subject to the terms and conditions hereof, the L/C Issuer shall, on the requested date, issue a Letter of Credit for the account of the Borrower or enter into the applicable amendment, as the case may be, in each case in accordance with the L/C Issuer’s usual and customary business practices. Immediately upon the issuance or amendment of each Letter of Credit, each Lender having a Commitment to the Borrower shall be deemed to (without any further action), and hereby irrevocably and unconditionally agrees to, purchase from the L/C Issuer, without recourse or warranty, a risk participation in such Letter of Credit in an amount equal to the product of such Lender’s Applicable Percentage times the Stated Amount of such Letter of Credit. Upon any change in the Commitments under this Agreement, it is hereby agreed that with respect to all L/C Obligations, there shall be an automatic adjustment to the participations hereby created to reflect the new Applicable Percentages of the assigning and assignee Lenders.

(iii) If the Borrower so requests in any applicable Letter of Credit Application, the L/C Issuer may, in its sole and absolute discretion, agree to issue a Standby Letter of Credit that has automatic extension provisions (each, an “ Auto-Extension Letter of Credit ”); provided that any such Auto-Extension Letter of Credit must permit the L/C Issuer to prevent any such extension at least once in each twelve-month period (commencing with the date of issuance of such Standby Letter of Credit) by giving prior notice to the beneficiary thereof not later than a day (the “ Non-Extension Notice Date ”) in each such twelve-month period to be agreed upon at the time such Standby Letter of Credit is issued. Unless otherwise directed by the L/C Issuer, the Borrower shall not be required to make a specific request to the L/C Issuer for any such extension. Once an Auto-Extension Letter of Credit has been issued, the Lenders shall be deemed to have authorized (but may not require) the L/C Issuer to permit the extension of such Standby Letter of Credit at any time to an expiry date not later than the Letter of Credit Expiration Date; provided , however , that the L/C Issuer shall not permit any such extension if (A) the L/C Issuer has determined that it would not be permitted, or would have no obligation, at such time to issue such Standby Letter of Credit in its revised form (as extended) under the terms hereof (by reason of the provisions of Section 2.03(a)(ii) or otherwise), or (B) it has received notice (which may be by telephone or in writing) on or before the day that is seven Business Days before the Non-Extension Notice Date (1) from the Agent that the Required Lenders have elected not to permit such extension or (2) from the Agent, any Lender or the Borrower that one or more of the applicable conditions specified in Section 4.02 is not then satisfied, and in each such case directing the L/C Issuer not to permit such extension.

(iv) Any L/C Issuer (other than Bank of America or any of its Affiliates) shall notify the Agent in writing on each Business Day of all Letters of Credit issued on the prior Business Day by such L/C Issuer, provided that (A) until the Agent advises any such Issuing Bank that the provisions of Section 4.02 are not satisfied, or (B) the aggregate amount of the Letters of Credit issued in any such week exceeds such amount as shall be agreed by the Agent and the L/C Issuer, such L/C Issuer shall be required to so notify the Agent in writing only once each week of the Letters of Credit issued by such L/C Issuer during the immediately preceding week as well as the daily amounts outstanding for the prior week, such notice to be furnished on such day of the week as the Agent and such L/C Issuer may agree. The L/C Issuer will also deliver (contemporaneously with the notification set forth in the first sentence hereof) to the Borrower and the Agent a true and complete copy of such Letter of Credit or amendment.

(v) Promptly after its delivery of any Letter of Credit or any amendment to a Letter of Credit to an advising bank with respect thereto or to the beneficiary thereof, the L/C Issuer will also deliver to the Borrower and the Agent a true and complete copy of such Letter of Credit or amendment.

 

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(c) Drawings and Reimbursements; Funding of Participations .

(i) Upon receipt from the beneficiary of any Letter of Credit of any notice of a drawing under such Letter of Credit, the L/C Issuer shall notify the Borrower and the Agent thereof; provided , however , that any failure to give or delay in giving such notice shall not relieve the Borrower of its obligation to reimburse the L/C Issuer and the Lenders with respect to any such payment. Not later than 1:00 p.m. on the second Business Day immediately following the day that the Borrower receives notice from the L/C Issuer of a drawing under a Letter of Credit to be reimbursed in Dollars (each such date, an “ Honor Date ”), the Borrower shall reimburse the L/C Issuer through the Agent in an amount equal to the amount of such drawing and in the applicable currency, together with all interest accruing on such amount from the date of such drawing. If any Borrower fails to so reimburse the L/C Issuer by such time, the Agent shall promptly notify each applicable Lender of the Honor Date, the amount of the unreimbursed drawing (the “ Unreimbursed Amount ”), and the amount of such Lender’s Applicable Percentage thereof. In such event, the Borrower shall be deemed to have requested a Borrowing of Base Rate Loans to be disbursed on the Honor Date in an amount equal to the Unreimbursed Amount, subject to the amount of the unutilized portion of the Loan Cap and the conditions set forth in Section 4.02 (other than the delivery of a Committed Loan Notice). Any notice given by the L/C Issuer or the Agent pursuant to this Section  2.03(c)(i) may be given by telephone if immediately confirmed in writing; provided that the lack of such an immediate confirmation shall not affect the conclusiveness or binding effect of such notice.

(ii) Each applicable Lender shall upon any notice from the Agent pursuant to Section 2.03(c)(i) make funds available to the Agent (and the Agent may apply Cash Collateral provided for this purpose) for the account of the L/C Issuer, in Dollars, at the Agent’s Office for Dollar-denominated payments in an amount equal to its Applicable Percentage of the Unreimbursed Amount not later than 1:00 p.m. on the Business Day specified in such notice by the Agent, whereupon, subject to the provisions of Section 2.03(c)(iii) , each such Lender that so makes funds available shall be deemed to have made a Base Rate Loan to the Borrower in such amount. The Agent shall remit the funds so received to the L/C Issuer in Dollars.

(iii) With respect to any Unreimbursed Amount that is not fully refinanced by a Committed Borrowing of Base Rate Loans because the conditions set forth in Section 4.02 cannot be satisfied or for any other reason, the Borrower shall be deemed to have incurred from the L/C Issuer an L/C Borrowing in the amount of the Unreimbursed Amount that is not so refinanced, which L/C Borrowing shall be due and payable on demand (together with interest) and shall bear interest at the Default Rate for Base Rate Loans. In such event, each Lender’s payment to the Agent for the account of the L/C Issuer pursuant to Section 2.03(c)(ii) shall be deemed payment in respect of its participation in such L/C Borrowing and shall constitute an L/C Advance from such Lender in satisfaction of its participation obligation under this Section 2.03 .

(iv) Until each applicable Lender funds its Committed Loan or L/C Advance pursuant to this Section 2.03(c) to reimburse the L/C Issuer for any amount drawn under any Letter of Credit, interest in respect of such Lender’s Applicable Percentage of such amount shall be solely for the account of the L/C Issuer.

(v) Each Lender’s obligation to make Committed Loans or L/C Advances to reimburse the L/C Issuer for amounts drawn under Letters of Credit, as contemplated by this Section 2.03(c) ,

 

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shall be absolute and unconditional and shall not be affected by any circumstance, including (A) any setoff, counterclaim, recoupment, defense or other right which such Lender may have against the L/C Issuer, any Borrower or any other Person for any reason whatsoever; (B) the occurrence or continuance of a Default or Event of Default, or (C) any other occurrence, event or condition, whether or not similar to any of the foregoing; provided , however , that each Lender’s obligation to make Committed Loans pursuant to this Section 2.03(c) is subject to the conditions set forth in Section 4.02 (other than delivery by the Borrower of a Committed Loan Notice). No such making of an L/C Advance shall relieve or otherwise impair the obligation of the Borrower to reimburse the L/C Issuer for the amount of any payment made by the L/C Issuer under any Letter of Credit, together with interest as provided herein.

(vi) If any Lender fails to make available to the Agent for the account of the L/C Issuer any amount required to be paid by such Lender pursuant to the foregoing provisions of this Section 2.03(c) by the time specified in Section 2.03(c)(ii) , the, without limiting the other provisions of this Agreement, the L/C Issuer shall be entitled to recover from such Lender (acting through the Agent), on demand, such amount with interest thereon for the period from the date such payment is required to the date on which such payment is immediately available to the L/C Issuer at a rate per annum equal to the greater of the Federal Funds Rate and a rate determined by the L/C Issuer in accordance with banking industry rules on interbank compensation plus any administrative, processing or similar fees customarily charged by the L/C Issuer in connection with the foregoing. If such Lender pays such amount (with interest and fees as aforesaid), the amount so paid shall constitute such Lender’s Committed Loan included in the relevant Committed Borrowing or L/C Advance in respect of the relevant L/C Borrowing, as the case may be. A certificate of the L/C Issuer submitted to any Lender (through the Agent) with respect to any amounts owing under this clause (vi) shall be conclusive absent manifest error.

(d) Repayment of Participations .

(i) At any time after the L/C Issuer has made a payment under any Letter of Credit and has received from any Lender its L/C Advance in respect of such payment in accordance with Section 2.03(c) , if the L/C Issuer, or the Agent for the account of the L/C Issuer, receives any payment in respect of the related Unreimbursed Amount or interest thereon (whether directly from the Borrower or otherwise, including proceeds of Cash Collateral applied thereto by the Agent pursuant to Section 2.03(g) ), the L/C Issuer shall distribute any payment it receives to the Agent and the Agent will distribute to such Lender its Applicable Percentage thereof (appropriately adjusted, in the case of interest payments, to reflect the period of time during which such Lender’s L/C Advance was outstanding) in Dollars and in the same funds as those received by the Agent.

(ii) If any payment received by the L/C Issuer or by Agent for the account of the L/C Issuer pursuant to Section 2.03(c)(i) is required to be returned under any of the circumstances described in Section 10.05 (including pursuant to any settlement entered into by the L/C Issuer in its discretion), each applicable Lender shall pay to the Agent for the account of the L/C Issuer its Applicable Percentage thereof on demand of the Agent, plus interest thereon from the date of such demand to the date such amount is returned by such Lender, at a rate per annum equal to the Federal Funds Rate from time to time in effect. The obligations of the Lenders under this clause shall survive the Payment in Full of the Obligations and the termination of this Agreement.

(e) Obligations Absolute . Subject to the limitations set forth below, the obligation of the Borrower to reimburse the L/C Issuer for each drawing under each Letter of Credit and to repay each L/C Borrowing shall be absolute, unconditional and irrevocable, and shall be paid strictly in accordance with the terms of this Agreement under all circumstances, including the following:

(i) any lack of validity or enforceability of such Letter of Credit, this Agreement, or any other Loan Document;

 

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(ii) the existence of any claim, counterclaim, setoff, defense or other right that any Borrower or any Subsidiary may have at any time against any beneficiary or any transferee of such Letter of Credit (or any Person for whom any such beneficiary or any such transferee may be acting), the L/C Issuer or any other Person, whether in connection with this Agreement, the transactions contemplated hereby or by such Letter of Credit or any agreement or instrument relating thereto, or any unrelated transaction;

(iii) any draft, demand, certificate or other document presented under such Letter of Credit proving to be forged, fraudulent, invalid or insufficient in any respect or any statement therein being untrue or inaccurate in any respect; or any loss or delay in the transmission or otherwise of any document required in order to make a drawing under such Letter of Credit;

(iv) waiver by the L/C Issuer of any requirement that exists for the L/C Issuer’s protection and not the protection of the Borrower or any waiver by the L/C Issuer which does not in fact materially prejudice the Borrower;

(v) honor of a demand for payment presented electronically even if such Letter of Credit requires that demand be in the form of a draft;

(vi) any payment made by the L/C Issuer in respect of an otherwise complying item presented after the date specified as the expiration date of, or the date by which documents must be received under such Letter of Credit if presentation after such date is authorized by the UCC, the ISP or the UCP, as applicable;

(vii) any payment by the L/C Issuer under such Letter of Credit against presentation of a draft or certificate that does not strictly comply with the terms of such Letter of Credit; or any payment made by the L/C Issuer under such Letter of Credit to any Person purporting to be a trustee in bankruptcy, debtor-in-possession, assignee for the benefit of creditors, liquidator, receiver or other representative of or successor to any beneficiary or any transferee of such Letter of Credit, including any arising in connection with any proceeding under any Debtor Relief Law;

(viii) any other circumstance or happening whatsoever, whether or not similar to any of the foregoing, including any other circumstance that might otherwise constitute a defense available to, or a discharge of, any Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries; or

(ix) the fact that any Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing.

The Borrower shall promptly examine a copy of each Letter of Credit and each amendment thereto that is delivered to it and, in the event of any claim of non-compliance with the Borrower’s instructions or other irregularity, the Borrower will immediately notify the L/C Issuer. The Borrower shall be conclusively deemed to have waived any such claim against the L/C Issuer and its correspondents unless such notice is given as aforesaid.

(f) Role of L/C Issuer . Each Lender and the Borrower agree that, in paying any drawing under a Letter of Credit, the L/C Issuer shall not have any responsibility to obtain any document (other than any sight draft, certificates and documents expressly required by the Letter of

 

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Credit) or to ascertain or inquire as to the validity or accuracy of any such document or the authority of the Person executing or delivering any such document. None of the L/C Issuer, the Agent, any of their respective Related Parties nor any correspondent, participant or assignee of the L/C Issuer shall be liable to any Loan Party or to any Lender for (i) any action taken or omitted in connection herewith at the request or with the approval of the Lenders or the Required Lenders, as applicable; (ii) any action taken or omitted in the absence of gross negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct; (iii) 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 or any error in interpretation of technical terms; (iv) the due execution, effectiveness, validity or enforceability of any document or instrument related to any Letter of Credit or Issuer Document, or (v) for any action, neglect or omission under or in connection with any Letter of Credit or Issuer Documents, including, without limitation, the issuance or amendment of any Letter of Credit, the failure to issue or amend any Letter of Credit, or the honoring or dishonoring of any demand under any Letter of Credit, and such action or neglect or omission will be binding upon the Loan Parties and the Lenders; provided that the Borrowers may have a claim against the L/C Issuer, and the L/C Issuer may be liable to the Borrower, to the extent, but only to the extent, of any direct, as opposed to punitive, consequential or exemplary, damages suffered by the Borrower were caused by the L/C Issuer’s willful misconduct, bad faith or gross negligence. The Borrower hereby assumes all risks of the acts or omissions of any beneficiary or transferee with respect to its use of any Letter of Credit; provided , however , that this assumption is not intended to, and shall not, preclude the Borrower’s pursuing such rights and remedies as it may have against the beneficiary or transferee at law or under any other agreement. None of the L/C Issuer, the Agent, any of their respective Related Parties nor any correspondent, participant or assignee of the L/C Issuer shall be liable or responsible for any of the matters described in clauses (i) through (v) of Section 2.03(e) ; provided, however, that anything in such clauses to the contrary notwithstanding, the Borrower may have a claim against the L/C Issuer, and the L/C Issuer may be liable to the Borrower, to the extent, but only to the extent, of any direct, as opposed to consequential or exemplary, damages suffered by the Borrower which the Borrower proves were caused by the L/C Issuer’s willful misconduct, bad faith or gross negligence or the L/C Issuer’s willful failure to pay under any Letter of Credit after the presentation to it by the beneficiary of a sight draft and certificate(s) strictly complying with the terms and conditions of a Letter of Credit. In furtherance and not in limitation of the foregoing, the L/C Issuer may accept documents that appear on their face to be in order, without responsibility for further investigation, regardless of any notice or information to the contrary, and the L/C Issuer shall not be responsible for the validity or sufficiency of any instrument transferring or assigning or purporting to transfer or assign a Letter of Credit or the rights or benefits thereunder or proceeds thereof, in whole or in part, which may prove to be invalid or ineffective for any reason. The L/C Issuer may send a Letter of Credit or conduct any communication to or from the beneficiary via the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (“SWIFT”) message or overnight courier, or any other commercially reasonable means of communicating with a beneficiary.

(g) Cash Collateral . If, as of the Letter of Credit Expiration Date, any L/C Obligation for any reason remains outstanding, the Borrower shall, in each case, immediately Cash Collateralize the then Outstanding Amount of all L/C Obligations in an amount equal to 103% of the Outstanding Amount of all L/C Obligations, pursuant to documentation in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Agent and the L/C Issuer (which documents are hereby Consented to by the Lenders). Sections 2.05, 2.06(c) and 8.02(c) set forth certain additional requirements to deliver Cash Collateral hereunder. The Borrower hereby grants to the Agent a security interest in all such cash, deposit accounts and all balances therein and all proceeds of the foregoing to secure all Obligations. Such cash collateral shall be maintained in blocked, non-interest bearing deposit accounts at Bank of America; provided that interest may be earned on the investment of such deposits, which investments shall be made at the option and in the sole discretion of the Agent (at the request of the Borrower and at

 

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the Borrower’s risk and expense). If at any time the Agent determines that any funds held as cash collateral are subject to any right or claim of any Person other than the Agent or that the total amount of such funds is less than the aggregate Outstanding Amount of all L/C Obligations, the Borrower will, forthwith upon demand by the Agent, pay to the Agent, as additional funds to be deposited as cash collateral, an amount equal to the excess of (x) such aggregate Outstanding Amount over (y) the total amount of funds, if any, then held as cash collateral that the Agent determines to be free and clear of any such right and claim. Upon the drawing of any Letter of Credit for which funds are on deposit as cash collateral, such funds shall be applied to reimburse the L/C Issuer and, to the extent not so applied, shall thereafter be applied to satisfy other Obligations. The Agent may, at any time and from time to time after the initial deposit of Cash Collateral, request that additional Cash Collateral be provided in order to protect against the results of exchange rate fluctuations.

(h) Applicability of ISP and UCP; Limitation of Liability . Unless otherwise expressly agreed by the L/C Issuer and the Borrower when a Letter of Credit is issued (including any such agreement applicable to an Existing Letter of Credit), (i) the rules of the ISP shall apply to each Standby Letter of Credit, and (ii) the rules of the UCP shall apply to each Commercial Letter of Credit. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the L/C Issuer shall not be responsible to the Borrower for, and the L/C Issuer’s rights and remedies against the Borrower shall not be impaired by, any action or inaction of the L/C Issuer required or permitted under any law, order, or practice that is required or permitted to be applied to any Letter of Credit or this Agreement, including the Requirement of Law or any order of a jurisdiction where the L/C Issuer or the beneficiary is located, the practice stated in the ISP or UCP, as applicable, or in the decisions, opinions, practice statements, or official commentary of the ICC Banking Commission, the Bankers Association for Finance and Trade - International Financial Services Association (BAFT-IFSA), or the Institute of International Banking Law & Practice, whether or not any Letter of Credit chooses such law or practice.

(i) Letter of Credit Fees . The Borrower shall pay to the Agent for the account of each applicable Lender in accordance with its Applicable Percentage, in Dollars, a Letter of Credit fee (the “ Letter of Credit Fee ”) for each Letter of Credit issued for the account of the Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary equal to the Applicable Rate for the relevant period times the Dollar Equivalent of the daily Stated Amount under each such Letter of Credit (whether or not such maximum amount is then in effect under such Letter of Credit). For purposes of computing the daily amount available to be drawn under any Letter of Credit, the amount of the Letter of Credit shall be determined in accordance with Section 1.07 . Letter of Credit Fees shall be (i) due and payable on the first Business Day after the end of each March, June, September and December, commencing with the first such date to occur after the issuance of such Letter of Credit, on the Letter of Credit Expiration Date and thereafter on demand, and (ii) computed on a quarterly basis in arrears. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, while any Specified Event of Default exists, all overdue Letter of Credit Fees shall accrue at the Default Rate as provided in Section 2.08(b) hereof.

(j) Fronting Fee and Documentary and Processing Charges Payable to L/C Issuer . The Borrower shall pay directly to the L/C Issuer for its own account, in Dollars, a fronting fee (the “ Fronting Fee ”) with respect to each Letter of Credit, at a rate equal to 0.125% per annum, computed on the daily amount available with respect to each Letter of Credit, on a quarterly basis in arrears. Such fronting fees shall be due and payable on the first Business Day after the end of each March, June, September and December, commencing with the first such date to occur after the issuance of such Letter of Credit, on the Letter of Credit Expiration Date and thereafter on demand. For purposes of computing the daily amount available to be drawn under any Letter of Credit, the amount of the Letter of Credit shall be determined in accordance with Section 1.07 . In addition, the Borrower shall pay directly to the L/C Issuer for its own account the customary issuance, presentation, amendment and

 

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other processing fees, and other standard costs and charges, of the L/C Issuer relating to letters of credit as from time to time in effect. Such customary fees and standard costs and charges are due and payable on demand and are nonrefundable.

(k) Conflict with Issuer Documents . In the event of any conflict between the terms hereof and the terms of any Issuer Document, the terms hereof shall control.

2.04 Swing Line Loans .

(a) The Swing Line . Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, the Swing Line Lender agrees, in reliance upon the agreements of the other Lenders set forth in this Section 2.04 , to make loans (each such loan, a “ Swing Line Loan ”) to the Borrower from time to time on any Business Day during the Availability Period in an aggregate amount not to exceed at any time outstanding the amount of the Swing Line Sublimit, notwithstanding the fact that such Swing Line Loans, when aggregated with the Applicable Percentage of the Outstanding Amount of Committed Loans and L/C Obligations of the Lender acting as Swing Line Lender, may exceed the amount of such Lender’s Commitment; provided , however , that after giving effect to any Swing Line Loan, (i) the Total Outstandings shall not exceed Loan Cap, and (ii) the aggregate Outstanding Amount of the Committed Loans of any Lender to the Borrower at such time, plus such Lender’s Applicable Percentage of the Outstanding Amount of all L/C Obligations of the Borrower at such time, plus such Lender’s Applicable Percentage of the Outstanding Amount of all Swing Line Loans at such time shall not exceed such Lender’s Commitment, and provided , further , that the Borrower shall not use the proceeds of any Swing Line Loan to refinance any outstanding Swing Line Loan, and provided further that the Swing Line Lender shall not be obligated to make any Swing Line Loan if it shall determine (which determination shall be conclusive and binding absent manifest error) that it has, or by such Credit extension may have, Fronting Exposure). Within the foregoing limits, and subject to the other terms and conditions hereof, the Borrower may borrow under this Section 2.04 , prepay under Section 2.05 , and reborrow under this Section 2.04 . Each Swing Line Loan shall bear interest only at a rate based on the Base Rate. Immediately upon the making of a Swing Line Loan, each Lender shall be deemed to, and hereby irrevocably and unconditionally agrees to, purchase from the Swing Line Lender a risk participation in such Swing Line Loan in an amount equal to the product of such Lender’s Applicable Percentage multiplied by the amount of such Swing Line Loan. The Swing Line Lender shall have all of the benefits and immunities (A) provided to the Agent in Article IX with respect to any acts taken or omissions suffered by the Swing Line Lender in connection with Swing Line Loans made by it or proposed to be made by it as if the term “Agent” as used in Article IX included the Swing Line Lender with respect to such acts or omissions, and (B) as additionally provided herein with respect to the Swing Line Lender.

(b) Borrowing Procedures . Each Swing Line Borrowing shall be made upon the Borrower’s irrevocable notice to the Swing Line Lender and the Agent, which may be given by telephone. Each such notice must be received by the Swing Line Lender and the Agent not later than 1:00 p.m. on the requested borrowing date, and shall specify (i) the amount to be borrowed, which shall be a minimum of $100,000, and (ii) the requested borrowing date, which shall be a Business Day. Each such telephonic notice must be confirmed promptly by delivery to the Swing Line Lender and the Agent of a written Swing Line Loan Notice, appropriately completed and signed by a Responsible Officer of the Borrower. Promptly after receipt by the Swing Line Lender of any telephonic Swing Line Loan Notice, the Swing Line Lender will confirm with the Agent (by telephone or in writing) that the Agent has also received such Swing Line Loan Notice and, if not, the Swing Line Lender will notify the Agent (by telephone or in writing) of the contents thereof. Unless the Swing Line Lender has received notice (by telephone or in writing) from the Agent at the request of the Required Lenders prior to 2:00 p.m. on

 

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the date of the proposed Swing Line Borrowing (A) directing the Swing Line Lender not to make such Swing Line Loan as a result of the limitations set forth in the provisos to the first sentence of Section 2.04(a) , or (B) that one or more of the applicable conditions specified in Article IV is not then satisfied, then, subject to the terms and conditions hereof, the Swing Line Lender may, not later than 4:00 p.m. on the borrowing date specified in such Swing Line Loan Notice, make the amount of its Swing Line Loan available to the Borrower either by (i) crediting the account of the Borrower on the books of Bank of America with the amount of such funds or (ii) wire transferring such funds, in each case in accordance with instructions provided to (and reasonably acceptable to) the Swing Line Lender by the Borrower; provided , however , that if, on the date of the proposed Swing Line Loan, there are L/C Borrowings of the Borrower outstanding, then the proceeds of such Borrowing, first , shall be applied to the payment in full of any such L/C Borrowings, and second , shall be made available to the Borrower as provided above.

(c) Refinancing of Swing Line Loans .

(i) In addition to settlements required under Section 2.14 hereof, the Swing Line Lender at any time in its sole and absolute discretion may request, on behalf of the Borrower (which hereby irrevocably authorizes the Swing Line Lender to so request on its behalf), that each Lender make a Base Rate Loan in an amount equal to such Lender’s Applicable Percentage of the amount of Swing Line Loans then outstanding. Such request shall be made in writing (which written request shall be deemed to be a Committed Loan Notice for purposes hereof) and in accordance with the requirements of Section 2.02 , without regard to the minimum and multiples specified therein for the principal amount of Base Rate Loans, but subject to the unutilized portion of the Loan Cap and the conditions set forth in Section 4.02 . The Swing Line Lender shall furnish the Borrower with a copy of the applicable Committed Loan Notice promptly after delivering such notice to the Agent. Each Lender shall make an amount equal to its Applicable Percentage of the amount specified in such Committed Loan Notice available to the Agent in immediately available funds for the account of the Swing Line Lender at the Agent’s Office not later than 1:00 p.m. on the day specified in such Committed Loan Notice, whereupon, subject to Section 2.04(c)(ii) , each Lender that so makes funds available shall be deemed to have made a Base Rate Loan to the Borrower in such amount. The Agent shall remit the funds so received to the Swing Line Lender.

(ii) If for any reason any Swing Line Loan cannot be refinanced by such a Committed Borrowing in accordance with Section 2.04(c)(i) , the request for Base Rate Loans submitted by the Swing Line Lender as set forth herein shall be deemed to be a request by the Swing Line Lender that each of the Lenders fund their risk participation in the relevant Swing Line Loan and each Lender’s payment to the Agent for the account of the Swing Line Lender pursuant to Section 2.04(c)(i) shall be deemed payment in respect of such participation.

(iii) If any Lender fails to make available to the Agent for the account of the Swing Line Lender any amount required to be paid by such Lender pursuant to the foregoing provisions of this Section 2.04(c) by the time specified in Section 2.04(c)(i) , the Swing Line Lender shall be entitled to recover from such Lender (acting through the Agent), on demand, such amount with interest thereon for the period from the date such payment is required to the date on which such payment is immediately available to the Swing Line Lender at a rate per annum equal to the greater of the Federal Funds Rate and a rate determined by the Swing Line Lender in accordance with banking industry rules on interbank compensation plus any administrative, processing or similar fees customarily charged by the Swing Line Lender in connection with the foregoing. If such Lender pays such amount (with interest and fees as aforesaid), the amount so paid shall constitute such Lender’s Committed Loan to the Borrower included in the relevant Committed Borrowing or funded participation in the relevant Swing Line Loan, as the case may be. A certificate of the Swing Line Lender submitted to any Lender (through the Agent) with respect to any amounts owing under this clause (iii) shall be conclusive absent manifest error.

 

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(iv) Each Lender’s obligation to make Committed Loans or to purchase and fund risk participations in Swing Line Loans pursuant to this Section 2.04(c) shall be absolute and unconditional and shall not be affected by any circumstance, including (A) any setoff, counterclaim, recoupment, defense or other right which such Lender may have against the Swing Line Lender, any Borrower or any other Person for any reason whatsoever, (B) the occurrence or continuance of a Default or an Event of Default, or (C) any other occurrence, event or condition, whether or not similar to any of the foregoing; provided , however , that each Lender’s obligation to make Committed Loans pursuant to this Section 2.04(c) is subject to the conditions set forth in Section 4.02 . No such funding of risk participations shall relieve or otherwise impair the obligation of the Borrower to repay Swing Line Loans, together with interest as provided herein.

(d) Repayment of Participations .

(i) At any time after any Lender has purchased and funded a risk participation in a Swing Line Loan, if the Swing Line Lender, or the Agent on behalf of the Swing Line Lender, receives any payment on account of such Swing Line Loan, the Swing Line Lender will distribute such payment to the Agent and the Agent shall distribute to each such Lender its Applicable Percentage of such payment (appropriately adjusted, in the case of interest payments, to reflect the period of time during which such Lender’s risk participation was funded) in the same funds as those received by the Swing Line Lender.

(ii) If any payment received by the Swing Line Lender, or the Agent on behalf of the Swing Line Lender, in respect of principal or interest on any Swing Line Loan is required to be returned by the Swing Line Lender under any of the circumstances described in Section 10.05 (including pursuant to any settlement entered into by the Swing Line Lender in its discretion), each Lender shall pay to the Swing Line Lender its Applicable Percentage thereof on demand of the Agent, plus interest thereon from the date of such demand to the date such amount is returned, at a rate per annum equal to the Federal Funds Rate. The Agent will make such demand upon the request of the Swing Line Lender. The obligations of the Lenders under this clause shall survive the Payment in Full of the Obligations and the termination of this Agreement.

(e) Interest for Account of Swing Line Lender . The Swing Line Lender shall be responsible for invoicing the Borrower for interest on the Swing Line Loans. Until each Lender funds its Base Rate Loan or risk participation pursuant to this Section 2.04 to refinance such Lender’s Applicable Percentage of any Swing Line Loan, interest in respect of such Applicable Percentage shall be solely for the account of the Swing Line Lender.

(f) Payments Directly to Swing Line Lender . The Borrower shall make all payments of principal and interest in respect of the Swing Line Loans directly to the Swing Line Lender.

2.05 Prepayments; Loan Reallocation .

(a) The Borrower may, upon irrevocable notice from the Borrower to the Agent, at any time or from time to time voluntarily prepay Committed Loans in whole or in part without premium or penalty; provided that provided that (A) such notice must be received by the Agent not later than 11:00 a.m. (1) two Business Days prior to any date of prepayment of LIBOR Rate Loans and (2) on the

 

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date of prepayment of Base Rate Loans; (B) any prepayment of LIBOR Rate Loans shall be in a principal amount of $1,000,000 or a whole multiple of $100,000 in excess thereof; (D) any prepayment of Base Rate Loans shall be in a principal amount of $500,000 or a whole multiple of $100,000 in excess thereof or, in each case, if less, the entire principal amount thereof then outstanding. Each such notice shall specify the date and amount of such prepayment and the Type(s) of Loans to be prepaid and, if LIBOR Rate Loans, the Interest Period(s) of such Loans. The Agent will promptly notify each Lender of its receipt of each such notice, and of the amount of such Lender’s Applicable Percentage of such prepayment. If such notice is given by the Borrower, the Borrower shall make such prepayment and the payment amount specified in such notice shall be due and payable on the date specified therein. Any prepayment of a LIBOR Rate Loan shall be accompanied by all accrued interest on the amount prepaid, together with any additional amounts required pursuant to Section 3.05 . Subject to Section 2.16 , each such prepayment shall be applied to the Committed Loans of the Lenders in accordance with their respective Applicable Percentages.

(b) The Borrower may, upon irrevocable notice to the Swing Line Lender (with a copy to the Agent), at any time or from time to time, voluntarily prepay Swing Line Loans in whole or in part without premium or penalty; provided that (i) such notice must be received by the Swing Line Lender and the Agent not later than 1:00 p.m. on the date of the prepayment, and (ii) any such prepayment shall be in a minimum principal amount of $100,000. Each such notice shall specify the date and amount of such prepayment. If such notice is given, then the Borrower shall make such prepayment and the payment amount specified in such notice shall be due and payable on the date specified therein.

(c) If for any reason the Total Outstandings at any time exceed the Loan Cap as then in effect, the Borrower shall immediately prepay the Loans and L/C Borrowings and Cash Collateralize the L/C Obligations (other than L/C Borrowings) in an aggregate amount equal to such excess, to be applied to such Loans, L/C Borrowings and L/C Obligations as the Borrower and the Agent may agree; provided , however , that the Borrower shall not be required to Cash Collateralize the L/C Obligations (other than L/C Borrowings) pursuant to this Section 2.05(c) unless after the prepayment in full of the Loans the Total Outstandings exceed the Loan Cap as then in effect.

(d) The Borrower shall prepay the Loans pursuant to the provisions of Section 6.12 hereof and, after the occurrence and during the continuance of a Specified Event of Default or to the extent required by the provisions of Section 2.06, Cash Collateralize the L/C Obligations to the extent required pursuant to the provisions of Section 2.03(g) hereof.

(e) Prepayments made on account of the Obligations first , shall be applied ratably to the L/C Borrowings and the Swing Line Loans made to the Borrower, second , shall be applied ratably to the outstanding Committed Loans, third , after the occurrence and during the continuance of a Specified Event of Default, shall be used to Cash Collateralize the remaining L/C Obligations; and, fourth, the amount remaining, if any, after the prepayment in full of all L/C Borrowings, Swing Line Loans and Committed Loans outstanding at such time and the Cash Collateralization of the remaining L/C Obligations (to the extent required hereunder) in full shall be deposited by the Agent in a deposit account of the Borrower and may be utilized by the Borrower in the ordinary course of its business to the extent otherwise permitted hereunder. Upon the drawing of any Letter of Credit that has been Cash Collateralized, the funds held as Cash Collateral shall be applied (without any further action by or notice to or from the Borrower or any other Loan Party) to reimburse the L/C Issuer or the Lenders, as applicable, and, to the extent not so applied, shall thereafter be applied to satisfy other Obligations.

 

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(f) Any prepayments of the Loans or other Obligations pursuant to this Section 2.05 shall not reduce the Commitments.

2.06 Termination or Reduction of Commitments.

(a) The Borrower may, upon irrevocable notice from the Borrower to the Agent (except as set forth below), terminate the Aggregate Commitments, the Letter of Credit Sublimit or the Swing Line Sublimit or from time to time permanently reduce in part the Aggregate Commitments, the Letter of Credit Sublimit or the Swing Line Sublimit; provided that (i) any such notice shall be received by the Agent not later than 1:00 p.m. three (3) Business Days prior to the date of termination or reduction, (ii) any such partial reduction shall be in an aggregate amount of $1,000,000 or any whole multiple of $100,000 in excess thereof and (iii) the Borrower shall not reduce (A) the Aggregate Commitments if, after giving effect thereto and to any concurrent prepayments hereunder, the Total Outstandings would exceed the Aggregate Commitments, (B) the Letter of Credit Sublimit if, after giving effect thereto, the Outstanding Amount of L/C Obligations (other than L/C Borrowings) not fully Cash Collateralized hereunder would exceed the Letter of Credit Sublimit, and (C) the Swing Line Sublimit if, after giving effect thereto, and to any concurrent payments hereunder, the Outstanding Amount of Swing Line Loans made to the Borrower hereunder would exceed the Swing Line Sublimit. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the Borrower may rescind any notice of reduction or termination of the Commitments provided pursuant to this Section 2.06(a) , if such termination or reduction was to have been made with the proceeds of an Amendment or Refinancing of all part of the Committed Loans hereunder or from the proceeds of an asset sale or an Equity Issuance, which Amendment or Refinancing, asset sale or Equity Issuance shall not have been consummated or shall otherwise have been delayed.

(b) If, after giving effect to any reduction of the Aggregate Commitments, the Letter of Credit Sublimit or the Swing Line Sublimit exceeds the amount of the Aggregate Commitments, such Letter of Credit Sublimit or Swing Line Sublimit shall be automatically reduced by the amount of such excess.

(c) The Agent will promptly notify the Lenders of any termination or reduction made pursuant to this Section 2.06 . Upon any reduction of the Aggregate Commitments, the Commitment of each Lender shall be reduced by such Lender’s Applicable Percentage of such reduction amount. All fees (including, without limitation, Commitment Fees and Letter of Credit Fees) and interest in respect of the Aggregate Commitments accrued until the effective date of any termination of the Aggregate Commitments shall be paid on the effective date of such termination.

2.07 Repayment of Obligations .

(a) The Borrower shall repay to the Agent, for the account of the Lenders on the Termination Date the aggregate principal amount of Obligations outstanding on such date.

2.08 Interest .

(a) Subject to the provisions of Section 2.08(b) below, (i) each LIBOR Rate Loan shall bear interest on the outstanding principal amount thereof for each Interest Period at a rate per annum equal to the LIBOR Rate for such Interest Period plus the Applicable Margin; (ii) each Base Rate Loan made to the Borrower shall bear interest on the outstanding principal amount thereof from the applicable borrowing date at a rate per annum equal to the Base Rate plus the Applicable Margin); and (iii) each Swing Line Loan made to the Borrower shall bear interest on the outstanding principal amount thereof from the applicable borrowing date at a rate per annum equal to the Base Rate plus the Applicable Margin.

 

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(b) (i) If any amount payable under any Loan Document is not paid when due, whether at stated maturity, by acceleration or otherwise, such amount shall, at the Agent’s option, thereafter bear interest at a fluctuating interest rate per annum at all times equal to the Default Rate to the fullest extent permitted by Requirement of Law.

(ii) Accrued and unpaid interest on past due amounts (including interest on past due interest) shall be due and payable upon demand.

(c) Except as provided in Section 2.08(b)(ii) , interest on each Loan shall be due and payable in arrears on each Interest Payment Date applicable thereto and at such other times as may be specified herein. Interest hereunder shall be due and payable in accordance with the terms hereof before and after judgment, and before and after the commencement of any proceeding under any Debtor Relief Law.

2.09 Fees.

In addition to certain fees described in subsections (i) and (j) of Section 2.03 :

(a) Commitment Fee . The Borrower shall pay to the Agent for the account of each Lender (other than a Defaulting Lender) in accordance with its Applicable Percentage, a commitment fee equal to the Commitment Fee Percentage multiplied by the average daily amount by which the Aggregate Commitments exceed the Total Outstandings (excluding outstanding Swing Line Loans) (subject to adjustment as provided in Section 2.16 ) during the immediately preceding quarter. For purposes of calculating the amount of the commitment fee only, the Aggregate Commitments and the Commitment of any Lender who is also the Swing Line Lender shall be reduced by the average daily amount of Swing Line Loans outstanding during the applicable quarter. The commitment fee shall accrue at all times during the Availability Period, including at any time during which one or more of the conditions in Article IV is not met, and shall be due and payable quarterly in arrears on the first Business Day after the end of each March, June, September and December, commencing with the first such date to occur after the Closing Date, and on the last day of the Availability Period.

(b) Other Fees . The Borrower shall pay to the Arranger and the Agent for their own respective accounts fees in the amounts and at the times specified in the Fee Letter. Such fees shall be fully earned when paid and shall not be refundable for any reason whatsoever.

2.10 Computation of Interest and Fees.

(a) All computations of interest for Base Rate Loans shall be made on the basis of a year of 365 or 366 days, as the case may be, and actual days elapsed. All other computations of fees and interest shall be made on the basis of a 360-day year and actual days elapsed (which results in more fees or interest, as applicable, being paid than if computed on the basis of a 365-day year). Interest shall accrue on each Loan for the day on which the Loan is made, and shall not accrue on a Loan, or any portion thereof, for the day on which the Loan or such portion is paid, provided that any Loan that is repaid on the same day on which it is made shall, subject to Section 2.12(a) , bear interest for one day. Each determination by the Agent of an interest rate or fee hereunder shall be conclusive and binding for all purposes, absent manifest error.

 

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(b) All calculations of interest payable by the Loan Parties under this Agreement or any other Loan Document are to be made on the basis of the nominal interest rate described herein and therein and not on the basis of effective yearly rates or on any other basis which gives effect to the principle of deemed reinvestment of interest which principle does not apply to any interest calculated under this Agreement or any Loan Document. The parties hereto acknowledge that there is a material difference between the stated nominal interest rates and the effective yearly rates of interest and that they are capable of making the calculations required to determine such effective yearly rates of interest.

2.11 Evidence of Debt .

(a) The Credit Extensions made by each Lender shall be evidenced by one or more accounts or records maintained by the Agent (the “ Loan Account ”) in the ordinary course of business. In addition, each Lender may record in such Lender’s internal records, an appropriate notation evidencing the date and amount of each Loan from such Lender, each payment and prepayment of principal of any such Loan, and each payment of interest, fees and other amounts due in connection with the Obligations due to such Lender. The accounts or records maintained by the Agent and each Lender acting solely as a non-fiduciary agent for the Borrower, shall be prima facie evidence of the amount of the Credit Extensions made by the Lenders to the Borrower and the interest and payments thereon. Any failure to so record or any error in doing so shall not, however, limit or otherwise affect the obligation of the Borrower hereunder to pay any amount owing with respect to the Obligations. In the event of any conflict between the accounts and records maintained by any Lender and the accounts and records of the Agent in respect of such matters, the accounts and records of the Agent shall control in the absence of manifest error. Upon the request of any Lender made through the Agent, the Borrower shall execute and deliver to such Lender (through the Agent) a Note, which shall evidence such Lender’s Loans in addition to such accounts or records. Each Lender may attach schedules to its Note and endorse thereon the date, Type (if applicable), amount and maturity of its Loans and payments with respect thereto. Upon receipt of an affidavit of a Lender as to the loss, theft, destruction or mutilation of such Lender’s Note and upon cancellation of such Note, the Borrower will issue, in lieu thereof, a replacement Note in favor of such Lender, in the same principal amount thereof and otherwise of like tenor.

(b) In addition to the accounts and records referred to in Section 2.11(a) , each Lender and the Agent shall maintain in accordance with its usual practice accounts or records evidencing the purchases and sales by such Lender of participations in Letters of Credit and Swing Line Loans. In the event of any conflict between the accounts and records maintained by the Agent and the accounts and records of any Lender in respect of such matters, the accounts and records of the Agent shall control in the absence of manifest error.

2.12 Payments Generally; Agent’s Clawback .

(a) General . All payments to be made by the Borrower shall be made without condition or deduction for any counterclaim, defense, recoupment or setoff. Except as otherwise expressly provided herein, all payments by the Borrower hereunder shall be made, as applicable, to the Agent, for the account of the respective Lenders to which such payment is owed, at the Agent’s Office in Dollars in immediately available funds not later than 2:00 p.m. on the date specified herein. All payments received by the Agent after after 2:00 p.m. at the option of the Agent be deemed received on the next succeeding Business Day and any applicable interest or fee shall continue to accrue. If any payment (other than with respect to payment of a LIBOR Rate Loan) to be made by the Borrower shall come due on a day other than a Business Day, payment shall be made on the next following Business Day, and such extension of time shall be reflected in computing interest or fees, as the case may be.

 

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(b) (i) Funding by Lenders; Presumption by Agent . Unless the Agent shall have received notice from a Lender prior to the proposed date of any Committed Borrowing of LIBOR Rate Loans (or in the case of any Committed Borrowing of Base Rate Loans, prior to 1:00 p.m. on the date of such Committed Borrowing) that such Lender will not make available to the Agent, such Lender’s share of such Committed Borrowing, the Agent may assume that such Lender has made such share available on such date in accordance with Section 2.02 (or in the case of a Committed Borrowing of Base Rate Loans, that such Lender has made such share available in accordance with and at the time required by Section 2.02 ) 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 Committed Borrowing available to the Agent, then the applicable Lender and the Borrower, severally agree to pay to the Agent forthwith on demand such corresponding amount in immediately available funds with interest thereon, for each day from and including the date such amount is made available to the Borrowers to but excluding the date of payment to the Agent at the greater of the Federal Funds Rate and a rate determined by the Agent in accordance with banking industry rules on interbank compensation plus any administrative processing or similar fees customarily charged by the Agent in connection with the foregoing. If the applicable Borrower and such Lender shall pay such interest to the Agent for the same or an overlapping period, the Agent shall promptly remit to the Borrower the amount of such interest paid by the Borrower for such period. If such Lender pays its share of the applicable Committed Borrowing to the Agent, then the amount so paid shall constitute such Lender’s Committed Loan included in such Committed Borrowing. Any payment by the Borrower shall be without prejudice to any claim the Borrower may have against a Lender that shall have failed to make such payment to the Agent.

(ii) Payments by Borrower; Presumptions by Agent . Unless the Agent shall have received notice from the Parent or the Borrower prior to the time at which any payment is due to the Agent for the account of the Lenders or the L/C Issuer hereunder that the Borrower will not make such payment, the 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 applicable Lenders or the L/C Issuer, 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 applicable Lenders or the L/C Issuer, as the case may be, severally agrees to repay to the Agent forthwith on demand the amount so distributed to such Lender or the L/C Issuer, in immediately available funds 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, as applicable, the Agent, at the greater of the Federal Funds Rate and a rate determined by the Agent in accordance with banking industry rules on interbank compensation.

A notice of the Agent to any Lender or the Borrower with respect to any amount owing under this Section 2.12(b) shall be conclusive, absent manifest error.

(c) Failure to Satisfy Conditions Precedent . If any Lender makes available to the Agent funds for any Loan to be made by such Lender as provided in the foregoing provisions of this Article II , and such funds are not made available to the Borrower by the Agent because the conditions to the applicable Credit Extension set forth in Article IV are not satisfied or waived in accordance with the terms hereof (subject to the provisions of the last paragraph of Section 4.02 hereof), the Agent shall promptly return such funds (in like funds as received from such Lender) to such Lender, without interest.

(d) Obligations of Lenders Several . The obligations of the Lenders hereunder to make Committed Loans to the Borrower, to fund participations in Letters of Credit and Swing Line Loans and to make payments hereunder are several and not joint. The failure of any Lender to make

 

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any Committed Loan, to fund any such participation or to make any payment hereunder on any date required hereunder shall not relieve any other Lender of its corresponding obligation to do so on such date, and no Lender shall be responsible for the failure of any other Lender to so make its Committed Loan, to purchase its participation or to make its payment hereunder.

(e) Funding Source . Nothing herein shall be deemed to obligate any Lender to obtain the funds for any Loan in any particular place or manner or to constitute a representation by any Lender that it has obtained or will obtain the funds for any Loan in any particular place or manner.

2.13 Sharing of Payments by Lenders.

If, other than as expressly provided elsewhere herein, any Credit Party shall, by exercising any right of setoff or counterclaim or otherwise, obtain payment in respect of any principal of, interest on, or other amounts with respect to the Obligations resulting in such Credit Party’s receiving payment of a proportion of the aggregate amount of such Obligations, greater than its pro rata share thereof as provided herein (including as in contravention of the priorities of payment set forth in Section 8.03 ), then the Credit Party receiving such greater proportion shall (a) notify the Agent of such fact, and (b) purchase (for cash at face value) participations in the Obligations of the other Credit Parties, or make such other adjustments as shall be equitable, so that the benefit of all such payments shall be shared by the Credit Parties ratably and in the priorities set forth in Section 8.03 , provided that:

(i) if any such participations or subparticipations are purchased and all or any portion of the payment giving rise thereto is recovered, such participations or subparticipations shall be rescinded and the purchase price restored to the extent of such recovery, without interest; and

(ii) the provisions of this Section shall not be construed to apply to (x) any payment made by the Loan Parties pursuant to and in accordance with the express terms of this Agreement (including the application of funds arising from the existence of a Defaulting Lender), (y) payments made in accordance with Sections 2.15 or 2.17 , or (z) any payment obtained by a Lender as consideration for the assignment of or sale of a participation in any of its Committed Loans or subparticipations in L/C Obligations or Swing Line Loans to any assignee or participant, other than to the Borrower or any Subsidiary thereof (as to which the provisions of this Section shall apply).

Each Loan Party consents to the foregoing and agrees, to the extent it may effectively do so under applicable Requirement of Law, that any Lender acquiring a participation pursuant to the foregoing arrangements may exercise against such Loan Party rights of setoff and counterclaim with respect to such participation as fully as if such Lender were a direct creditor of such Loan Party in the amount of such participation.

2.14 Settlement Amongst Lenders.

(a) The amount of each Lender’s Applicable Percentage of outstanding Loans (including outstanding Swing Line Loans) shall be computed weekly (or more frequently in the Agent’s discretion) and shall be adjusted upward or downward based on all Loans (including Swing Line Loans) and repayments of Loans (including Swing Line Loans) received by the Agent as of 3:00 p.m. on the first Business Day (such date, the “ Settlement Date ”) following the end of the period specified by the Agent.

 

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(b) The Agent shall deliver to each of the Lenders promptly after a Settlement Date a summary statement of the amount of outstanding Committed Loans and Swing Line Loans for the period and the amount of repayments received for the period. As reflected on the summary statement, (i) the Agent shall transfer to each applicable Lender its Applicable Percentage of repayments, and (ii) each Lender shall transfer to the Agent, or the Agent shall transfer to each Lender, such amounts as are necessary to insure that, after giving effect to all such transfers, the amount of Committed Loans made by each Lender to the Borrower shall be equal to such Lender’s Applicable Percentage of all Committed Loans outstanding to the Borrower as of such Settlement Date. If the summary statement requires transfers to be made to the Agent by the Lenders and is received prior to 1:00 p.m. on a Business Day, such transfers shall be made in immediately available funds no later than 3:00 p.m. that day; and, if received after 1:00 p.m., then no later than 3:00 p.m. on the next Business Day. The obligation of each Lender to transfer such funds is irrevocable, unconditional and without recourse to or warranty by the Agent. If and to the extent any Lender shall not have so made its transfer to the Agent, such Lender agrees to pay to the Agent forthwith on demand such amount, together with interest thereon, for each day from such date until the date such amount is paid to the Agent equal to the greater of the Federal Funds Rate and a rate determined by the Agent in accordance with banking industry rules on interbank compensation plus any administrative, processing, or similar fees customarily charged by the Agent in connection with the foregoing.

2.15 Increase in Commitments.

(a) Request for Increase . Provided no Default then exists or would arise therefrom, upon notice to the Agent (which shall promptly notify the Lenders), and without the Lenders’ consent, the Borrower may request (i) an increase in the Aggregate Commitments in an aggregate amount not exceeding $20,000,000; provided that any such request for a Commitment Increase shall be in a minimum amount of $5,000,000 (or if less, for the Borrower, the remaining unused amount available under this Section 2.15(a) ) ; and (ii) the Borrower may make a maximum of four (4) such requests for a Commitment Increase. Each then existing Lender may (but shall have no obligation to) participate in such Commitment Increase. At the time of sending such request for a Commitment Increase, the Borrower (in consultation with the Agent) shall specify the time period within which each then existing Lender is requested to respond (which shall in no event be less than ten (10) Business Days from the date of delivery of such notice to the Lenders).

(b) Lender Elections to Increase . Each Lender shall notify the Agent within such time period whether or not it agrees to increase its applicable Commitment and, if so, whether by an amount equal to, greater than, or less than its Applicable Percentage of such requested Commitment Increase. Any Lender not responding within such time period shall be deemed to have declined to increase its Commitment.

(c) Notification by Agent; Additional Commitment Lenders . The Agent shall notify the Borrower and each applicable Lender of the Lenders’ responses to each request made hereunder for a Commitment Increase. To achieve the full amount of a requested Commitment Increase, to the extent that the existing applicable Lenders decline to increase their Commitments, or decline to increase their Commitments to the amount requested by the Borrower, the Borrower may, at its option, request the Agent or any of its Affiliates to, and the Agent and such Affiliates shall, use its reasonable efforts to arrange for other Eligible Assignees to become a Lender hereunder and to issue commitments in an amount equal to the amount of the increase in the Aggregate Commitments requested by the Borrower and not accepted by the existing Lenders (each such Eligible Assignee issuing a commitment and becoming a Lender, an “ Additional Commitment Lender ”), provided , however , that without the consent of the Agent, at no time shall the Commitment of any Additional Commitment Lender be less than $5,000,000.

 

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(d) Effective Date and Allocations . If the Aggregate Commitments are increased in accordance with this Section 2.15 , the Agent, in consultation with the Borrower, shall determine the effective date (the “ Increase Effective Date ”) and the final allocation of such Commitment Increase. The Agent shall promptly notify the Borrower and the Lenders of the final allocation of such Commitment Increase and the Increase Effective Date and on the Increase Effective Date (i) the Aggregate Commitments under, and for all purposes of, this Agreement shall be increased by the aggregate amount of such Commitment Increase, and (ii)  Schedule 2.01 shall be deemed modified, without further action, to reflect the revised Commitments and Applicable Percentages of the Lenders.

(e) Conditions to Effectiveness of Increase . As a condition precedent to such increase, (i) the Borrower shall deliver to the Agent a certificate of each Loan Party dated as of the Increase Effective Date signed by a Responsible Officer of such Loan Party (A) certifying and attaching the resolutions adopted by such Loan Party approving or consenting to such increase, and (B) in the case of the Borrower, certifying that, before and after giving effect to such increase, the representations and warranties contained in Article V and the other Loan Documents are true and correct in all material respects on and as of the Increase Effective Date, except to the extent that such representations and warranties specifically refer to an earlier date, in which case they are true and correct in all material respects as of such earlier date, and except to the extent that such representations and warranties are qualified by materiality, in which case they are true and correct in all respects, and except that for purposes of this Section 2.15(e) , the representations and warranties contained in Section 5.01 shall be deemed to refer to the most recent statements furnished pursuant to clauses (a) and (b), respectively, of Section 6.01 , (ii) the Borrower, the Agent, and any Additional Commitment Lender shall have executed and delivered a Joinder Agreement; (iii) the Borrower shall have paid such fees and other compensation to the Additional Commitment Lenders and to any existing Lender increasing its Commitment as the Borrower and such Lenders shall agree; (iv) the Borrower shall have paid such arrangement fees to the Agent and such Affiliates as the Borrower and the Agent may agree; (v) the Borrower, the Additional Commitment Lenders and any existing Lender increasing its Commitment shall have delivered such other instruments, documents and agreements evidencing the Commitment Increase as the Agent may reasonably have requested; and (vi) no Default exists.

(f) Adjustments to Credit Exposure . Upon each increase in the Commitments pursuant to this Section 2.15, (x) each applicable Lender will automatically and without further act be deemed to have assigned to each Lender providing a portion of the Commitment Increase in respect of such increase, and each such Additional Commitment Lender and existing Lender increasing its applicable Commitment will automatically and without further act be deemed to have assumed, a portion of such Lender’s participations hereunder in outstanding Letters of Credit and Swing Loans such that, after giving effect to each such deemed assignment and assumption of participations, the percentage of the aggregate outstanding (i) participations hereunder in Letters of Credit, (ii) participations hereunder in Swing Loans held by each applicable Lender will equal the percentage of the applicable Commitments of all such Lenders and (y) if, on the date of such increase, there are any Loans of such class outstanding, such Loans shall on or prior to the effectiveness of such Commitment Increase be prepaid from the proceeds of additional Loans made hereunder (reflecting such increase in the applicable Commitments), which prepayment shall be accompanied by accrued interest on such Loans being prepaid and any costs incurred by any Lender in accordance with Section 3.05. The Agent and the Lenders hereby agree that the minimum borrowing, pro rata borrowing and pro rata payment requirements contained elsewhere in this Agreement shall not apply to the transactions effected pursuant to the immediately preceding sentence.

 

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(g) Conflicting Provisions . This Section 2.15 shall supersede any provisions in Sections 2.13 or 10.01 to the contrary.

(h) The terms and provisions of any Commitment Increase shall be, except as otherwise set forth in the relevant Joinder Agreement, identical to those of the applicable Loans and for purposes of this Agreement, any Commitment Increase shall be deemed to be Loans and Commitments. Each Joinder Agreement may, without the consent of any other Lender or Credit Party, effect such amendments to this Agreement and the other Loan Documents as may be necessary or appropriate, in the reasonable opinion of the Agent and the Borrower, to effect the provisions of this Section 2.15 .

2.16 Defaulting Lenders.

(a) Adjustments . Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement, if any Lender becomes a Defaulting Lender, then, until such time as that Lender is no longer a Defaulting Lender, to the extent permitted by applicable Requirement of Law:

(i) Waivers and Amendments . Such Defaulting Lender’s right to approve or disapprove any amendment, waiver or consent with respect to this Agreement shall be restricted as set forth in the definition of “Required Lenders” and Section 10.01 .

(ii) Defaulting Lender Waterfall . Any payment of principal, interest, fees or other amounts received by the Agent for the account of such Defaulting Lender (whether voluntary or mandatory, at maturity, pursuant to Article VIII or otherwise) or received by the Agent from a Defaulting Lender pursuant to Section 10.08 shall be applied at such time or times as may be determined by the Agent as follows: first, to the payment of any amounts owing by such Defaulting Lender to the Agent hereunder; second, to the payment on a pro rata basis of any amounts owing by such Defaulting Lender to the L/C Issuer or Swing Line Lender hereunder; third, to Cash Collateralize the L/C Issuer’s Fronting Exposure with respect to such Defaulting Lender; fourth, as the Borrower may request (so long as no Default or Event of Default exists), to the funding of any Loan in respect of which such Defaulting Lender has failed to fund its portion thereof as required by this Agreement, as determined by the Agent; fifth, if so determined by the Agent and the Borrower, to be held in a deposit account and released pro rata in order to (x) satisfy such Defaulting Lender’s potential future funding obligations with respect to Loans under this Agreement and (y) Cash Collateralize the L/C Issuer’s future Fronting Exposure with respect to such Defaulting Lender with respect to future Letters of Credit issued under this Agreement; sixth, to the payment of any amounts owing to the Lenders, the L/C Issuer or Swing Line Lender as a result of any judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction obtained by any Lender, the L/C Issuer or the Swing Line Lender against such Defaulting Lender as a result of such Defaulting Lender’s breach of its obligations under this Agreement; seventh, so long as no Default or Event of Default exists, to the payment of any amounts owing to the Borrower as a result of any judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction obtained by the Borrower against such Defaulting Lender as a result of such Defaulting Lender’s breach of its obligations under this Agreement; and eighth, to such Defaulting Lender or as otherwise directed by a court of competent jurisdiction; provided that if (x) such payment is a payment of the principal amount of any Loans or L/C Borrowings in respect of which such Defaulting Lender has not fully funded its appropriate share, and (y) such Loans were made or the related Letters of Credit were issued at a time when the conditions set forth in Section 4.02 were satisfied or waived, such payment shall be applied solely to pay the Loans of, and L/C Obligations

 

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owed to, all Non-Defaulting Lenders on a pro rata basis prior to being applied to the payment of any Loans of, or L/C Obligations owed to, such Defaulting Lender until such time as all Loans and funded and unfunded participations in L/C Obligations and Swing Line Loans are held by the Lenders pro rata in accordance with the Commitments hereunder without giving effect to Section 2.16(a)(iv) . Any payments, prepayments or other amounts paid or payable to a Defaulting Lender that are applied (or held) to pay amounts owed by a Defaulting Lender or to post Cash Collateral pursuant to this Section 2.16(a)(ii) shall be deemed paid to and redirected by such Defaulting Lender, and each Lender irrevocably consents hereto.

(iii) Certain Fees .

(A) No Defaulting Lender shall be entitled to receive any fee payable under Section 2.09(a) for any period during which that Lender is a Defaulting Lender (and the Borrower shall not be required to pay any such fee that otherwise would have been required to have been paid to that Defaulting Lender).

(B) Each Defaulting Lender shall be entitled to receive Letter of Credit Fees for any period during which that Lender is a Defaulting Lender only to the extent allocable to its Applicable Percentage of the stated amount of Letters of Credit for which it has provided Cash Collateral pursuant to Section 2.16(a)(ii) .

(C) With respect to any fee payable under Section 2.09(a) or any Letter of Credit Fee not required to be paid to any Defaulting Lender pursuant to clause (A)  or (B)  above, the Borrower shall (x) pay to each Non-Defaulting Lender that portion of any such fee otherwise payable to such Defaulting Lender with respect to such Defaulting Lender’s participation in L/C Obligations or Swing Line Loans that has been reallocated to such Non-Defaulting Lender pursuant to clause (iv)  below, (y) pay to the L/C Issuer and Swing Line Lender, as applicable, the amount of any such fee otherwise payable to such Defaulting Lender to the extent allocable to such L/C Issuer’s or Swing Line Lender’s Fronting Exposure to such Defaulting Lender, and (z) not be required to pay the remaining amount of any such fee.

(iv) Reallocation of Applicable Percentages to Reduce Fronting Exposure . All or any part of such Defaulting Lender’s participation in L/C Obligations and Swing Line Loans shall be reallocated among the Non-Defaulting Lenders in accordance with their respective Applicable Percentages (calculated without regard to such Defaulting Lender’s Commitment) but only to the extent that (x) the conditions set forth in Section 4.02 are satisfied at the time of such reallocation (and, unless the Borrower shall have otherwise notified the Agent at such time, the Borrower shall be deemed to have represented and warranted that such conditions are satisfied at such time), and (y) such reallocation does not cause the aggregate Outstanding Amount of Obligations of any Non-Defaulting Lender to exceed such Non-Defaulting Lender’s Commitment. No reallocation hereunder shall constitute a waiver or release of any claim of any party hereunder against a Defaulting Lender arising from that Lender having become a Defaulting Lender, including any claim of a Non-Defaulting Lender as a result of such Non-Defaulting Lender’s increased exposure following such reallocation.

(v) Cash Collateral, Repayment of Swing Line Loans . If the reallocation described in clause (a)(iv) above cannot, or can only partially, be effected, the Borrower shall, without prejudice to any right or remedy available to them hereunder or under

 

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applicable Requirement of Law, (x) first, prepay Swing Line Loans in an amount equal to the Swing Line Lenders’ Fronting Exposure and (y) second, Cash Collateralize the L/C Issuers’ Fronting Exposure in accordance with the procedures set forth in Section 2.03(g) .

(b) Defaulting Lender Cure . If the Borrower, the Agent, the Swing Line Lender and the L/C Issuer agree in writing that a Lender is no longer a Defaulting Lender, the Agent will so notify the parties hereto, whereupon as of the effective date specified in such notice and subject to any conditions set forth therein (which may include arrangements with respect to any Cash Collateral), that Lender will, to the extent applicable, purchase at par that portion of outstanding Loans of the other Lenders or take such other actions as the Agent may determine to be necessary to cause the Committed Loans and funded and unfunded participations in Letters of Credit and Swing Line Loans to be held on a pro rata basis by the Lenders in accordance with their Applicable Percentages (without giving effect to Section 2.16(a)(iv) ), whereupon such Lender will cease to be a Defaulting Lender; provided that no adjustments will be made retroactively with respect to fees accrued or payments made by or on behalf of the Borrower while that Lender was a Defaulting Lender; and provided, further, that except to the extent otherwise expressly agreed by the affected parties, no change hereunder from Defaulting Lender to Lender will constitute a waiver or release of any claim of any party hereunder arising from that Lender’s having been a Defaulting Lender.

2.17 Extensions of Loans.

(a) Extension of Commitments . The Borrower may at any time and from time to time request that all or a portion of the Commitments of a given Type (each, an “ Existing Revolver Tranche ”) be amended to extend the Maturity Date with respect to all or a portion of any principal amount of such Commitments (any such Commitments which have been so amended, “ Extended Commitments ”) and to provide for other terms consistent with this Section 2.17 ; provided that there shall be no more than three (3) Types of Loans and Commitments outstanding at any time. In order to establish any Extended Commitments, the Borrower shall provide a notice to the Agent (who shall provide a copy of such notice to each of the Lenders under the applicable Existing Revolver Tranche) (each, an “ Extension Request ”) setting forth the proposed terms (which shall be determined in consultation with the Agent) of the Extended Commitments to be established, which shall (x) be identical as offered to each Lender under such Existing Revolver Tranche (including as to the proposed interest rates and fees payable) and offered pro rata to each Lender under such Existing Revolver Tranche and (y) be identical to the Commitments under the Existing Revolver Tranche from which such Extended Commitments are to be amended, except that: (i) the Maturity Date of the Extended Commitments shall be later than the Maturity Date of the Commitments of such Existing Revolver Tranche, (ii) the Extension Amendment may provide for other covenants and terms that apply solely to any period after the Latest Maturity Date that is in effect on the effective date of the Extension Amendment (immediately prior to the establishment of such Extended Commitments); and (iii) all borrowings under the Commitments and repayments thereunder shall be made on a pro rata basis (except for (I) payments of interest and fees at different rates on Extended Commitments (and related outstandings) and (II) repayments required upon the termination date of the non-extending Commitments); provided further , that (A) the conditions precedent to a Borrowing set forth in Section 4.02 shall be satisfied as of the date of such Extension Amendment and at the time when any Loans are made in respect of any Extended Commitment, (B) in no event shall the final maturity date of any Extended Commitments of a given Extension Series at the time of establishment thereof be earlier than the then Latest Maturity Date of any other Revolving Commitments hereunder, (C) any such Extended Commitments (and the Liens securing the same) shall be permitted by the terms of the Intercreditor Agreement (to the extent any Intercreditor Agreement is then in effect) and (D) all documentation in respect of the such Extension Amendment shall be consistent with the foregoing. Any Extended Commitments amended pursuant to any Extension Request shall be designated a series (each,

 

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an “ Extension Series ”) of Extended Commitments for all purposes of this Agreement; provided that any Extended Commitments amended from an Existing Revolver Tranche may, to the extent provided in the applicable Extension Amendment, be designated as an increase in any previously established Extension Series with respect to such Existing Revolver Tranche. Each Extension Series of Extended Commitments incurred under this Section 2.17 shall be in an aggregate principal amount reasonably acceptable to the Agent.

(b) Extension Request . The Borrower shall provide the applicable Extension Request at least five (5) Business Days (or such shorter period as may be agreed by the Agent) prior to the date on which Lenders under the Existing Revolver Tranche are requested to respond, and shall agree to such procedures, if any, as may be established by, or acceptable to, the Agent, in each case acting reasonably, to accomplish the purposes of this Section 2.17 . No Lender shall have any obligation to agree to provide any Extended Commitment pursuant to any Extension Request. Any Lender (each, an “ Extending Lender ”) wishing to have all or a portion of its Commitments under the Existing Revolver Tranche subject to such Extension Request amended into Extended Commitments shall notify the Agent (each, an “ Extension Election ”) on or prior to the date specified in such Extension Request of the amount of its Commitments under the Existing Revolver Tranche which it has elected to request be amended into Extended Commitments (subject to any minimum denomination requirements imposed by the Agent). In the event that the aggregate principal amount of Commitments under the Existing Revolver Tranche in respect of which applicable Lenders shall have accepted the relevant Extension Request exceeds the amount of Extended Commitments requested to be extended pursuant to the Extension Request, Commitments subject to Extension Elections shall be amended to reflect allocations of the Extended Commitments, which Extended Commitments shall be allocated as agreed by Agent and the Borrower.

(c) New Revolving Commitment Lenders . Following any Extension Request made by the Borrower in accordance with Sections 2.17(a) and 2.17(b) , if the Lenders shall have declined to agree during the period specified in Section 2.17(b) above to provide Extended Commitments in an aggregate principal amount equal to the amount requested by the Borrower in such Extension Request, the Borrower may request that banks, financial institutions or other institutional lenders or investors other than the Lenders or Extending Lenders which qualify as Eligible Assignees (the “ New Commitment Lenders ”), which New Commitment Lenders may elect to provide an Extended Commitment hereunder (a “ New Commitment ”); provided that such Extended Commitments of such New Commitment Lenders (i) shall be in an aggregate principal amount for all such New Commitment Lenders not to exceed the aggregate principal amount of Extended Commitments so declined to be provided by the existing Lenders and (ii) shall be on identical terms to the terms applicable to the terms specified in the applicable Extension Request (and any Extended Commitments provided by existing Lenders in respect thereof); provided further that, as a condition to the effectiveness of any Extended Commitment of any New Commitment Lender, the Agent, the L/C Issuer and the Swing Line Lender shall have consented (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld) to each New Commitment Lender if such consent would be required under Section 10.06(b) for an assignment of Commitments to such Person. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, any Extended Commitment provided by New Commitment Lenders shall be pro rata to each New Commitment Lender. Upon effectiveness of the Extension Amendment to which each such New Commitment Lender is a party, (a) the Commitments of all existing Lenders of each Type specified in the Extension Amendment in accordance with this Section 2.17 will be permanently reduced pro rata by an aggregate amount equal to the aggregate principal amount of the Extended Commitments of such New Commitment Lenders and (b) the Commitment of each such New Commitment Lender will become effective. The Extended Commitments of New Commitment Lenders will be incorporated as Commitments hereunder in the same manner in which Extended Commitments of existing Lenders are incorporated hereunder pursuant to this Section 2.17 , and for the avoidance of doubt, all Borrowings and repayments of Loans from and after the effectiveness of such Extension Amendment shall be made pro

 

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rata across all Types of Commitments including such New Commitment Lenders (based on the outstanding principal amounts of the respective Types of Commitments) except for (x) payments of interest and fees at different rates for each Type of Commitments and (y) repayments required on the Maturity Date for any particular Type of Commitments. Upon the effectiveness of each New Commitment pursuant to this Section 2.17(c) , (a) each Lender of all applicable existing Types of Commitments immediately prior to such effectiveness will automatically and without further act be deemed to have assigned to each New Commitment Lender, and each such New Commitment Lender will automatically and without further act be deemed to have assumed, a portion of such Lender’s participations hereunder in outstanding Letters of Credit and Swingline Loans such that, after giving effect to each such deemed assignment and assumption of participations, the percentage of the outstanding (i) participations hereunder in Letters of Credit and (ii) participations hereunder in Swingline Loans held by each Lender of each Type of Commitments (including each such New Commitment Lender) will equal the percentage of the aggregate Commitments of all Types of Lenders represented by such Lender’s Commitment and (b) if, on the date of such effectiveness, there are any Loans outstanding, such Loans shall on or prior to the effectiveness of such New Commitment be prepaid from the proceeds of Loans outstanding after giving effect to such New Commitments, which prepayment shall be accompanied by accrued interest on the Loans being prepaid and any costs incurred by any Lender in accordance with Section 3.04 . The Agent and the Lenders hereby agree that the minimum borrowing, pro rata borrowing and pro rata payment requirements contained elsewhere in this Agreement shall not apply to the transactions effected pursuant to the immediately preceding sentence.

(d) Extension Amendment . Extended Commitments and New Commitments shall be established pursuant to an amendment (each, an “ Extension Amendment ”) to this Agreement among the Borrower, the Agent and each Extending Lender and each New Commitment Lender, if any, providing an Extended Commitment or a New Commitment, as applicable, thereunder, which shall be consistent with the provisions set forth in Sections 2.17(a) , (b)  and (c)  above (but which shall not require the consent of any other Lender). The effectiveness of any Extension Amendment shall be subject to the satisfaction on the date thereof of each of the conditions set forth in Section 4.02 and, to the extent reasonably requested by the Agent, receipt by the Agent of (i) legal opinions, board resolutions and officers’ certificates consistent with those delivered on the Closing Date other than changes to such legal opinion resulting from a Change in Law, change in fact or change to counsel’s form of opinion reasonably satisfactory to the Agent and (ii) reaffirmation agreements and/or such amendments to the Collateral Documents as may be reasonably requested by the Agent in order to ensure that the Extended Commitments or the New Commitments, as the case may be, are provided with the benefit of the applicable Loan Documents. The Agent shall promptly notify each Lender as to the effectiveness of each Extension Amendment. Each of the parties hereto hereby agrees that this Agreement and the other Loan Documents may be amended pursuant to an Extension Amendment, without the consent of any other Lenders, to the extent (but only to the extent) necessary to (i) reflect the existence and terms of the Extended Commitments or the New Commitments, as the case may be, incurred pursuant thereto, (ii) make such other changes to this Agreement and the other Loan Documents (without the consent of the Required Lenders) and (iii) effect such other amendments to this Agreement and the other Loan Documents as may be necessary or appropriate, in the reasonable opinion of the Agent and the Borrower, to effect the provisions of this Section, and the Required Lenders hereby expressly authorize the Agent to enter into any such Extension Amendment.

(e) No conversion of Loans pursuant to any Extension in accordance with this Section 2.17 shall constitute a voluntary or mandatory payment or prepayment for purposes of this Agreement.

 

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ARTICLE III

TAXES, YIELD PROTECTION AND ILLEGALITY

3.01 Taxes .

(a) All payments made by or on account of the Borrower under any Loan Document shall be made free and clear of, and without deduction or withholding for or on account of, any Taxes unless required by applicable Requirement of Law. If any Taxes are required to be withheld by any applicable withholding agent from any amounts payable hereunder or under any other Loan Document, (i) the applicable withholding agent shall make such deductions, (ii) the applicable withholding agent shall timely pay the full amount deducted to the relevant Governmental Authority in accordance with applicable Requirement of Law, and (iii) to the extent the deduction is on account of Non-Excluded Taxes or Other Taxes, the amounts so payable to the Agent or such Lender shall be increased to the extent necessary to yield to the Agent or such Lender (after deduction or withholding of all Non-Excluded Taxes and Other Taxes) interest or any such other amounts payable hereunder at the rates or in the amounts specified in this Agreement.

(b) Without limiting the provisions of paragraph (a) above, the Borrower shall timely pay any Other Taxes to the relevant Governmental Authority in accordance with applicable Requirement of Law.

(c) Whenever any Non-Excluded Taxes or Other Taxes are payable by the Borrower, as promptly as possible thereafter the Borrower shall send to the Agent for the account of the Agent or Lender, as the case may be, a certified copy of an original official receipt received by the Borrower showing payment thereof if such receipt is obtainable, or, if not, other reasonable evidence of payment. The Borrower shall indemnify the Agent and the Lenders for any Non-Excluded Taxes payable in connection with any payments made by the Borrower under any Loan Document and any Other Taxes (including Non-Excluded Taxes or Other Taxes imposed or asserted on or attributable to amounts payable under this Section 3.01 ), and any reasonable expenses arising therefrom or with respect thereto, whether or not such Non-Excluded Taxes or Other Taxes were correctly or legally imposed or asserted by the relevant Governmental Authority; provided, however, that if an indemnitee does not notify the Borrower of any indemnification claim under this Section 3.01(c) within 180 days after such indemnitee has received written notice of the claim of a taxing authority giving rise to such indemnification claim, the Borrower shall not be required to indemnify such indemnitee for any incremental interest or penalties resulting from the such indemnitee’s failure to notify the Borrower within such 180 day period. A certificate as to the amount of such payment or liability delivered to the Borrower by a Lender (with a copy to the Agent), or by the Agent on its own behalf, shall be conclusive absent manifest error.

(d) If the Agent or any Lender determines, in good faith, that it has received a refund of any Non-Excluded Taxes or Other Taxes as to which it has been indemnified by any Borrower or with respect to which any Borrower has paid additional amounts pursuant to Section 3.01 or Section 3.02 , it shall promptly pay over such refund to the Borrower (but only to the extent of indemnity payments made, or additional amounts paid, by the Borrower under this Section 3.01 with respect to the Non-Excluded Taxes or Other Taxes giving rise to such refund), net of all out-of-pocket expenses of the Agent or such Lender and without interest (other than any interest paid by the relevant Governmental Authority with respect to such refund); provided that the Borrower, upon the request of the Agent or such Lender, 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 Agent or such Lender in the event the Agent or such Lender is required to repay such refund to such Governmental Authority; provided,

 

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further, that no Borrower shall be required to repay to the Agent or such Lender an amount in excess of the amount paid over by such party to the Borrower pursuant to this Section. This paragraph shall not be construed to require the Agent or any Lender to make available its tax returns (or any other information relating to its taxes which it deems confidential) to any Borrower or any other Person. The agreements in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement and the payment of the Obligations.

(e) Status of Lenders; Tax Documentation .

(i) Any Lender that is entitled to an exemption from or reduction of withholding Tax with respect to payments made under any Loan Document shall deliver to the Borrower and the Agent, at the time or times reasonably requested by the Borrower or the Agent, such properly completed and executed documentation reasonably requested by the Borrower or the Agent as will permit such payments to be made without withholding or at a reduced rate of withholding. In addition, any Lender, if reasonably requested by the Borrower or the Agent, shall deliver such other documentation prescribed by applicable Requirement of Law or reasonably requested by the Borrower or the Agent as will enable the Borrower or the Agent to determine whether or not such Lender is subject to backup withholding or information reporting requirements. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the preceding two sentences, the completion, execution and submission of such documentation (other than such documentation set forth in Section 3.01(e)(ii)(A) , (ii)(B) and (ii)(D) below) shall not be required if in the Lender’s reasonable judgment such completion, execution or submission would subject such Lender to any material unreimbursed cost or expense or would materially prejudice the legal or commercial position of such Lender.

(ii) Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, in the event that the Borrower is a U.S. Person,

(A) any Lender that is a U.S. Person shall deliver to the Borrower and the 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 Agent), executed originals of IRS Form W-9 certifying that such Lender is exempt from U.S. federal backup withholding tax;

(B) any Foreign Lender shall, to the extent it is legally entitled to do so, deliver to the Borrower and the 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 Agent), whichever of the following is applicable:

(I) in the case of a Foreign Lender claiming the benefits of an income tax treaty to which the United States is a party (x) with respect to payments of interest under any Loan Document, executed originals of IRS Form W-8BEN establishing an exemption from, or reduction of, U.S. federal withholding Tax pursuant to the “interest” article of such tax treaty and (y) with respect to any other applicable payments under any Loan Document, IRS Form W-8BEN establishing an exemption from, or reduction of, U.S. federal withholding Tax pursuant to the “business profits” or “other income” article of such tax treaty;

(II) executed originals of IRS Form W-8ECI;

 

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(III) in the case of a Foreign Lender claiming the benefits of the exemption for portfolio interest under Section 881(c) of the Code, (x) a certificate substantially in the form of Exhibit E-1 to the effect that such Foreign Lender is not a “bank” within the meaning of Section 881(c)(3)(A) of the Code, a “10 percent shareholder” of the Borrower within the meaning of Section 881(c)(3)(B) of the Code, or a “controlled foreign corporation” described in Section 881(c)(3)(C) of the Code (a “ U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate ”) and (y) executed originals of IRS Form W-8BEN; or

(IV) to the extent a Foreign Lender is not the beneficial owner, executed originals of IRS Form W-8IMY, accompanied by IRS Form W-8ECI, IRS Form W-8BEN, a U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate substantially in the form of Exhibit E-2 or Exhibit E-3 , IRS Form W-9, and/or other certification documents from each beneficial owner, as applicable; provided that if the Foreign Lender is a partnership and one or more direct or indirect partners of such Foreign Lender are claiming the portfolio interest exemption, such Foreign Lender may provide a U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate substantially in the form of Exhibit E-4 on behalf of each such direct and indirect partner;

(C) any Foreign Lender shall, to the extent it is legally entitled to do so, deliver to the Borrower and the 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 Agent), executed originals of any other form prescribed by applicable Requirement of Law as a basis for claiming exemption from or a reduction in U.S. federal withholding Tax, duly completed, together with such supplementary documentation as may be prescribed by applicable Requirement of Law to permit the Borrower or the Agent to determine the withholding or deduction required to be made;

(D) on or before the date the Agent becomes a party to this Agreement, the Agent shall provide to the Borrower two accurate and complete original, signed copies of IRS Form W-9 or the applicable IRS Form W-8, as the case may be; and

(E) if a payment made to a Lender under any Loan Document would be subject to U.S. federal withholding Tax imposed by FATCA if such Lender were to fail 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 Lender shall deliver to the Borrower and the Agent at the time or times prescribed by law and at such time or times reasonably requested by the Borrower or the Agent such documentation prescribed by applicable Requirement of Law (including as prescribed by Section 1471(b)(3)(C)(i) of the Code) and such additional documentation reasonably requested by the Borrower or the Agent as may be necessary for the Borrower and the Agent to comply with their obligations under FATCA and to determine that such Lender has complied with such Lender’s obligations under FATCA or to determine the amount to deduct and withhold from such payment. Solely for purposes of this clause (D), “FATCA” shall include any amendments made to FATCA after the date of this Agreement.

 

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(ii) Each Lender agrees that if any form or certification it previously delivered pursuant to this Section 3.01 expires or becomes obsolete or inaccurate in any respect, it shall update such form or certification or promptly notify the Borrower and the Agent in writing of its legal inability to do so.

(f) Survival . Each party’s obligations under this Section 3.01 shall survive the resignation or replacement of the Agent or any assignment of rights by, or the replacement of, a Lender or the L/C Issuer, the termination of the Commitments and the repayment, satisfaction or discharge of all other Obligations.

(g) Evidence of Payments . Upon request by the Borrower or the Agent, as the case may be, after any payment of Taxes by the Borrower or by the Agent to a Governmental Authority as provided in this Section 3.01 , the Borrower shall deliver to the Agent or the Agent shall deliver to the Borrower, as the case may be, the original or a certified copy of a receipt issued by such Governmental Authority evidencing such payment, a copy of any return required by Laws to report such payment or other evidence of such payment reasonably satisfactory to the Borrower or the Agent, as the case may be.

(h) For purposes of this Section 3.01, the term “Lender” includes the L/C Issuer.

3.02 Illegality.

If any Lender reasonably determines that any Requirement of Law or Change in Law has made it unlawful, or that any Governmental Authority has asserted that it is unlawful, for any Lender or its applicable Lending Office to make, maintain or fund LIBOR Rate Loans, or to determine or charge interest rates based upon the LIBOR Rate, or any Governmental Authority has imposed material restrictions on the authority of such Lender to purchase or sell, or to take deposits of, Dollars in the London interbank market, then, on notice thereof by such Lender to the Borrower through the Agent, (i) any obligation of such Lender to make or continue LIBOR Rate Loans or to Convert Base Rate Loans to LIBOR Rate Loans shall be suspended, and (ii) if such notice asserts the illegality of such Lender making or maintaining Base Rate Loans the interest rate on which is determined by reference to the LIBOR Rate component of the Base Rate, the interest rate on which Base Rate Loans of such Lender shall, if necessary to avoid such illegality, be determined by the Agent without reference to the LIBOR Rate component of the Base Rate, in each case, until such Lender notifies the Agent and the Borrower that the circumstances giving rise to such determination no longer exist. Upon receipt of such notice, (x) the Borrower may revoke any pending request for a Borrowing of, conversion to or continuation of LIBOR Rate Loans Loans and shall, upon demand from such Lender (with a copy to the Agent), prepay or, if applicable, Convert all LIBOR Rate Loans of such Lender to Base Rate Loans (the interest rate on which Base Rate Loans of such Lender shall, if necessary to avoid such illegality, be determined by the Agent without reference to the LIBOR Rate component of the Base Rate), either on the last day of the Interest Period therefor, if such Lender may lawfully continue to maintain such LIBOR Rate Loans to such day, or immediately, if such Lender may not lawfully continue to maintain such LIBOR Rate Loans and (y) if such notice asserts the illegality of such Lender determining or charging interest rates based upon the LIBOR Rate, the Agent shall during the period of such suspension compute the Base Rate applicable to such Lender without reference to the LIBOR Rate component thereof until the Agent is advised in writing by such Lender that it is no longer illegal for such Lender to determine or charge interest rates based upon the LIBOR Rate. Upon any such prepayment or Conversion, the Borrower shall also pay accrued interest on the amount so prepaid or Converted.

 

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3.03 Inability to Determine Rates.

If the Required Lenders determine that for any reason in connection with any request for a LIBOR Rate Loan or a Conversion to or continuation thereof that (a) Dollar deposits are not being offered to banks in the London interbank market for the applicable amount and Interest Period of such LIBOR Rate Loan, (b) adequate and reasonable means do not exist for determining the LIBOR Rate for any requested Interest Period with respect to a proposed LIBOR Rate Loan or (c) the LIBOR Rate for any requested Interest Period with respect to a proposed LIBOR Rate Loan does not adequately and fairly reflect the cost to such Lenders of funding such Loan, the Agent will promptly so notify the Borrower and each Lender. Thereafter, (x) the obligation of the Lenders to make or maintain LIBOR Rate Loans shall be suspended, and (y) in the event of a determination described in the preceding sentence with respect to the LIBOR Rate component of the Base Rate, the utilization of the LIBOR Rate component in determining the Base Rate shall be suspended, in each case until the Agent (upon the instruction of the Required Lenders) revokes such notice (any such time period, the “LIBOR Unavailability Period”). Upon receipt of such notice, the Borrower may revoke any pending request for a Borrowing of, Conversion to or continuation of LIBOR Rate Loans or, failing that, will be deemed to have Converted such request into a request for a Committed Borrowing of Base Rate Loans in the amount specified therein.

3.04 Increased Costs; Reserves on LIBOR Rate Loans .

(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 the account of, or credit extended or participated in by, any Lender (except any reserve requirements reflected in the LIBOR Rate) or the L/C Issuer; or

(ii) impose on any Lender or the L/C Issuer or the London interbank market any other condition, cost or expense affecting this Agreement or LIBOR Rate Loans made by such Lender or any Letter of Credit or participation therein, in each case that is not otherwise accounted for in the definition of Adjusted LIBOR Rate or this clause (a);

and the result of any of the foregoing shall be to increase the cost to such Lender of making, converting to, continuing or maintaining any LIBOR Rate Loan (or of maintaining its obligation to make any such Loan), or to increase the cost to such Lender or the L/C Issuer of participating in, issuing or maintaining any Letter of Credit (or of maintaining its obligation to participate in or to issue any Letter of Credit), or to reduce the amount of any sum received or receivable by such Lender or the L/C Issuer hereunder (whether of principal, interest or any other amount) then, within fifteen (15) days after demand therefor by such Lender or the L/C Issuer setting forth in reasonable detail such increased costs, the Loan Parties will pay to such Lender or the L/C Issuer, as the case may be, such additional amount or amounts as will compensate such Lender or the L/C Issuer, as the case may be, for such additional costs incurred or reduction suffered; provided that in no event shall this Section apply to Taxes, which shall be exclusively governed by Section 3.01 .

(b) Capital Requirements . If any Lender or the L/C Issuer reasonably determines that any Change in Law affecting such Lender or the L/C Issuer or any Lending Office of such Lender or such Lender’s or the L/C Issuer’s holding company, if any, regarding capital requirements has or would have the effect of reducing the rate of return on such Lender’s or the L/C Issuer’s capital or on the capital or liquidity of such Lender’s or the L/C Issuer’s holding company, if any, as a consequence of this Agreement, the Commitments of such Lender or the Loans made by, or participations in Letters of Credit or swing Line Loans held by, such Lender, or the Letters of Credit issued by the L/C Issuer, to a level below that which such Lender or the L/C Issuer or such Lender’s or the L/C Issuer’s holding

 

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company could have achieved but for such Change in Law (taking into consideration such Lender’s or the L/C Issuer’s policies and the policies of such Lender’s or the L/C Issuer’s holding company with respect to capital adequacy), then from time to time upon demand of such Lender or L/C Issuer setting forth in reasonable detail the charge and calculation of such reduced rate of return the Loan Parties will pay to such Lender or the L/C Issuer, as the case may be, such additional amount or amounts as will compensate such Lender or the L/C Issuer or such Lender’s or the L/C Issuer’s holding company for any such reduction suffered.

(c) Certificates for Reimbursement . A certificate of a Lender or the L/C Issuer setting forth the amount or amounts necessary to compensate such Lender or the L/C Issuer or its holding company, as the case may be, as specified in subsection (a) or (b) of this Section and delivered to the Borrower shall be conclusive absent manifest error. The Loan Parties shall pay such Lender or the L/C Issuer, 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 L/C Issuer to demand compensation pursuant to the foregoing provisions of this Section shall not constitute a waiver of such Lender’s or the L/C Issuer’s right to demand such compensation, provided that the Loan Parties shall not be required to compensate a Lender or the L/C Issuer pursuant to the foregoing provisions of this Section for any increased costs incurred or reductions suffered more than 180 days prior to the date that such Lender or the L/C Issuer, as the case may be, notifies the Borrower of the Change in Law giving rise to such increased costs or reductions and of such Lender’s or the L/C Issuer’s intention to claim compensation therefor (except that, if the Change in Law giving rise to such increased costs or reductions is retroactive, then the 180 day period referred to above shall be extended to include the period of retroactive effect thereof).

(e) Reserves on LIBOR Rate Loans . Without duplication of any reserves specified in the definition of “LIBOR Rate”, the Borrower shall pay to each Lender, as long as such Lender shall be required to maintain LIBOR liabilities, additional interest on the unpaid principal amount of each LIBOR Rate Loan equal to the actual costs of such reserves allocated to such Loan by such Lender (as determined by such Lender in good faith, which determination shall be conclusive absent manifest error), which shall be due and payable on each date on which interest is payable on such Loan, provided the Borrower shall have received at least 15 days’ prior notice (with a copy to the Agent) of such additional interest from such Lender. If a Lender fails to give notice 15 days prior to the relevant Interest Payment Date, such additional interest shall be due and payable 15 days from receipt of such notice.

3.05 Compensation for Losses.

Upon written demand of any Lender (with a copy to the Agent) from time to time, which such demand shall set forth in reasonable detail the basis for requesting such amount, the Borrower shall promptly compensate such Lender for and hold such Lender harmless from any loss, cost or expense incurred by it as a result of:

(a) any continuation, Conversion, payment or prepayment of any Loan other than a Base Rate Loan on a day other than the last day of the Interest Period for such Loan (whether voluntary, mandatory, automatic, by reason of acceleration, or otherwise);

 

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(b) any failure by the Borrower (for a reason other than the failure of such Lender to make a Loan) to prepay, borrow, continue or Convert any Loan other than a Base Rate Loan on the date or in the amount notified by the Borrower;

(c) any assignment of a LIBOR Rate Loan on a day other than the last day of the Interest Period therefor as a result of a request by the Borrower pursuant to Section 10.13 ;

including any loss of anticipated profits and any loss or expense arising from the liquidation or reemployment of funds obtained by it to maintain such Loan or from fees payable to terminate the deposits from which such funds were obtained. The Borrower shall also pay any customary administrative fees charged by such Lender in connection with the foregoing.

For purposes of calculating amounts payable by the Borrower to the Lenders under this Section 3.05 , each Lender shall be deemed to have funded each LIBOR Rate Loan made by it at the LIBOR Rate for such Loan by a matching deposit or other borrowing in the London interbank market for a comparable amount and for a comparable period, whether or not such LIBOR Rate Loan was in fact so funded.

3.06 Mitigation Obligations .

If any Lender requests compensation under Section 3.04 , or the Borrower is required to pay any additional amount to any Lender or any Governmental Authority for the account of any Lender pursuant to Section 3.01 , or if any Lender gives a notice pursuant to Section 3.02 , then such Lender shall use reasonable efforts 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 judgment of such Lender, such designation or assignment (i) would eliminate or reduce amounts payable pursuant to Section 3.01 or 3.04, as the case may be, in the future, or eliminate the need for the notice pursuant to Section 3.02 , as applicable, and (ii) in each case, would not subject such Lender to any unreimbursed cost or expense and would not otherwise be disadvantageous to such Lender in any material economic, legal or regulatory respect. The Borrower hereby agrees to pay all reasonable costs and expenses incurred by any Lender in connection with any such designation or assignment.

3.07 Survival.

All of the Borrower’s obligations under this Article III shall survive termination of the Aggregate Commitments, repayment of all other Obligations hereunder, and resignation of the Agent.

ARTICLE IV

CONDITIONS PRECEDENT TO CREDIT EXTENSIONS

4.01 Conditions to Initial Credit Extension.

The agreement of each Lender and L/C Issuer to make the initial Credit Extension requested to be made by it is subject to the satisfaction (or waiver), prior to or concurrently with the making of such extension of credit on the Closing Date, of the following conditions precedent:

(a) Credit Agreement; Security Documents . The Agent shall have received (i) this Agreement, executed and delivered by the Agent, the L/C Issuer, each Loan Party and each Lender whose name appears on the signature pages hereof, (ii) the Security Documents specified on the Closing Checklist attached hereto as Exhibit K required to be delivered on the Closing Date (except to the extent set forth in Sections 6.12(b) , 6.12(c) and 6.22 hereof), executed and delivered by the Loan Parties, the

 

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Agent and Kellwood, (iii) an Acknowledgement and Consent in the form attached to the Security Agreement executed and delivered by each Issuer (as defined therein), if any, that is not a Loan Party, (iv) a Note executed by the Borrower in favor of each Lender requesting a Note, and (v) all other Loan Documents specified on the Closing Checklist attached hereto as Exhibit K and required to be delivered on the Closing Date (except to the extent set forth in Section 6.22 hereof), each duly executed by the applicable Loan Parties and all other Persons party thereto.

(b) Payoff Indebtedness . (i) The Parent, Holdings, the Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries shall have no Indebtedness for borrowed money outstanding as of the Closing Date other than under the Term Facility, this Agreement and the other Indebtedness permitted by Section 7.03 and (ii) the Borrower shall be released from its obligations under the Payoff Indebtedness, which releases shall be in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Agent, including, without limiting the foregoing, if applicable, (a) proper termination statements (Form UCC-3 or the appropriate equivalent) for filing under the Uniform Commercial Code or equivalent statute or regulation of each jurisdiction where a financing statement or application for registration (Form UCC-1 or the appropriate equivalent) was filed with respect to the Borrower in connection with the security interests created with respect to the Payoff Indebtedness and (b) terminations of any security interest in, or Lien on, any patents, trademarks, copyrights, or similar interests of the Borrower and (iii) other than with respect to the letters of credit covered by a back to back letter of credit issued hereunder on the Closing Date, the Parent and its Subsidiaries shall have made arrangements reasonably satisfactory to the Agent and the Arranger for the cancellation of any letters of credit issued for the account of the Parent, Holdings or the Borrower and outstanding thereunder.

(c) Term Facility . Substantially concurrently with the satisfaction of the other conditions precedent set forth in this Section 4.01(c) , the Parent, Holdings, and the Borrower shall have entered into the Term Facility and the Agent shall have received a counterpart of the Intercreditor Agreement, signed by the administrative agent under the Term Facility and acknowledged by the Loan Parties party thereto.

(d) Fees . The Agent and the Lenders shall have received (i) all fees required to be paid under the Fee Letter, and (ii) all reasonable out-of-pocket expenses for which reasonably detailed invoices have been presented (including reasonable and documented out-of-pocket fees, disbursements and other charges of counsel to the Agent), in each case under this clause (ii) required to be paid pursuant to Section 10.04 on or before the Closing Date.

(e) Closing and Solvency Certificate . The Agent shall have received a closing and solvency certificate signed by the chief financial officer on behalf of the Parent, substantially in the form of Exhibit F hereto.

(f) Lien Searches . The Agent shall have received the results of a recent lien search in each of the jurisdictions in which Uniform Commercial Code financing statements or other filings or recordations should be made to evidence or perfect security interests in all assets of the Loan Parties, and such search shall reveal no liens on any of the assets of the Loan Party, except for Liens permitted by Section 7.01 or liens to be discharged (or requiring estoppel letters) on or prior to the Closing Date.

(g) Legal Opinions . The Agent shall have received an executed legal opinion of Kirkland & Ellis LLP, counsel to the Loan Parties, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Agent.

(h) Pledged Stock; Stock Powers; Pledged Notes . The Agent shall have received (i) copies of the certificates representing the shares, if any, of Equity Interests of Holdings and the Borrower and (to the extent required by the terms of the Security Documents) each of the Borrower’s Subsidiaries pledged

 

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to the Agent pursuant to (and, in the case of the Equity Interests of any Foreign Subsidiary (other than Excluded Subsidiaries), subject to the limitations of) the Security Documents, together with an undated stock power for each such certificate executed in blank by a duly authorized officer of the pledgor thereof and (ii) copies of each promissory note (if any) required to be pledged to the Agent pursuant to the Security Documents endorsed (without recourse) in blank (or accompanied by an executed transfer form in blank) by the pledgor thereof. The original certificates and notes shall have been delivered to the Term Agent.

(i) Filings, Registrations and Recordings . Each document (including, without limitation, any Uniform Commercial Code financing statement) required by the Security Documents to be filed, registered or recorded in order to create in favor of the Agent, for the benefit of the Secured Parties, a perfected Lien on the Collateral described therein with the priority provided for in the Security Documents, shall have been delivered to the Agent in proper form for filing, registration or recordation and the Agent shall have received evidence reasonably satisfactory to it that such filings have been made or have been provided for.

(j) Insurance . Except as otherwise provided in Section 6.22 hereof, the Agent shall have received insurance certificates satisfying the requirements of Section 6.07 .

(k) Pro Forma Balance Sheet; Financial Statements; Financial Plan . The Lenders shall have received (i) the unaudited pro forma consolidated balance sheet of the Parent and its consolidated Subsidiaries (the “ Pro Forma Balance Sheet ”), certified by the Parent as having been prepared giving effect (as if such events had occurred on such date) to (A) the loans to be made under the Term Facility on the Closing Date and the use of the proceeds thereof, (B) the IPO and (C) the payment of fees and expenses in connection with the foregoing; and (ii) the financial statements of the Parent and its Subsidiaries referred to in Section 5.01 . The Pro Forma Balance Sheet shall have been prepared based upon the best information available to the Parent as of the date of delivery thereof, and present fairly in all material respects on a pro forma basis the estimated financial position of the Parent and its consolidated Subsidiaries as at the end of the fiscal quarter ending August 3, 2013, assuming that the events specified in the preceding sentence had actually occurred at such date, and shall be so certified by the Parent.

(l) Certificate of Representations and Warranties . The Agent shall have received a certificate of representations and warranties covering all of the Loan Parties, executed by a financial officer of the Borrower, substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit G .

(m) Kellwood Collateral Access Agreement . The Agent shall have received a Collateral Access Agreement executed by Kellwood in form and substance satisfactory to the Agent.

(n) Excess Availability . After giving effect to all Letters of Credit to be issued at, or immediately subsequent to, the establishment of the credit facility contemplated hereby, Excess Availability shall be not less than $10,000,000.

(o) Borrowing Base Certificate . The Agent shall have received a Borrowing Base Certificate dated the Closing Date, relating to the Fiscal Month ended on November 2, 2013, and executed by a Responsible Officer.

(p) No Material Adverse Effect . There shall have been no Material Adverse Effect since February 2, 2013.

 

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(q) Separation of Cash Management . The Agent shall have received evidence reasonably satisfactory to it of the termination of all links between the Loan Parties’ deposit accounts and any deposit account maintained by Kellwood.

(r) Shared Services Agreement . The Shared Services Agreement shall be in full force and effect.

(s) No Litigation . There shall exist no action, suit, investigation or proceeding pending or, to the knowledge of the Loan Parties, threatened in writing in any court or before any arbitrator or governmental authority in which there is a reasonable possibility of a decision which would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

(t) IPO . The IPO shall have been consummated.

(u) Consents . Any consents or approvals required in connection with the effectiveness of the IPO, the Term Facility, this Agreement and the other Loan Documents shall have been obtained and shall be in full force and effect.

4.02 Conditions to all Credit Extensions.

The obligation of each Lender to honor any Request for Credit Extension (other than a Committed Loan Notice requesting only a Conversion of Committed Loans to the other Type, or a continuation of LIBOR Rate Loans) and of each L/C Issuer to issue each Letter of Credit is subject to the following conditions precedent:

(a) The representations and warranties of each Loan Party contained in Article V or in any other Loan Document shall be true and correct in all material respects on and as of the date of such Credit Extension, except (i) to the extent that such representations and warranties specifically refer to an earlier date, in which case they shall be true and correct in all material respects as of such earlier date, and (ii) in the case of any representation and warranty qualified by materiality, they shall be true and correct in all respects.

(b) No Default or Event of Default shall exist, or would result from such proposed Credit Extension or from the application of the proceeds thereof.

(c) The Agent and, if applicable, the L/C Issuer or the Swing Line Lender shall have received a Request for Credit Extension in accordance with the requirements hereof.

(d) After giving effect to the Credit Extension requested to be made on any such date and the use of proceeds thereof, no Overadvance shall exist.

Each Request for Credit Extension (other than a Committed Loan Notice requesting only a Conversion of Committed Loans to the other Type or a continuation of LIBOR Rate Loans) submitted by the Borrower shall be deemed to be a representation and warranty by the Borrower that the conditions specified in Section 4.02 have been satisfied on and as of the date of the applicable Credit Extension. The conditions set forth in this Section 4.02 are for the sole benefit of the Credit Parties but until the Required Lenders otherwise direct the Agent to cease making Loans and issuing Letters of Credit, the applicable Lenders will fund their Applicable Percentage of all Loans and L/C Advances and participate in all Swing Line Loans and Letters of Credit whenever made or issued, which are requested by the Borrower and which, notwithstanding the failure of the Loan Parties to comply with the provisions of this Article IV , are agreed to by the Agent, provided , however, the making of any such Loans or the issuance of any Letters

 

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of Credit shall not be deemed a modification or waiver by any Credit Party of the provisions of this Article IV on any future occasion or a waiver of any rights or the Credit Parties as a result of any such failure to comply.

ARTICLE V

REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES

To induce the Credit Parties to enter into this Agreement and to make Loans and to issue Letters of Credit hereunder, each Loan Party represents and warrants to the Agent and the other Credit Parties that:

5.01 Financial Condition.

(a) The (i) audited income statement of Vince for the fiscal years ending as at January 29, 2011, January 28, 2012 and February 2, 2013, reported on by and accompanied by an unqualified report from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, and (ii) unaudited consolidated balance sheet of Vince as of April 27, 2013 and August 3, 2013, and related consolidated statements of income and of cash flows for the fiscal quarters ended on such dates present fairly in all material respects the financial condition of Vince as at such dates, and the results of its operations and its cash flows (as applicable) for the respective periods then ended. All such financial statements, including the related schedules and notes thereto and normal year end adjustments, have been prepared in accordance with GAAP applied consistently throughout the periods involved (except as approved by the aforementioned firm of accountants and disclosed therein and, in the case of such unaudited financial statements, subject to normal year-end adjustments and the absence of footnotes). Except as set forth on Schedule 5.01 , as of the Closing Date, none of Parent or its Subsidiaries (i) has any material Guarantee Obligations, contingent liabilities or material liabilities for taxes, or any long-term leases or unusual forward or long-term commitments, including, without limitation, any interest rate or foreign currency swap or exchange transaction or other obligation in respect of derivatives, which are not reflected in the most recent financial statements referred to in this paragraph but which would in accordance with GAAP be so reflected in a consolidated balance sheet of the Parent its Subsidiaries as of the Closing Date and (ii) is party to any arrangement to pay principal or interest with respect to any Indebtedness of any Person which is not reflected in the most recent financial statements referred to in this paragraph, (x) which was incurred by the Parent or any of its Subsidiaries or guaranteed by the Parent or any of its Subsidiaries at any time or the proceeds of which are or were transferred to or used by the Parent or any of its Subsidiaries and (y) the payments in respect of which are intended to be made with the proceeds of payments to such Person by the Parent or any of its consolidated Subsidiaries or with any Indebtedness or Equity Interests issued by the Parent or any such Subsidiary.

5.02 No Change.

There has been no event, circumstance, development, change or effect since the date of the Audited Financial Statement that has had a Material Adverse Effect.

5.03 Existence, Compliance with Requirements of Law.

Each of the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries (a) (i) is duly organized (or incorporated), validly existing and in good standing (or, only where if applicable, the equivalent status in any foreign jurisdiction) under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization or incorporation, (ii) has the corporate or organizational power and authority, and the legal right, to own and operate its Property, to lease the Property it operates as lessee and to conduct the business in which it is currently engaged except, in each case, to the extent that any such failure to have such power, authority or

 

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right would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect and (iii) is duly qualified as a foreign corporation or limited liability company and in good standing (where such concept is relevant) under the laws of each jurisdiction where its ownership, lease or operation of Property or the conduct of its business requires such qualification except, in each case, to the extent that the failure to be so qualified or in good standing (where such concept is relevant) would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect and (b) is in compliance with all applicable Requirements of Law except to the extent that any such failure to comply therewith would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

5.04 Corporate Power; Authorization; Enforceable Obligations.

Each Loan Party has the corporate power and authority to make, deliver and perform the Loan Documents to which it is a party and, in the case of the Borrower, to borrow hereunder. Each Loan Party has taken all necessary corporate or other action to authorize the execution, delivery and performance of the Loan Documents to which it is a party and, in the case of the Borrower, to authorize the extensions of credit on the terms and conditions of this Agreement. Except as would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, no consent or authorization of, filing with, notice to or other act by or in respect of, any Governmental Authority is required in connection with the extensions of credit hereunder or the execution, delivery, performance, validity or enforceability of this Agreement or any of the other Loan Documents, except (i) consents, authorizations, filings and notices, which consents, authorizations, filings and notices have been obtained or, within any period set forth in the relevant Security Document, will be obtained or made and are or will be in full force and effect or the failure to obtain which would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, (ii) filings to perfect the Liens created by the Security Documents, (iii) filings pursuant to the Assignment of Claims Act of 1940, as amended (31 U.S.C. § 3727 et seq.), in respect of Accounts of the Parent and its Subsidiaries the Obligor in respect of which is the United States of America or any department, agency or instrumentality thereof, and (iv) the filings referred to in Section 5.17 . Each Loan Document has been duly executed and delivered on behalf of each Loan Party that is a party thereto. This Agreement constitutes, and each other Loan Document upon execution will constitute, a legal, valid and binding obligation of each Loan Party that is a party thereto, enforceable against each such Loan Party in accordance with its terms, except as enforceability may be limited by applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or similar laws affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights generally and by general equitable principles (whether enforcement is sought by proceedings in equity or at law) and the implied covenants of good faith and fair dealing.

5.05 No Legal Bar.

The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents, the borrowings hereunder and the use of the proceeds thereof will not (a) violate the organizational or governing documents of any of the Loan Parties, (b) violate, in any material respect, any applicable Requirement of Law or any material Contractual Obligation of the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, or (c) result in, or require, the creation or imposition of any Lien on any of their respective properties or revenues pursuant to any applicable Requirement of Law or any such Contractual Obligation (other than Liens required to be granted in favor of the Agent and the Term Agent pursuant to the Loan Documents).

5.06 No Material Litigation.

No litigation, proceeding or, to the knowledge of the Parent and the Borrower, investigation of or before any arbitrator or Governmental Authority is pending or, to the knowledge of the Parent and the

 

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Borrower, likely to be commenced within a reasonable time period against the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries or against any of their Properties or revenues which, taken as a whole, (a) are material and adverse with respect to any of the Loan Documents or (b) would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

5.07 No Default.

No Default or Event of Default has occurred and is continuing.

5.08 Ownership of Property; Liens.

Except as set forth in Schedule 5.08(a) , each of the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower and their respective Restricted Subsidiaries has good and marketable title in fee simple to, or a valid leasehold interest in or in the case of real property subject to a license, a right to use, all its real property, and good title to, or a valid leasehold interest in or right to use, all its other Property (other than Intellectual Property), in each case, except where the failure to do so would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, and none of such Property is subject to any Lien other than Liens permitted by Section 7.01 . Schedule 5.08(b) lists all real property which is owned, leased or licensed to use by any Loan Party as of the Closing Date.

5.09 Intellectual Property.

Each of the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower and its respective Restricted Subsidiaries owns, or has a valid license to use, all Intellectual Property necessary for the conduct of its business as currently conducted free and clear of all Liens, except for Liens permitted by Section 7.01 and except where the failure to so own or have a license to use would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. To the Parent’s, Holdings’, and the Borrower’s knowledge, no holding, injunction, decision or judgment has been rendered by any Governmental Authority and none of the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries has entered into any settlement stipulation or other agreement (except license agreements in the ordinary course of business) which would cancel the validity of the Parent’s, Holdings’, the Borrower’s or any Restricted Subsidiary’s rights in any Intellectual Property owned by the Parent, Holdings’, the Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary (the “ Borrower Intellectual Property ”) in any respect that would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. To the Parent’s, Holdings’ and the Borrower’s knowledge, no pending claim has been asserted or threatened in writing by any Person challenging the use by the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiaries of any Borrower Intellectual Property or the validity of any Borrower Intellectual Property, except in each case as would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. To the Parent’s, Holdings’ and the Borrower’s knowledge, the use of any Borrower Intellectual Property by the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower or its Restricted Subsidiaries does not infringe on the rights of any other Person in a manner that would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. The Parent, Holdings, the Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries have taken all commercially reasonable actions that in the exercise of their reasonable business judgment should be taken to protect the Borrower Intellectual Property, including Borrower Intellectual Property that is confidential in nature, except where the failure to do so would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

5.10 Taxes.

Each of the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower and each of its Restricted Subsidiaries (i) has timely filed or caused to be filed all federal, state, provincial, territorial and other Tax returns that are required to be filed by it, and (ii) has duly and timely paid all Taxes shown to be due and payable on said returns and

 

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all other Taxes, fees or other charges imposed on it or any of its Property, assets, income, businesses and franchises by any Governmental Authority responsible for administering Taxes (other than any the amount or validity of which are currently being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings and with respect to which any reserves required in conformity with GAAP have been provided on the books of the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower or such Restricted Subsidiary, as the case may be), except in each case where the failure to do so would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect. There are no current, proposed or, to the knowledge of the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, pending Tax assessments, deficiencies or audits against the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, as the case may be, except those that are currently being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings and with respect to which any reserves required in conformity with GAAP have been provided on the books of the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower or such Restricted Subsidiary, as the case may be, or that would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect.

5.11 Federal Regulations.

No part of the proceeds of any Loans, and no other extensions of credit hereunder, will be used for “buying” or “carrying” any “margin stock” within the respective meanings of each of the quoted terms under Regulation U as now and from time to time hereafter in effect or for any purpose that violates the provisions of the regulations of the Federal Reserve Board. If requested by any Lender (through the Agent) or the Agent, the Borrower will furnish to the 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 referred to in Regulation U.

5.12 ERISA .

(a) Except as would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect: neither a Reportable Event nor an “accumulated funding deficiency” (within the meaning of Section 412(a) of the Code or Section 302(a)(2) of ERISA) has occurred during the five-year period prior to the date on which this representation is made with respect to any Single Employer Plan, and each Plan has complied with the applicable provisions of ERISA and the Code; no termination of a Single Employer Plan has occurred, and no Lien in favor of the PBGC or a Single Employer Plan has arisen, during such five-year period; the present value of all accrued benefits under each Single Employer Plan (based on those assumptions used to fund such Single Employer Plans) did not, as of the last annual valuation date prior to the date on which this representation is made or deemed made, exceed the value of the assets of such Single Employer Plan allocable to such accrued benefits; none of the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower nor any of its Restricted Subsidiaries has had (or reasonably expects to have) a complete or partial withdrawal from any Multiemployer Plan that has resulted or would reasonably be expected to result in a liability under ERISA and, to the knowledge of the Parent and the Borrower, no Multiemployer Plan is in Reorganization or Insolvent.

(b) the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries have not incurred, and do not reasonably expect to incur, any liability under ERISA or the Code with respect to any plan within the meaning of Section 3(3) of ERISA which is subject to Title IV of ERISA that is maintained by a Commonly Controlled Entity (other than the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries) (a “ Commonly Controlled Plan ”) merely by virtue of being treated as a single employer under Title IV of ERISA with the sponsor of such plan that would reasonably be likely to have a Material Adverse Effect and result in a direct obligation of the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries to pay money.

 

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(c) With respect to any Pension Plan under the laws of any foreign jurisdiction, none of the following events or conditions exists and is continuing that, either individually or in the aggregate, would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect: (a) substantial non-compliance with its terms and with the requirements of any and all applicable laws, statutes, rules, regulations and orders; (b) failure to be maintained, where required, in good standing with applicable regulatory authorities; (c) any obligation of the Parent or its Subsidiaries in connection with the termination or partial termination of, or withdrawal from, any such foreign plan; (d) any Lien on the property of the Parent or its Subsidiaries in favor of a Governmental Authority as a result of any action or inaction regarding such a foreign plan; (e) for each such foreign plan which is a funded or insured plan, failure to be funded or insured on an ongoing basis to the extent required by applicable non-U.S. law (using actuarial methods and assumptions which are consistent with the valuations last filed with the applicable Governmental Authorities); (f) any facts that, to the best knowledge of the Parent or any of its Subsidiaries, exist that would reasonably be expected to give rise to a dispute and any pending or threatened disputes that, to the best knowledge of the Parent or any of its Subsidiaries, would reasonably be expected to result in a material liability to the Parent or any of its Subsidiaries concerning the assets of any such foreign plan (other than individual claims for the payment of benefits); and (g) failure to make all contributions in a timely manner to the extent required by applicable non-U.S. law.

5.13 Investment Company Act.

No Loan Party is an “investment company”, or a company “controlled” by an “investment company”, within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.

5.14 Subsidiaries.

(a) The Subsidiaries listed on Schedule 5.14 constitute all the Subsidiaries of the Parent at the Closing Date. Schedule 5.14 sets forth as of the Closing Date the name and jurisdiction of incorporation of each Subsidiary and, as to each Subsidiary, the percentage of each class of Equity Interests owned by any Loan Party and the designation of such Subsidiary as a Restricted Subsidiary or an Unrestricted Subsidiary. There are no Excluded Subsidiaries as of the Closing Date.

(b) As of the Closing Date, except as set forth on Schedule 5.14 , there are no outstanding subscriptions, options, warrants, calls, rights or other agreements or commitments of any nature relating to any Equity Interests of the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries.

5.15 Environmental Compliance.

Other than exceptions to any of the following that would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect: none of the Parent, the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries (i) has failed to comply with any Environmental Law or to obtain, maintain or comply with any permit, license or other approval required under any Environmental Law for the operation of the business; or (ii) has become subject to any Environmental Liability.

5.16 Accuracy of Information, etc.

No statement or information (excluding the projections and pro forma financial information referred to below and information of a general economic or general industry nature) contained in this Agreement, any other Loan Document or any certificate furnished to the Agent or the Lenders or any of them, by or on behalf of any Loan Party for use in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or the other Loan Documents when taken as a whole, contained as of the date such statement,

 

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information, or certificate was so furnished, any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements contained herein or therein not materially misleading in light of the circumstances under which such statements contained therein. The projections and pro forma financial information contained in the materials referenced above are based upon good faith estimates and assumptions believed by management of the Borrower to be reasonable at the time made, it being recognized by the Lenders that such financial information as it relates to future events is not to be viewed as fact, that such financial information is subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond the control of the Loan Parties, that no assurance can be given that the projected results will be realized, and that actual results during the period or periods covered by such projections and financial information may differ significantly from the projected results set forth therein by a material amount. There is no fact known to any Loan Party that could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect that has not been expressly disclosed herein, in the other Loan Documents or in any other documents, certificates and statements furnished to the Agent and the Lenders for use in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby and by the other Loan Documents.

5.17 Security Documents.

(a) The Security Documents are effective to create in favor of the Agent for the benefit of the Secured Parties referred to therein, a legal, valid and enforceable security interest (except as enforceability may be limited by applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium, or similar laws affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights generally and by general equitable principles (whether enforcement is sought by proceedings in equity or at law) and the implied covenants of good faith and fair dealing) in the Collateral described therein (including any proceeds of any item of Collateral) to the extent required by the Security Documents. In the case of (i) the Pledged Securities described in the Security Agreement, when any stock certificates or notes, as applicable, representing such Pledged Securities are delivered to the Term Agent (as agent for the Agent pursuant to the Intercreditor Agreement) and (ii) the other Collateral described in the Security Documents, when financing statements in appropriate form are filed, within the time periods (if any) required by applicable law, in the offices specified on Schedule 5.17 (which financing statements have been duly completed and executed (as applicable) and delivered to the Agent) and such other filings as are specified on Schedule 5.17 are made, the Agent shall have a fully perfected Lien on, and security interest in, all right, title and interest of the Loan Parties in such Collateral (including any proceeds of any item of Collateral) (to the extent a security interest in such Collateral can be perfected through the filing of financing statements in the offices specified on Schedule 5.17 and the filings specified on Schedule 5.17 , and through the delivery of the Pledged Securities required to be delivered on the Closing Date), as security for the Obligations, in each case prior and superior in right to any other Person (except (i) Liens in favor of the Term Agent, (ii) in the case of Collateral other than Pledged Securities, Liens permitted by Section 7.01 and (iii) Liens having priority by applicable Requirements of Law) to the extent required by the Security Documents.

(b) Upon the execution and delivery of any Mortgage to be executed and delivered pursuant to Section 4.01(m) and Section 6.11(b) , such Mortgage shall be effective to create in favor of the Agent for the benefit of the Secured Parties a legal, valid and enforceable Lien on the mortgaged property described therein and proceeds thereof; and when such Mortgage is filed in the recording office designated by the Borrower, such Mortgage shall constitute a fully perfected Lien on, and security interest in, all right, title and interest of the Loan Parties in such mortgaged property and the proceeds thereof, as security for the Obligations (as defined in the relevant Mortgage), in each case prior and superior in right to any other Person (other than the Term Agent, Liens permitted by Section 7.01 , or other encumbrances or rights permitted by the relevant Mortgage).

 

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5.18 Solvency.

After giving effect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, and before and after giving effect to each Credit Extension, the Loan Parties, on a Consolidated basis, are and will be Solvent.

5.19 Senior Indebtedness.

All Borrowings permitted under this Agreement are, and when incurred or issued will be, permitted under (and shall give rise to no breach or violation of) the Term Facility any other Junior Indebtedness or any Permitted Amendment or Refinancing of any of the foregoing (or under the definitive documentation relating thereto).

5.20 Labor Matters .

There are no strikes or other labor disputes against the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries pending or, to the knowledge of the Parent or the Borrower, threatened that (individually or in the aggregate) could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. Hours worked by and payment made to employees of the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries have not been in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act or any other applicable Requirement of Law dealing with such matters that (individually or in the aggregate) could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. All payments due from the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries on account of employee health and welfare insurance that (individually or in the aggregate) could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect if not paid have been paid or accrued as a liability on the books of the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower or the relevant Restricted Subsidiary.

5.21 Regulation H. No Mortgage encumbers improved real property that is located in an area that has been identified by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development as an area having special flood hazards and in which flood insurance has been made available under the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968.

5.22 Anti-Money Laundering and Economic Sanctions Laws.

(a) No Loan Party, none of its Subsidiaries and, to the knowledge of senior management of each Loan Party, none of its Affiliates and none of the respective officers, directors, brokers or agents of such Loan Party, such Subsidiary or, to the knowledge of senior management of each Loan Party, Affiliate (i) has violated or is in violation of any applicable Anti-Money Laundering Law or (ii) has engaged or engages in any transaction, investment, undertaking or activity that conceals the identity, source or destination of the proceeds of the Loans from any category of offenses designated in any applicable law, regulation or other binding measure implementing the “Forty Recommendations” and “Nine Special Recommendations” published by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering.

(b) No Loan Party, none of its Subsidiaries and, to the knowledge of senior management of each Loan Party, none of its Affiliates and none of the respective officers, directors, brokers or agents of such Loan Party, such Subsidiary or, to the knowledge of senior management of each Loan Party, such Affiliate that is acting or benefiting in any capacity in connection with the Loans is an Embargoed Person.

(c) Except as otherwise authorized by OFAC, to the extent applicable to such Person, no Loan Party, none of its Subsidiaries and, to the knowledge of senior management of each Loan Party,

 

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none of its Affiliates and none of the respective officers, directors, brokers or agents of such Loan Party, such Subsidiary or, to the knowledge of senior management of each Loan Party, such Affiliate acting or benefiting in any capacity in connection with the Loans (i) conducts any business or engages in making or receiving any contribution of funds, goods or services to or for the benefit of any Embargoed Person, (ii) deals in, or otherwise engages in any transaction related to, any property or interests in property blocked pursuant to any applicable Economic Sanctions Laws or (iii) engages in or conspires to engage in any transaction that evades or avoids, or has the purpose of evading or avoiding, or attempts to violate, any of the applicable prohibitions set forth in any Economic Sanctions Laws.

5.23 Insurance.

The properties of the Loan Parties and the Restricted Subsidiaries are insured with financially sound and reputable insurance companies (after giving effect to any self-insurance compatible with the following standards), in such amounts, with such deductibles and covering such risks (including, without limitation, workmen’s compensation, public liability, business interruption, property damage and directors and officers liability insurance) as are customarily carried by companies engaged in similar businesses and owning similar properties in localities where the Loan Parties or the applicable Restricted Subsidiary operates. Schedule 5.24 sets forth a description of all insurance maintained by or on behalf of the Loan Parties and the Restricted Subsidiaries as of the Closing Date. As of the Closing Date, each insurance policy listed on Schedule 5.24 is in full force and effect and all premiums in respect thereof that are due and payable have been paid.

5.24 Deposit Accounts; Credit Card Arrangements .

(a) Annexed hereto as Schedule 5.25(a) is a list of all DDAs maintained by the Loan Parties as of the Closing Date, which Schedule includes, with respect to each DDA (i) the name and address of the depository; (ii) the account number(s) maintained with such depository; (iii) a contact person at such depository, (iv) the identification of each Blocked Account Bank, and (v) whether such DDA is an Excluded DDA or a Retail DDA, if applicable.

(b) Annexed hereto as Schedule 5.25(b) is a list of all agreements as of the Closing Date to which any Loan Party is a party with respect to the processing and/or payment to such Loan Party of the proceeds of any credit card charges and debit card charges for sales made by such Loan Party.

5.25 Shared Services Agreement.

The Shared Services Agreement is in full force and effect (except to extent that each of the services to be provided by Kellwood under the Shared Services Agreement are no longer necessary to the successful operation of the Loan Parties or are now being performed by one or more other Persons) and both of the Borrower and Kellwood have performed, and are performing, all material obligations required to be performed thereunder.

 

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ARTICLE VI

AFFIRMATIVE COVENANTS

Until the Payment in Full of the Obligations, each Loan Party shall, and shall (except in the case of the covenants set forth in Sections 6.01 , 6.02 , and 6.03 ) cause each Restricted Subsidiary to:

6.01 Financial Statements.

Furnish to the Agent for delivery to each Lender (which may be delivered via posting on Intralinks):

(a) within 120 days after the end of each Fiscal Year of the Parent, commencing with the Fiscal Year ending on or around February 1, 2014, (x) a copy of the audited consolidated balance sheet of Parent, Holdings, the Borrower and its Subsidiaries as at the end of such Fiscal Year and the related audited consolidated statements of income and of cash flows for such Fiscal Year, setting forth in each case in comparative form the figures as of the end of and for the previous Fiscal Year, reported on by independently certified public accountants of nationally recognized standing, and (y) an opinion of such Registered Public Accounting Firm independently assessing Loan Parties’ internal controls over financial reporting in accordance with Item 308 of SEC Regulation S-K, PCAOB Auditing Standard No. 2, and Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley expressing a conclusion that contains no statement that there is a material weakness in such internal controls;

(b) as soon as available, but in any event not later than 60 days after the end of each of the first three Fiscal Quarters of each Fiscal Year of the Parent, commencing with the Fiscal Quarter ending on or around November 2, 2013 (provided, that for the Fiscal Quarter ending on or around November 2, 2013, such financial statements shall be due within the time period prescribed by the SEC reporting requirements), the unaudited consolidated balance sheet of the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries as at the end of such Fiscal Quarter and the related unaudited consolidated statements of income and of cash flows for such Fiscal Quarter and the portion of the Fiscal Year through the end of such Fiscal Quarter, setting forth in each case in comparative form (i) the figures as of the end of and for the corresponding period in the previous Fiscal Year, and (ii) the figures for such period set forth in the projections delivered pursuant to Section 6.02(d) hereof, in each case, certified by a Responsible Officer as being fairly stated in all material respects (subject to normal year-end audit adjustments and the lack of notes);

(c) as soon as available, but in any event not later than 30 days after the end of each Fiscal Month of each Fiscal Year of the Parent upon the occurrence and during the continuation of a Monthly Reporting Event, the unaudited consolidated balance sheet of the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries as at the end of such Fiscal Month and the related unaudited consolidated statements of income and of cash flows for such Fiscal Month and the portion of the Fiscal Year through the end of such Fiscal Month, setting forth in each case in comparative form (i) the figures as of the end of and for the corresponding period in the previous Fiscal Year, and (ii) the figures for such period set forth in the projections delivered pursuant to Section 6.02(d) hereof, in each case, certified by a Responsible Officer as being fairly stated in all material respects (subject to normal year-end audit adjustments and the lack of notes); and

(d) all such financial statements to be complete and correct in all material respects and to be prepared in reasonable detail and in accordance with GAAP applied consistently throughout the periods reflected therein and with prior periods (except as approved by such accountants or officer, as the case may be, and disclosed therein and except, in the case of the financial statements referred to in clauses (b)  and (c) , for customary year-end adjustments and the absence of footnotes);

If the Parent has filed (within the time period required above) a Form 10-Q or 10-K, as applicable, with the SEC for any fiscal quarter or fiscal year described above, then to the extent that such quarterly or annual report on Form 10-Q or 10-K contains any of the foregoing items, the Lenders will accept such Form 10-Q or 10-K in lieu of such items ; provided that such filings shall be delivered to the Agent and each Lender in the same manner as set forth below. Documents required to be delivered pursuant to this Section 6.01 may be delivered by posting such documents electronically with notice of

 

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such posting to the Agent and each Lender and if so posted, shall be deemed to have been delivered on the date (i) on which the Borrower posts such documents, or provides a link thereto on the Borrower’s’ website on the Internet at the website address listed on Schedule 10.02 , or (ii) on which such documents are posted on the Borrower’s behalf on IntraLinks/IntraAgency or another relevant website, if any, to which each Lender and the Agent have been granted access (whether a commercial, third-party website or whether sponsored by the Agent).

6.02 Certificates; Other Information.

Furnish to the Agent, in form and detail reasonably, satisfactory to the Agent, for delivery to each Lender, or, in the case of clause (i), to the relevant Lender:

(a) concurrently with the delivery of the financial statements referred to in Section 6.01(a) , a certificate of the independent certified public accountants of the Parent in customary form reporting on such financial statements stating that in making the examination necessary therefor no knowledge was obtained of any Default or Event of Default, except as specified in such certificate (which certificate may be limited to the extent required by accounting rules or guidelines and will not be required if such accountants no longer provide such certificates to its customers (or their lenders) generally);

(b) concurrently with the delivery of any financial statements pursuant to Section 6.01 or immediately upon the occurrence of a Covenant Compliance Event, (i) a certificate of a Responsible Officer on behalf of the Parent stating that such Responsible Officer has obtained no knowledge of any Default or Event of Default except as specified in such certificate and (ii) (x) if applicable for such period, a Compliance Certificate containing all information and calculations necessary for determining compliance by the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries with the provisions of Section 7.18 as of the last day of the Fiscal Month, Fiscal Quarter or Fiscal Year of the Parent, as the case may be, and (y) to the extent not previously disclosed to the Agent, a description of any new Subsidiary and a listing of any new registrations, and applications for registration, of Intellectual Property acquired or made by any Loan Party since the date of the most recent list delivered pursuant to this clause (y) (or, in the case of the first such list so delivered, since the Closing Date);

(c) on the fifteenth (15) Business Day after the end of each Fiscal Month (or, if such day is not a Business Day, on the next succeeding Business Day), or more frequently at the Borrower’s discretion (but in any event not more frequently than twice a month), a Borrowing Base Certificate showing the Borrowing Base as of the close of business as of the last day of the immediately preceding Fiscal Month, each Borrowing Base Certificate to be certified as complete and correct in all material respects by a Responsible Officer of the Borrower; provided that at any time that an Accelerated Borrowing Base Delivery Event has occurred and is continuing, such Borrowing Base Certificate shall be delivered on Wednesday of each week (or, if Wednesday is not a Business Day, on the next succeeding Business Day), as of the close of business on the immediately preceding Saturday;

(d) as soon as available, but in any event not later than 90 days after the end of each Fiscal Year of the Parent (commencing with the Fiscal Year ending on or nearest to February 1, 2014), a detailed consolidated budget for the following fiscal year (including a projected consolidated balance sheet of the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower and its Subsidiaries and the related consolidated statements of projected cash flow and projected income, together with a projection of the Borrowing Base and Excess Availability, in each case prepared on a month by month basis);

 

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(e) promptly upon delivery thereof to the Parent, Holdings or the Borrower and to the extent permitted, copies of any accountants’ letters addressed to its Board of Directors (or any committee thereof);

(f) promptly after the same are sent, copies of all financial statements and reports that the Parent, Holdings or the Borrower sends to the holders of any class of its debt securities or public equity securities (except for materials sent solely to Permitted Investors) and, promptly after the same are filed, copies of all financial statements and reports that the Parent, Holdings or the Borrower may make to, or file with, the SEC, in each case to the extent not already provided pursuant to Section 6.01 or any other clause of this Section 6.02 ;

(g) the financial and collateral reports described on Schedule 6.02 hereto, at the times set forth in such Schedule;

(h) promptly, such additional financial and other information as the Agent (for its own account or upon the reasonable request from any Lender) may from time to time reasonably request; and

(i) concurrently with the delivery of any financial statements pursuant to Section 6.01 , a copy of management’s discussion and analysis with respect to such financial statements in the form included with the Parent’s financial reporting to the SEC.

Documents required to be delivered pursuant to Section 6.01(a) , (b)(b) , or (c)  or Section 6.02(d) (to the extent any such documents are included in materials otherwise filed with the SEC) may be delivered electronically and if so delivered, shall be deemed to have been delivered on the date (i) on which the Borrower posts such documents, or provides a link thereto on the Borrower’s website on the Internet at the website address listed on Schedule 10.02 ; or (ii) on which such documents are posted on the Borrower’s behalf on an Internet or intranet website, if any, to which each Lender and the Agent have access (whether a commercial, third-party website or whether sponsored by the Agent).

The Loan Parties hereby acknowledge that (a) the Agent and/or the Arranger will make available to the Lenders and the L/C Issuer materials and/or information provided by or on behalf of the Loan Parties hereunder (collectively, “ Borrower Materials ”) by posting the Borrower Materials on Debt Domain, IntraLinks, Syndtrak or another similar electronic system (the “ Platform ”) and (b) certain of the Lenders may be “public-side” Lenders ( i.e. , Lenders that do not wish to receive material non-public information with respect to the Loan Parties or their securities) (each, a “ Public Lender ”). The Loan Parties hereby agree that they will use commercially reasonable efforts to identify that portion of the Borrower Materials that may be distributed to the Public Lenders and that (w) all such Borrower Materials shall be clearly and conspicuously marked “PUBLIC” which, at a minimum, shall mean that the word “PUBLIC” shall appear prominently on the first page thereof; (x) by marking Borrower Materials “PUBLIC,” the Loan Parties shall be deemed to have authorized the Agent, the Arranger, the L/C Issuer and the Lenders to treat such Borrower Materials as not containing any material non-public information (although it may be sensitive and proprietary) with respect to the Loan Parties or their securities for purposes of United States Securities Laws ( provided , however , that to the extent such Borrower Materials constitute Information, they shall be treated as set forth in Section 10.07 ); (y) all Borrower Materials marked “PUBLIC” are permitted to be made available through a portion of the Platform designated “Public Investor”; and (z) the Agent and the Arranger shall be entitled to treat any Borrower Materials that are not marked “PUBLIC” as being suitable only for posting on a portion of the Platform not designated “Public Investor.”

 

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6.03 Notices.

Promptly upon a Responsible Officer of the Parent or any Loan Party obtaining knowledge thereof, give notice to the Agent of:

(a) of the occurrence of any Default or Event of Default;

(b) any litigation, investigation or proceeding which may exist at any time between the Parent, the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries and any other Person, that in either case, could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;

(c) the following events, that, individually or in the aggregate, could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, as soon as possible and in any event within 30 days after the Parent, the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries knows thereof, as applicable: (i) the occurrence of any Reportable Event with respect to any Single Employer Plan, a failure to make any required contribution to a Single Employer Plan, the creation of any Lien in favor of the PBGC or a Single Employer Plan or any withdrawal from, or the termination or partial termination, Reorganization or Insolvency of any Multiemployer Plan, (ii) the institution of proceedings or the taking of any other action by the PBGC or the Parent or any Commonly Controlled Entity or any Multiemployer Plan with respect to the withdrawal from, or the termination or partial termination, Reorganization or Insolvency of, any Plan, or (iii) the occurrence of any similar events with respect to a Commonly Controlled Plan, that would reasonably be likely to result in a direct obligation of the Parent, the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to pay money;

(d) the occurrence of any default under the Shared Services Agreement or the Tax Receivable Agreement;

(e) any development or event that has had or could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;

(f) the acquisition of any Property after the Closing Date in which the Agent does not already have a perfected security interest and in which a security interest is required to be created or perfected pursuant to Section 6.11 ;

(g) of any casualty or other insured damage to any material portion of the ABL Priority Collateral or the commencement of any action or proceeding for the taking of any interest in a material portion of the ABL Priority Collateral under power of eminent domain or by condemnation or similar proceeding or if any material portion of the ABL Priority Collateral is damaged or destroyed;

(h) the occurrence of any default or event of default under the Term Facility;

(i) of any material change in accounting policies or financial reporting practices by any Loan Party or any Subsidiary thereof;

(j) of the filing of any Lien for unpaid Taxes against any Loan Party in excess of $2,500,000;

(k) of any failure by any Loan Party to pay rent (which failure continues for more than ten (10) days following the day on which such rent first came due) at (i) any of the Loan Parties’ distribution centers, fulfillment centers or warehouses; (ii) ten percent (10%) or more of such Loan Party’s Store locations or any of such Loan Party’s other locations if such failure would be reasonably likely to result in a Material Adverse Effect;

 

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(l) of any change in: (i) any Loan Party’s legal name; (ii) the location of any Loan Party’s chief executive office or its principal place of business or any office in which it maintains books or records relating to Collateral; (iii) any Loan Party’s organizational form (e.g., corporation, limited liability company, partnership, etc.) or jurisdiction of incorporation or formation; or (iv) any Loan Party’s Federal Taxpayer Identification Number, in each case no later than 10 days before the occurrence of such change (or such lesser period as agreed to by the Agent in its Permitted Discretion); and

(m) of the movement of Collateral with a value in excess of $500,000 in the aggregate to a location not previously disclosed to the Agent (including the establishment of any new office or facility but excluding Collateral out for repair and, for the avoidance of doubt, Collateral in transit between locations previously disclosed to the Agent) no later than 30 days after taking such action (or such later time as agreed to by the Agent in its Permitted Discretion).

Each notice pursuant to this Section shall be accompanied by a statement of a Responsible Officer setting forth details of the occurrence referred to therein and stating what action the Parent, the Borrower or the relevant Restricted Subsidiary has taken or proposes to take with respect thereto.

6.04 Payment of Obligations.

Pay, discharge or otherwise satisfy at or before maturity or before they become delinquent, as the case may be, all its material Taxes, governmental assessments and governmental charges, except (i) where the amount or validity thereof is currently being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings and reserves required in conformity with GAAP with respect thereto have been provided on the books of the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower or its Subsidiaries, as the case may be, and such contest effectively suspends collection of the contested obligation and enforcement of any Lien securing such obligation, or (ii) to the extent that failure to pay or satisfy such obligations could not, in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to limit the rights of the Agent with respect to determining Reserves pursuant to this Agreement.

6.05 Preservation of Existence, Etc.

(a) (i) Preserve, renew and keep in full force and effect its corporate or other existence and (ii) take all reasonable action to maintain all rights (other than Intellectual Property rights, the maintenance of which is addressed in Section 6.06(c) ), privileges and franchises necessary or desirable in the normal conduct of its business, except, in each case, as otherwise permitted by Section 7.04 or except, in the case of clause (ii) above, to the extent that failure to do so could not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and (b) comply with all applicable Requirement of Law except to the extent that failure to comply therewith could not, in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

6.06 Maintenance of Properties.

(a) Maintain, preserve and protect all of its material properties and equipment necessary in the operation of its business in reasonably good working order and condition, ordinary wear and tear excepted; and

(b) Take all commercially reasonable and necessary steps, including, in any proceeding before the United States Patent and Trademark Office or the United States Copyright Office to maintain and pursue each application (and to obtain the relevant registration) and to maintain each

 

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registration of the Borrower Intellectual Property, including, filing of applications for renewal, affidavits of use and affidavits of incontestability, except in each case to the extent that failure to do so would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

6.07 Maintenance of Insurance.

(a) Maintain insurance with financially sound and reputable insurance companies insurance on all its material Property in at least such amounts and against at least such risks (but including in any event public liability, product liability and business interruption) as are usually insured against in the same general area by companies engaged in the same or a similar business. All such insurance shall, to the extent customary (but in any event, not including business interruption insurance and personal injury insurance) (i) provide that no cancellation thereof shall be effective until at least 10 days after receipt by the Agent of written notice thereof and (ii) name the Agent as insured party or loss payee.

(b) If any portion of any Property subject to a Mortgage is at any time located in an area identified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (or any successor agency) as a special flood hazard area with respect to which flood insurance has been made available under the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (as now or hereafter in effect or successor act thereto), then the Borrower shall, or shall cause each Loan Party to (i) maintain, or cause to be maintained, with a financially sound and reputable insurer, flood insurance in an amount and otherwise sufficient to comply with all applicable rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to the Flood Insurance Laws and (ii) deliver to the Agent evidence of such compliance in form and substance reasonably acceptable to the Agent.

(c) (i) Cause fire and extended coverage policies maintained with respect to any Collateral to be endorsed or otherwise amended to include (A) a non-contributing mortgage clause (regarding improvements to real estate) and lenders’ loss payable clause (regarding personal property), in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Agent, which endorsements or amendments shall provide that the insurer shall pay all proceeds otherwise payable to the Loan Parties under the policies directly to the Agent, (B) a provision to the effect that none of the Loan Parties, Credit Parties or any other Person shall be a co-insurer and (C) such other provisions as the Agent may reasonably require from time to time to protect the interests of the Credit Parties, (ii) cause commercial general liability policies to be endorsed to name the Agent as an additional insured, (iii) cause business interruption policies to name the Agent as a loss payee, and (iv) cause each such policy referred to in this Section 6.07 to also provide that it shall not be canceled, modified or not renewed (A) by reason of nonpayment of premium except upon not less than ten (10) days’ prior written notice thereof by the insurer to the Agent (giving the Agent the right to cure defaults in the payment of premiums) or (B) for any other reason except upon not less than thirty (30) days’ prior written notice thereof by the insurer to the Agent.

(d) Deliver to the Agent, prior to the cancellation, modification materially adverse to the Lenders or non-renewal of any such policy of insurance, notice of such cancellation, modification or non-renewal and, if requested by the Agent, a copy of a renewal or replacement policy (or other evidence of renewal of a policy previously delivered to the Agent, including an insurance binder) together with evidence reasonably satisfactory to the Agent of payment of the premium therefor

 

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6.08 Compliance with Requirements of Laws.

Comply in all material respects with the Requirements of Laws and all orders, writs, injunctions and decrees applicable to it or to its business or property, except if the failure to comply therewith could not reasonably be expected individually or in the aggregate to have a Material Adverse Effect.

6.09 [Reserved].

6.10 Inspection Rights.

(a) (i) Keep proper books of records and account in which full, true and correct entries in conformity with GAAP and all applicable Requirement of Law shall be made of all material dealings and transactions in relation to its business and activities, (ii) permit representatives of any Lender to visit and inspect any of its properties (in the case of any real property lease, to the extent permitted in the relevant lease agreement) and examine and make abstracts from any of its books and records upon reasonable prior notice and during normal business hours ( provided that such visits shall be coordinated by the Agent), (iii) permit representatives of any Lender to have reasonable discussions regarding the business, operations, properties and financial and other condition of the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries with officers and employees of the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries, and (provided that any Lender shall coordinate any request for such discussions through the Agent), (iv) permit representatives of the Agent to have reasonable discussions regarding the business, operations, properties and financial and other condition of the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries with its independent certified public accountants; provided that a Responsible Officer of the Parent or the Borrower shall be present during such discussion and any such discussions with the Parent’s independent certified public accountants at the Parent’s expense shall, except while an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing, be limited to one meeting per calendar year; provided , however , that when an Event of Default exists the Agent (or any of its representatives or independent contractors) may do any of the foregoing at the expense of the Loan Parties at any time during normal business hours with reasonable prior notice.

(b) Upon the request of the Agent after reasonable prior written notice, permit the Agent or professionals (including investment bankers, consultants, accountants, lawyers and appraisers) retained by the Agent to conduct commercial finance examinations and inventory appraisals, including, without limitation, of (i) the Borrower’s practices in the computation of the Borrowing Base and (ii) the assets included in the Borrowing Base and related financial information such as, but not limited to, sales, gross margins, payables, accruals and reserves. Subject to the immediately succeeding sentence, the Loan Parties shall pay the reasonable and documented out-of-pocket fees and expenses of the Agent and such professionals with respect to such examinations and inventory appraisals. The Agent may conduct (A) one (1) commercial finance examination and one (1) inventory appraisal in any twelve month period at the Borrower’s expense, provided that , in the event that Excess Availability is less than 25% of the Loan Cap for longer than three (3) consecutive Business Days, the Agent may undertake two (2) commercial finance examinations and two (2) inventory appraisals in any twelve month period at the Borrower’s expense, and (B) one (1) additional commercial finance examination and one (1) additional inventory appraisal in any twelve month period as the Agent may require at the expense of the Lenders, and (C) additional commercial finance examinations and inventory appraisals as the Agent may require in its reasonable discretion if a Specified Event of Default has occurred and is continuing, at the expense of the Borrower.

6.11 Additional Collateral and Additional Loan Parties. (a) With respect to any Property (other than Excluded Property (as defined in the Security Documents)) located in the United States acquired after the Closing Date by any Loan Party (other than (x) any interests in real property and any Property described in paragraph (b) of this Section 6.11 , (y) any Property subject to a Lien expressly

 

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permitted by Section 7.01(g) and (z) Instruments, Certificated Securities, Securities and Chattel Paper, which are referred to in the last sentence of this paragraph (a)) as to which the Agent for the benefit of the Secured Parties does not have a perfected Lien, promptly (i) give notice of such Property to the Agent and execute and deliver to the Agent such amendments to the Security Documents or such other documents as the Agent reasonably requests to grant to the Agent for the benefit of the Secured Parties a security interest in such Property and (ii) take all actions reasonably requested by the Agent to grant to the Agent for the benefit of the Secured Parties a perfected security interest (to the extent required by the Security Documents and with the priority required hereunder) in such Property (with respect to Property of a type owned by a Loan Party as of the Closing Date to the extent the Agent for the benefit of the Secured Parties, has a perfected security interest in such Property as of the Closing Date), including, without limitation, if applicable, the filing of Uniform Commercial Code financing statements in such jurisdictions as may be required by the Security Documents or by law or as may be reasonably requested by the Agent. Any Instrument, Certificated Security (other than in respect of the Equity Interests of any Subsidiary to the extent that the delivery of certificates representing such Equity Interests are not otherwise required to be delivered pursuant to clause (c)  or (d)  below), Security or Chattel Paper in excess of $500,000 shall be promptly delivered to the Agent indorsed in a manner reasonably satisfactory to the Agent to be held as Collateral pursuant to the relevant Security Document.

(b) With respect to any fee interest in any real property located in the United States having a value (together with improvements thereof) of at least $2,000,000 acquired after the Closing Date by any Loan Party (other than any such real property subject to a Lien expressly permitted by Section 7.01(g) ), (i) give notice of such acquisition to the Agent and execute and deliver a first priority Mortgage (subject to Liens permitted by Section 7.01 ) in favor of the Agent for the benefit of the Secured Parties, covering such real property ( provided that no Mortgage nor survey shall be obtained if the Agent determines in consultation with the Borrower that the costs of obtaining such Mortgage or survey are excessive in relation to the value of the security to be afforded thereby), (ii) provide the Lenders with (1) a lenders’ title insurance policy with extended coverage covering such real property in an amount at least equal to the purchase price of such real property (or such other amount as shall be reasonably specified by the Agent) as well as (2) “Life-of-Loan” flood hazard determination (together with an executed notice to the Borrower) and evidence of flood insurance, if applicable and (3) a current ALTA survey thereof, together with a surveyor’s certificate unless the title insurance policy referred to above shall not contain an exception for any matter shown by a survey (except to the extent an existing survey has been provided and specifically incorporated into such title insurance policy) and shall include all reasonably requested survey-related endorsements, each in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Agent, and (iii) deliver to the Agent legal opinions relating to the matters described above, which opinions shall be in form and substance, and from counsel, reasonably satisfactory to the Agent.

(c) With respect to any new Domestic Subsidiary that is a Material Subsidiary (and is not an Unrestricted Subsidiary) created or acquired after the Closing Date (which, for the purposes of this paragraph, shall include (x) any previously non-wholly owned Domestic Subsidiary that becomes wholly owned and is a Material Subsidiary (and is not an Unrestricted Subsidiary) and (y) any Domestic Subsidiary that was previously an Immaterial Subsidiary or an Unrestricted Subsidiary and becomes a Material Subsidiary (and is not an Unrestricted Subsidiary) or a Restricted Subsidiary, as applicable) by any Loan Party, promptly (i) give notice of such acquisition or creation to the Agent and, if requested by the Agent, execute and deliver to the Agent such amendments to the Security Documents or such other documents as the Agent reasonably deems necessary to grant to the Agent for the benefit of the Secured Parties a perfected security interest (to the extent required by the Security Documents and with the priority required hereby) in the Equity Interests of such new Subsidiary that is owned by such Loan Party, (ii) deliver to the Agent copies the certificates, if any, representing such

 

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Equity Interests, together with undated stock powers, in blank, executed and delivered by a duly authorized officer of such Loan Party (with originals to be delivered to the Term Agent), and (iii) if such new Subsidiary is a wholly owned Domestic Subsidiary (and is not an Unrestricted Subsidiary or an Immaterial Subsidiary), cause such new Subsidiary (A) to provide a Facility Guaranty and become a party to the Security Documents and (B) to take such actions necessary or advisable to grant to the Agent for the benefit of the Secured Parties a perfected security interest (to the extent required by the Security Documents and with the priority required hereby) in the Collateral described in the Security Documents with respect to such new Subsidiary (to the extent the Agent, for the benefit of the Secured Parties, has a perfected security interest in the same type of Collateral as of the Closing Date), including, without limitation, if applicable, the filing of Uniform Commercial Code financing statements in such jurisdictions as may be required by the Security Documents or by law or as may be reasonably requested by the Agent.

(d) With respect to any new first tier Foreign Subsidiary that is a Material Subsidiary (and is not an Unrestricted Subsidiary) created or acquired after the Closing Date (which, for the purposes of this paragraph, shall include any first-tier Foreign Subsidiary that previously was an Immaterial Subsidiary or an Unrestricted Subsidiary and becomes a Material Subsidiary or a Restricted Subsidiary, as applicable) by any Loan Party, promptly (i) give notice of such acquisition or creation to the Agent and, if requested by the Agent, execute and deliver to the Agent such amendments to the Security Documents or such other documents as the Agent deems necessary or reasonably advisable in order to grant to the Agent, for the benefit of the Secured Parties, a perfected security interest (to the extent required by the Security Documents and with the priority required hereby) in the Equity Interests of such new Subsidiary that is owned by such Loan Party ( provided that in no event shall more than 65% of the total outstanding voting Equity Interests of any Foreign Subsidiary be required to be so pledged except to the extent such Foreign Subsidiary is a Loan Party hereunder), and, if applicable, (ii) to the extent permitted by applicable law, deliver to the Agent copies of the certificates, if any, representing such Equity Interests, together with undated stock powers, in blank, executed and delivered by a duly authorized officer of such Loan Party (with originals to be delivered to the Term Agent), and take such other action as may be necessary or, in the reasonable opinion of the Agent, necessary to perfect or ensure appropriate priority the Lien of the Agent thereon.

Notwithstanding any provision set forth herein or in any other Loan Documents to the contrary, in no event shall (x) any Foreign Subsidiary be required to guarantee the obligations of the Borrower or any Domestic Subsidiary, (y) the assets of any Foreign Subsidiary constitute security or secure, or such assets or the proceeds of such assets be required to be available for, payment of the obligations of the Borrower or any Domestic Subsidiary, or (z) more than 65% of the voting stock of any Foreign Subsidiary directly held by the Borrower and its Domestic Subsidiaries be required to be pledged to secure the obligations of the Borrower or any Domestic Subsidiary.

In no event shall compliance with this Section 6.11 waive or be deemed a waiver or Consent to any transaction giving rise to the need to comply with this Section 6.11 if such transaction was not otherwise expressly permitted by this Agreement or constitute or be deemed to constitute, with respect to any Subsidiary, an approval of such Person as the Borrower or permit the inclusion of any acquired assets in the computation of the Borrowing Base.

 

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6.12 Cash Management.

(a) On or prior to the Closing Date, each of the Loan Parties shall:

(i) deliver to the Agent copies of notifications (each, a “ Credit Card Notification ”) substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit H which have been executed on behalf of such Loan Party and delivered to each of such Loan Party’s Credit Card Processors which Credit Card Processors are listed on Schedule 5.25(b) ; and

(ii) enter into a Blocked Account Agreement in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Agent with each bank at which one or more Blocked Accounts are maintained (each, a “ Blocked Account Bank ”) covering such Blocked Accounts; provided that, such Blocked Account Agreements may be put in place within sixty (60) days following the Closing Date (or such longer period as the Agent may agree in its Permitted Discretion).

(b) The Loan Parties shall ACH or wire transfer no less frequently than daily (and whether or not there are then any outstanding Obligations) to a Blocked Account subject to a Blocked Account Agreement all of the following (other than, in each case, amounts maintained in any Excluded DDA or proceeds from the sale of Inventory in the Loan Parties’ retail stores on deposit in one or more Retail DDAs):

(i) all proceeds of collections of Accounts;

(ii) all net proceeds, and all other cash payments received by a Loan Party from any Person or from any source or on account of any sale or other transaction or event;

(iii) all available cash receipts from the sale of Inventory (including without limitation, proceeds of credit card charges) and other assets (whether or not constituting Collateral); and

(iv) the then contents of each DDA (other than any Excluded DDA or Retail DDA) (net of any minimum balance, not to exceed $300,000 in the aggregate for all DDAs (other than any Excluded DDA or Retail DDA) at any time).

(c) The Loan Parties shall promptly (and, in any event, within two (2) Business Days) ACH or wire transfer (and whether or not there are then any outstanding Obligations) to a Blocked Account subject to a Blocked Account Agreement all amounts on deposit in each of the Retail DDAs to the extent that those amounts exceed: (i) $50,000 on deposit in any individual Retail DDA, or (ii) $5,000,000 on deposit in all Retail DDAs in the aggregate.

(d) Upon the occurrence and during the continuance of a Cash Dominion Event and receipt of notice from the Agent (and whether or not there are then any outstanding Obligations), in addition to the requirements set forth in clause (b)  above:

(i) the Loan Parties shall ACH or wire transfer no less frequently than daily to a concentration account maintained by the Agent at Bank of America (the “ Collection Account ”) the then contents of each DDA (other than any Excluded DDA) (net of any minimum balance, not to exceed $300,000 in the aggregate for all DDAs (other than any Excluded DDA) at any time); and

(ii) the Loan Parties shall, and shall cause each Blocked Account Bank to, ACH or wire transfer no less frequently than daily to the Collection Account the then entire ledger balance of each Blocked Account (net of any minimum balance, not to exceed $2,500 for each Blocked Account, as may be required to be kept in the subject Blocked Account by the Blocked Account Bank).

 

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The Loan Parties shall undertake all action which may be necessary to effectuate the foregoing ACH and wire transfers as and when required hereunder.

(e) The Collection Account shall at all times be under the sole dominion and control of the Agent. The Loan Parties hereby acknowledge and agree that (i) the Loan Parties have no right of withdrawal from the Collection Account, (ii) the funds on deposit in the Collection Account shall at all times be collateral security for the Obligations, and (iii) the funds on deposit in the Collection Account shall be applied as provided in this Agreement. In the event that, notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 6.12 , any Loan Party receives or otherwise has dominion and control of any such proceeds or collections while a Cash Dominion Event exists, such proceeds and collections shall be held in trust by such Loan Party for the Agent, shall not be commingled with any of such Loan Party’s other funds or deposited in any account of such Loan Party and shall, not later than the Business Day after receipt thereof, be deposited into the Collection Account or dealt with in such other fashion as such Loan Party may be instructed by the Agent. Notwithstanding the foregoing, to the extent that no Obligations are outstanding, any amounts deposited in the Collection Account shall be disbursed by the Agent to such depository accounts as may be designated by the Borrower.

(f) Upon the reasonable request of the Agent, the Loan Parties shall cause bank statements and/or other reports to be delivered to the Agent not less often than monthly, accurately setting forth all amounts deposited in each Blocked Account to ensure the proper transfer of funds as set forth above.

6.13 Cycle Counts; Physical Count .

Cause cycle counts to be undertaken, at the expense of the Loan Parties, consistent with past practices, following such methodology as is consistent with the past business practices of the Loan Parties. Cause a physical count of the Inventory to be undertaken, at the expense of the Loan Parties, no less than one time per Fiscal Year. Upon the Agent’s reasonable request therefor, the Borrower shall provide the Agent with the results of any such cycle count and/or physical count.

6.14 Environmental Laws .

Except, in each case, to the extent that the failure to do so would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect, (a) comply, and take all reasonable actions to cause any lessees and other Persons operating or occupying its properties to comply with all applicable Environmental Laws and Environmental Permits; (b) obtain and renew all Environmental Permits necessary for its operations and properties; and, (c) in each case to the extent required by applicable Environmental Laws, conduct any investigation, study, sampling and testing, and undertake any cleanup, removal, remedial or other action necessary to remove and clean up all Materials of Environmental Concern from any of its properties, in accordance with the requirements of all applicable Environmental Laws.

6.15 Further Assurances.

Maintain the security interest created by the Security Documents as a perfected security interest having at least the priority described herein (if applicable, to the extent such security interest can be perfected through the filing of UCC-1, financing statements and other filings required under applicable

 

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Requirement of Law, the Intellectual Property filings to be made pursuant to the Security Documents or the delivery of Pledged Securities required to be delivered under the Security Documents), subject to the rights of the Loan Parties under the Loan Documents to dispose of the Collateral. From time to time the Loan Parties shall execute and deliver, or cause to be executed and delivered, such additional instruments, certificates or documents, and take all such actions, as the Agent may reasonably request for the purposes of implementing or effectuating the provisions of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents, or of renewing the rights of the Secured Parties with respect to the Collateral as to which the Agent, for the ratable benefit of the Secured Parties, has a perfected Lien pursuant hereto or thereto, including, without limitation, filing any financing or continuation statements or financing change statements under the Uniform Commercial Code or other similar laws) in effect in any jurisdiction with respect to the security interests created hereby.

6.16 Post-Closing Obligations.

Perform all actions identified on Schedule 6.16 by the deadlines set forth therein as such deadlines may be extended by the Agent in its reasonable discretion.

ARTICLE VII

NEGATIVE COVENANTS

Until the Payment in Full of the Obligations, no Loan Party shall, nor shall it permit any Restricted Subsidiary to, directly or indirectly:

7.01 Liens. Create, incur, assume or suffer to exist any Lien upon any of its Property, whether now owned or hereafter acquired, except for:

(a) Liens for taxes, assessments or other governmental charges or levies not yet due or which are being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings; provided that adequate reserves with respect thereto are maintained on the books of the Borrower or its Restricted Subsidiaries, as the case may be, to the extent required by GAAP;

(b) landlords’, carriers’, warehousemen’s, mechanics’, materialmen’s, repairmen’s or other like Liens arising in the ordinary course of business which are not overdue for a period of more than 90 days, that are being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings or the existence of which, individually or in the aggregate would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect

(c) [reserved];

(d) deposits and other Liens to secure the performance of bids, trade contracts (other than for borrowed money), leases, subleases, statutory obligations, surety and appeal bonds, performance bonds and other obligations of a like nature incurred in the ordinary course of business;

(e) easements, zoning restrictions, rights-of-way, restrictions and other similar encumbrances incurred in the ordinary course of business that, in the aggregate, do not materially detract from the value of the Property subject thereto or materially interfere with the ordinary conduct of the business of the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries;

(f) Liens (i) in existence on the date hereof listed on Schedule 7.01(e) (or to the extent not listed on Schedule 7.01(f) , where the fair market value of the Property to which such Lien is attached is less than $500,000), (ii) securing Indebtedness permitted by Section 7.03(d) and (iii) created after the date hereof in connection with any refinancing, refundings, or renewals or extensions thereof permitted by

 

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Section 7.03(d) ; provided that no such Lien (other than Liens in favor of landlords filed prior to the date hereof) encumbers ABL Priority Collateral or is spread to cover any additional Property of the Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary after the Closing Date other than (y) after-acquired property that is affixed or incorporated into the property covered by such Lien or financed by such Indebtedness, and (z) proceeds and products thereof;

(g) Liens securing Indebtedness of the Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary incurred pursuant to Section 7.03(c) , 7.03(f) , 7.03(j) or 7.03(o) ; provided that in the case of any such Liens securing Indebtedness incurred pursuant to Section 7.03(c) or 7.03(j) to the extent incurred to finance Permitted Acquisitions or Investments permitted under Section 7.02 , (x) such Liens shall be created substantially concurrently with the acquisition of the assets financed by such Indebtedness, such Liens do not at any time encumber any Property of the Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary other than the Property financed by such Indebtedness (which shall not include ABL Priority Collateral) and the proceeds thereof and after-acquired property subjected to a Lien securing Indebtedness and other obligations incurred prior to such time (and which Indebtedness and other obligations are permitted hereunder) that require, pursuant to their terms at such time, a pledge of after-acquired property, it being understood that such requirement shall not be permitted to apply to any property which such requirement would not have applied but for such acquisition;

(h) Liens created pursuant to the Security Documents;

(i) any interest or title of a lessor or licensor under any leases or subleases, licenses or sublicenses entered into by the Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary in the ordinary course of its business and covering only the assets so leased or licensed, and any financing statement filed in connection with any such lease or license;

(j) Liens arising from judgments in circumstances not constituting an Event of Default under Section 8.01(g) ;

(k) Liens on Property (other than ABL Priority Collateral) acquired pursuant to a Permitted Acquisition under Section 7.02(f) (and the proceeds thereof) or Property (other than ABL Priority Collateral) of a Subsidiary Guarantor in existence at the time such Subsidiary Guarantor is acquired pursuant to a Permitted Acquisition under Section 7.02(f) and not created in contemplation thereof;

(l) Liens on Property of Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries securing Indebtedness or other obligations not prohibited by this Agreement to be incurred by such Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries;

(m) with respect to any Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries, receipt of progress payments and advances from customers in the ordinary course of business to the extent same creates a Lien on the related inventory and proceeds thereof;

(n) Liens in favor of customs and revenue authorities arising as a matter of law to secure the payment of customs duties in connection with the importation of goods;

(o) Liens arising out of consignment or similar arrangements for the sale by the Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries of goods through third parties in the ordinary course of business;

(p) Liens solely on any cash earnest money deposits made by the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries in connection with an Investment permitted by Section 7.02 ;

 

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(q) Liens deemed to exist in connection with Investments permitted by Section 7.02(b) that constitute repurchase obligations;

(r) Liens upon specific items of inventory or other goods and proceeds of any Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries arising in the ordinary course of business securing such Person’s obligations in respect of bankers’ acceptances issued or created for the account of such Person to facilitate the purchase, shipment or storage of such inventory or other goods;

(s) Liens on cash or cash equivalents securing any Hedge Agreement permitted hereunder;

(t) other Liens covering Property other than ABL Priority Collateral with respect to obligations (other than for borrowed money) that do not exceed $5,000,000 in the aggregate at any one time outstanding;

(u) the rights reserved or vested in any Person by the terms of any lease, license, franchise, grant or permit held by the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries or by a statutory provision, to terminate any such lease, license, franchise, grant or permit, or to require annual or periodic payments as a condition to the continuance thereof;

(v) banker’s Liens, rights of set-off or similar rights and remedies as to deposit accounts or other funds maintained with a depositary institution;

(w) Liens arising from Uniform Commercial Code financing statement regarding operating leases or consignments entered into by the Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries in the ordinary course of business;

(x) Liens (i) of a collection bank arising under Section 4-210 of the Uniform Commercial Code on items in the course of collection, (ii) attaching to commodity trading accounts or other commodities brokerage accounts incurred in the ordinary course of business; and (iii) in favor of a banking institution arising as a matter of law encumbering deposits, securities and movables) and which are within the general parameters customary in the banking industry;

(y) Liens encumbering reasonable customary initial deposits and margin deposits and similar Liens attaching to commodity trading accounts or other brokerage accounts incurred in the ordinary course of business and not for speculative purposes;

(z) Liens that are contractual rights of set-off (i) relating to the establishment of depository relations with banks not given in connection with the issuance of Indebtedness, (ii) relating to pooled deposit or sweep accounts of the Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary to permit satisfaction of overdraft or similar obligations incurred in the ordinary course of business of the Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries or (iii) relating to purchase orders and other agreements entered into by the Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary in the ordinary course of business;

(aa) Liens solely on any cash earnest money deposits made by the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries in connection with any letter of intent or purchase agreement not prohibited hereunder;

(bb) Liens arising by operation of law under Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code in favor of a reclaiming seller of goods or buyer of goods;

 

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(cc) security given to a public or private utility or any governmental authority as required in the ordinary course of business;

(dd) Liens on securities which are the subject of repurchase agreements incurred in the ordinary course of business; and

(ee) so long as the same is subject to the Intercreditor Agreement, Liens on Collateral securing Indebtedness incurred pursuant to Section 7.03(u) and any other “Obligations” as defined in the Term Facility.

7.02 Investments. Make any advance, loan, extension of credit (by way of guaranty or otherwise) or capital contribution to, or purchase any Equity Interests, bonds, notes, debentures or other debt securities of, or all or substantially all of the assets constituting an ongoing business from, or make any other investment in, any other Person, other than guarantees of operating leases in the ordinary course of business (all of the foregoing, “ Investments ”), except:

(a) extensions of trade credit in the ordinary course of business;

(b) Investments in Cash Equivalents;

(c) Investments arising in connection with the incurrence of Indebtedness permitted by Sections 7.03(b) , (e)  and (h) ;

(d) loans and advances to employees of the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries in the ordinary course of business in an aggregate amount (for the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower and all such Restricted Subsidiaries) not to exceed $2,000,000 (excluding (for purposes of such cap) travel and entertainment expenses, but including relocation expenses) at any one time outstanding;

(e) Investments (other than those relating to the incurrence of Indebtedness permitted by Section 7.03(c) ) by the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries in the Borrower or any Person that, prior to such Investment, is a Subsidiary Guarantor or is a Subsidiary that becomes a Subsidiary Guarantor at the time of such Investment;

(f) Permitted Acquisitions by the Borrower;

(g) loans by the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to the officers or directors of the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries in connection with management incentive plans; provided that such loans represent cashless transactions pursuant to which such officers or directors directly invest the proceeds of such loans in the Equity Interests of the Parent;

(h) as long as no Specified Event of Default has occurred and is continuing, Investments by the Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries in joint ventures or similar arrangements in an aggregate amount (for the Borrower and all Restricted Subsidiaries) not to exceed $5,000,000 at any one time outstanding;

(i) Investments (including debt obligations) received in the ordinary course of business by the Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary in connection with the bankruptcy or reorganization of suppliers and customers and in settlement of delinquent obligations of, and other disputes with, customers and suppliers arising out of the ordinary course of business;

 

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(j) Investments by any Non-Guarantor Subsidiary in any other Non-Guarantor Subsidiary;

(k) Investments in existence on the Closing Date and listed on Schedule 7.02 ;

(l) Investments of the Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary under Hedge Agreements permitted hereunder;

(m) Investments of any Person in existence at the time such Person becomes a Restricted Subsidiary; provided that such Investment was not made in connection with or anticipation of such Person becoming a Restricted Subsidiary; provided , that Investments in Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries and joint ventures permitted under this clause (m) shall be subject to the baskets applicable thereto in Sections 7.02(h) and 7.02(o) ;

(n) Subsidiaries of the Borrower may be established or created, if (i) to the extent such new Subsidiary is a Domestic Subsidiary, the Borrower and such Subsidiary comply with the provisions of Section 6.11(c) and (ii) to the extent such new Subsidiary is a Foreign Subsidiary, the Borrower complies with the provisions of Section 6.11(d) ; provided that, in each case, to the extent such new Subsidiary is created solely for the purpose of consummating a merger transaction pursuant to an acquisition or Investment permitted by Section 7.02(f) , 7.02(p) , 7.02(w) or 7.02(x) , and such new Subsidiary at no time holds any assets or liabilities other than any merger consideration contributed to it contemporaneously with the closing of such merger transactions, such new Subsidiary shall not be required to take the actions set forth in Section 6.11(c) or 6.11(d) , as applicable, until the respective acquisition is consummated (at which time the surviving entity of the respective merger transaction shall be required to so comply within ten Business Days);

(o) as long as no Specified Event of Default has occurred and is continuing, Investments by the Borrower or any Subsidiary Guarantor in any Non-Guarantor Subsidiary in an aggregate amount (for the Borrower and all Subsidiary Guarantors) not to exceed $5,000,000 less the amount of Indebtedness incurred pursuant to Section 7.03(h) at any time outstanding;

(p) Investments arising directly out of the receipt by the Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary of non-cash consideration for any sale of assets (other than assets of the type included in the Borrowing Base) permitted under Section 7.05 ; provided that such non-cash consideration shall in no event exceed 25% of the total consideration received for such sale;

(q) Investments resulting from pledges and deposits referred to in Sections 7.02(c) and (d);

(r) the forgiveness or conversion to equity of any Indebtedness permitted by Section 7.03(b) , (e)  or (h) ;

(s) any Investment in a Foreign Subsidiary to the extent such Investment is substantially contemporaneously repaid in full with a dividend or other distribution from such Foreign Subsidiary;

(t) Guarantee Obligations permitted by Section 7.03 and any payments made in respect of such Guarantees Obligations; and

(u) other Investments of the types not described above, provided that the Payment Conditions are satisfied at the time of making any such Investment.

It is further understood and agreed that for purposes of determining the value of any Investment outstanding for purposes of this Section 7.02 , such amount shall deemed to be the amount of such Investment when made, purchased or acquired less any returns on such Investment (not to exceed the original amount invested).

 

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7.03 Indebtedness. Create, issue, incur, assume, or suffer to exist any Indebtedness, except:

(a) Indebtedness of the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower or any Subsidiary Guarantor pursuant to any Loan Document or Hedge Agreements;

(b) Indebtedness (i) of the Borrower to any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, (ii) of any Subsidiary Guarantor to the Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary, and (iii) of any Non-Guarantor Subsidiary to any other Non-Guarantor Subsidiary; provided that (x) in the case of Indebtedness owing to a Loan Party, such Indebtedness shall be evidenced by one or more promissory notes that are pledged to the Agent (or the Term Agent in accordance with the terms of the Intercreditor Agreement) for the benefit of the Secured Parties pursuant to the Guarantee and Collateral Agreement and (y) in the case of any Indebtedness owing by a Loan Party to a Restricted Subsidiary that is not a Subsidiary Guarantor, (A) such Indebtedness shall be on subordination terms reasonably satisfactory to the Agent and (B) such Indebtedness shall be otherwise permitted under the provisions of Section 7.02.

(c) (i) Indebtedness (including, without limitation, Capital Lease Obligations) secured by Liens permitted by Section 7.01(g) in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed, together with any Permitted Amendment or Refinancing referred to in the following clause (iii) hereof, $10,000,000 at any one time outstanding; (ii) Indebtedness arising out of sale and leaseback transactions permitted by Section 7.15 ; and (iii) any Permitted Amendment or Refinancing of any of the foregoing;

(d) Indebtedness outstanding on the date hereof and listed on Schedule 7.03(d) and any Permitted Amendment or Refinancing thereof;

(e) Guarantee Obligations (i) by the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries of obligations of the Borrower or any Subsidiary Guarantor, (ii) by any Non-Guarantor Subsidiary of obligations of any Non-Guarantor Subsidiary or (iii) by Parent of lease obligations of Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary;

(f) Indebtedness of Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries in respect of local lines of credit, letters of credit, bank guarantees, factoring arrangements, sale/leaseback transactions and similar extensions of credit in the ordinary course of business not to exceed at any one time outstanding an aggregate principal amount equal to $5,000,000;

(g) Indebtedness of the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries arising from the honoring by a bank or other financial institution of a check, draft or similar instrument inadvertently drawn by the Borrower or such Restricted Subsidiary in the ordinary course of business against insufficient funds, so long as such Indebtedness is promptly repaid;

(h) (i) Indebtedness of any Non-Guarantor Subsidiary to the Borrower or any Subsidiary Guarantor and (ii) Guarantee Obligations of the Borrower or any Subsidiary Guarantor of Indebtedness of any Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries, in an aggregate principal amount for all such Indebtedness and, without duplication, Guarantee Obligations not to exceed, together with any Investments under Section 7.02(p) , $5,000,000 at any one time outstanding;

(i) additional Indebtedness of the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries in an aggregate principal amount (for the Borrower and all Restricted Subsidiaries) not to exceed $10,000,000 at any one time outstanding; provided that up to $5,000,000 of such indebtedness may be secured by Liens permitted by Section 7.01(t) ;

 

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(j) Indebtedness under a Permitted Seller Note issued as consideration in connection with an acquisition permitted under Section 7.02(f) , in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed, together with any Permitted Amendment or Refinancing referred to in this clause (j) $10,000,000 at any one time outstanding together with any Permitted Amendment or Refinancing thereof; provided that any such Indebtedness shall be subordinated to the Obligations in a manner reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent;

(k) Indebtedness of the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries in respect of workers’ compensation claims, health, disability or other employee benefits, property casualty or liability insurance, take-or-pay obligations in supply arrangements, self-insurance obligations, performance, bid and surety bonds and completion guaranties, in each case in the ordinary course of business;

(l) Indebtedness incurred by the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries arising from agreements providing for indemnification or adjustment of purchase price or similar obligations in any case incurred in connection with an acquisition or other Investment permitted by Section 7.02(f) or the disposition of any business, assets or Restricted Subsidiary;

(m) unsecured, senior, senior subordinated or subordinated Indebtedness of Parent, Holdings, the Borrower (including guarantees thereof by any Subsidiary Guarantor) (such Indebtedness and/or guarantees incurred under this clause (m) or any Permitted Amendment or Refinancing thereof being collectively referred to as the “ Junior Indebtedness ”); provided that (i) no scheduled principal payments, prepayments, redemptions or sinking fund or like payments of any Junior Indebtedness shall be required prior to the date at least 180 days after the then Latest Maturity Date), (ii) the terms of any Junior Indebtedness shall be usual and customary for high yield securities, (iii) no Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing at the time of incurrence of such Indebtedness or would result therefrom, (iv) in the case of Junior Indebtedness that is subordinated Indebtedness, (A) the terms of subordination applicable to any Junior Indebtedness shall be reasonably satisfactory to the Agent and shall, in any event, define “senior indebtedness” or a similar phrase for purposes thereof to include all of the Obligations of the Loan Parties and (B) after giving effect to the incurrence of such Junior Indebtedness, the Parent shall be in compliance with Section 7.18 , calculated on a pro forma basis for the period as if such Junior Indebtedness had been incurred on the first day of such period ending on or prior to such date) and (v) in the case of Junior Indebtedness that is unsecured senior Indebtedness, after giving effect to the incurrence of such Junior Indebtedness, the Parent shall be in compliance with Section 7.18 , calculated on a pro forma basis as if such Junior Indebtedness had been incurred on the first day of such period ending on or prior to such date);

(n) other unsecured Indebtedness of the Borrower; provided that (i) no scheduled principal payments, prepayments, redemptions or sinking fund or like payments of any Unsecured Indebtedness shall be required prior to the date at least 180 days after the Maturity Date, (ii) the terms of any such unsecured Indebtedness shall be usual and customary for high yield securities, (iii) no Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing at the time of incurrence of such Indebtedness or would result therefrom, and (iv) after giving effect to the incurrence of such unsecured Indebtedness, the Payment Conditions shall be satisfied;

(o) Indebtedness of any Person that becomes a Restricted Subsidiary as part of a Permitted Acquisition or any Investment permitted by Section 7.02 after the Closing Date and any Permitted Amendment or Refinancing thereof; provided that (A) such acquired Indebtedness exists at the time such

 

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Person becomes a Restricted Subsidiary and is not created in contemplation of or in connection with such Person becoming a Restricted Subsidiary (except to the extent such acquired Indebtedness refinanced (and did not increase principal (except for accrued interest and premium (including tender premiums and make whole amounts) thereon plus other reasonable and customary fees and expenses including upfront fees, original issue discount and defeasance costs) or shorten maturity during the term of this Agreement) other Indebtedness to facilitate such entity becoming a Restricted Subsidiary), (B) the aggregate principal amount of Indebtedness permitted by this clause (o)(i) shall not at any one time outstanding exceed together with any Permitted Amendment or Refinancing referred to in the following clause (ii) hereof, $5,000,000 and (ii) any Permitted Amendment or Refinancing;

(p) [reserved];

(q) [reserved];

(r) Indebtedness consisting of promissory notes issued by the Borrower or any Guarantor to current or former officers, consultants and directors or employees, their respective estates, spouses or former spouses to finance the purchase or redemption of Equity Interests of the Parent or Holdings issued in lieu of cash payment; provided that such purchase or redemption is permitted under Section 7.06 ;

(s) Indebtedness of the Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary consisting of the financing of insurance premiums in the ordinary course of business;

(t) guaranties in the ordinary course of business of the obligations of suppliers, customers, franchisees and licensees of the Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries;

(u) Indebtedness of a Borrower or a Guarantor in respect of the Term Facility and any Permitted Amendment or Refinancing thereof; and

(v) Indebtedness consisting of earn-outs and similar deferred consideration in consideration in connection with a Permitted Acquisition or other Investment permitted by Section 7.02 in an aggregate amount outstanding at any one time not to exceed $10,000,000.

7.04 Fundamental Changes.

Consummate any merger, consolidation or amalgamation, or liquidate, wind up or dissolve itself (or suffer any liquidation or dissolution), or Dispose of all or substantially all of its Property or business, except that:

(a) (i) any Restricted Subsidiary may be merged, amalgamated, liquidated or consolidated with or into the Borrower ( provided that the Borrower shall be the continuing or surviving corporation) or (ii) any Restricted Subsidiary may be merged, amalgamated, liquidated or consolidated with or into any Subsidiary Guarantor ( provided that (x) a Subsidiary Guarantor shall be the continuing or surviving corporation or (y) simultaneously with such transaction, the continuing or surviving corporation shall become a Subsidiary Guarantor and the Borrower shall comply with Section 6.11 in connection therewith);

(b) any Non-Guarantor Subsidiary may be merged or consolidated with or into, or be liquidated into, any other Non-Guarantor Subsidiary;

 

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(c) any Non-Guarantor Subsidiary may Dispose of all or substantially all of its assets (upon voluntary liquidation, dissolution, winding-up or otherwise) to any Restricted Subsidiary;

(d) Dispositions permitted by Section 7.05 may be consummated;

(e) any Investment expressly permitted by Section 7.02 may be structured as a merger, consolidation or amalgamation;

(f) any Excluded Subsidiary may be dissolved or liquidated; and

(g) So long as no Default or Event of Default is continuing or would result therefrom, Holdings may be merged with and into Vince, with Vince being the surviving entity in such merger.

7.05 Dispositions. Dispose of any of its owned Property (including, without limitation, receivables) whether now owned or hereafter acquired, or, in the case of any Restricted Subsidiary, issue or sell any shares of such Restricted Subsidiary’s Equity Interests to any Person, except:

(a) the Disposition of surplus, obsolete or worn out property in the ordinary course of business;

(b) (i) the sale of inventory in the ordinary course of business, (ii) the cross-licensing or licensing of Intellectual Property, in the ordinary course of business and (iii) the contemporaneous exchange, in the ordinary course of business, of Property for Property of a like kind (other than as set forth in clause (ii)), to the extent that the Property received in such exchange is of a value equivalent to the value of the Property exchanged ( provided that after giving effect to such exchange, the value of the Property of the Borrower or any Subsidiary Guarantor subject to perfected first priority Liens in favor of the Agent under the Security Documents is not materially reduced, and provided that the terms of such licenses shall not restrict the right of the Agent to use such Intellectual Property in connection with the conduct of a Liquidation);

(c) Dispositions permitted by Section 7.04 ;

(d) (i) the Disposition of other assets not constituting ABL Priority Collateral, so long as at least (i) 75% of the consideration received by the disposing Person is cash or Cash Equivalents, (ii) any such Disposition is made for fair market value, as determined in good faith and approved by the board of directors or similar governing body of the disposing Person and (ii) any Recovery Event;

(e) the sale or issuance of any Subsidiary’s Equity Interests to the Borrower or any Subsidiary Guarantor; provided that the sale or issuance of Equity Interests of an Unrestricted Subsidiary to the Borrower or any Subsidiary Guarantor is otherwise permitted by Section 7.02 ;

(f) bulk sales or other dispositions of Inventory of a Loan Party not in the ordinary course of business, at arms’ length, in connection with (i) Permitted Store Closings and (ii) additional store closings not to exceed in any Fiscal Year of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries, 10% of the total number of stores in existence on the first day of such Fiscal Year so long as, with respect to any store closing permitted under this subclause (ii) , a new store is opened within twelve (12) months of such store closing and no more than thirty (30) miles from the location of the store that is closed (it being understood and agreed that any new store opened under this subclause (ii)  in the Fiscal Year following the year in which the store it replaced closed shall not be included in the “net” calculation referenced in the parenthetical set forth in the definition of “Permitted Store Closings”);

 

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(g) the leasing, occupancy agreements or sub-leasing of Property that would not materially interfere with the required use (if any) of such Property by the Borrower or their respective Restricted Subsidiaries;

(h) the sale or discount, in each case without recourse and in the ordinary course of business, of overdue accounts receivable arising in the ordinary course of business, but only (i) in connection with the compromise or collection thereof consistent with the Borrower’s commercially reasonable business judgment (and not as part of any bulk sale or financing of receivables), and (ii) provided that, if such overdue accounts constitute Eligible Credit Card Receivables or Eligible Trade Receivables, the Borrower receives not less than the amounts borrowed or available to be borrowed under the Borrowing Base therefor;

(i) transfers of condemned property as a result of the exercise of “eminent domain” or other similar policies to the respective Governmental Authority or agency that has condemned same (whether by deed in lieu of condemnation or otherwise), and transfers of properties that have been subject to a casualty to the respective insurer of such property as part of an insurance settlement;

(j) the Disposition of any Immaterial Subsidiary or any Unrestricted Subsidiary or their respective assets;

(k) the transfer of Property (i) by the Borrower or any Subsidiary Guarantor to the Borrower or any other Subsidiary Guarantor provided that any such transfer made by any Loan Party in a Foreign Subsidiary shall be subject to satisfaction of the Payment Conditions; or (ii) from a Non-Guarantor Subsidiary to (A) the Borrower or any Subsidiary Guarantor for no more than fair market value or (B) any other Non-Guarantor Subsidiary that is a Restricted Subsidiary; provided that any sale or issuance of Equity Interests of an Unrestricted Subsidiary to the Borrower or any Subsidiary Guarantor is otherwise permitted by Section 7.02 ;

(l) the Disposition of Cash Equivalents in the ordinary course of business;

(m) sale and leaseback transactions permitted by Section 7.15 ;

(n) Liens permitted by Section 7.01 ;

(o) Restricted Payments permitted by Section 7.06 ;

(p) the cancellation of intercompany Indebtedness among the Borrower and any Subsidiary Guarantor;

(q) Investments permitted by Section 7.02 ; and

(r) the sale or issuance of the Equity Interests of (i) any Foreign Subsidiary that is a Restricted Subsidiary to any other Foreign Subsidiary that is a Restricted Subsidiary or (ii) any Foreign Subsidiary that is an Unrestricted Subsidiary to any other Foreign Subsidiary that is an Unrestricted Subsidiary, in each case, including, without limitation, in connection with any tax restructuring activities not otherwise prohibited hereunder.

 

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7.06 Restricted Payments.

Declare or pay any dividend on, or make any payment on account of, or set apart assets for a sinking or other analogous fund for, the purchase, redemption, defeasance, retirement, cancellation, termination or other acquisition of, any Equity Interests of the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower or any Subsidiary, whether now or hereafter outstanding, or make any other distribution in respect thereof, either directly or indirectly, whether in cash or property or in obligations of the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary, or enter into any derivatives or other transaction with any financial institution, commodities or stock exchange or clearinghouse (a “ Derivatives Counterparty ”), obligating the Parent, Holdings the Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary to make payments to such Derivatives Counterparty as a result of any change in market value of any such Equity Interests (collectively, “ Restricted Payments ”), except that:

(a) any Subsidiary may make Restricted Payments, directly or indirectly, to the Borrower;

(b) Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries may make Restricted Payments to other Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries or to any Loan Party;

(c) the Loan Parties and each Subsidiary may declare and make dividend payments or other distributions payable solely in the common stock or other common Equity Interests of such Person;

(d) [Reserved]

(e) [Reserved];

(f) the Borrower may make other Restricted Payments to Holdings who, in turn, may make other Restricted Payments to the Parent to permit the Parent to make payments required under the Tax Receivable Agreement;

(g) the Borrower may make other Restricted Payments to Holdings who, in turn, may make other Restricted Payments to the Parent who, in turn, may make other Restricted Payments to its stockholders so long as the RP Conditions are satisfied;

(h) the Borrower may declare and pay cash dividends to Holdings, and Holdings may declare and pay cash dividends to the Parent, not to exceed an amount necessary to permit Holdings or the Parent, as applicable, to pay its proportionate share of (i) reasonable and customary corporate and operating expenses (including reasonable out-of-pocket expenses for legal, administrative and accounting services provided by third parties, and compensation, benefits and other amounts payable to officers and employees in connection with their employment in the ordinary course of business and to board of director observers), and (ii) franchise fees or similar taxes and fees required to maintain its corporate existence;

(i) Investments constituting Restricted Payments and permitted by Section 7.02 ;

(j) the Parent may make Restricted Payments in the form of common stock of the Parent or preferred stock of the Parent; and

(k) so long as no Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing, the Borrower may make Restricted Payments to Holdings and Holdings may make Restricted Payments to Parent, to permit Holdings or the Parent to purchase its common stock or common stock options from present or former officers, consultants and directors or employees (and their heirs, estates and assigns) of Parent, Holdings, the Borrower or any Subsidiary upon the death, disability or termination of employment of such officer or employee; provided that the aggregate amount of payments under this clause (k) in any fiscal year of the Parent shall not exceed the sum of (i) $2,000,000 plus any proceeds received from key man life insurance policies and (ii) any Restricted Payments permitted (but not made) pursuant to this clause (k) in the immediately prior fiscal year.

 

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7.07 Prepayments of Indebtedness.

Prepay, redeem, purchase, defease or otherwise satisfy prior to the scheduled maturity thereof in any manner any Indebtedness, or make any payment in violation of any subordination terms of any Junior Indebtedness, except:

(a) payments of principal (including mandatory prepayments), interest and fees as and when due in respect of any Indebtedness (other than Subordinated Indebtedness) permitted under Section 7.03 hereof;

(b) the Borrower may prepay, redeem, repurchase or defease any Junior Indebtedness with the proceeds of any Permitted Amendment or Refinancing or pursuant to any asset sale tender offers required by the terms of such Indebtedness;

(c) voluntary prepayments, repurchases, redemptions or defeasances of (i) Indebtedness permitted under Section 7.03 hereof and not described in clause (b), above, and not constituting Subordinated Indebtedness or intercompany Indebtedness, as long as the Payment Conditions are satisfied, (ii) Subordinated Indebtedness in accordance with the applicable subordination terms thereof and as long as the Payment Conditions are satisfied, and (iii) intercompany Indebtedness in accordance with the applicable subordination terms thereof; and

(d) any Permitted Amendment or Refinancing of any such Indebtedness.

7.08 Change in Nature of Business.

(a) In the case of the Parent and Holdings, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement or any other Loan Document:

(i) conduct, transact or otherwise engage in, or commit to conduct, transact or otherwise engage in, any business or operations other than (i) those incidental to its ownership of the Equity Interests of Holdings, the Borrower and (indirectly) the Subsidiaries of the Borrower and those incidental to Investments by or in the Parent or Holdings, as applicable, permitted hereunder, (ii) those incidental to the issuance of and performance under the Term Facility (or any other Indebtedness permitted under Section 7.03(p) , (q)  or (u) ) or any Permitted Amendment or Refinancing of the foregoing, (iii) activities incidental to the maintenance of its existence and compliance with applicable laws and legal, tax and accounting matters related thereto and activities relating to its employees (including but not limited to payment or reimbursement of indemnification obligations to its directors or officers and payment of board of directors fees), (iv) activities relating to the performance of obligations under the Loan Documents to which it is a party or expressly permitted thereunder, (v) engaging in activities incidental to being a public company, (vi) the receipt and payment of Restricted Payments permitted under Section 7.06 and (vii) the other transactions expressly permitted under this Section 7.08 ;

(ii) incur, create, assume or suffer to exist any Indebtedness or other liabilities or financial obligations, except (i) Indebtedness permitted by Section 7.03(m)(ii) nonconsensual obligations imposed by operation of law, (iii) pursuant to the Loan Documents to

 

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which it is a party, (iv) obligations with respect to its Equity Interests and options in respect thereof, (v) in respect of the Term Facility (or any other Indebtedness permitted under Section 7.03(p) , (q)  or (u) ) or any Permitted Amendment or Refinancing of the foregoing and (vi) obligations to its employees, officers and directors not prohibited hereunder; and (vii) guarantees permitted by 7.03(v).

(b) In the case of each of the Loan Parties, engage in any business, services, or activities substantially different from the business, services, or activities conducted by the Loan Parties and their Subsidiaries on the Closing Date or any business, service or activity incidental or directly related or similar to any business activity that is a reasonable extension, development or expansion thereof or ancillary thereto.

7.09 Transactions with Affiliates.

Enter into any transaction, including, without limitation, any purchase, sale, lease or exchange of Property, the rendering of any service or the payment of any management, advisory or similar fees, with any Affiliate (other than the Parent, Holdings the Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary) unless such transaction is (a) otherwise not prohibited under this Agreement and (b) upon fair and reasonable terms no less favorable to the Parent, Holdings the Borrower or such Restricted Subsidiary, as the case may be, than it would obtain in a comparable arm’s length transaction with a Person that is not an Affiliate. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries may without being subject to the terms of this Section 7.09 , (i) enter into any transaction with any Person which is an Affiliate of the Parent only by reason of such Person and the Parent having common directors; (ii) enter into and perform its or their obligations under the agreements set forth on Schedule 7.9 , as in effect on the Closing Date or as the same may be amended, supplemented, replaced or otherwise modified from time to time in a manner that does not materially increase the obligations of the Loan Parties thereunder, and (iii) enter into transactions with Affiliates permitted by Sections 7.02(c) , 7.02(o) , 7.02(s) , 7.03(h) , 7.03(i) , 7.03(r) , 7.04(c) , 7.05(e) , 7.05(k)(ii) and 7.06 hereof. For the avoidance of doubt, this Section 7.09 shall not apply to employment arrangements with, and payments of compensation, indemnification payments, expense reimbursement or benefits to or for the benefit of, current or former employees, officers or directors of the Parent, Holdings the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries.

7.10 Burdensome Agreements.

Enter into any agreement that prohibits or limits the ability of the Parent, Holdings the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to create, incur, assume or suffer to exist any Lien upon any of its Property or revenues, whether now owned or hereafter acquired, to secure the Obligations or, in the case of any Guarantor, its obligations under the Security Documents, other than (a) this Agreement and the other Loan Documents, the Loan Documents under (and as defined in) the Term Facility and any agreement related to any Junior Indebtedness, and any Permitted Amendment or Refinancing thereof (b) any agreements governing any secured Indebtedness otherwise permitted hereby (in which case, any prohibition or limitation shall only be effective against the assets financed thereby and the proceeds thereof), (c) software and other Intellectual Property licenses pursuant to which the Parent, Holdings the Borrower or such Restricted Subsidiary is the licensee or licensor of the relevant software or Intellectual Property, as the case may be, (in which case, any prohibition or limitation shall relate only to the assets subject of the applicable license), (d) Contractual Obligations incurred in the ordinary course of business and on customary terms which limit Liens on the assets subject of the applicable Contractual Obligation or impose restrictions on cash or other deposits with respect thereto, (e) any agreements regarding Indebtedness of any Non-Guarantor Subsidiary not prohibited under Section 7.02 (in which case, any prohibition or limitation shall only be effective against the assets of such Non-Guarantor Subsidiary and

 

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its Subsidiaries), (f) prohibitions and limitations in effect on the date hereof and listed on Schedule 7.10 , (g) customary provisions contained in joint venture agreements and other similar agreements applicable to joint ventures entered into in the ordinary course of business, (h) customary provisions restricting the subletting or assignment of any lease governing a leasehold interest, (i) customary restrictions and conditions contained in any agreement relating to an asset sale permitted by Section 7.04 or 7.05 (j) any agreement in effect at the time any Person becomes a Subsidiary, so long as such agreement was not entered into in contemplation of such Person becoming a Subsidiary, and (k) any restrictions on Liens imposed by any amendments, modifications, restatements, renewals, increases, supplements, refundings, replacements or refinancings of the contracts, instruments or obligations referred to in clauses (f) and (j) above; provided that such amendments, modifications, restatements, renewals, increases, supplements, refundings, replacements or refinancings are, in the good faith judgment of the Borrower, no more restrictive with respect to such encumbrance and other restrictions than those prior to such amendment, modification, restatement, renewal, increase, supplement, refunding, replacement or refinancing.

7.11 Use of Proceeds.

Use the proceeds of any Credit Extension, whether directly or indirectly, and whether immediately, incidentally or ultimately, (a) to purchase or carry margin stock (within the meaning of Regulation U of the FRB) or to extend credit to others for the purpose of purchasing or carrying margin stock or to refund Indebtedness originally incurred for such purpose, or (b) for any purposes other than (i) the acquisition of working capital assets in the ordinary course of business, (ii) to finance Capital Expenditures of the Loan Parties and their Subsidiaries, and (iii) for general corporate purposes (including Permitted Acquisitions), in each case to the extent expressly permitted under Requirements of Law and the Loan Documents.

7.12 Amendment of Material Documents; Designation of Indebtedness .

(a) Amend, modify or otherwise change, or consent or agree to any amendment, modification, waiver or other change to (i) any agreement or instrument governing or evidencing Junior Indebtedness in any manner that is materially adverse to the Lenders without the prior consent of the Agent (which shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed).

7.13 Fiscal Year .

Change the Fiscal Year of any Loan Party, or, other than as permitted pursuant to Section 1.03 , the accounting policies or reporting practices of the Loan Parties, except as required by GAAP.

7.14 Deposit Accounts; Credit Card Processors .

Open new DDAs (other than Excluded DDAs and Retail DDAs) unless the Loan Parties shall have delivered to the Agent appropriate Blocked Account Agreements consistent with the provisions of Section 6.12 and otherwise satisfactory to the Agent. No Loan Party shall maintain any bank accounts or enter into any agreements with Credit Card Issuers or Credit Card Processors other than the ones expressly contemplated herein or in Section 6.12 hereof.

7.15 Sales and Leasebacks.

Enter into any arrangement with any Person providing for the leasing by the Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary of real or personal property which is to be sold or transferred by the Borrower or such Restricted Subsidiary (a) to such Person or (b) to any other Person to whom funds have been or are

 

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to be advanced by such Person on the security of such property or rental obligations of the Borrower or such Restricted Subsidiary, except for (i) sales or transfers that do not exceed $5,000,000 in the aggregate at any one time outstanding, (ii) sales or transfers by the Borrower or any Subsidiary Guarantor to the Borrower or any other Subsidiary Guarantor and (iii) sales or transfers by any Non-Guarantor Subsidiary to any other Non-Guarantor Subsidiary that is a Restricted Subsidiary.

7.16 Clauses Restricting Subsidiary Distributions.

Enter into any consensual encumbrance or restriction on the ability of any Restricted Subsidiary to (a) make Restricted Payments in respect of any Equity Interests of such Restricted Subsidiary held by, or pay any Indebtedness owed to, the Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary or (b) make Investments in the Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary, except for such encumbrances or restrictions existing under or by reason of (i) any restrictions existing under the Loan Documents, (ii) any restrictions with respect to such Restricted Subsidiary imposed pursuant to an agreement that has been entered into in connection with the Disposition of all or substantially all of the Equity Interests or assets of such Restricted Subsidiary, (iii) any restrictions set forth in the documentation for the Term Facility or any Junior Indebtedness or any Permitted Amendment or Refinancing of any of the foregoing, (iv) any restrictions contained in agreements related to Indebtedness of (A) the Borrower or any Subsidiary Guarantor with respect to the disposition of assets securing such Indebtedness (in which case, any prohibition or limitation shall only be effective against the assets financed thereby and the proceeds thereof) and (B) any Non-Guarantor Subsidiary not prohibited under Section 7.02 (in which case such restriction shall relate only to such Non-Guarantor Subsidiary and its Subsidiaries), (v) any restrictions regarding licenses or sublicenses by the Borrower and its respective Restricted Subsidiaries of Intellectual Property in the ordinary course of business (in which case such restriction shall relate only to such Intellectual Property), (vi) Contractual Obligations incurred in the ordinary course of business which include customary provisions restricting the assignment of any agreement relating thereto, (vii) customary provisions contained in joint venture agreements and other similar agreements applicable to joint ventures entered into in the ordinary course of business, (viii) customary provisions restricting the subletting or assignment of any lease governing a leasehold interest, (ix) customary restrictions and conditions contained in any agreement relating to an asset sale permitted by Section 7.04 or 7.05 , (x) any agreement in effect at the time any Person becomes a Restricted Subsidiary, so long as such agreement was not entered into in contemplation of such Person becoming a Restricted Subsidiary and (xi) such restrictions in effect on the Closing Date and listed on Schedule 7.16 , (xii) negative pledges and restrictions on Liens and asset dispositions in favor of any holder of Indebtedness for borrowed money permitted under Section 7.03 but only if such negative pledge or restriction expressly permits Liens for the benefit of the Agent and the Lenders with respect to the credit facilities established hereunder and the Obligations under the Loan Documents on a senior basis and without a requirement that such holders of such Indebtedness be secured by such Liens equally and ratably or on a junior basis and (xiii) negative pledges and restrictions on Liens and asset dispositions imposed by any amendments, modifications, restatements, renewals, increases, supplements, refundings, replacements or refinancings of the contracts, instruments or obligations referred to in clauses (x) and (xi) above; provided that such amendments, modifications, restatements, renewals, increases, supplements, refundings, replacements or refinancings are, in the good faith judgment of the Borrower, no more restrictive with respect to such encumbrance and other restrictions than those prior to such amendment, modification, restatement, renewal, increase, supplement, refunding, replacement or refinancing.

 

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7.17 Limitation on Hedge Agreements.

Enter into any Hedge Agreement other than Hedge Agreements entered into in the ordinary course of business or as required hereby, and not for speculative purposes, to protect against changes in interest rates or foreign exchange rates or commodity, raw material, energy or utility prices.

7.18 Financial Covenant.

(a) Minimum Consolidated EBITDA . During the continuance of a Covenant Compliance Event, permit the Consolidated EBITDA of the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries to be less than $20,000,000, calculated as of the last day of each Fiscal Month as of the Most Recently Ended period of twelve Fiscal Months, commencing with the Fiscal Month ended on or immediately prior to the date that the Covenant Compliance Event occurs.

7.19 Tax Receivable Agreement.

Terminate, or agree to the termination of, the Tax Receivable Agreement.

ARTICLE VIII

EVENTS OF DEFAULT AND REMEDIES

8.01 Events of Default.

Any of the following shall constitute an Event of Default:

(a) Non-Payment . The Borrower or any other Loan Party fails to pay (i) any amount of principal of any Loan or any L/C Obligation, or deposit any funds as Cash Collateral in respect of L/C Obligations when and as required to be paid, or (ii) any interest, fee or any other amount payable hereunder or under any other Loan Document, in each case within five Business Days after any such interest or other amount becomes due; or

(b) Specific Covenants . Any Loan Party fails to perform or observe any term, covenant or agreement contained in any of (i)  Sections 6.01(a) , 6.01(b) , 6.02(b) , 6.03(a) , 6.05(a)(i) or Article VII , (ii)  Section 6.02(c) (after a two (2) Business Day grace period), (iii)  Section 6.01(c) (after a five (5) Business Day grace period), (iv)  Sections 6.07 , 6.10(b) or 6.12 ) provided that, if (A) any such Default described in this clause (b)(iv) is of a type that can be cured within five (5) Business Days and (B) such Default could not materially adversely impact the Agent’s Liens on the Collateral, such Default shall not constitute an Event of Default for five (5) Business Days after the occurrence of such Default so long as the Loan Parties are diligently pursuing the cure of such Default; or

(c) Other Defaults . Any Loan Party fails to perform or observe any other covenant or agreement (not specified in subsection (a) or (b) above) contained in any Loan Document on its part to be performed or observed and such failure continues for thirty (30) days after the date that such Loan Party receives from the Agent or any Lender notice of the existence of such default; or

(d) Representations and Warranties . Any representation, warranty, certification or statement of fact made or deemed made by any Loan Party herein, in any other Loan Document, or that is contained in any certificate, document or financial or other statement furnished by it at any time under or in connection with this Agreement or any such other Loan Document (including, without limitation, any Borrowing Base Certificate) shall prove to have been inaccurate in any material respect when made or deemed made; or

 

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(e) Cross-Default . The Parent, Holdings, the Borrower or any of their respective Restricted Subsidiaries shall (i) default in making any payment of any principal of any Material Indebtedness (excluding the Loans) on the scheduled or original due date with respect thereto; or (ii) default in making any payment of any interest on any such Indebtedness beyond the period of grace, if any, provided in the instrument or agreement under which such Indebtedness was created; or (iii) default in the observance or performance of any other agreement or condition relating to any such Indebtedness or contained in any instrument or agreement evidencing, securing or relating thereto, or any other event of default shall occur, the effect of which payment or other default or other event of default described in clauses (i), (ii) or (iii) of this paragraph (e) is to cause, or to permit the holder or beneficiary of such Material Indebtedness (or a trustee or agent on behalf of such holder or beneficiary) to cause, with the giving of notice if required, such Indebtedness to become due prior to its stated maturity or to become subject to a mandatory offer to purchase by the obligor thereunder or to become payable; provided that this paragraph (e) shall not apply to (A) secured Indebtedness that becomes due as a result of the sale, transfer, destruction or other disposition of the Property or assets securing such Indebtedness if such sale, transfer, destruction or other disposition is not prohibited hereunder or (B) any Guarantee Obligations except to the extent such Guarantee Obligations shall become due and payable by any Loan Party and remain unpaid after any applicable grace period or period permitted following demand for the payment thereof; provided further that no such event under the Term Facility shall constitute an Event of Default under this paragraph (e) (other than an event of default thereunder which constitutes an independent Event of Default under this Agreement without regard to the provisions of the Term Facility) until the earliest to occur of (x) the date that is sixty (60) days after such event or circumstance (but only if such event or circumstance has not been waived or cured), (y) the acceleration of the Indebtedness under the Term Facility and (z) the Exercise of Secured Creditor Remedies (as defined in the Intercreditor Agreement) by the Term Agent in respect of any Collateral; or

(f) Insolvency Proceedings, Etc. The Parent, any Loan Party or any of their respective Restricted Subsidiaries which are not Immaterial Subsidiaries shall commence any case, proceeding or other action (A) under any existing or future law of any jurisdiction, domestic or foreign, relating to bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization or relief of debtors, seeking to have an order for relief entered with respect to it, or seeking to adjudicate it a bankrupt or insolvent, or seeking reorganization, arrangement, adjustment, winding-up, liquidation, dissolution, composition or other relief with respect to it or its debts, or (B) seeking appointment of a receiver, trustee, custodian, conservator or other similar official for it or for all or any substantial part of its assets, or the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries (other than any Immaterial Subsidiary) shall make a general assignment for the benefit of its creditors; or (ii) there shall be commenced against the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries (other than any Immaterial Subsidiary) any case, proceeding, or other action of a nature referred to in clause (i) above that (A) results in the entry of an order for relief or any such adjudication or appointment or (B) remains undismissed, undischarged or unbonded for a period of 60 days; or (iii) there shall be commenced against the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries (other than any Immaterial Subsidiary) any case, proceeding, or other action seeking issuance of a warrant of attachment, execution, distraint or similar process against substantially all of its assets that results in the entry of an order for any such relief that shall not have been vacated, discharged, or stayed or bonded pending appeal within 60 days from the entry thereof; or (iv) the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries (other than any Immaterial Subsidiary) shall consent to or approve of, or acquiescence in, any of the acts set forth in clause (i), (ii), or (iii) above; or (v) the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries (other than any Immaterial Subsidiary) shall generally not, or shall be unable to, or shall admit in writing its inability to, pay its debts as they become due; or

 

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(g) Judgments . There is entered against the Parent, any Loan Party or any of their respective Restricted Subsidiaries which are not Immaterial Subsidiaries (i) one or more judgments or orders for the payment of money in an aggregate amount (as to all such judgments and orders) exceeding $15,000,000 (to the extent not paid or covered by independent third-party insurance as to which the insurer is rated at least “A” by A.M. Best Company, has been notified of the potential claim and does not dispute coverage), or (ii) any one or more non-monetary judgments that have, or could reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect and, in either case, (A) enforcement proceedings are commenced by any creditor upon such judgment or order, or (B) all such judgments or decrees shall not have been vacated, discharged, stayed or bonded pending appeal within 45 days from the entry thereof; or

(h) ERISA . (i) The Parent, Holdings, the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries shall incur any liability in connection with any non-exempt “prohibited transaction” (as defined in Section 406 of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code) involving any Plan, (ii) any “accumulated funding deficiency” (as defined in Section 302 of ERISA), whether or not waived, shall exist with respect to any Single Employer Plan or any Lien in favor of the PBGC or a Single Employer Plan shall arise on the assets of the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, (iii) a Reportable Event shall occur with respect to, or proceedings shall commence to have a trustee appointed, or a trustee shall be appointed, to administer or to terminate, any Single Employer Plan, which Reportable Event or commencement of proceedings or appointment of a trustee is reasonably likely to result in the termination of such Single Employer Plan for purposes of Title IV of ERISA, (iv) any Single Employer Plan shall terminate for purposes of Title IV of ERISA, (v) the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries shall, or is reasonably likely to, incur any liability as a result of a withdrawal from, or the Insolvency or Reorganization of, a Multiemployer Plan or (vi) any other event or condition (other than one which could not reasonably be expected to result in a violation of any applicable law or of the qualification requirements of the Code) shall occur or exist with respect to a Plan or a Commonly Controlled Plan; and in each case in clauses (i) through (vi) above, such event or condition, together with all other such events or conditions, if any, could reasonably be expected to result in a direct obligation of the Parent, Holdings, the Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to pay money that would have a Material Adverse Effect; or

(i) Invalidity of Loan Documents . (i) Any provision of any Loan Document, at any time after its execution and delivery and for any reason, other than as expressly permitted hereunder or thereunder (including as a result of a transaction permitted under Section 7.04 or 7.05 ) or as a result of acts or omissions by any Agent or any Lender or the Payment in Full of the Obligations, ceases to be in full force and effect in any material respect, or any Loan Party contests in writing the validity or enforceability of any provision of any Loan Document; or any Loan Party denies in writing that it has any or further liability or obligation under any provision of any Loan Document (other than as a result of Payment in Full of the Obligations), or purports in writing to revoke, terminate or rescind any Loan Document; or (ii) any Lien purported to be created under any Security Document shall cease to be, or shall be asserted in writing by any Loan Party not to be, a valid and perfected Lien on any material portion of the Collateral, with the priority required by (but subject to the limitations set forth in) the applicable Security Document and this Agreement except (i) as a result of the sale, release or other disposition of the applicable Collateral in a Disposition permitted by Section 7.05 or other transaction permitted under the Loan Documents, or (ii) relating to an immaterial amount of Collateral not constituting ABL Priority Collateral, or (iii) as a result of the failure of the Agent, through its acts or omissions and through no fault of the Loan Parties, to maintain the perfection of its Liens in accordance with applicable Requirement of Law; or

(j) Change of Control . There occurs any Change of Control; or

 

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(k) Cessation of Business . Except as otherwise expressly permitted hereunder, the determination of the Loan Parties, whether by vote of the Loan Parties’ board of directors or otherwise to: suspend the operation of the Loan Parties’ business in the ordinary course, liquidate all or substantially all of their assets or Store locations, or employ an agent or other third party to conduct any so-called store closing, store liquidation or “Going-Out-Of-Business” sales for all or substantially all of the Loan Parties’ stores; or

(l) Subordination . (i) The subordination provisions of the documents evidencing any Subordinated Indebtedness (or subordinated Junior Indebtedness) (collectively, the “ Subordinated Provisions ”) shall, in whole or in part, terminate, cease to be effective or cease to be legally valid, binding and enforceable against any holder of the applicable Subordinated Indebtedness; or (ii) the Borrower or any other Loan Party shall, directly or indirectly, disavow or contest in any manner (A) the effectiveness, validity or enforceability of any of the Subordination Provisions, (B) that the Subordination Provisions exist for the benefit of the Credit Parties, or (C) that all payments of principal of or premium and interest on the applicable Subordinated Indebtedness, or realized from the liquidation of any property of any Loan Party, shall be subject to any of the Subordination Provisions.

8.02 Remedies Upon Event of Default.

If any Event of Default occurs and is continuing, the Agent may, or, at the request of the Required Lenders shall, take any or all of the following actions:

(a) declare the Commitments of each Lender to make Loans and any obligation of the L/C Issuer to make L/C Credit Extensions to be terminated, whereupon such Commitments and obligations shall be terminated;

(b) declare the unpaid principal amount of all outstanding Loans, all interest accrued and unpaid thereon, and all other Obligations to be immediately due and payable, without presentment, demand, protest or other notice of any kind, all of which are hereby expressly waived by the Loan Parties;

(c) require that the Loan Parties Cash Collateralize the L/C Obligations; and

(d) whether or not the maturity of the Obligations shall have been accelerated pursuant hereto, proceed to protect, enforce and exercise all rights and remedies of the Credit Parties under this Agreement, any of the other Loan Documents or Requirement of Law, including, but not limited to, by suit in equity, action at law or other appropriate proceeding, whether for the specific performance of any covenant or agreement contained in this Agreement and the other Loan Documents or any instrument pursuant to which the Obligations are evidenced, and, if such amount shall have become due, by declaration or otherwise, proceed to enforce the payment thereof or any other legal or equitable right of the Credit Parties;

provided , however , that upon the occurrence of any Default or Event of Default with respect to any Loan Party or any Subsidiary thereof under Section 8.01(f) , the obligation of each Lender to make Loans and any obligation of the L/C Issuer to make L/C Credit Extensions shall automatically terminate, the unpaid principal amount of all outstanding Loans, all interest accrued thereon and all other Obligations shall automatically become due and payable, and the obligation of the Loan Parties to Cash Collateralize the L/C Obligations as aforesaid shall automatically become effective, in each case without further act of the Agent or any Lender.

 

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No remedy herein is intended to be exclusive of any other remedy and each and every remedy shall be cumulative and shall be in addition to every other remedy given hereunder or now or hereafter existing at law or in equity or by statute or any other Requirement of Law.

8.03 Application of Funds

(a) After the exercise of remedies provided for in Section 8.02 (or after the Loans have automatically become immediately due and payable and the L/C Obligations have automatically been required to be Cash Collateralized as set forth in the proviso to Section 8.02 ), any amounts received from any Loan Party, from the liquidation of any Collateral of any Loan Party, or on account of the Obligations, shall be applied by the Agent against the Obligations in the following order:

First , to payment of that portion of the Obligations constituting fees, indemnities, expenses and other amounts (including fees, charges and disbursements of counsel to the Agent and amounts payable under Article III ) payable to the Agent, in its capacity as such;

Second , to payment of that portion of the Obligations constituting indemnities, expenses, and other amounts (other than principal, interest and fees) payable to the Lenders and the L/C Issuer (on account of Letters of Credit) (including fees, charges and disbursements of counsel to the respective Lenders and the L/C Issuer (on account of Letters of Credit) and amounts payable under Article III ), ratably among them in proportion to the amounts described in this clause Second payable to them;

Third , to the extent not previously reimbursed by the Lenders, to payment to the Lenders of that portion of the Obligations constituting principal and accrued and unpaid interest on any Permitted Overadvances, ratably among the Lenders in proportion to the amounts described in this clause Third payable to them;

Fourth , to the extent that Swing Line Loans made to the Borrower have not been refinanced by a Committed Loan, payment to the Swing Line Lender of that portion of the Obligations constituting accrued and unpaid interest on the Swing Line Loans made to the Borrower;

Fifth , to the extent that Swing Line Loans made to the Borrower have not been refinanced by a Committed Loan, payment to the Swing Line Lender of that portion of the Obligations constituting unpaid principal on the Swing Line Loans made to the Borrower;

Sixth , to payment of that portion of the Obligations constituting accrued and unpaid interest on the Loans, L/C Borrowings and other Obligations, and fees (including Letter of Credit Fees), ratably among the Lenders and the L/C Issuer in proportion to the respective amounts described in this clause Sixth payable to them;

Seventh , to payment of that portion of the Obligations constituting unpaid principal of the Loans and L/C Borrowings, and to the Agent for the account of the L/C Issuer, to Cash Collateralize that portion of L/C Obligations comprised of the aggregate undrawn amount of Letters of Credit, ratably among the Lenders and the L/C Issuer in proportion to the respective amounts described in this clause Seventh held by them;

Eighth , to payment of all other Obligations (excluding the Other Liabilities, but including without limitation the cash collateralization of unliquidated indemnification obligations for which a claim has been made as provided in Section 10.04 ), ratably among the Lenders in proportion to the respective amounts described in this clause Eighth held by them;

 

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Ninth , to payment of that portion of the Obligations of the Loan Parties arising from Cash Management Services, ratably among the Lenders and their Affiliates in proportion to the respective amounts described in this clause Ninth held by them;

Tenth , to payment of all other Obligations of the Loan Parties arising from Bank Products, ratably among the Lenders and their Affiliates in proportion to the respective amounts described in this clause Tenth held by them; and

Last , the balance, if any, after all of the Obligations have been Paid in Full, to the Loan Parties or as otherwise required by Requirement of Law.

Subject to Section 2.03(c) , amounts used to Cash Collateralize the aggregate undrawn amount of Letters of Credit pursuant to clause Seventh above shall be applied to satisfy drawings under such Letters of Credit as they occur. If any amount remains on deposit as Cash Collateral after all Letters of Credit have either been fully drawn or expired, such remaining amount shall be applied to the other Obligations, if any, in the order set forth above.

ARTICLE IX

THE AGENT

9.01 Appointment .

(a) Each of the Lenders, the Swing Line Lender and the L/C Issuer hereby irrevocably designates and appoints the Agent as the agent of such Lender under the Loan Documents and each such Lender, Swing Line Lender and L/C Issuer irrevocably authorizes the Agent, in such capacity, to take such action on its behalf under the provisions of the applicable Loan Documents and to exercise such powers and perform such duties as are expressly delegated to the Agent by the terms of the applicable Loan Documents, together with such other powers as are reasonably incidental thereto. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary elsewhere in this Agreement, the Agent shall not have any duties or responsibilities, except those expressly set forth herein or any fiduciary relationship with any Lender, and no implied covenants, functions, responsibilities, duties, obligations or liabilities shall be read into this Agreement or any other Loan Document or otherwise exist against the Agent. The provisions of this Article are solely for the benefit of the Agent and the other Credit Parties, and no Loan Party or any Subsidiary thereof shall have rights as a third party beneficiary of any of such provisions.

(b) The Agent shall also act as the “collateral agent” under the Loan Documents, and each of the Lenders, the Swing Line Lender and the L/C Issuer hereby irrevocably appoints and authorizes the Agent to act as the agent of such Lender, Swing Line Lender and L/C Issuer for purposes of acquiring, holding and enforcing any and all Liens on Collateral granted by any of the Loan Parties to secure any of the Obligations, together with such powers and discretion as are reasonably incidental thereto. In this connection, the Agent, as “collateral agent,” and any agents or attorneys-in-fact appointed by the Agent pursuant to Section 9.02 for purposes of holding or enforcing any Lien on the Collateral (or any portion thereof) granted under the Security Documents, or for exercising any rights and remedies thereunder at the direction of the Agent, shall be entitled to the benefits of all provisions of this Section 9 (including Section 9.09 ) and Section 10.04 , as though such agents and attorneys-in-fact were the “collateral agent” under the Loan Documents as if set forth in full herein with respect thereto.

 

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(c) The provisions of this Section 9.01 are for the benefit of the Agent, the Lenders and the L/C Issuer, and no Loan Party or any Subsidiary thereof shall have rights as a third party beneficiary of any of such provisions (other than the provisions of Section 9.06 ).

9.02 [Reserved]

9.03 [Reserved].

9.04 Delegation of Duties.

The Agent may execute any of its duties under the applicable Loan Documents by or through sub-agents or attorneys-in-fact and shall be entitled to advice of counsel concerning all matters pertaining to such duties. The exculpatory provisions of this Article shall apply to any such sub-agent and to the Related Parties of the 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 the Agent. The Agent shall not be responsible for the negligence or misconduct of any sub-agents or attorneys in-fact selected by it with reasonable care.

9.05 Exculpatory Provisions.

The 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, neither the Agent nor any of its officers, directors, employees, agents, attorneys-in-fact or affiliates shall:

(a) be subject to any fiduciary or other implied duties, regardless of whether a Default or Event of Default has occurred and is continuing;

(b) 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 Agent is required to exercise as directed in writing by the Applicable Lenders, provided that the Agent shall not be required to take any action that, in its opinion or the opinion of its counsel, may expose the Agent to liability or that is contrary to any Loan Document or Requirement of Law, including for the avoidance of doubt any action that may be in violation of the automatic stay under any Debtor Relief Law or that may effect a forfeiture, modification or termination of property of a Defaulting Lender in violation of any Debtor Relief Law; and

(c) except as expressly set forth herein and in the other Loan Documents, have any duty to disclose, and shall not be liable for the failure to disclose, any information relating to the Loan Parties or any of its Affiliates that is communicated to or obtained by the Person serving as the Agent or any of its Affiliates in any capacity.

The Agent shall not be liable for any action taken or not taken by it (i) with the Consent or at the request of the Applicable Lenders (as the Agent shall believe in good faith shall be necessary under the circumstances as provided in Sections 10.01 and 8.02 ) or (ii) in the absence of its own gross negligence or willful misconduct as determined by a final and non-appealable judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction.

 

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The 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 or the occurrence of any Default or Event of Default, (iv) the validity, enforceability, effectiveness or genuineness of this Agreement, any other Loan Document or any other agreement, instrument or document or the creation, perfection or priority of any Lien purported to be created by the Security Documents, (v) the value or the sufficiency of any Collateral, or (vi) the satisfaction of any condition set forth in Article IV or elsewhere herein, other than to confirm receipt of items expressly required to be delivered to the Agent.

9.06 Reliance by Agent.

The Agent shall be entitled to rely, and shall not incur any liability for relying, upon any instrument, writing, resolution, notice, consent, certificate, affidavit, letter, telecopy, telex or teletype message, statement, order or other document or conversation believed by it to be genuine and correct and to have been signed, sent or made by the proper Person or Persons and upon advice and statements of legal counsel (including counsel to the Parent and the Borrower), independent accountants and other experts selected by the Agent. In determining compliance with any condition hereunder to the making of a Loan, or the issuance, extension, renewal or increase of a Letter of Credit, that by its terms must be fulfilled to the satisfaction of a Lender or the L/C Issuer, the Agent may presume that such condition is satisfactory to such Lender or the L/C Issuer unless the Agent shall have received written notice to the contrary from such Lender or the L/C Issuer prior to the making of such Loan or the issuance of such Letter of Credit. The Agent may consult with legal counsel (who may be counsel for any Loan Party), 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.

9.07 Notice of Default. The Agent shall not be deemed to have knowledge or notice of the occurrence of any Default or Event of Default unless the Agent has received notice from a Lender, the Parent or the Borrower referring to this Agreement, describing such Default or Event of Default and stating that such notice is a “notice of default”. In the event that the Agent receives such a notice, the Agent shall give notice thereof to the Lenders. The Agent shall take such action with respect to such Default or Event of Default as shall be reasonably directed by the Required Lenders; provided that unless and until the Agent shall have received such directions, the Agent may (but shall not be obligated to) take such action, or refrain from taking such action, with respect to such Default or Event of Default as it shall deem advisable in the best interests of the Credit Parties. In no event shall the Agent be required to comply with any such directions to the extent that the Agent believes that its compliance with such directions would be unlawful.

9.08 Non-Reliance on Agent and Other Lenders.

Each Lender and the L/C Issuer expressly acknowledges that neither the Agent nor any of its officers, directors, employees, agents, attorneys-in-fact or affiliates have made any representations or warranties to it and that no act by the Agent hereafter taken, including any review of the affairs of a Loan Party or any affiliate of a Loan Party, shall be deemed to constitute any representation or warranty by the Agent to any Lender. Each Lender and the L/C Issuer represents to the Agent that it has, independently and without reliance upon the Agent or any other Lender, and based on such documents and information as it has deemed appropriate, made its own appraisal of and investigation into the business, operations, property, financial and other condition and creditworthiness of the Loan Parties and their affiliates and made its own decision to make its Loans hereunder and enter into this Agreement. Each Lender and the L/C Issuer also represents that it will, independently and without reliance upon the Agent or any other Lender, and based on such documents and information as it shall deem appropriate at the time, continue

 

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to make its own credit analysis, appraisals and decisions in taking or not taking action under the applicable Loan Documents, and to make such investigation as it deems necessary to inform itself as to the business, operations, property, financial and other condition and creditworthiness of the Loan Parties and their affiliates. Except for notices, reports and other documents expressly required to be furnished to the Lenders by the Agent hereunder, the Agent shall not have any duty or responsibility to provide any Lender with any credit or other information concerning the business, operations, property, condition (financial or otherwise), prospects or creditworthiness of any Loan Party or any affiliate of a Loan Party that may come into the possession of the Agent or any of its officers, directors, employees, agents, attorneys-in-fact or affiliates.

9.09 Indemnification. The Lenders agree to indemnify the Agent in its capacity as such, any sub-agent thereof, the L/C Issuer and any Related Party, as the case may be (to the extent not reimbursed by the Borrower and without limiting the obligation of the Borrower to do so), ratably according to their respective Applicable Percentages in effect on the date on which indemnification is sought under this Section (or, if indemnification is sought after the date upon which the Commitments of such Lender shall have been assigned (but which indemnified claims relate to actions or inactions prior to such assignment) or the date upon which the Obligations shall have been Paid in Full, ratably in accordance with such Applicable Percentages immediately prior to such date), from and against any and all liabilities, obligations, losses, damages, penalties, actions, judgments, suits, costs, expenses or disbursements of any kind whatsoever that may at any time be imposed on, incurred by or asserted against the Agent, any sub-agent thereof, the L/C Issuer and their Related Parties in any way relating to or arising out of, the Commitments, this Agreement, any of the other Loan Documents or any documents contemplated by or referred to herein or therein or the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby or any action taken or omitted by the Agent, any sub-agent thereof, the L/C Issuer and their Related Parties under or in connection with any of the foregoing; provided that no Lender shall be liable for the payment of any portion of such liabilities, obligations, losses, damages, penalties, actions, judgments, suits, costs, expenses or disbursements that are found by a final and nonappealable decision of a court of competent jurisdiction to have resulted from the Agent’s, any sub-agent’s, the L/C Issuer’s and their Related Parties’ gross negligence or willful misconduct. The agreements in this Section shall survive the payment of the Obligations and all other amounts payable hereunder.

9.10 Rights as a Lender. The Person serving as the 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 Agent and the term “Lender” or “Lenders” shall, unless otherwise expressly indicated or unless the context otherwise requires, include the Person serving as the Agent hereunder in its individual capacity. Such Person and its Affiliates may accept deposits from, lend money to, act as the financial advisor or in any other advisory capacity for and generally engage in any kind of business with the Loan Parties or any Subsidiary or other Affiliate thereof as if such Person were not the Agent hereunder and without any duty to account therefor to the Lenders.

9.11 Successor Agent; Removal of Agent .

(a) The Agent may resign upon 30 days’ notice to the Lenders, the L/C Issuer and the Borrower effective upon appointment of a successor Agent. Upon receipt of any such notice of resignation, the Required Lenders shall appoint from among the Lenders a successor agent for the Lenders, which successor agent shall (unless a Specified Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing) be subject to approval by the Borrower (which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed), whereupon such successor agent shall succeed to the rights, powers and duties of the retiring Agent, and the retiring Agent’s rights, powers and duties as Agent shall be terminated, without any other or further act or deed on the part of the retiring Agent or any of the parties to this Agreement or any

 

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holders of the Loans. If no successor Agent shall have been so appointed by the Required Lenders with such consent of the Borrower and shall have accepted such appointment within 30 days after the retiring Agent’s giving of notice of resignation, then the retiring Agent may, on behalf of the Lenders and the L/C Issuer and with the consent of the Borrower (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed), appoint a successor Agent, that shall be a bank that has an office in New York, New York with a combined capital and surplus of at least $500,000,000. After any retiring Agent’s resignation as Agent, the provisions of this Article and Section 10.04 shall inure to its benefit as to any actions taken or omitted to be taken by it while it was Agent under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents. The fees payable by the Borrower to a successor Agent shall be the same as those payable to its predecessor unless otherwise agreed between the Borrower and such successor.

(b) If the Person serving as Agent is a Defaulting Lender pursuant to clause (d) of the definition of Defaulting Lender, the Required Lenders may, to the extent permitted by applicable Requirements of Law, by notice in writing to the Borrower and such Person remove such Person as Agent and, in consultation with the Borrower, appoint a successor. If no such successor shall have been so appointed by the Required Lenders and shall have accepted such appointment within 30 days (or such earlier day as shall be agreed by the Required Lenders) (the “ Removal Effective Date ”), then such removal shall nonetheless become effective in accordance with such notice on the Removal Effective Date.

9.12 Collateral and Guaranty Matters.

The Credit Parties irrevocably authorize the Agent, at its option and in its discretion,

(a) to release any Lien on any property granted to or held by the Agent under any Loan Document (i) upon Payment in Full of all Obligations, (ii) that is sold or to be sold as part of or in connection with any sale permitted hereunder or under any other Loan Document, or (iii) if approved, authorized or ratified in writing by the Applicable Lenders in accordance with Section 10.01 ;

(b) to subordinate any Lien on any property granted to or held by the Agent under any Loan Document to the holder of any Lien on such property that is permitted by Section 7.01(g) ; and

(c) to release any Guarantor from its obligations under its Facility Guaranty if such Person ceases to be a Subsidiary as a result of a transaction permitted hereunder.

Upon request by the Agent at any time, the Applicable Lenders will confirm in writing the Agent’s authority to release or subordinate its interest in particular types or items of property, or to release any Guarantor from its obligations under its Facility Guaranty pursuant to this Section 9.12 . In each case as specified in this Section 9.12 , the Agent will, at the Loan Parties’ expense, execute and deliver to the applicable Loan Party such documents as such Loan Party may reasonably request to evidence the release of such item of Collateral from the assignment and security interest granted under the Security Documents or to subordinate its interest in such item, or to release such Guarantor from its obligations under its Facility Guaranty, in each case in accordance with the terms of the Loan Documents and this Section 9.12 .

9.13 No Other Duties, Etc.

Anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding, the Arranger, listed on the cover page hereof shall not have any powers, duties or responsibilities under this Agreement or any of the other Loan Documents, except in its capacity as the Agent, a Lender or the L/C Issuer hereunder.

 

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9.14 Agent May File Proofs of Claim.

In case of the pendency of any proceeding under any Debtor Relief Law or any other judicial proceeding relative to any Loan Party, the Agent (irrespective of whether the principal of any Loan or L/C Obligation shall then be due and payable as herein expressed or by declaration or otherwise and irrespective of whether the Agent shall have made any demand on the Borrower) shall be entitled and empowered, by intervention in such proceeding or otherwise,

(a) to file and prove a claim for the whole amount of the principal and interest owing and unpaid in respect of the Loans, L/C Obligations and all other Obligations that are owing and unpaid and to file such other documents as may be necessary or advisable in order to have the claims of the Lenders, the L/C Issuer, the Agent and the other Credit Parties (including any claim for the reasonable compensation, expenses, disbursements and advances of the Lenders, the L/C Issuer, the Agent and the other Credit Parties and their respective agents and counsel and all other amounts due the Lenders and the Agent under Sections 2.03(i) , 2.03(j) , 2.09 and 10.04 ]) allowed in such judicial proceeding; and

(b) to collect and receive any monies or other property payable or deliverable on any such claims and to distribute the same;

and any custodian, receiver, interim receiver, assignee, trustee, monitor, liquidator, sequestrator or other similar official in any such judicial proceeding is hereby authorized by each Lender and the L/C Issuer to make such payments to the Agent and if the Agent shall consent to the making of such payments directly to the Lenders and the L/C Issuer, to pay to the Agent any amount due for the reasonable compensation, expenses, disbursements and advances of the Agent and its agents and counsel, and any other amounts due the Agent under Sections 2.09 , 10.04 .

Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to authorize the Agent to authorize or consent to or accept or adopt on behalf of any Credit Party any plan of reorganization, arrangement, adjustment or composition affecting the Obligations or the rights of any Credit Party or to authorize the Agent to vote in respect of the claim of any Credit Party or in any such proceeding.

9.15 Notice of Transfer .

The Agent may deem and treat a Lender party to this Agreement as the owner of such Lender’s portion of the Obligations for all purposes, unless and until, and except to the extent, an Assignment and Acceptance shall have become effective as set forth in Section 10.06 .

9.16 Reports and Financial Statements .

By signing this Agreement, each Lender:

(a) agrees to furnish the Agent after the occurrence and during the continuance of a Cash Dominion Event (and thereafter at such frequency as the Agent may reasonably request) with a summary of all Other Liabilities due or to become due to such Lender. In connection with any distributions to be made hereunder, the Agent shall be entitled to assume that no amounts are due to any Lender on account of Other Liabilities unless the Agent has received written notice thereof from such Lender and if such notice is received, the Agent shall be entitled to assume that the only amounts due to such Lender on account of Other Liabilities is the amount set forth in such notice;

 

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(b) is deemed to have requested that the Agent furnish, and the Agent agrees to furnish, such Lender, promptly after they become available, copies of all Borrowing Base Certificates and financial statements required to be delivered by the Borrower hereunder

(c) is deemed to have requested that the Agent furnish, and the Agent agrees to furnish, such Lender, promptly after they become available, copies of all commercial finance examinations and appraisals of the Collateral received by the Agent (collectively, the “ Reports ”);

(d) expressly agrees and acknowledges that the Agent makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the Borrowing Base Certificates, financial statements or Reports, and shall not be liable for any information contained in any Borrowing Base Certificate, financial statement or Report;

(e) expressly agrees and acknowledges that the Reports are not comprehensive audits or examinations, that the Agent or any other party performing any audit or examination will inspect only specific information regarding the Loan Parties and will rely significantly upon the Loan Parties’ books and records, as well as on representations of the Loan Parties’ personnel;

(f) agrees to keep all Borrowing Base Certificates, financial statements and Reports confidential in accordance with the provisions of Section 10.07 hereof; and

(g) without limiting the generality of any other indemnification provision contained in this Agreement, agrees: (i) to hold the Agent and any such other Lender preparing a Report harmless from any action the indemnifying Lender may take or conclusion the indemnifying Lender may reach or draw from any Report in connection with any Credit Extensions that the indemnifying Lender has made or may make to the Borrower, or the indemnifying Lender’s participation in, or the indemnifying Lender’s purchase of, a Loan or Loans; and (ii) to pay and protect, and indemnify, defend, and hold the Agent and any such other Lender preparing a Report harmless from and against, the claims, actions, proceedings, damages, costs, expenses, and other amounts (including attorney costs) incurred by the Agent and any such other Lender preparing a Report as the direct or indirect result of any third parties who might obtain all or part of any Report through the indemnifying Lender.

9.17 Agency for Perfection .

Each Credit Party hereby appoints each other Credit Party as agent for the purpose of perfecting Liens for the benefit of the Credit Parties, in assets which, in accordance with Article 9 of the UCC or any other applicable Requirement of Law can be perfected only by possession or control. Should any Credit Party (other than the Agent) obtain possession or control of any such Collateral, such Credit Party shall notify the Agent thereof, and, promptly upon the Agent’s request therefor shall deliver such Collateral to the Agent or otherwise deal with such Collateral in accordance with the Agent’s instructions.

9.18 Relation among Lenders.

The Lenders are not partners or co-venturers, and no Lender shall be liable for the acts or omissions of, or (except as otherwise set forth herein in case of the Agent) authorized to act for, any other Lender.

9.19 Risk Participation.

(a) Upon the earlier of Substantial Liquidation or the Determination Date, if all Obligations of the Borrower have not been repaid in full, then the other Lenders shall purchase from the Lenders (on the date of Substantial Liquidation or the Determination Date, as applicable) such portion of such Obligations so that each Lender shall, after giving effect to any such purchases, hold its Liquidation Percentage of all outstanding Obligations of the Borrower.

 

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(b) All purchases of Obligations under this Section 9.19 shall be at par, for cash, with no premium, discount or reduction.

(c) No Lender shall be responsible for any default of any other Lender in respect of any other Lender’s obligations under this Section 9.19 , nor shall the obligations of any Lender hereunder be increased as a result of such default of any other Lender. Each Lender shall be obligated to the extent provided herein regardless of the failure of any other Lender to fulfill its obligations hereunder.

(d) Each Lender shall execute such instruments, documents and agreements and do such other actions as may be necessary or proper in order to carry out more fully the provisions and purposes of this Section 9.19 and the purchase of Obligations as provided herein.

(e) The obligations of each Lender under this Section 9.19 are irrevocable and unconditional and shall not be subject to any qualification or exception whatsoever including, without limitation, lack of validity or enforceability of this Agreement or any of the Loan Documents or the existence of any claim, setoff, defense or other right which any Credit Party may have at any time against any of the Lenders.

(f) No fees required to be paid on any assignment pursuant to Section 10.06 of this Agreement shall be payable in connection with any assignment under this Section 9.19 .

ARTICLE X

MISCELLANEOUS

10.01 Amendments and Waivers.

(a) Neither this Agreement, any other Loan Document, nor any terms hereof or thereof may be amended, supplemented or modified except in accordance with the provisions of this Section 10.01 . The Required Lenders and each Loan Party party to the relevant Loan Document may, or, with the written consent of the Required Lenders, the Agent and each Loan Party to the relevant Loan Document may, from time to time, (a) enter into written amendments, supplements or modifications hereto and to the other Loan Documents for the purpose of adding any provisions to this Agreement or the other Loan Documents or changing in any manner the rights or obligations of the Agent, the Lenders or of the Loan Parties hereunder or thereunder or (b) waive, on such terms and conditions as the Required Lenders or the Agent may specify in such instrument, any of the requirements of this Agreement or the other Loan Documents or any Default or Event of Default and its consequences; provided, however, that no such waiver and no such amendment, supplement or modification shall:

(i) increase the Commitment of any Lender (or reinstate any Commitment terminated pursuant to Section 8.02 ) without the written Consent of such Lender;

(ii) as to any Lender, postpone any date fixed by this Agreement or any other Loan Document for (i) any scheduled payment (including the Maturity Date) or mandatory prepayment of principal, interest, fees or other amounts due hereunder or under any of the other Loan Documents without the written Consent of such Lender, or (ii) any mandatory termination of the Aggregate Commitments hereunder or under any other Loan Document, without the written Consent of such Lender;

 

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(iii) as to any Lender, reduce the principal of, or the rate of interest specified herein on, any Loan or L/C Borrowing held by such Lender, or (subject to clause (iv) of the second proviso to this Section 10.01 ) any fees or other amounts payable hereunder or under any other Loan Document to or for the account of such Lender, without the written Consent of such Lender; provided , however , that only the Consent of the Required Lenders shall be necessary to amend the definition of “Default Rate” or to waive any obligation of the Borrower to pay interest or Letter of Credit Fees at the Default Rate;

(iv) as to any Lender, change Section 2.13 or Section 8.03 in a manner that would alter the pro rata sharing of payments required thereby without the written Consent of such Lender;

(v) change any provision of this Section or the definition of “Required Lenders”, “Required Supermajority Lenders” or any other provision hereof or of any Loan Document specifying the number or percentage of Lenders required to amend, waive or otherwise modify any rights hereunder or under any other Loan Document or make any determination or grant any consent hereunder or thereunder, without the written Consent of each Lender;

(vi) except as expressly permitted hereunder or under any other Loan Document, release, or limit the liability of, any Loan Party without the written Consent of each Lender;

(vii) except for Dispositions permitted under Section 7.04 or Section 7.05 or as provided in Section 9.10 , release all or substantially all of the Collateral from the Liens of the Security Documents without the written Consent of each Lender;

(viii) increase any advance rate percentage set forth in the definition of “Borrowing Base” or otherwise change the definition of the term “Borrowing Base” or any component definition thereof if as a result thereof the amounts available to be borrowed by the Borrower would be increased, without the written Consent of the Required Supermajority Lenders, provided that the foregoing shall not limit the discretion of the Agent to change, establish or eliminate any Reserves; and

(ix) except as expressly permitted herein or in any other Loan Document, subordinate the Obligations hereunder or the Liens granted hereunder or under the other Loan Documents, to any other Indebtedness or Lien, as the case may be without the written Consent of each Lender;

and, provided further , that (i) no amendment, waiver or Consent shall, unless in writing and signed by the L/C Issuer in addition to the Lenders required above, affect the rights or duties of the L/C Issuer under this Agreement or any Issuer Document relating to any Letter of Credit issued or to be issued by it; (ii) no amendment, waiver or Consent shall, unless in writing and signed by the Swing Line Lender in addition to the Lenders required above, affect the rights or duties of the Swing Line Lender under this Agreement; (iii) no amendment, waiver or Consent shall, unless in writing and signed by the Agent in addition to the Lenders required above, affect the rights or duties of any Agent under this Agreement or any other Loan Document; (iv) the Fee Letter may be amended, or rights or privileges thereunder waived, in a writing executed only by the parties thereto, and (v) no Consent is required to effect any amendment or

 

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supplement to the Intercreditor Agreement, (A) that is solely for the purpose of adding the holders of Indebtedness incurred or issued pursuant to an Amendment or Refinancing of the Term Facility (or any agent or trustee of such holders) as parties thereto, as contemplated by the terms of the Intercreditor Agreement and permitted under Section 7.03(n) (it being understood that any such amendment or supplement may make such other changes to the Intercreditor Agreement as, in the good faith determination of the Agent, are required to effectuate the foregoing and provided that such other changes are not adverse to the interests of the Lenders) or (B) that is expressly contemplated by the Intercreditor Agreement with respect to an Amendment or Refinancing of the Term Facility permitted under Section 7.03(n) (or the comparable provisions, if any, of any successor intercreditor agreement with respect to an Amendment or Refinancing of the Term Facility permitted under Section 7.03(n) ; provided further that no such agreement shall, pursuant to this clause (v), amend, modify or otherwise affect the rights or duties of the Agent hereunder or under any other Loan Document without the prior written consent of the Agent. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, no Defaulting Lender shall have any right to approve or disapprove any amendment, waiver or consent hereunder (and any amendment, waiver or consent which by its terms requires the consent of all Lenders or each affected Lender may be effected with the consent of the applicable Lenders other than Defaulting Lenders), except that (x) the Commitment of any Defaulting Lender may not be increased or extended without the consent of such Lender and (y) any waiver, amendment or modification requiring the consent of all Lenders or each affected Lender that by its terms affects any Defaulting Lender disproportionately adversely relative to other affected Lenders shall require the consent of such Defaulting Lender.

(b) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement or any other Loan Document, (x) no provider or holder of any Bank Products or Cash Management Services shall have any voting or approval rights hereunder (or be deemed a Lender) solely by virtue of its status as the provider or holder of such agreements or products or the Obligations owing thereunder, nor shall the consent of any such provider or holder be required (other than in their capacities as Lenders, to the extent applicable) for any matter hereunder or under any of the other Loan Documents, including as to any matter relating to the Collateral or the release of Collateral or any Loan Party, and (y) any Loan Document may be amended, supplemented and waived with the consent of the Agent at the request of the Borrower without the need to obtain the consent of any other Lender if such amendment, supplement or waiver is delivered in order (i) to comply with local Requirement of Law or advice of local counsel, (ii) to cure ambiguities, mistakes or defects or (iii) to cause any Loan Document to be consistent with this Agreement and the other Loan Documents.

(c) If any Lender does not Consent (a “ Non-Consenting Lender ”) to a proposed amendment, waiver, consent or release with respect to any Loan Document that requires the Consent of each Lender and that has been approved by the Required Lenders, the Borrower may replace such Non-Consenting Lender in accordance with Section 10.13 ; provided that such amendment, waiver, consent or release can be effected as a result of the assignment contemplated by such Section (together with all other such assignments required by the Borrower to be made pursuant to this paragraph).

10.02 Notices; Effectiveness; Electronic Communications .

(a) Notices Generally . All notices, requests and demands to or upon the respective parties hereto to be effective shall be in writing (including by telecopy), and, unless otherwise expressly provided herein, shall be deemed to have been duly given or made when delivered, or three Business Days after being deposited in the mail, postage prepaid, or, in the case of telecopy notice, when received, to the address, telecopier number, electronic email address or telephone number specified on Schedule 10.02 in the case of the Loan Parties, the Agent, the L/C Issuer or the Swing Line Lender, and as set forth in an administrative questionnaire delivered to the Agent in the case of the Lenders, or to

 

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such other address as may be hereafter notified by the respective parties hereto; provided that any notice, request or demand to or upon the Agent, the Lenders, the Parent or the Borrower shall not be effective until received.

Notices and other communications to the Lenders hereunder may be delivered or furnished by electronic communications pursuant to procedures approved by the Agent; provided that the foregoing shall not apply to notices pursuant to Section 2 unless otherwise agreed by the Agent and the applicable Lender, as the case may be. The Agent, the Parent 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.

(b) Electronic Communications . Notices and other communications to the Lenders and the L/C Issuer hereunder may be delivered or furnished by electronic communication (including e-mail and Internet or intranet websites) pursuant to procedures approved by the Agent, provided that the foregoing shall not apply to notices to any Lender or the L/C Issuer pursuant to Article II if such Lender or the L/C Issuer, as applicable, has notified the Agent that it is incapable of receiving notices under such Article by electronic communication. The 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 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), 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; provided that, for both clauses (i) and (ii), if such notice, email or other communication is not sent during the normal business hours of the recipient, such notice, email or communication shall be deemed to have been sent at the opening of business on the next business day for the recipient.

(c) The Platform . THE PLATFORM IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE.” THE AGENT PARTIES (AS DEFINED BELOW) DO NOT WARRANT THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE BORROWER MATERIALS OR THE ADEQUACY OF THE PLATFORM, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM LIABILITY FOR ERRORS IN OR OMISSIONS FROM THE BORROWER MATERIALS. NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTY RIGHTS OR FREEDOM FROM VIRUSES OR OTHER CODE DEFECTS, IS MADE BY ANY AGENT PARTY IN CONNECTION WITH THE BORROWER MATERIALS OR THE PLATFORM. In no event shall the Agent or any of its Related Parties (collectively, the “ Agent Parties ”) have any liability to any Loan Party, any Lender, the L/C Issuer or any other Person for losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses of any kind (whether in tort, contract or otherwise) arising out of the Loan Parties’ or the Agent’s transmission of Borrower Materials through the Internet.

(d) Change of Address, Etc . Each of the Loan Parties, the Agent, the L/C Issuer and the Swing Line Lender may change its address, telecopier or telephone number or email address for notices and other communications hereunder by notice to the other parties hereto. Each other Lender may change its address, telecopier or telephone number or email address for notices and other

 

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communications hereunder by notice to the Borrower, the Agent, the L/C Issuer and the Swing Line Lender. In addition, each Lender agrees to notify the Agent from time to time to ensure that the Agent has on record (i) an effective address, contact name, telephone number, telecopier number and electronic mail address to which notices and other communications may be sent and (ii) accurate wire instructions for such Lender. Furthermore, each Public Lender agrees to cause at least one individual at or on behalf of such Public Lender to at all times have selected the “Private Side Information” or similar designation on the content declaration screen of the Platform in order to enable such Public Lender or its delegate, in accordance with such Public Lender’s compliance procedures and applicable Requirement of Law, including the Securities Laws, to make reference to Borrower Materials that are not made available through the “Public Side Information” portion of the Platform and that may contain material non-public information with respect to the Borrower or its securities for purposes of the Securities Laws.

(e) Reliance by Agent, L/C Issuer and Lenders . The Agent, the L/C Issuer and the Lenders shall be entitled to rely and act upon any notices (including telephonic Committed Loan Notices and Swing Line Loan Notices) purportedly given by or on behalf of the Loan Parties even if (i) such notices were not made in a manner specified herein, were incomplete or were not preceded or followed by any other form of notice specified herein, or (ii) the terms thereof, as understood by the recipient, varied from any confirmation thereof. The Loan Parties shall indemnify the Agent, the L/C Issuer, each Lender and the Related Parties of each of them from all losses, costs, expenses and liabilities resulting from the reliance by such Person on each notice purportedly given by or on behalf of the Loan Parties. All telephonic notices to and other telephonic communications with the Agent may be recorded by the Agent, and each of the parties hereto hereby consents to such recording.

10.03 No Waiver; Cumulative Remedies.

No failure to exercise and no delay in exercising, on the part of the Agent or any Credit Party, any right, remedy, power or privilege hereunder or under the other Loan Documents shall operate as a waiver thereof; nor shall any single or partial exercise of any right, remedy, power or privilege hereunder preclude any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any other right, remedy, power or privilege. The rights, remedies, powers and privileges herein provided are cumulative and not exclusive of any rights, remedies, powers and privileges provided by law. 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 or Event of Default, regardless of whether any Credit Party may have had notice or knowledge of such Default or Event of Default at the time.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein or in any other Loan Document, the authority to enforce rights and remedies hereunder and under the other Loan Documents against the Loan Parties or any of them shall be vested exclusively in, and all actions and proceedings at law in connection with such enforcement shall be instituted and maintained exclusively by, the Agent in accordance with Section 8.02 for the benefit of all the Lenders, the L/C Issuer and the other Credit Parties; provided , however , that the foregoing shall not prohibit (a) the Agent from exercising on its own behalf the rights and remedies that inure to its benefit (solely in its capacity as Agent) hereunder and under the other Loan Documents, (b) the L/C Issuer or the Swing Line Lender from exercising the rights and remedies that inure to its benefit (solely in its capacity as L/C Issuer or Swing Line Lender, as the case may be) hereunder and under the other Loan Documents, or (c) any Lender from exercising setoff rights in accordance with Section 10.08 (subject to the terms of Section 2.13 ); and provided , further , that if at any time there is no Person acting as Agent hereunder and under the other Loan Documents, then (i) the Required Lenders shall have the rights otherwise ascribed to the Agent pursuant to Section 8.02 and (ii) in addition to the matters set forth in clauses (b)  and (c)  of the preceding proviso and subject to Section 2.13 , any Lender may, with the consent of the Required Lenders, enforce any rights and remedies available to it and as authorized by the Required Lenders.

 

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10.04 Expenses; Indemnity; Damage Waiver .

(a) Costs and Expenses . The Borrower shall (a) pay or reimburse the Agent and the Arrangers for all their respective reasonable and documented out-of-pocket costs and expenses incurred in connection with the syndication of the Commitments (other than fees payable to syndicate members) and the development, preparation, execution and delivery of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents and any other documents prepared in connection herewith or therewith and any amendment, supplement or modification thereto (whether or not the transactions contemplated thereby shall be consummated), and (b) pay or reimburse the Agent and L/C Issuer only, for all their respective reasonable and documented out-of-pocket costs and expenses incurred in connection with the administration of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby, including, without limitation, the reasonable and documented fees and disbursements and other charges of counsel to the Agent (including one primary counsel and such local counsel as the Agent may reasonably require in connection with collateral matters), outside consultants, appraisers, and commercial finance examiners in connection with all of the foregoing, all customary fees and charges (as adjusted from time to time) of the Agent with respect to the disbursement of funds (or the receipt of funds) to or for the account of the Borrower (whether by wire transfer or otherwise), and of the L/C Issuer in connection with the issuance, amendment, renewal or extension of any Letter of Credit or any demand for payment thereunder, (c) pay or reimburse each Lender, Swingline Lender, L/C Issuer, the Agent and the Arrangers for all their out-of-pocket costs and expenses incurred in connection with the enforcement of any rights under this Agreement, the other Loan Documents and any such other documents and in connection with the Loans made and Letters of Credit issued under this Agreement, including all such expenses incurred during any workout, restructuring or negotiations in respect of such Loans and Letters of Credit, including, without limitation, the fees and disbursements of counsel (including the allocated fees and expenses of in-house counsel) to each Lender. Swingline Lender, L/C Issuer and the Agent, and (d) to pay, indemnify, or reimburse each Lender, Swingline Lender, L/C Issuer, and the Agent for, and hold each Lender, Swingline Lender, L/C Issuer, and the Agent harmless from, any and all recording and filing fees and any and all liabilities with respect to, or resulting from any delay in paying, stamp, excise and similar other taxes, if any, which may be payable or determined to be payable in connection with the execution and delivery of, or consummation or administration of any of the transactions contemplated by, or any amendment, supplement or modification of, or any waiver or consent under or in respect of this Agreement the other Loan Documents and any such other documents.

(b) Indemnification . The Borrower shall pay, indemnify or reimburse each Lender, Swingline Lender, L/C Issuer, the Agent, each Arranger and their respective affiliates, and their respective officers, directors, trustees, employees, advisors, agents and controlling Persons (each, an “ Indemnitee ”) for, and hold each Indemnitee harmless from and against any and all other liabilities, obligations, claims, losses, damages, penalties, costs, expenses or disbursements incurred or asserted against any such Indemnitee by any Loan Party, any of the directors, officers, shareholders or creditors of any Loan Party or any other Person arising out of any actions, judgments or suits of any kind or nature whatsoever, arising out of or in connection with any claim, action or proceeding relating to or otherwise with respect to the execution, delivery, enforcement, performance and administration of this Agreement, the other Loan Documents and any such other documents, including, without limitation, any of the foregoing relating to the use of proceeds of the Loans or the Letters of Credit or the violation of, noncompliance with or liability under, any Environmental Law applicable to the operations of the Parent, the Borrower, any of their respective Subsidiaries or any of the Properties, or to any Blocked

 

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Account Agreement or other Person who has entered into a control agreement with any Credit Party, and the fees and disbursements and other charges of legal counsel in connection with claims, actions or proceedings by any Indemnitee against the Parent or the Borrower hereunder (all the foregoing in this clause (d), collectively, the “ Indemnified Liabilities ”); provided that neither the Parent nor the Borrower shall have any obligation hereunder to any Indemnitee with respect to Indemnified Liabilities to the extent such Indemnified Liabilities are found by a final and nonappealable decision of a court of competent jurisdiction to have resulted from the bad faith, gross negligence or willful misconduct of, such Indemnitee or its affiliates, officers, directors, trustees, employees, advisors, agents or controlling Persons. All amounts due under this Section 10.04 shall be payable promptly after receipt of a reasonably detailed invoice therefor. Statements payable by the Borrower pursuant to this Section 10.04 shall be submitted to the Borrower at the address thereof set forth in Section 10.02, or to such other Person or address as may be hereafter designated by the Borrower in a written notice to the Agent.

(c) Waiver of Consequential Damages, Etc. To the fullest extent permitted by Requirements of Law, each party hereto shall not assert, and hereby waive, any claim against any other party hereto, 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, any other Loan Document or any agreement or instrument contemplated hereby, the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby, any Loan or Letter of Credit or the use of the proceeds thereof.

(d) Limitation of Liability . No Indemnitee shall be liable for any damages arising from the use by unintended recipients of any information or other materials distributed to such unintended recipients by such Indemnitee 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 other than for direct or actual damages resulting from the bad faith, gross negligence or willful misconduct of such Indemnitee as determined by a final and nonappealable judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction.

(e) Survival . The agreements in this Section shall survive the resignation of any Agent, the L/C Issuer or the Swing Line Lender, the assignment of any Commitment or Loan by any Lender, the replacement of any Lender, the termination of the Aggregate Commitments and the repayment, satisfaction or discharge of all the other Obligations.

10.05 Payments Set Aside.

To the extent that any payment by or on behalf of the Loan Parties is made to any Credit Party, or any Credit Party exercises its right of setoff, and such payment or the proceeds of such setoff or any part thereof is subsequently invalidated, declared to be fraudulent or preferential, set aside or required (including pursuant to any settlement entered into by such Credit Party in its discretion) to be repaid to a receiver, interim receiver, trustee, monitor, custodian, conservator, liquidator, rehabilitator or similar officer, or any other party in connection with any proceeding under any Debtor Relief Law or otherwise, then (a) to the extent of such recovery, the obligation or part thereof originally intended to be satisfied shall be revived and continued in full force and effect as if such payment had not been made or such setoff had not occurred, and (b) each Credit Party severally agrees to pay to the Agent upon demand its Applicable Percentage (without duplication) of any amount so recovered from or repaid by the Agent, plus interest thereon from the date of such demand to the date such payment is made at a rate per annum equal to the Federal Funds Rate from time to time in effect. The obligations of the Credit Parties under clause (b) of the preceding sentence shall survive the Payment in Full of the Obligations.

 

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10.06 Successors and Assigns .

(a) Successors and Assigns Generally . The provisions of this Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns permitted hereby, except that no Loan Party may assign or otherwise transfer any of its rights or obligations hereunder or under any other Loan Document without the prior written Consent of the Agent and each Lender and no Lender may assign or otherwise transfer any of its rights or obligations hereunder except (i) to an Eligible Assignee in accordance with the provisions of Section 10.06(b) , (ii) by way of participation in accordance with the provisions of Section 10.06(d) , or (iii) by way of pledge or assignment of a security interest subject to the restrictions of Section 10.06(f) (and any other attempted assignment or transfer by any party hereto shall be null and void). Nothing in this Agreement, expressed or implied, shall be construed to confer upon any Person (other than the parties hereto, their respective successors and assigns permitted hereby, Participants to the extent provided in subsection (d) of this Section and, to the extent expressly contemplated hereby, the Related Parties of each of the Credit Parties) any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim under or by reason of this Agreement.

(b) Assignments by Lenders . Any Lender may at any time assign to one or more Eligible Assignees all or a portion of its rights and obligations under this Agreement (including all or a portion of its Commitments and the Loans (including for purposes of this Section 10.06(b) , participations in L/C Obligations and in Swing Line Loans) at the time owing to it); provided that any such assignment shall be subject to the following conditions:

(i) Minimum Amounts.

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

(B) in any case not described in subsection (b)(i)(A)of this Section, the aggregate amount of the Commitment (which for this purpose includes Loans outstanding thereunder) or, if the Commitment is not then in effect, the principal outstanding balance of the Loans 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 Agent or, if “Trade Date” is specified in the Assignment and Assumption, as of the Trade Date, shall not be less than $5,000,000 unless each of the Agent and, so long as no Specified Event of Default has occurred and is continuing, the Borrower otherwise consents (each such consent not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed); provided , however , that concurrent assignments to members of an Assignee Group and concurrent assignments from members of an Assignee Group to a single Eligible Assignee (or to an Eligible Assignee and members of its Assignee Group) will be treated as a single assignment for purposes of determining whether such minimum amount has been met;

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

 

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

(A) the consent of the Borrower (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed) shall be required unless (1) a Specified Event of Default has occurred and is continuing at the time of such assignment or (2) such assignment is to a Lender, an Affiliate of a Lender or an Approved Fund with respect to such Lender; and

(B) the consent of the Agent, the L/C Issuer and the Swing Line Lender (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed) shall be required for assignments in respect of any Commitment if such assignment is to a Person that is not a Lender, an Affiliate of such Lender or an Approved Fund with respect to such Lender; and

(iv) Assignment and Assumption . The parties to each assignment shall execute and deliver to the Agent an Assignment and Assumption, together with a processing and recordation fee of $3,500, provided , however , that the Agent may, in its sole discretion, elect to waive such processing and recordation fee in the case of any assignment. The assignee, if it shall not be a Lender, shall deliver to the Agent an Administrative Questionnaire.

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

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

Subject to acceptance and recording thereof by the Agent pursuant to subsection (c) of this Section, from and after the effective date specified in each Assignment and Assumption, the Eligible Assignee thereunder shall be a party to this Agreement and, to the extent of the interest assigned by such Assignment and Assumption, have the rights and obligations of a Lender under this Agreement, and the assigning Lender thereunder shall, to the extent of the interest assigned by such Assignment and Assumption, be released from its obligations under this Agreement (and, in the case of an Assignment and Assumption covering all of the assigning Lender’s rights and obligations under this Agreement, such

 

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Lender shall cease to be a party hereto) but shall continue to be entitled to the benefits of Sections 3.01 , 3.04 , 3.05 , and 10.04 with respect to facts and circumstances occurring prior to the effective date of such assignment; provided , that except to the extent otherwise expressly agreed by the affected parties, no assignment by a Defaulting Lender will constitute a waiver or release of any claim of any party hereunder arising from that Lender’s having been a Defaulting Lender. Upon request, the Borrower (at their expense) shall execute and deliver a Note to the assignee Lender. Any assignment or transfer by a Lender of rights or obligations under this Agreement that does not comply with this subsection shall be treated for purposes of this Agreement as a sale by such Lender of a participation in such rights and obligations in accordance with Section 10.06(d) .

(c) Register . The Agent, acting solely for this purpose as an agent of the Borrower (and such agency being solely for tax purposes), shall maintain at the Agent’s Office a copy of each Assignment and Assumption delivered to it (or the equivalent thereof in electronic form) and a register for the recordation of the names and addresses of the Lenders, and the Commitments of, and principal amounts of the Loans and L/C Obligations owing to, each Lender pursuant to the terms hereof from time to time (the “ Register ”). The entries in the Register shall be conclusive, absent manifest error, and the Loan Parties, the Agent and the Lenders may treat each Person whose name is recorded in the Register pursuant to the terms hereof as a Lender hereunder for all purposes of this Agreement, notwithstanding notice to the contrary. The Register is intended to cause each Loan and other obligation hereunder to be in registered form within the meaning of Section 5f.103-1(c) of the United States Treasury Regulations. The Register shall be available for inspection by the Borrower and any Lender at any reasonable time and from time to time upon reasonable prior notice.

(d) Participations . (i) Any Lender may at any time, without the consent of, or notice to, the Loan Parties or the Agent, sell participations to any Person (other than a natural person, a Defaulting Lender or the Loan Parties or any of the Loan Parties’ Affiliates or Subsidiaries) (each, a “ Participant ”) in all or a portion of such Lender’s rights and/or obligations under this Agreement (including all or a portion of its Commitment and/or the Loans (including such Lender’s participations in L/C Obligations and/or Swing Line Loans) owing to it); provided that (i) such Lender’s obligations under this Agreement shall remain unchanged, (ii) such Lender shall remain solely responsible to the other parties hereto for the performance of such obligations and (iii) the Loan Parties, the Agent, the Lenders and the L/C Issuer shall continue to deal solely and directly with such Lender in connection with such Lender’s rights and obligations under this Agreement. Any Participant shall agree in writing to comply with all confidentiality obligations set forth in Section 10.07 as if such Participant was a Lender hereunder.

(ii) 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 Documents; provided that such agreement or instrument may provide that such Lender will not, without the consent of the Participant, agree to any amendment, waiver or other modification described in clauses (i) through (iv) of the first proviso to Section 10.01 that affects such Participant. Subject to subsection (e) of this Section, the Loan Parties agree that each Participant shall be entitled to the benefits of Sections 3.01 , 3.04 and 3.05 (subject to the limitations and requirements of such Section 3.06 ) to the same extent as if it were a Lender and had acquired its interest by assignment pursuant to Section 10.06(b) . To the extent permitted by law, each Participant also shall be entitled to the benefits of Section 10.08 as though it were a Lender, provided such Participant agrees to be subject to Section 2.02 as though it were a Lender.

 

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(iii) 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 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 in connection with a Tax audit or other proceeding 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 Agent (in its capacity as Agent) shall have no responsibility for maintaining a Participant Register.

(e) Limitations upon Participant Rights . A Participant shall not be entitled to receive any greater payment under Section 3.01 or 3.04 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 shall not be entitled to the benefits of Section 3.01 unless the Borrower is notified of the participation sold to such Participant and such Participant agrees, for the benefit of the Loan Parties, to comply and in fact complies with Section 3.01(e) as though it were a Lender.

(f) Certain Pledges . Any Lender may at any time pledge or assign a security interest in all or any portion of its rights under this Agreement (including under its Note, if any) to secure obligations of such Lender, including any pledge or assignment to secure obligations to a Federal Reserve Bank; provided that no such pledge or assignment shall release such Lender from any of its obligations hereunder or substitute any such pledgee or assignee for such Lender as a party hereto.

(g) Resignation as L/C Issuer or Swing Line Lender after Assignment or Resignation . Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, if at any time Bank of America assigns all of its Commitment and Loans pursuant to subsection (b) above, or resigns as Agent in accordance with the provisions of Section 9.09 , Bank of America may, (i) upon 30 days’ notice to the Borrower and the Lenders, resign as L/C Issuer and/or (ii) with duplication of any notice required under Section 9.09 , upon 30 days’ notice to the Borrower, resign as Swing Line Lender. In the event of any such resignation as L/C Issuer or Swing Line Lender, the Borrower shall be entitled to appoint from among the Lenders a successor L/C Issuer or Swing Line Lender hereunder; provided , however , that no failure by the Borrower to appoint any such successor shall affect the resignation of Bank of America as L/C Issuer or Swing Line Lender, as the case may be. If Bank of America resigns as L/C Issuer, it shall retain all the rights, powers, privileges and duties of the L/C Issuer hereunder with respect to all Letters of Credit outstanding as of the effective date of its resignation as L/C Issuer and all L/C Obligations with respect thereto (including the right to require the Lenders to make Base Rate Loans or fund risk participations in Unreimbursed Amounts pursuant to Section 2.03(c) ). If Bank of America resigns as Swing Line Lender, it shall retain all the rights of the Swing Line Lender provided for hereunder with respect to Swing Line Loans made by it and outstanding as of the effective date of such resignation, including the right to require the Lenders to make Base Rate Loans or fund risk participations in outstanding Swing Line Loans pursuant to Section 2.04(c) . Upon the appointment of a successor L/C Issuer and/or Swing Line Lender, (a) such successor shall succeed to and become vested with all of the rights, powers, privileges and duties of the retiring L/C Issuer or Swing Line Lender, as the case may be, (b) the successor L/C Issuer shall issue letters of credit in substitution for the Letters of Credit, if any, outstanding at the time of such succession or make other arrangements satisfactory to Bank of

 

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America to effectively assume the obligations of Bank of America with respect to such Letters of Credit, and (c) the successor Swing Line Lender shall repay all outstanding Obligations with respect to Swing Line Loans due to the resigning Swing Line Lender. Any resignation by Bank of America as Agent pursuant to this Section shall also constitute its resignation as L/C Issuer and Swing Line Lender.

10.07 Treatment of Certain Information; Confidentiality.

Each of the Credit Parties agrees to maintain the confidentiality of the Information (as defined below), except that Information may be disclosed (a) to its Affiliates, Approved Funds, and to its and its Affiliates’ and Approved Funds’ respective partners, directors, officers, employees, agents, funding sources, attorneys, advisors and 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 Requirement of Laws or regulations or by any subpoena or similar legal process, provided that the Agent or such Lender, as applicable, agrees that it will notify the Borrower as soon as practicable in the event of any such disclosure by such person (other than at the request of a regulatory authority) unless such notification is prohibited by law, rule or regulation; (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 (including any electronic agreement contained in any Platform) 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 any Eligible Assignee invited to be an Additional Commitment Lender; or (ii) any actual or prospective counterparty (or its advisors) to any Hedge Agreement relating to any Loan Party and its obligations, (g) with the consent of the Borrower, (h) to any rating agency when required by it (it being understood that, prior to any such disclosure, such rating agency shall undertake to preserve the confidentiality of any Information relating to the Loan Parties received by it from such Lender) or (i) to the extent such Information (i) becomes publicly available other than as a result of a breach of this Section or (ii) becomes available to any Credit Party or any of their respective Affiliates on a non-confidential basis from a source other than the Loan Parties and which source is not known by such Agent or Lender to be subject to a confidentiality restriction in respect thereof in favor of any of the Credit Parties or any Affiliate of the Credit Parties.

For purposes of this Section, “ Information ” means all information received from the Loan Parties or any Subsidiary thereof relating to the Loan Parties or any Subsidiary thereof or their respective businesses, other than any such information that is available to any Credit Party on a non-confidential basis prior to disclosure by the Loan Parties or any Subsidiary thereof, provided that, in the case of information received from any Loan Party or any Subsidiary after the Closing 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.

Each of the Credit Parties acknowledges that (a) the Information may include material non-public information concerning the Loan Parties or a Subsidiary, as the case may be, (b) it has developed compliance procedures regarding the use of material non-public information and (c) it will handle such material non-public information in accordance with Requirement of Law, including the Securities Laws.

 

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10.08 Right of Setoff.

If an Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing or if any Lender shall have been served with a trustee process or similar attachment relating to property of a Loan Party, each Lender, the L/C Issuer and each of their respective Affiliates is hereby authorized at any time and from time to time, after obtaining the prior written consent of the Agent or the Required Lenders, to the fullest extent permitted by Requirement of Law, to set off and apply any and all deposits (general or special, time or demand, provisional or final, in whatever currency) or other property at any time held and other obligations (in whatever currency) at any time owing by such Lender, the L/C Issuer or any such Affiliate to or for the credit or the account of the Borrower or any other Loan Party against any and all of the Obligations now or hereafter existing under this Agreement or any other Loan Document to such Lender or the L/C Issuer, regardless of the adequacy of the Collateral, and irrespective of whether or not such Lender or the L/C Issuer shall have made any demand under this Agreement or any other Loan Document and although such obligations of the Borrower or such Loan Party may be contingent or unmatured or are owed to a branch or office of such Lender or the L/C Issuer different from the branch or office holding such deposit or obligated on such indebtedness; provided , that in the event that any Defaulting Lender shall exercise any such right of setoff, (x) all amounts so set off shall be paid over immediately to the Agent for further application in accordance with the provisions of Section 2.16 and, pending such payment, shall be segregated by such Defaulting Lender from its other funds and deemed held in trust for the benefit of the Agent and the other Credit Parties, and (y) the Defaulting Lender shall provide promptly to the Agent a statement describing in reasonable detail the Obligations owing to such Defaulting Lender as to which it exercised such right of setoff. The rights of each Lender, the L/C Issuer and their respective Affiliates under this Section are in addition to other rights and remedies (including other rights of setoff) that such Lender, the L/C Issuer or their respective Affiliates may have. Each Lender and the L/C Issuer agrees to notify the Borrower and the Agent promptly after any such setoff and application, provided that the failure to give such notice shall not affect the validity of such setoff and application.

10.09 Interest Rate Limitation.

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

10.10 Counterparts; Integration; Effectiveness.

This Agreement may be executed in counterparts (and by different parties hereto in different counterparts), each of which shall constitute an original, but all of which when taken together shall constitute a single contract. This Agreement and the other Loan Documents constitute the entire contract among the parties relating to the subject matter hereof and supersede any and all previous agreements and understandings, oral or written, relating to the subject matter hereof. Except as provided in Section 4.01 , this Agreement shall become effective when it shall have been executed by the Agent and when the Agent shall have received counterparts hereof that, when taken together, bear the signatures of each of the other parties hereto. Delivery of an executed counterpart of a signature page of this Agreement by telecopy, pdf or other electronic transmission shall be as effective as delivery of a manually executed counterpart of this Agreement.

 

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10.11 Survival.

All representations and warranties made hereunder and in any other Loan Document or other document delivered pursuant hereto or thereto or in connection herewith or therewith shall survive the execution and delivery hereof and thereof. Such representations and warranties have been or will be relied upon by the Credit Parties, regardless of any investigation made by any Credit Party or on their behalf and notwithstanding that any Credit Party may have had notice or knowledge of any Default or Event of Default at the time of any Credit Extension, and shall continue in full force and effect as long as any Loan or any other Obligation hereunder shall remain unpaid or unsatisfied or any Letter of Credit shall remain outstanding. Further, the provisions of Sections 3.01 , 3.04 , 3.05 and 10.04 and Article IX shall survive and remain in full force and effect regardless of the repayment of the Obligations, the expiration of the Letters of Credit or the termination of the Commitments or the termination of this Agreement or any provision hereof.

10.12 Severability.

If any provision of this Agreement or the other Loan Documents is held to be illegal, invalid or unenforceable, (a) the legality, validity and enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents shall not be affected or impaired thereby and (b) the parties shall endeavor in good faith negotiations to replace the illegal, invalid or unenforceable provisions with valid provisions the economic effect of which comes as close as possible to that of the illegal, invalid or unenforceable provisions. The invalidity of a provision in a particular jurisdiction shall not invalidate or render unenforceable such provision in any other jurisdiction. Without limiting the foregoing provisions of this Section 10.12 , if and to the extent that the enforceability of any provisions in this Agreement relating to Defaulting Lenders shall be limited by Debtor Relief Laws, as determined in good faith by the Agent, the L/C Issuer or the Swing Line Lender, as applicable, then such provisions shall be deemed to be in effect only to the extent not so limited.

10.13 Replacement of Lenders.

If any Lender requests compensation under Section 3.04 , or ceases to make LIBOR Rate Loans as a result of any condition described in Section 3.02 or 3.04 , or if the Borrower is required to pay any additional amount to any Lender or any Governmental Authority for the account of any Lender pursuant to Section 3.01 , or if any Lender gives a notice pursuant to Section 3.02 or if any Lender is a Defaulting Lender or a Non-Consenting Lender, then the Borrower may, at its sole expense and effort, upon notice to such Lender and the Agent, require such Lender to assign and delegate, without recourse (in accordance with and subject to the restrictions contained in, and consents required by, Section 10.06 ), all of its interests, rights (other than its existing rights to payments pursuant to Section 3.01 and 3.05 ) and obligations under this Agreement and the related Loan Documents to an assignee that shall assume such obligations (which assignee may be another Lender, if a Lender accepts such assignment), provided that:

(a) the Borrower shall have paid to the Agent the assignment fee specified in Section 10.06(b) ;

(b) such Lender shall have received payment of an amount equal to the outstanding principal of its Loans and L/C Advances, accrued interest thereon, accrued fees and all other amounts payable to it hereunder and under the other Loan Documents (including any amounts under Section 3.05 ) from the assignee (to the extent of such outstanding principal and accrued interest and fees) or the Borrowes (in the case of all other amounts);

 

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(c) in the case of any such assignment resulting from a claim for compensation under Section 3.04 or payments required to be made pursuant to Section 3.01 , such assignment will result in a reduction in such compensation or payments thereafter; and

(d) such assignment does not conflict with Requirement of Laws; and

(e) in the case of an assignment resulting from a Lender being a Non-Consenting Lender, the applicable assignee shall have consented to the applicable amendment, waiver or consent.

A Lender shall not be required to make any such assignment or 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.

10.14 GOVERNING LAW. THIS AGREEMENT AND ANY CLAIM, CONTROVERSY OR DISPUTE ARISING UNDER OR RELATED TO THIS AGREEMENT AND THE RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF THE PARTIES UNDER THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY, AND CONSTRUED AND INTERPRETED IN ACCORDANCE WITH, THE LAW OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.

10.15 SUBMISSION TO JURISDICTION; WAIVERS. Each Loan Party hereby irrevocably and unconditionally:

(a) submits for itself and its Property in any legal action or proceeding relating to this Agreement and the other Loan Documents to which it is a party, or for recognition and enforcement of any judgment in respect thereof, to the non-exclusive general jurisdiction of the courts of the State of New York, the courts of the United States for the Southern District of New York, and appellate courts from any thereof;

(b) consents that any such action or proceeding may be brought in such courts and waives any objection that it may now or hereafter have to the venue of any such action or proceeding in any such court or that such action or proceeding was brought in an inconvenient court and agrees not to plead or claim the same. Nothing herein shall limit the right of the Agent or any Lender to bring proceedings against any Loan Party in any other court;

(c) agrees that service of process in any such action or proceeding may be effected by mailing a copy thereof by registered or certified mail (or any substantially similar form of mail), postage prepaid, to it at its address set forth in Schedule 10.02 or at such other address of which the Agent shall have been notified pursuant thereto;

(d) agrees that nothing herein shall affect the right to effect service of process in any other manner permitted by law or shall limit the right to sue in any other jurisdiction; and

(e) waives, to the maximum extent not prohibited by law, any right it may have to claim or recover in any legal action or proceeding referred to in this Section any special, exemplary, punitive or consequential damages.

 

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10.16 Waivers of Jury Trial.

EACH OF THE PARENT, HOLDINGS, THE BORROWER, THE AGENT AND THE LENDERS HEREBY IRREVOCABLY AND UNCONDITIONALLY WAIVE TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY LEGAL ACTION OR PROCEEDING RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT OR ANY OTHER LOAN DOCUMENT AND FOR ANY COUNTERCLAIM THEREIN.

10.17 No Advisory or Fiduciary Responsibility.

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

10.18 USA PATRIOT Act; Proceeds of Crime Act.

Each Lender that is subject to the Patriot Act and the Agent (for itself and not on behalf of any Lender) hereby notifies the Loan Parties that pursuant to the requirements of the Patriot Act), it is required to obtain, verify and record information that identifies each Loan Party, which information includes the name and address of each Loan Party and other information that will allow such Lender or the Agent, as applicable, to identify each Loan Party in accordance with the Act. Each Loan Party is in compliance, in all material respects, with the Patriot Act. No part of the proceeds of the Loans will be used by the Loan Parties, directly or indirectly, for any purpose which would contravene or breach the Proceeds of Crime Act or for any payments to any governmental official or employee, political party, official of a political party, candidate for political office, or anyone else acting in an official capacity, in order to obtain, retain or direct business or obtain any improper advantage, in violation of the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended.

 

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10.19 Foreign Asset Control Regulations.

Neither of the advance of the Loans nor the use of the proceeds of any thereof will violate the Trading With the Enemy Act (50 U.S.C. § 1 et seq., as amended) (the “ Trading With the Enemy Act ”) or any of the foreign assets control regulations of the United States Treasury Department (31 CFR, Subtitle B, Chapter V, as amended) (the “ Foreign Assets Control Regulations ”) or any enabling legislation or executive order relating thereto (which for the avoidance of doubt shall include, but shall not be limited to (a) Executive Order 13224 of September 21, 2001 Blocking Property and Prohibiting Transactions With Persons Who Commit, Threaten to Commit, or Support Terrorism (66 Fed. Reg. 49079 (2001)) (the “ Executive Order ”) and (b) the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-56)). Furthermore, none of the Borrower or its Affiliates (a) is or will become a “blocked person” as described in the Executive Order, the Trading With the Enemy Act or the Foreign Assets Control Regulations or (b) engages or will engage in any dealings or transactions, or be otherwise associated, with any such “blocked person” or in any manner violative of any such order.

10.20 Time of the Essence.

Time is of the essence of the Loan Documents.

10.21 [Reserved].

10.22 Press Releases .

(a) Each Credit Party executing this Agreement agrees that neither it nor its Affiliates will in the future issue any press releases or other public disclosure using the name of the Agent or its Affiliates or referring to this Agreement or the other Loan Documents without at least two (2) Business Days’ prior notice to the Agent and without the prior written consent of the Agent unless (and only to the extent that) such Credit Party or Affiliate is required to do so under Requirement of Law and then, in any event, such Credit Party or Affiliate will consult with the Agent before issuing such press release or other public disclosure.

(b) Each Loan Party consents to the publication by the Agent or any Lender of advertising material relating to the financing transactions contemplated by this Agreement using any Loan Party’s name, product photographs, logo or trademark. The Agent or such Lender shall provide a draft reasonably in advance of any advertising material to the Borrower prior to the publication thereof for review and comment by the Borrower. The Agent reserves the right to provide to industry trade organizations information necessary and customary for inclusion in league table measurements.

10.23 Additional Waivers .

(a) Except as provided herein or in any other Loan Document or pursuant to any amendment or waiver executed pursuant to Section 10.01 , (i) the Obligations are the joint and several obligation of each Loan Party;. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable Requirement of Law, the obligations of each Loan Party shall not be affected by (i) the failure of any Credit Party to assert any claim or demand or to enforce or exercise any right or remedy against any other Loan Party under the provisions of this Agreement, any other Loan Document or otherwise, (ii) any release of any other Loan Party from any of the terms or provisions of, this Agreement or any other Loan Document, or (iii) the failure to perfect any security interest in, or the release of, any of the Collateral or other security held by or on behalf of any Agent, the Collateral Agent or any other Credit Party.

 

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(b) Except as provided herein or in any other Loan Document or pursuant to any amendment or waiver executed pursuant to Section 10.01 , the Obligations of each Loan Party shall not be subject to any reduction, limitation, impairment or termination for any reason (other than the Payment in Full of the Obligations), including any claim of waiver, release, surrender, alteration or compromise of any of the Obligations, and shall not be subject to any defense or setoff, counterclaim, recoupment or termination whatsoever by reason of the invalidity, illegality or unenforceability of any of the Obligations or otherwise. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Obligations of each Loan Party shall not be discharged or impaired or otherwise affected by the failure of any Agent or any other Credit Party to assert any claim or demand or to enforce any remedy under this Agreement, any other Loan Document or any other agreement, by any waiver or modification of any provision of any thereof, any default, failure or delay, willful or otherwise, in the performance of any of the Obligations, or by any other act or omission that may or might in any manner or to any extent vary the risk of any Loan Party or that would otherwise operate as a discharge of any Loan Party as a matter of law or equity (other than the Payment in Full of all of the Obligations).

(c) To the fullest extent permitted by Requirement of Law, each Loan Party waives any defense based on or arising out of any defense of any other Loan Party or the unenforceability of the Obligations or any part thereof from any cause, or the cessation from any cause of the liability of any other Loan Party, other than the Payment in Full of all the Obligations. The Agent and the other Credit Parties may, at their election, foreclose on any security held by one or more of them by one or more judicial or non-judicial sales, accept an assignment of any such security in lieu of foreclosure, compromise or adjust any part of the Obligations, make any other accommodation with any other Loan Party, or exercise any other right or remedy available to them against any other Loan Party, without affecting or impairing in any way the liability of any Loan Party hereunder except to the extent that all of the Obligations have been Paid in Full. To the fullest extent permitted by Requirement of Law, each Loan Party waives any defense arising out of any such election even though such election operates, pursuant to Requirement of Law, to impair or to extinguish any right of reimbursement or subrogation or other right or remedy of such Loan Party against any other Loan Party.

(d) Upon payment by any Loan Party of any Obligations, all rights of such Loan Party against any other Loan Party arising as a result thereof by way of right of subrogation, contribution, reimbursement, indemnity or otherwise shall in all respects be subordinate and junior in right of payment to the prior Payment in Full of all of the Obligations. In addition, any indebtedness of any Loan Party now or hereafter held by any other Loan Party is hereby subordinated in right of payment to the prior Payment in Full of the Obligations and no Loan Party will demand, sue for or otherwise attempt to collect any such indebtedness until Payment in Full of the Obligations. If any amount shall erroneously be paid to any Loan Party on account of (i) such subrogation, contribution, reimbursement, indemnity or similar right or (ii) any such indebtedness of any Loan Party, such amount shall be held in trust for the benefit of the Credit Parties and shall forthwith be paid to the Agent to be credited against the payment of the Obligations, whether matured or unmatured, in accordance with the terms of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents.

10.24 Judgment Currency.

If, for the purposes of obtaining judgment in any court in any jurisdiction with respect to this Agreement or any other Loan Document, it becomes necessary to convert into a particular currency (the “ Judgment Currency ”) any amount due under this Agreement or under any other Loan Document in any currency other than the Judgment Currency (the “ Currency Due ”), then conversion shall be made at the rate of exchange prevailing on the Business Day before the day on which judgment is given. For this purpose “rate of exchange” means the rate at which the Agent is able, on the relevant date, to purchase the

 

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Currency Due with the Judgment Currency in accordance with its normal practice for the applicable currency conversion in the wholesale market. In the event that there is a change in the rate of exchange prevailing there is a change in the rate of exchange prevailing between the conversion date and the date of actual payment of the amount due, the Loan Parties will pay such additional amount (if any, but in any event not a lesser amount) as may be necessary to ensure that the amount paid in the Judgment Currency, when converted at the rate of exchange prevailing on the date of payment, will produce the amount of Currency Due which could have been purchased with the amount of Judgment Currency stipulated in the judgment or judicial order at the rate of exchange prevailing on the conversion date. If the amount of the Currency Due which the applicable Agent is so able to purchase is less than the amount of the Currency Due originally due to it, the applicable Loan Party shall indemnify and save the Agent, the L/C Issuer and the Lenders harmless from and against all loss or damage arising as a result of such deficiency. This indemnity shall constitute an obligation separate and independent from the other obligations contained in this Agreement and the other Loan Documents, shall give rise to a separate and independent cause of action, shall apply irrespective of any indulgence granted by any Agent from time to time and shall continue in full force and effect notwithstanding any judgment or order for a liquidated sum in respect of an amount due under this Agreement or any other Loan Document or under any judgment or order.

10.25 No Strict Construction.

The parties hereto have participated jointly in the negotiation and drafting of this Agreement. In the event an ambiguity or question of intent or interpretation arises, this Agreement shall be construed as if drafted jointly by the parties hereto and no presumption or burden of proof shall arise favoring or disfavoring any party by virtue of the authorship of any provisions of this Agreement.

10.26 Attachments.

The exhibits, schedules and annexes attached to this Agreement are incorporated herein and shall be considered a part of this Agreement for the purposes stated herein, except that in the event of any conflict between any of the provisions of such exhibits and the provisions of this Agreement, the provisions of this Agreement shall prevail.

10.27 Electronic Execution of Assignments and Certain Other Documents.

The words “execute,” “execution,” “signed,” “signature,” and words of like import in any Assignment and Assumption or in any amendment or other modification hereof (including waivers and consents) shall be deemed to include electronic signatures, the electronic matching of assignment terms and contract formations on electronic platforms approved by the Agent, or the keeping of records in electronic form, each of which shall be of the same legal effect, validity or enforceability as a manually executed signature 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.

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be duly executed by their respective authorized officers as of the date first above written.

 

VINCE, LLC, as Borrower
By:  

/s/ Lisa Klinger

Name:   Lisa Klinger
Title:   Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer

VINCE INTERMEDIATE HOLDINGS, LLC,  as a

Loan Party

By:  

/s/ Lisa Klinger

Name:   Lisa Klinger
Title:   Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer
VINCE HOLDING CORP., as a Loan Party
By:  

/s/ Lisa Klinger

Name:   Lisa Klinger
Title:   Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer


BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., as Agent
By:  

/s/ Matthew Potter

Name:   Matthew Potter
Title:   Vice President


BANK OF AMERICA, N.A.,  as Lender, Swing Line

Lender and L/C Issuer

By:  

/s/ Matthew Potter

Name:   Matthew Potter
Title:   Vice President

Exhibit 10.5

 

 

 

$175,000,000

CREDIT AGREEMENT

among

VINCE, LLC

and

VINCE INTERMEDIATE HOLDING, LLC,

as Borrowers,

VINCE HOLDING CORP.,

as a Guarantor

The Several Lenders from Time to Time Parties Hereto,

BANK OF AMERICA, N.A.,

as Administrative Agent,

J.P. MORGAN SECURITIES LLC,

as Syndication Agent,

BANK OF AMERICA, N.A.,

and

J.P. MORGAN SECURITIES LLC

as Joint Lead Arrangers and Joint Bookrunners,

and

CANTOR FITZGERALD SECURITIES,

as Documentation Agent

Dated as of November 27, 2013

 

 

 


TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

     Page  

SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS

     1   

1.1

  Defined Terms      1   

1.2

  Other Definitional Provisions      33   

1.3

  Pro Forma Calculations      34   

SECTION 2. AMOUNT AND TERMS OF COMMITMENTS

     35   

2.1

  Term Commitments      35   

2.2

  Procedure for Term Loan Borrowing      36   

2.3

  Amortization      36   

2.4

  [Reserved]      36   

2.5

  [Reserved]      36   

2.6

  [Reserved]      36   

2.7

  [Reserved]      36   

2.8

  Repayment of Term Loans      36   

2.9

  Fees, etc      37   

2.10

  [Reserved]      37   

2.11

  Optional Prepayments      37   

2.12

  Mandatory Prepayments      38   

2.13

  Conversion and Continuation Options      40   

2.14

  Minimum Amounts and Maximum Number of Eurodollar Tranches      41   

2.15

  Interest Rates and Payment Dates      41   

2.16

  Computation of Interest and Fees      42   

2.17

  Inability to Determine Rates      42   

2.18

  Pro Rata Treatment and Payments      42   

2.19

  Requirements of Law      44   

2.20

  Taxes      45   

2.21

  Indemnity      47   

2.22

  Illegality      47   

2.23

  Mitigation of Costs; Change of Lending Office      48   

2.24

  Replacement of Lenders      48   

2.25

  Incremental Term Loans      49   

2.26

  Extended Term Loans      50   

2.27

  Reverse Dutch Auction Repurchases      53   

2.28

  Sponsor and Affiliate Term Loan Repurchases      54   

2.29

  Refinancing Amendments      55   

SECTION 3. [RESERVED]

     56   

SECTION 4. REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES

     56   

4.1

  Financial Condition      56   

4.2

  No Change      57   

4.3

  Existence; Compliance with Law      57   

4.4

  Corporate Power; Authorization; Enforceable Obligations      57   

4.5

  No Legal Bar      58   

 

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         Page  

4.6

  No Material Litigation      58   

4.7

  No Default      58   

4.8

  Ownership of Property; Liens      58   

4.9

  Intellectual Property      58   

4.10

  Taxes      59   

4.11

  Federal Regulations      59   

4.12

  ERISA      59   

4.13

  Investment Company Act      60   

4.14

  Subsidiaries      60   

4.15

  Environmental Matters      60   

4.16

  Accuracy of Information, etc      60   

4.17

  Security Documents      60   

4.18

  Solvency      61   

4.19

  Senior Indebtedness      61   

4.20

  Labor Matters      61   

4.21

  Regulation H      62   

4.22

  Anti-Money Laundering and Economic Sanctions Laws      62   

4.23

  FCPA      62   

4.24

  Insurance      62   

4.25

  Broker’s or Finder’s Commissions      63   

SECTION 5. CONDITIONS PRECEDENT

     63   

5.1

  Conditions to Initial Extension of Credit      63   

5.2

  Conditions to All Extensions of Credit      65   

5.3

  New Term Loans      65   

SECTION 6. AFFIRMATIVE COVENANTS

     66   

6.1

  Financial Statements      66   

6.2

  Certificates; Other Information      67   

6.3

  Payment of Obligations      68   

6.4

  Conduct of Business and Maintenance of Existence, etc.; Compliance      68   

6.5

  Maintenance of Property; Insurance      68   

6.6

  Inspection of Property; Books and Records; Discussions      69   

6.7

  Notices      70   

6.8

  Additional Collateral, etc      72   

6.9

  Further Assurances      72   

6.10

  Use of Proceeds      72   

6.11

  Credit Ratings      73   

6.12

  Post-Closing Obligations      73   

SECTION 7. NEGATIVE COVENANTS

     73   

7.1

  Consolidated Net Total Leverage Ratio      73   

7.2

  Indebtedness      74   

7.3

  Liens      76   

7.4

  Fundamental Changes      79   

7.5

  Dispositions of Property      80   

7.6

  Restricted Payments      81   

7.7

  Investments      82   

 

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         Page  

7.8

  Optional Payments and Modifications of Certain Debt Instruments      84   

7.9

  Transactions with Affiliates      85   

7.10

  Sales and Leasebacks      85   

7.11

  Changes in Fiscal Periods      85   

7.12

  Negative Pledge Clauses      85   

7.13

  Clauses Restricting Subsidiary Distributions      86   

7.14

  Lines of Business      87   

7.15

  Limitation on Hedge Agreements      87   

7.16

  Limitation on Activities of Holdings      87   

SECTION 8. EVENTS OF DEFAULT

     88   

SECTION 9. THE ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT

     91   

9.1

  Appointment      91   

9.2

  Delegation of Duties      91   

9.3

  Exculpatory Provisions      91   

9.4

  Reliance by the Administrative Agent      92   

9.5

  Notice of Default      92   

9.6

  Non-Reliance on Administrative Agent and Other Lenders      92   

9.7

  Indemnification      93   

9.8

  Administrative Agent in Its Individual Capacity      93   

9.9

  Resignation or Removal of Administrative Agent      93   

9.10

  Authorization to Release Liens and Guarantees      94   

9.11

  Arranger and Other Agents      94   

9.12

  Administrative Agent May File Proofs of Claim      94   

9.13

  Withholding Taxes      95   

SECTION 10. MISCELLANEOUS

     95   

10.1

  Amendments and Waivers      95   

10.2

  Notices      98   

10.3

  No Waiver; Cumulative Remedies      100   

10.4

  Survival of Representations and Warranties      100   

10.5

  Payment of Expenses; Indemnification      100   

10.6

  Successors and Assigns; Participations and Assignments      101   

10.7

  Adjustments; Set-off      105   

10.8

  Counterparts      106   

10.9

  Severability      106   

10.10

  Integration      106   

10.11

  GOVERNING LAW      106   

10.12

  Submission To Jurisdiction; Waivers      106   

10.13

  Acknowledgments      107   

10.14

  Confidentiality      107   

10.15

  Release of Collateral and Guarantee Obligations; Subordination of Liens      107   

10.16

  Accounting Changes      108   

10.17

  WAIVERS OF JURY TRIAL      109   

10.18

  USA PATRIOT ACT      109   

10.19

  Delivery of Lender Addenda      109   

10.20

  The Platform      109   

10.21

  ABL Intercreditor Agreement      110   

10.22

  Joint and Several Liability      110   

 

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SCHEDULES :

 

2.27(a)    Dutch Auction Procedures
4.4    Consents, Authorizations, Filings and Notices
4.8A    Excepted Property
4.8B    Owned Real Property
4.14    Subsidiaries
4.17(a)    UCC Filing Jurisdictions
6.12    Post-Closing Obligations
7.2(d)    Existing Indebtedness
7.3(f)    Existing Liens
7.7    Existing Investments
7.9    Transactions with Affiliates
7.12    Existing Negative Pledge Clauses
7.13    Existing Clauses Restricting Subsidiary Distributions
7.15    Specified Hedge Agreements

EXHIBITS :

 

A    Form of Guarantee and Collateral Agreement
B    Form of Compliance Certificate
C    Form of Closing Certificate
D-1    Form of Assignment and Assumption
D-2    Form of Affiliated Lender Assignment and Assumption
E    Form of Certificate of Representations and Warranties
F    Form of Exemption Certificate
G    Form of Solvency Certificate
H    Form of Joinder Agreement
I    Form of Lender Addendum
J    Form of Prepayment Option Notice
K    Form of ABL Intercreditor Agreement

 

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CREDIT AGREEMENT dated as of November 27, 2013, among VINCE, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“ Vince ”), VINCE INTERMEDIATE HOLDING, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“ Intermediate Holdings ” and, together with Vince, each a “ Borrower ” and collectively, the “ Borrowers ”), VINCE HOLDING CORP., a Delaware corporation (“ Holdings ”), the several banks and other financial institutions or entities from time to time parties to this Agreement (the “ Lenders ”), BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., as Administrative Agent, J.P. MORGAN SECURITIES LLC, as syndication agent (in such capacity, the “ Syndication Agent ”), BANK OF AMERICA, N.A. and J.P. MORGAN SECURITIES LLC, as Joint Lead Arrangers and Joint Bookrunners, and CANTOR FITZGERALD SECURITIES, as documentation agent (in such capacity, the “ Documentation Agent ”).

The parties hereto hereby agree as follows:

SECTION 1.

DEFINITIONS

1.1 Defined Terms . As used in this Agreement, the terms listed in this Section 1.1 shall have the respective meanings set forth in this Section 1.1.

ABL Facility ”: that certain revolving ABL Credit Agreement dated as of the Closing Date among Vince, as the borrower, Intermediate Holdings and Holdings, each as a guarantor, Bank of America, N.A., as administrative agent and issuing bank, the lenders party thereto and the other agents, arrangers and bookrunners identified therein, as Amended or Refinanced from time to time.

ABL Intercreditor Agreement ”: the Intercreditor Agreement substantially in the form of Exhibit K, as it may be amended, amended and restated, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time in accordance with the terms hereof and thereof.

ABL Indebtedness ”: Indebtedness incurred from time to time under the ABL Facility.

ABL Obligations ”: as defined in the ABL Intercreditor Agreement.

ABR ”: for any day a fluctuating rate per annum equal to the highest of (a) the Federal Funds Effective Rate plus  1 2 of 1%, (b) the rate of interest in effect for such day as publicly announced from time to time by Bank of America as its “prime rate” and (c) except during a Eurodollar Unavailability Period, the Eurodollar Rate plus 100 basis points. The “prime rate” is a rate set by Bank of America based upon various factors including Bank of America’s costs and desired return, general economic conditions and other factors, and is used as a reference point for pricing some loans, which may be priced at, above or below such announced rate. Any change in such “prime rate” announced by Bank of America shall take effect at the opening of business on the day specified in the public announcement of such change.

ABR Loans ”: Term Loans the rate of interest applicable to which is based upon the ABR.

Accounting Changes ”: as defined in Section 10.16.

Acquisition ”: as defined in the definition of “Permitted Acquisition”.


Administrative Agent ”: Bank of America, as the administrative agent for the Lenders under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents, together with any of its successors and permitted assigns.

Affiliate ”: as to any Person, any other Person that, directly or indirectly, is in control of, is controlled by, or is under common control with, such Person. For purposes of this definition, “control” of a Person means the power, directly or indirectly to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of such Person, in either case whether by contract or otherwise.

Affiliated Lender Assignment and Assumption ”: as defined in Section 2.28(f).

Agreed Purposes ”: as defined in Section 10.14.

Agreement ”: this Credit Agreement, as amended, Amended or Refinanced, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time.

Amended or Refinanced ”: in respect of any obligation, or the agreement or contract pursuant to which such obligation is incurred, (a) such obligation (or any portion thereof) or related agreement or contract as extended, renewed, defeased, amended, amended and restated, supplemented, modified, restructured, consolidated, refinanced, replaced, refunded or repaid from time to time and (b) any other obligation issued in exchange or replacement for or to refinance such obligation, in whole or in part, whether with same or different lenders, arrangers and/or agents and whether with a larger or smaller aggregate principal amount and/or a longer or shorter maturity, in each case to the extent not prohibited under the terms of the Loan Documents then in effect. “ Amend or Refinance ” and “ Amendment or Refinancing ” shall have correlative meanings.

Annual Operating Budget ”: as defined in Section 6.2(c).

Anti-Money Laundering Laws ”: any and all laws, judgments, orders, executive orders, decrees, ordinances, rules, regulations, statutes, case law or treaties applicable to a Loan Party, its Subsidiaries or Affiliates, related to terrorism financing or money laundering including any applicable provision of Title III of the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act (USA PATRIOT Act) of 2001 (Title III of Pub. L. 107-56) and The Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act (also known as the “Bank Secrecy Act”, 31 U.S.C. §§ 5311-5330 and 12 U.S.C. §§ 1818(s), 1820(b) and 1951-1959).

Applicable Margin ”: for any day, with respect to each Type of Term Loan, the following rates per annum, based upon the Consolidated Net Total Leverage Ratio as set forth in the most recent Compliance Certificate received by the Administrative Agent pursuant to Section 6.2(b):

 

Consolidated Net Total Leverage Ratio

   Applicable Margin for
Eurodollar Loans
    Applicable Margin for ABR
Loans
 

Greater than 2.25 to 1.00

     5.00     4.00

Less than or equal to 2.25 to 1.00

     4.75     3.75

 

2


Changes in the Applicable Margin resulting from changes in the Consolidated Net Total Leverage Ratio shall become effective as of the first Business Day immediately following the date a Compliance Certificate is delivered pursuant to Section 6.2(b) and shall remain in effect until the next change to be effected pursuant to this paragraph. If the Compliance Certificate referred to above is not delivered within the applicable time period for delivery thereof specified in Section 6.2(b), then, until such Compliance Certificate is delivered, the Consolidated Net Total Leverage Ratio as at the end of the fiscal period that would have been covered thereby shall for the purposes of this definition be deemed to be greater than 2.25 to 1.00. During the continuation of any Event of Default, the Applicable Margin will be 5.00% in the case of Eurodollar Loans and 4.00% in the case of ABR Loans. Nothing in this paragraph shall limit the right of Administrative Agent or any Lender under Section 8.

Applicable Threshold Price ”: as defined in Schedule 2.27.

Approved Fund ”: as defined in Section 10.6(b).

Asset Sale ”: any Disposition of Property or series of related Dispositions of Property by the Borrowers or any Subsidiary Guarantor (excluding (i) any such Disposition permitted by clause (a), (b), (c) (except as it relates to Section 7.4(d)), (d), (f), (g), (h), (i), (j), (k), (l), (n), (o), (p), (q) and (r) of Section 7.5) and (ii) any such Disposition which is a Recovery Event) which yields Net Cash Proceeds to any Loan Party (valued at the initial principal amount thereof in the case of non-cash proceeds consisting of notes or other debt securities and valued at fair market value in the case of other non-cash proceeds) in excess of $2,000,000.

Assignee ”: as defined in Section 10.6(b).

Assignment and Assumption ”: an Assignment and Assumption, substantially in the form of Exhibit D-1.

Auction ”: as defined in Section 2.27(a).

Auction Amount ”: as defined in Schedule 2.27(a).

Auction Assignment and Assumption ”: as defined in Schedule 2.27(a).

Auction Manager ”: as defined in Section 2.27(a).

Auction Notice ”: as defined on Schedule 2.27(a).

Available Excess Amount ”: the sum of, without duplication, (a) $2,000,000; (b) the aggregate cumulative amount, not less than zero, of Excess Cash Flow, commencing with the fiscal year ending on or around January 31, 2015, that is not required pursuant to the provisions of Section 2.12(c) to be applied to the prepayment of Term Loans, less the aggregate cumulative amount, if any, referred to in Section 2.12(c)(ii); (c) the Net Cash Proceeds received after the Closing Date from any Equity Issuance; (d) Declined Amounts; (e) without duplication of any amounts that otherwise increased the amount available for Investments pursuant to Section 7.7, 100.0% of the aggregate amount received by a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary of a Borrower in cash and Cash Equivalents from: (i) the sale (other than to a Borrower or any such Restricted Subsidiary) of any Equity Interests of an Unrestricted Subsidiary or any minority Investments, (ii) any dividend or other distribution by an Unrestricted Subsidiary or received in respect of any minority Investments, or (iii) any interest, returns of principal, repayments and similar payments by such Unrestricted Subsidiary or received in respect of any minority Investments; (f) in the event any Unrestricted Subsidiary has been re-designated as a Restricted Subsidiary or has been merged, consolidated or amalgamated with or into, or transfers or conveys its assets to, or is liquidated into, a Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary, the fair market value of the

 

3


Investments of the Borrowers and the Restricted Subsidiaries in such Unrestricted Subsidiary at the time of such redesignation, combination or transfer (or of the assets transferred or conveyed, as applicable); and (g) an amount equal to any returns in cash and Cash Equivalents (including dividends, interest, distributions, returns of principal, profits on sale, repayments, income and similar amounts) actually received by a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary in respect of any Investments made pursuant to Section 7.7(p), and, in each case of clause (e), (f) and (g), not to exceed the original amount of such Investment; less, in each case, the amount that has been previously expended pursuant to Section 7.6(c), Section 7.7(p) or Section 7.8(a).

Bank of America ”: Bank of America, N.A. and its successors.

Benefitted Lender ”: as defined in Section 10.7(a).

Board ”: the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System of the United States (or any successor).

Borrower ”: as defined in the preamble of this Agreement.

Borrower Intellectual Property ”: as defined in Section 4.9

Borrowing Date ”: any Business Day specified by the Borrowers as a date on which the Borrowers request the relevant Lenders to make Term Loans hereunder.

Business ”: the business and any services, activities or businesses incidental or directly related or similar to any line of business engaged in by the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries as of the Closing Date or any business activity that is a reasonable extension, development or expansion thereof or ancillary thereto.

Business Day ”: a day other than a Saturday, Sunday or other day on which commercial banks in New York City are authorized or required by law to close; provided that, when used in connection with a Eurodollar Loan, the term “Business Day” shall also exclude any day on which banks are not open for dealings in dollar deposits in the London interbank market.

Cap ”: as defined in Section 2.28.

Capital Expenditures ”: for any period, with respect to any Person, the aggregate of all cash expenditures by such Person for the acquisition or leasing (pursuant to a capital lease but excluding any amount representing capitalized interest) of fixed or capital assets or additions to equipment (including replacements, capitalized repairs and improvements during such period) which are required to be capitalized under GAAP on a balance sheet of such Person; provided that in any event the term “Capital Expenditures” shall exclude: (i) any Permitted Acquisition and any other Investment permitted hereunder; (ii) expenditures to the extent financed with any Reinvestment Deferred Amount; (iii) expenditures for leasehold improvements for which such Person is reimbursed or receives a credit; (iv) expenditures to the extent they are made with the proceeds of equity contributions (other than in respect of Disqualified Capital Stock) made to the Borrowers after the Closing Date; (v) the purchase price of equipment that is purchased simultaneously with the trade-in of existing equipment solely to the extent that the gross amount of such purchase price is reduced by the credit granted by the seller of such equipment for the equipment being traded in at such time; (vi) expenditures that are accounted for as capital expenditures by Holdings or any Restricted Subsidiary and that actually are paid for by a Person other than Holdings or any Restricted Subsidiary and for which neither Holdings nor any Restricted Subsidiary has provided or is required to provide or incur, directly or indirectly, any consideration or

 

4


obligation to such Person or any other Person (whether before, during or after such period); (vii) expenditures that constitute operating lease expenses in accordance with GAAP; (viii) any capitalized interest expense reflected as additions to property, plant or equipment in the consolidated balance sheet of Holdings and the Restricted Subsidiaries; and (ix) any non-cash compensation or other non-cash costs reflected as additions to property, plant or equipment in the consolidated balance sheet of Holdings and the Restricted Subsidiaries.

Capital Lease Obligations ”: as to any Person, 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, for the purposes of this Agreement, the amount of such obligations at any time shall be the capitalized amount thereof at such time determined in accordance with GAAP.

Capital Stock ”: any and all shares, interests, participations or other equivalents (however designated) of capital stock of a corporation, any and all equivalent ownership interests in a Person (other than a corporation).

Cash Equivalents ”: (a) marketable direct obligations issued by, or unconditionally guaranteed by, the United States government or issued by any agency thereof and backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, in each case maturing within one year from the date of acquisition; (b) certificates of deposit, time deposits, eurodollar time deposits or overnight bank deposits having maturities of one year or less from the date of acquisition issued by any Lender or by any commercial bank organized under the laws of the United States or any state thereof having combined capital and surplus of not less than $500,000,000; (c) commercial paper of an issuer rated at least A-2 by S&P or P-2 by Moody’s, or carrying an equivalent rating by a nationally recognized rating agency if both of the two named rating agencies cease publishing ratings of commercial paper issuers generally, and maturing within one year from the date of acquisition; (d) repurchase obligations of any Lender or of any commercial bank satisfying the requirements of clause (b) of this definition, having a term of not more than 30 days with respect to securities issued or fully guaranteed or insured by the United States government; (e) securities with maturities of one year or less from the date of acquisition issued or fully guaranteed by any state, commonwealth or territory of the United States, by any political subdivision or taxing authority of any such state, commonwealth or territory the securities of which state, commonwealth, territory, political subdivision, taxing authority (as the case may be) are rated at least A by S&P or A by Moody’s; (f) securities with maturities of one year or less from the date of acquisition backed by standby letters of credit issued by any Lender or any commercial bank satisfying the requirements of clause (b) of this definition; (g) shares of money market mutual or similar funds which invest exclusively in assets satisfying the requirements of any of clauses (a) through (f) of this definition; (h) money market funds that (i) purport to comply generally with the criteria set forth in SEC Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, (ii) are rated AAA by S&P or Aaa by Moody’s or carrying an equivalent rating by a nationally recognized rating agency, and (iii) have portfolio assets of at least $5,000,000,000; or (i) in the case of Foreign Subsidiaries, (i) such local currencies in those countries in which such Foreign Subsidiary transacts business from time to time in the ordinary course of business and (ii) investments of comparable tenor and credit quality to those described above customarily utilized in the countries in which such Foreign Subsidiaries operate for short-term cash management purposes.

Certificated Security ”: as defined in the Guarantee and Collateral Agreement.

CFC ”: any Subsidiary that is a “controlled foreign corporation” within the meaning of Section 957 of the Code.

 

5


CFC Holdco ”: any Domestic Subsidiary that has no material assets other than the Capital Stock of and, if applicable, Indebtedness of one or more Foreign Subsidiaries that are CFCs.

Change in Law ”: the occurrence, after the date of this Agreement, of any of the following: (a) the adoption of any law, rule, regulation or treaty, (b) any change in any law, rule, regulation or treaty or in the official administration, interpretation, implementation or application thereof by any Governmental Authority or (c) the making or issuance of any rule, guideline or directive (whether or not having the force of law) by any Governmental Authority; provided that notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, (x) the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and all requests, rules, guidelines or directives thereunder or issued in connection therewith and (y) 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 or foreign 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.

Chattel Paper ”: as defined in the Guarantee and Collateral Agreement.

Closing Date ”: the date on which the conditions precedent set forth in Section 5.1 shall have been satisfied and the initial Term Loans hereunder shall have been funded, which date is November 27, 2013.

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

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

Commitment ”: as to any Lender, the sum of the Initial Term Commitments and the New Term Loan Commitments (if any) of such Lender, as increased or reduced from time to time pursuant to this Agreement, including in connection with Sections 2.24, 2.26, 2.27, 2.28, 2.29 and 10.06.

Committed Reinvestment Amount ”: as defined in the definition of “Reinvestment Prepayment Amount”.

Commonly Controlled Entity ”: an entity, whether or not incorporated, that is under common control with Holdings within the meaning of Section 4001 of ERISA.

Commonly Controlled Plan ”: as defined in Section 4.12(b).

Compliance Certificate ”: a certificate duly executed by a Responsible Officer substantially in the form of Exhibit B.

Confidential Information ”: as defined in Section 10.14.

Confidential Information Memorandum ”: the Confidential Information Memorandum dated October 2013 and furnished to the Lenders.

Consolidated Current Assets ”: at any date, all amounts (other than cash and Cash Equivalents) that would, in conformity with GAAP, be set forth opposite the caption “total current assets” (or any like caption) on a consolidated balance sheet of Holdings, the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries at such date.

 

6


Consolidated Current Liabilities ”: at any date, all amounts that would, in conformity with GAAP, be set forth opposite the caption “total current liabilities” (or any like caption) on a consolidated balance sheet of Holdings, the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries at such date, but excluding (a) the current portion of any Indebtedness of Holdings, the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries and (b) without duplication, all Indebtedness consisting of ABL Indebtedness, to the extent otherwise included therein.

Consolidated EBITDA ”: of any Person for any period, Consolidated Net Income of such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries for such period plus, without duplication and to the extent reflected as a charge in the statement of such Consolidated Net Income for such period, the sum of (a) income tax (or any alternative tax in lieu thereof) expense (including state franchise and similar taxes), (b) Consolidated Net Interest Expense of such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries, amortization or writeoff of debt discount and debt issuance costs and commissions, discounts and other fees and charges associated with Indebtedness (including commitment and administrative fees and charges with respect to the ABL Facility, the Term Facilities, any Junior Indebtedness and any Permitted Amendment or Refinancing of any of the foregoing), (c) depreciation and amortization expense, (d) amortization or impairment of intangibles (including, but not limited to, goodwill) and organization costs, (e) any extraordinary, unusual or non-recurring expenses or losses (including, whether or not otherwise includable as a separate item in the statement of such Consolidated Net Income for such period, losses on sales of assets outside of the ordinary course of business), (f) stock-option based and other equity-based compensation expenses, (g) transaction costs, fees and expenses (including those relating to the transactions contemplated hereby and by the ABL Facility (including any Amendments or Refinancings or waivers of the Loan Documents and/or ABL Facility), and those payable in connection with the sale of Capital Stock (including any secondary or follow-on offerings), the incurrence, repayment, redemption, repurchase or defeasance of Indebtedness permitted under Section 7.2, any Disposition of Property permitted under Section 7.5 or any recapitalization or any Permitted Acquisition or other Investment permitted under Section 7.7 or any other Specified Transaction (in each case whether or not successful)), including the IPO, (h) [reserved], (i) expenses or losses with respect to liability or casualty events and proceeds from any business interruption insurance, in each case, to the extent covered by insurance and actually reimbursed or otherwise paid, or, so long as Holdings has made a determination that there exists reasonable evidence that such amount will in fact be reimbursed or otherwise paid by the insurer and only to the extent that such amount is (A) not denied by the applicable carrier in writing within 180 days and (B) in fact reimbursed or otherwise paid within 365 days of the date of such evidence (with a deduction for any amount so added back to the extent not so reimbursed or otherwise paid within such 365 days) (in the case of this clause (i) to the extent not reflected as revenue or income in such statement of such Consolidated Net Income), (j) to the extent actually reimbursed, expenses incurred to the extent covered by indemnification provisions in any agreement in connection with any Investment, Permitted Acquisition or any sale, conveyance, transfer or other Disposition of assets permitted under this Agreement, (k) any call premium, tender premium, original issue discount or expenses associated with the repurchase, redemptions, defeasance or repayment of Indebtedness, (l) the amount of any restructuring charges or reserves (which, for the avoidance of doubt, shall include retention, severance, systems establishment cost, excess pension charges, contract termination costs, future lease commitments, costs to consolidate facilities and relocate employees, costs related to the winddown of leases and costs related to store closures) deducted in such period in computing Consolidated Net Income, (m) any non-cash charges, expenses or losses (including any impairment charges and the impact of purchase accounting, including, but not limited to, the amortization of inventory step-up) reducing Consolidated Net Income for such period (excluding any such charge that represents an accrual or reserve for a cash expenditure for a future period, other than straight-line rent expense determined in accordance with GAAP) and (n) one-time costs and expenses related to the replacement of services provided to the Borrowers on the Closing Date under the terms of the Shared Services Agreement, minus , to the extent included in the statement of such Consolidated Net Income for such period, the sum of (a) any extraordinary, unusual or non-recurring

 

7


income or gains (including, whether or not otherwise includable as a separate item in the statement of such Consolidated Net Income for such period, gains on the sales of assets outside of the ordinary course of business) and (b) any non-cash items increasing Consolidated Net Income for such Person for such period (excluding any items which represent the reversal of any accrual of, or cash reserve for, anticipated cash charges made in any prior period or which will result in the receipt of cash in a future period or the amortization of lease incentives) all as determined on a consolidated basis; provided that for purposes of calculating Consolidated EBITDA of Holdings, the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries for any period, (A) the Consolidated EBITDA of any Person acquired by Holdings, the Borrowers or their Restricted Subsidiaries during such period shall be included on a pro forma basis for such period to give effect to any Specified Transaction (but assuming the consummation of such acquisition and the incurrence or assumption of any Indebtedness in connection therewith occurred on the first day of such period, and assuming any synergies and cost savings to the extent certified by Holdings as having been determined in good faith to be reasonably anticipated to be realizable within 12 months following such Specified Transaction and provided that the aggregate amount of synergies and cost savings included in Consolidated EBITDA for any period of four consecutive fiscal quarters shall not exceed 10% of Consolidated EBITDA for such four fiscal quarter period (before to giving effect to such adjustment)), (B) the Consolidated EBITDA of any Person Disposed of by Holdings, the Borrowers or their Restricted Subsidiaries during such period shall be excluded for such period (assuming the consummation of such Disposition and the repayment of any Indebtedness in connection therewith occurred on the first day of such period), (C) to the extent included in Consolidated Net Income, there shall be excluded in determining Consolidated EBITDA for any period any income (loss) for such period attributable to the early extinguishment of (i) Indebtedness, (ii) obligations under any Hedge Agreements or (iii) other derivative instruments, (D) to the extent included in Consolidated Net Income, there shall be excluded in determining Consolidated EBITDA for any period any net after-tax gain or loss resulting from Hedge Agreement or other derivative instruments and the application of Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 133 and International Accounting Standard No. 39 and their respective related pronouncements and interpretations, and (E) any gains or losses attributable to foreign currency translations, including those relating to mark-to-market of Indebtedness denominated in foreign currencies resulting from the application of GAAP, including FAS No. 52. For purposes of determining compliance with the financial covenant set forth in Section 7.1 only (and not any other provision of this Agreement, including any such other provision that utilizes a calculation of Consolidated EBITDA), any cash common equity contribution made by Holdings to the Borrowers, after the end of any fiscal quarter and on or prior to the day that is 10 Business Days after the day on which financial statements are required to be delivered for such fiscal quarter (it being understood that each such contribution shall be credited with respect to only one fiscal quarter; provided that such credit shall be effective as to such fiscal quarter for all periods in which such fiscal quarter is included) will, at the request of the Borrowers, be deemed to increase, dollar for dollar, Consolidated EBITDA for such fiscal quarter for the purposes of determining compliance with such financial covenant at the end of such fiscal quarter and applicable subsequent periods (any such equity contribution so included in the calculation of Consolidated EBITDA, a “ Specified Equity Contribution ”); provided that (a) in each four fiscal quarter period there shall be at least two fiscal quarters in which no Specified Equity Contribution is made, (b) no more than five Specified Equity Contributions shall be made in the aggregate during the term of this Agreement and (c) the amount of any Specified Equity Contribution shall be no greater than the amount required to cause Holdings to be in compliance with the financial covenant set forth in Section 7.1; provided , further that (A) any reduction in Indebtedness with the proceeds of any Specified Equity Contribution shall be ignored for purposes of determining compliance the financial covenant set forth in Section 7.1 and any cash or Cash Equivalents held as a result of a Specified Equity Contribution shall be disregarded for purposes of calculating the Consolidated Net Total Leverage Ratio and (B) all Specified Equity Contributions shall be disregarded for the purposes of determining financial ratio-based conditions (other than compliance with the financial covenant set forth in Section 7.1 as described above in this paragraph) or any baskets with respect to the covenants contained in the Term Facilities.

 

8


Consolidated Net Income ”: of any Person for any period, the consolidated net income (or loss) of such Person and its Restricted Subsidiaries for such period, determined on a consolidated basis in accordance with GAAP; provided that in calculating Consolidated Net Income of Holdings, the Borrowers and their consolidated Restricted Subsidiaries for any period, there shall be excluded (a) the income (or deficit) of any Person accrued prior to the date it becomes a Restricted Subsidiary or is merged into or consolidated with the Borrowers or any of their Subsidiaries and (b) the income (or deficit) of any Person (other than a Restricted Subsidiary) in which Holdings, the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries has an ownership interest, except, in each case to the extent that any such income is actually received by Holdings, the Borrowers or such Restricted Subsidiary in the form of dividends or similar distributions (which dividends and distributions shall be included in the calculation of Consolidated Net Income). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the effect of any non-cash items resulting from any amortization, write-up, write-down or write-off of assets or liabilities (including intangible assets, goodwill, deferred financing costs and the effect of straight-lining of rents as a result of purchase accounting adjustments) in connection with any future Permitted Acquisition or Investment permitted under Section 7.7, Disposition, merger, consolidation or similar transaction or any other non-cash impairment charges incurred subsequent to the Closing Date resulting from the application at SFAS Nos. 141, 142 or 144 (excluding any non-cash item to the extent that it represents an accrual of or reserve for cash expenditures in any future period except to the extent such item is subsequently reversed) shall be excluded from Consolidated Net Income.

Consolidated Net Interest Expense ”: of any Person for any period, (a) total cash interest expense (including that attributable to Capital Lease Obligations) of such Person and its Subsidiaries for such period with respect to all outstanding Indebtedness of such Person and its Subsidiaries, minus (b) the sum of (i) total cash interest income of such Person and its Subsidiaries for such period, in each case determined in accordance with GAAP plus (ii) one-time financing fees (to the extent included in such Person’s consolidated interest expense for such period), including those paid in connection with the transactions occurring on the Closing Date or in connection with any Amendment or Refinancing hereof. For purposes of the foregoing, interest expense of any Person shall be determined after giving effect to any net payments made or received by such Person with respect to interest rate Hedge Agreements (other than early termination payments) permitted hereunder.

Consolidated Net Total Leverage ”: at any date, the aggregate principal amount of all Funded Debt of Holdings, the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries at such date, minus unrestricted cash and Cash Equivalents held by Holdings, the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries on such date, in each case determined on a consolidated basis in accordance with GAAP.

Consolidated Net Total Leverage Ratio ”: as at any date, the ratio of (a) Consolidated Net Total Leverage on such day to (b) Consolidated EBITDA of Holdings, the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries for the period of four consecutive fiscal quarters Most Recently Ended on or prior to such date.

Consolidated Net Total Secured Leverage ”: at any date, the aggregate principal amount of all Funded Debt of Holdings, the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries that is secured by a Lien on property of Holdings, the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries, including all Capital Lease Obligations, at such date, minus cash and Cash Equivalents held by Holdings, the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries on such date, in each case determined on a consolidated basis in accordance with GAAP.

Consolidated Net Total Secured Leverage Ratio ”: as at any date, the ratio of (a) Consolidated Net Total Secured Leverage on such day to (b) Consolidated EBITDA of Holdings, the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries for the period of four consecutive fiscal quarters Most Recently Ended on or prior to such date.

 

9


Consolidated Working Capital ”: at any date, the difference of (a) Consolidated Current Assets on such date less (b) Consolidated Current Liabilities on such date, without regard to any changes as a result of the effect of fluctuations in the amount of accrued or contingent obligations, assets or liabilities under Hedge Agreements.

Continuing Directors ”: the directors of Holdings on the Closing Date, and each other director if, in each case, such other director’s nomination for election to the board of directors of Holdings is recommended by at least a majority of the then Continuing Directors or such other director receives the affirmative vote or consent of, or is appointed or otherwise approved by, the Sponsor in his or her election by the shareholders of Holdings.

Contractual Obligation ”: as to any Person, any provision of any security issued by such Person or of any agreement, instrument or other undertaking to which such Person is a party or by which it or any of its Property is bound.

Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness ”: (a) Permitted First Priority Refinancing Debt, (b) Permitted Second Priority Refinancing Debt, (c) Permitted Unsecured Refinancing Debt or (d) Indebtedness incurred pursuant to a Refinancing Amendment, in each case, issued, incurred or otherwise obtained (including by means of the extension or renewal of existing Indebtedness) in exchange for, or to Amend or Refinance, in whole or part, existing Term Loans (including any successive Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness) (“ Refinanced Debt ”); provided that (i) such Amended or Refinanced Indebtedness is in an original aggregate principal amount (or accreted value, if applicable) not greater than the aggregate principal amount (or accreted value, if applicable) of the Refinanced Debt except by an amount equal to unpaid accrued interest and premium (including tender premiums and make whole amounts) thereon plus other reasonable and customary fees and expenses (including upfront fees, original issue discount and defeasance costs) in connection with such Amendment or Refinancing, (ii) such Indebtedness has a later maturity and a Weighted Average Life to Maturity equal to or greater than the Refinanced Debt, and (iii) such Refinanced Debt shall be repaid, defeased or satisfied and discharged with 100% of the Net Cash Proceeds of the applicable Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness and all accrued interest, fees and premiums (if any) in connection therewith shall be paid, on the date such Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness is issued, incurred or obtained.

Debtor Relief Laws ”: the Bankruptcy Code of the United States, and all other liquidation, conservatorship, bankruptcy, assignment for the benefit of creditors, moratorium, rearrangement, receivership, insolvency, reorganization, or similar debtor relief Laws of the United States or other applicable jurisdictions from time to time in effect and affecting the rights of creditors generally.

Declined Amounts ”: as defined in Section 2.12(e).

Default ”: any of the events specified in Section 8, whether or not any requirement for the giving of notice, the lapse of time, or both, has been satisfied.

Defaulting Lender ”: any Lender who meets any part of the definition of Lender Default; provided that nothing in this definition shall affect the rights of the Borrowers under Section 2.24.

Derivatives Counterparty ”: as defined in Section 7.6.

Discount Range ”: as defined in Schedule 2.27.

 

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Disposition ”: with respect to any Property, any sale, sale and leaseback, assignment, conveyance, transfer or other effectively complete disposition thereof. The terms “ Dispose ” and “ Disposed of ” shall have correlative meanings. For the avoidance of doubt, it is understood and agreed that Holdings, the Borrowers and any Restricted Subsidiary may, in the ordinary course of business, grant licenses to Intellectual Property owned or developed by, or licensed to, such entity and that, for purposes of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents, such licenses shall not constitute a “Disposition” of such Intellectual Property; provided that the terms of such licenses shall not restrict the ability of the Administrative Agent to exercise rights and remedies accorded to the Administrative Agent under the Loan Documents and applicable Requirements of Law as a creditor of the Loan Parties with respect to the realization on the Collateral.

Disqualified Capital Stock ”: Capital Stock that (a) requires the payment of any dividends (other than dividends payable solely in shares of Qualified Capital Stock), (b) matures or is mandatorily redeemable or subject to mandatory repurchase or redemption or repurchase at the option of the holders thereof, in each case in whole or in part and whether upon the occurrence of any event, pursuant to a sinking fund obligation on a fixed date or otherwise (including as the result of a failure to maintain or achieve any financial performance standards), prior to the date that is 91 days after the final scheduled maturity date of the Term Loans (other than (i) upon payment in full of the Obligations (other than indemnification and other contingent obligations not yet due and owing) or (ii) if the issuer has the option to settle for Qualified Capital Stock (and cash in lieu of fractional shares thereof in de minimis amounts) or (c) are convertible or exchangeable, automatically or at the option of any holder thereof, into any Indebtedness, Capital Stock or other assets other than Qualified Capital Stock; provided that if such Capital Stock is issued pursuant to a plan for the benefit of employees of Holdings, the Borrowers or the Restricted Subsidiaries or by any such plan to such employees, such Capital Stock shall not constitute Disqualified Capital Stock solely because it may be required to be repurchased by the Borrowers or its Restricted Subsidiaries in order to satisfy applicable statutory or regulatory obligations or as a result of such employee’s termination, death or disability.

Disqualified Institution ”: (a) those banks, financial institutions and other entities designated in writing by the Borrowers to the Administrative Agent prior to the Closing Date, in each case, together with their respective Affiliates, and (b) any corporate competitors of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries and the Affiliates of such corporate competitors (other than bona fide debt funds or investors) designated in writing by the Borrowers to the Administrative Agent from time to time. The Administrative Agent will make the list of Disqualified Institutions available to any Lender upon request.

Documentation Agent ”: as defined in the preamble hereto.

Dollars ” and “ $ ”: dollars in lawful currency of the United States.

Domestic Subsidiary ”: any direct or indirect Restricted Subsidiary organized under the laws of United States, any state thereof or the District of Columbia (excluding, for the avoidance of doubt, any Subsidiary organized under the laws of Puerto Rico or any other territory), other than (i) a Domestic Subsidiary of a Foreign Subsidiary that is a CFC or (ii) any CFC Holdco.

Economic Sanctions Laws ”: any and all laws, judgments, orders, executive orders, decrees, ordinances, rules, regulations, statutes, case law or treaties applicable to a Loan Party, its Subsidiaries or Affiliates relating to economic sanctions and terrorism financing, including any applicable provisions of the Trading with the Enemy Act (50 U.S.C. App. §§ 5(b) and 16, as amended), the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, (50 U.S.C. §§ 1701-1706, as amended) and Executive Order 13224 (effective September 24, 2001), as amended.

 

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Embargoed Person ”: any party that (i) is publicly identified on the most current list of “Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons” published by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“ OFAC ”) or (ii) resides, is organized or chartered, or has a place of business in a country or territory that is the subject of OFAC sanctions programs.

Environmental Laws ”: any and all applicable laws, rules, orders, regulations, statutes, ordinances, codes or decrees (including, without limitation, common law) of any international authority, foreign government, the United States, or any state, provincial, local, municipal or other governmental authority, regulating, relating to or imposing liability or standards of conduct concerning protection of the environment, as has been, is now, or at any time hereafter is, in effect.

Environmental Liability ”: any liability, claim, action, suit, judgment or order under or relating to any Environmental Law for any damages, injunctive relief, losses, fines, penalties, fees, expenses (including reasonable fees and expenses of attorneys and consultants) or costs, whether contingent or otherwise, including those arising from or relating to: (a) compliance or non-compliance with any Environmental Law, (b) the generation, use, handling, transportation, storage, treatment or disposal of any Materials of Environmental Concern, (c) exposure to any Materials of Environmental Concern, (d) the Release of any Materials of Environmental Concern or (e) any contract, agreement or other consensual arrangement pursuant to which liability is assumed or imposed with respect to any of the foregoing.

Equity Issuance ”: any issuance by Holdings of its Qualified Capital Stock in a public or private offering, other than any Specified Equity Contribution.

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

Eurocurrency Reserve Percentage ”: for any day during any Interest Period, the reserve percentage (expressed as a decimal, carried out to five decimal places) in effect on such day, whether or not applicable to any Lender, under regulations issued from time to time by the FRB for determining the maximum reserve requirement (including any emergency, supplemental or other marginal reserve requirement) with respect to Eurocurrency funding (currently referred to as “Eurocurrency liabilities”). The Eurodollar Rate for each outstanding Eurodollar Loan shall be adjusted automatically as of the effective date of any change in the Eurocurrency Reserve Percentage.

Eurodollar Base Rate ”: the meaning specified in the definition of Eurodollar Rate.

Eurodollar Loan ”: Term Loans the rate of interest applicable to which is based upon the Eurodollar Rate.

Eurodollar Rate ”: for any Interest Period with respect to a Eurodollar Loan, a rate per annum equal to the rate determined by the Administrative Agent pursuant to the following formula:

 

  Eurodollar Rate =  

                Eurodollar Base Rate                

1.00 - Eurocurrency Reserve Percentage

Where,

Eurodollar Base Rate ” means, (x) for such Interest Period with respect to a Eurodollar Loan, the rate per annum equal to (A) the British Bankers Association LIBOR Rate as published by Reuters (or other commercially available source providing quotations of BBA LIBOR as

 

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designated by the Administrative Agent from time to time) (“ BBA LIBOR ”), at approximately 11:00 a.m., London time, two Business Days prior to the commencement of such Interest Period, for Dollar deposits (for delivery on the first day of such Interest Period) with a term equivalent to such Interest Period, or (B) if such published rate is not available at such time for any reason, then the “Eurodollar Base Rate” for such Interest Period shall be the rate per annum determined by the Administrative Agent to be the rate at which deposits in Dollars for delivery on the first day of such Interest Period in same day funds in the approximate amount of the Eurodollar Loan being made, continued or converted by Bank of America and with a term equivalent to such Interest Period would be offered by Bank of America’s London Branch to major banks in the London interbank eurodollar market at their request at approximately 11:00 a.m. (London time) two Business Days prior to the commencement of such Interest Period or (y) for any interest rate calculation with respect to an ABR Loan, the rate per annum equal to (i) BBA LIBOR, at approximately 11:00 a.m., London time two Business Days prior to the date of determination (provided that if such day is not a Business Day in London, the next preceding Business Day) for Dollar deposits being delivered in the London interbank market for a term of one month commencing that day or (ii) if such published rate is not available at such time for any reason, the rate determined by the Administrative Agent to be the rate at which deposits in Dollars for delivery on the date of determination in same day funds in the approximate amount of the ABR Loan being made, continued or converted by Bank of America and with a term equal to one month would be offered by Bank of America’s London Branch to major banks in the London interbank Eurodollar market at their request at the date and time of determination.”

Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in this Agreement, the applicable Eurodollar Rate shall at no time be less than 1.00% per annum.

Eurodollar Unavailability Period ”: any period of time during which a notice delivered to the Borrowers in accordance with Section 2.17 shall remain in force and effect.

Event of Default ”: any of the events specified in Section 8; provided that any requirement for the giving of notice, the lapse of time, or both, has been satisfied.

Excess Cash Flow ”: for any fiscal year of Holdings, the difference, if any, of (a) the sum, without duplication, of (i) Consolidated Net Income for such fiscal year, (ii) the amount of all non-cash charges (including depreciation, amortization and deferred tax expense) deducted in arriving at such Consolidated Net Income, (iii) the amount of the decrease, if any, in Consolidated Working Capital for such fiscal year, (iv) the aggregate net amount of non-cash loss on the Disposition of Property by Holdings, the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries during such fiscal year (other than sales of inventory in the ordinary course of business), to the extent deducted in arriving at such Consolidated Net Income and (v) the net increase during such fiscal year (if any) in deferred tax liabilities or decrease in deferred tax assets (in each case to the extent reflected in Consolidated Net Income and not included in Consolidated Working Capital) of Holdings minus (b) the sum, without duplication (including, in the case of clauses (ii) and (viii) below, duplication across periods; provided that all or any portion of the amounts referred to in clauses (ii) and (viii) below with respect to a period may be applied in the determination of Excess Cash Flow for any subsequent period to the extent such amounts did not previously result in a reduction of Excess Cash Flow in any prior period), of (i) the amount of all non-cash gains or credits included in arriving at such Consolidated Net Income (including, without limitation, credits included in the calculation of deferred tax assets and liabilities), (ii) the aggregate amount actually paid by Holdings, the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries in cash during such fiscal year on account of Capital Expenditures and Permitted Acquisitions (other than to the extent any such Capital Expenditure or Permitted Acquisition is made with the proceeds of new long-term Indebtedness or an Equity Issuance or with the proceeds of any Reinvestment Deferred Amount), (iii) the aggregate amount of (A) all regularly

 

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scheduled principal payments of Indebtedness and (B) all voluntary prepayments of Indebtedness (other than, in the case of this clause (B), the Term Loans, any Permitted First Priority Refinancing Debt and under the ABL Facility), in each case, of Holdings, the Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries made during such fiscal year (other than in respect of any revolving credit facility to the extent there is not an equivalent permanent reduction in commitments thereunder and other than to the extent any such prepayments are the result of the incurrence of additional indebtedness), (iv) the amount of the increase, if any, in Consolidated Working Capital for such fiscal year, (v) the aggregate net amount of non-cash gain on the Disposition of Property by Holdings, the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries during such fiscal year (other than sales of inventory in the ordinary course of business), to the extent included in arriving at such Consolidated Net Income, (vi) transaction costs, fees and expenses (including those relating to the transactions contemplated hereby and by the ABL Facility (including any Amendment or Refinancings or waivers of the Loan Documents and/or ABL Facility), and those payable in connection with the sale of Capital Stock, the incurrence, repayment, redemption, repurchase or defeasance of Indebtedness permitted under Section 7.2, any Disposition of Property permitted under Section 7.5 or any recapitalization or any Permitted Acquisition or other Investment permitted under Section 7.7 or any other Specified Transaction (in each case whether or not successful)), to the extent that such expenditures are not expensed during such period, (vii) purchase price adjustments paid or received in connection with any Permitted Acquisition or any Investment permitted by Section 7.7, (viii) the net amount of Investments made during such period pursuant to paragraphs (d), (f), (h), (l), (p), (r) and (y) of Section 7.7 or committed during such period to be used to make Investments pursuant to such paragraphs of Section 7.7 which have been actually made or for which a binding agreement exists as of the time of determination of Excess Cash Flow for such period (the “ Contract Consideration ”) and to the extent that such Investments were financed with internally generated cash flow of Holdings, the Borrowers or the Restricted Subsidiaries; provided that to the extent the aggregate amount of cash actually expended in connection with such binding agreement is less than the Contract Consideration, the amount of such shortfall shall be added to the calculation of Excess Cash Flow at the end of the next Excess Cash Flow period, (ix) the amount (determined by Holdings) of such Consolidated Net Income which is mandatorily prepaid or reinvested pursuant to Section 2.12(b) (or as to which a waiver of the requirements of such Section applicable thereto has been granted under Section 10.1) prior to the date of determination of Excess Cash Flow for such fiscal year as a result of any Asset Sale or Recovery Event, (x) the aggregate amount actually paid by Holdings in cash during such fiscal year made pursuant to the Tax Receivable Agreement, to the extent that such payments are not expensed, (xi) any call premium, tender premium or expenses associated with the repurchase or repayment of Indebtedness and (xii) the net decrease during such fiscal year (if any) in deferred tax liabilities or increase in deferred tax assets (in each case to the extent reflected in Consolidated Net Income and not included in Consolidated Working Capital) of Holdings.

Excess Cash Flow Application Date ”: as defined in Section 2.12(c).

Excess Cash Flow Percentage ”: 50%; provided that the Excess Cash Flow Percentage for any fiscal year shall be reduced to (a) 25% if the Consolidated Net Total Leverage Ratio as of the last day of such fiscal year is not greater than 2.50 to 1.00 and (b) 0% if the Consolidated Net Total Leverage Ratio as of the last day of such fiscal year is not greater than 2.00 to 1.00.

Excluded Subsidiary ”: (a) any Subsidiary that is not directly or indirectly a wholly owned Subsidiary of Holdings, (b) any Immaterial Subsidiary, (c) any Subsidiary that is prohibited by applicable Requirements of Law or, to the extent mutually agreed the same would prevent the granting thereof, Contractual Obligations that are in existence on the Closing Date or at the time of acquisition of such Subsidiary and not entered into in contemplation thereof from guaranteeing the Obligations or if guaranteeing the Obligation would require governmental (including regulatory) consent, approval, license or authorization (unless such consent, approval license or authorization has been obtained), (d) any Foreign Subsidiary, (e) any CFC Holdco or any Domestic Subsidiary of a Foreign Subsidiary that is a CFC,

 

14


(f) any Unrestricted Subsidiaries, (g) captive insurance companies and (h) any other Subsidiary with respect to which, in the reasonable judgment of the Administrative Agent and the Borrowers, the burden or cost or other consequences of providing a guarantee of the Obligations shall be excessive in view of the benefits to be obtained by the Lenders therefrom.

Excluded Swap Obligations ”: with respect to any Guarantor, any obligation (a “ Swap Obligation ”) to pay or perform under any agreement, contract or transaction that constitutes a “swap” within the meaning of section 1a(47) of the Commodity Exchange Act, if, and to the extent that, all or a portion of the Guarantee Obligation of such Guarantor of, or the grant by such Guarantor of a security interest to secure, such Swap Obligation (or any Guarantee Obligation with respect thereto) is or becomes illegal or unlawful under the Commodity Exchange Act or any rule, regulation or order of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (or the application or official interpretation of any thereof) by virtue of such Guarantor’s failure for any reason not to constitute an “eligible contract participant” as defined in the Commodity Exchange Act (determined after giving effect to Section 2.8 of the Guarantee and Collateral Agreement) at the time the Guarantee Obligation of such Guarantor or the grant of such security interest would otherwise have become effective with respect to such related Swap Obligation but for such Guarantor’s failure to constitute an “eligible contract participant” under the Commodity Exchange Act or any such rule, regulation or order at such time.

Excluded Taxes ”: any of the following Taxes imposed on or with respect to any Recipient or required to be withheld or deducted from a payment to a Recipient: (a) Taxes imposed on or measured by net income (however denominated), franchise Taxes, and branch profits Taxes, in each case, (i) imposed as a result of such Recipient being organized under the laws of, or having its principal office or, in the case of any Lender, its lending office located in, the jurisdiction imposing such Tax (or any political subdivision thereof) or (ii) imposed as a result of a present or former connection between such Recipient and the jurisdiction imposing such Tax (other than connections arising from such Recipient having executed, delivered, become a party to, performed its obligations under, received payments under, received or perfected a security interest under, engaged in any other transaction pursuant to or enforced any Loan Document, or sold or assigned an interest in any Term Loan or Loan Document); (b) in the case of a Recipient, U.S. federal withholding Taxes imposed on amounts payable to or for the account of such Recipient with respect to an applicable interest in a Term Loan or Commitment pursuant to a law in effect on the date on which (i) such Recipient acquires such interest in the Term Loan or Commitment (other than pursuant to an assignment request by the Borrower under Section 2.24) or (ii) such Recipient changes its lending office, except in each case to the extent that, pursuant to Section 2.20(a), amounts with respect to such Taxes were payable either to such Recipient’s assignor immediately before such Recipient became a party hereto or to such Recipient immediately before it changed its lending office; (c) Taxes attributable to such Recipient’s failure to comply with Section 2.20(d), (e), (f) or (g); and (d) any U.S. federal withholding Taxes imposed pursuant to FATCA.

Existing New Term Loan Tranche ”: as defined in Section 2.26.

Existing Term Loan Tranche ”: as defined in Section 2.26.

Existing Tranche ”: any Existing Term Loan Tranche or Existing New Term Loan Tranche, as the context may require.

Expiration Time ”: as defined in Schedule 2.27.

Extended Loans ”: collectively, the Extended Term Loans and Extended New Term Loans, or any of them as the context may require.

 

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Extended New Term Loans ”: as defined in Section 2.26.

Extending Term Lender ”: as defined in Section 2.26.

Extended Term Loans ”: as defined in Section 2.26.

Extended Term Maturity Date ”: with respect to any Extended Term Loans, the date specified in the applicable Extension Amendment.

Extension ”: any establishment of Extended Loans pursuant to Section 2.26 and the applicable Extension Amendment.

Extension Amendment ”: as defined in Section 2.26.

Extension Election ”: as defined in Section 2.26.

Extension Request ”: as defined in Section 2.26.

Extension Series ”: as defined in Section 2.26.

FATCA ”: Sections 1471 through 1474 of the Code, as of the date of this Agreement (or any amended or successor version to the extent such version is substantively comparable and not materially more onerous to comply with), any current or future regulations or official interpretations thereof and any agreements entered into pursuant to Section 1471 (b) (1) of the Code.

Federal Funds Effective Rate ”: for any day, the rate per annum equal to the weighted average of the rates on overnight Federal funds transactions with members of the Federal Reserve System arranged by Federal funds brokers on such day, as published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on the Business Day next succeeding such day; provided that (a) if such day is not a Business Day, the Federal Funds Rate for such day shall be such rate on such transactions on the next preceding Business Day as so published on the next succeeding Business Day, and (b) if no such rate is so published on such next succeeding Business Day, the Federal Funds Rate for such day shall be the average rate (rounded upward, if necessary, to a whole multiple of 1/100 of 1%) charged to Bank of America on such day on such transactions as determined by the Administrative Agent.

First Lien Intercreditor Agreement ”: a “ pari passu ” intercreditor agreement among the Administrative Agent, the administrative agent under the ABL Facility and one or more Senior Representatives for holders of Permitted First Priority Refinancing Debt in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent.

Flood Insurance Laws ”: collectively, (i) the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 as now or hereafter in effect or any successor statute thereto, (ii) the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 as now or hereafter in effect or any successor statue thereto, (iii) the National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994 as now or hereafter in effect or any successor statute thereto and (iv) the Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2004 as now or hereafter in effect or any successor statute thereto.

Foreign Disposition ” as defined in Section 2.12(g).

Foreign Recovery Event ” as defined in Section 2.12(g).

Foreign Subsidiary ”: any Restricted Subsidiary that is not a Domestic Subsidiary.

 

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Foreign Subsidiary Excess Cash Flow ” as defined in Section 2.12(f).

FRB ”: the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System of the United States.

Funded Debt ”: with respect to any Person, all Indebtedness of such Person of the types described in clauses (a), (c) and (e) of the definition of “Indebtedness”.

Funding Office ”: the office specified from time to time by the Administrative Agent as its funding office by notice to the Borrowers and the Lenders.

GAAP ”: generally accepted accounting principles in the United States as in effect from time to time.

Governmental Authority ”: any nation or government, any state, province or other political subdivision thereof and any governmental entity exercising executive, legislative, judicial, regulatory or administrative functions of or pertaining to government and, as to any Lender, any securities exchange and any self regulatory organization (including the National Association of Insurance Commissioners).

Guarantee and Collateral Agreement ”: the Guarantee and Collateral Agreement to be executed and delivered by Holdings, the Borrowers and each Subsidiary Guarantor, substantially in the form of Exhibit A, as the same may be amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time.

Guarantee Obligation ”: as to any Person (the “ guaranteeing person ”), any obligation of (a) the guaranteeing person or (b) another Person (including, without limitation, any bank under any letter of credit) to induce the creation of which the guaranteeing person has issued a guarantee, reimbursement, counterindemnity or similar obligation, in either case guaranteeing or by which such Person becomes contingently liable for any Indebtedness, net worth, working capital earnings, leases, dividends or other distributions upon the stock or equity interests (the “ primary obligations ”) of any other third Person (the “ primary obligor ”) in any manner, whether directly or indirectly, including, without limitation, any obligation of the guaranteeing person, whether or not contingent, (i) to purchase any such primary obligation or any Property constituting direct or indirect security therefor, (ii) to advance or supply funds (1) for the purchase or payment of any such primary obligation or (2) to maintain working capital or equity capital of the primary obligor or otherwise to maintain the net worth or solvency of the primary obligor, (iii) to purchase Property, securities or services primarily for the purpose of assuring the owner of any such primary obligation of the ability of the primary obligor to make payment of such primary obligation or (iv) otherwise to assure or hold harmless the owner of any such primary obligation against loss in respect thereof; provided , however , that the term Guarantee Obligation shall not include endorsements of instruments for deposit or collection in the ordinary course of business, guarantees of operating leases in the ordinary course of business, and reasonable indemnity obligations in effect on the Closing Date or entered into in connection with any acquisition or disposition of assets or any Investment permitted under this Agreement. The amount of any Guarantee Obligation of any guaranteeing person shall be deemed to be such guaranteeing person’s maximum reasonably anticipated liability in respect thereof as determined by the Borrowers in good faith.

Guarantors ”: the collective reference to Holdings and the Subsidiary Guarantors.

Hedge Agreements ”: all interest rate swaps, caps or collar agreements or similar arrangements entered into by the Borrowers or their Subsidiaries providing for protection against fluctuations in interest rates or currency exchange rates or the exchange of nominal interest obligations or the price of commodities, raw materials, utilities and energy, either generally or under specific contingencies.

 

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Holdings ”: Vince Holding Corp., a Delaware corporation.

Immaterial Subsidiary ”: on any date, any Subsidiary of the Borrowers that (i) had less than 3% of consolidated assets and 3% of annual consolidated revenues of Holdings, the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries as reflected on the most recent financial statements delivered pursuant to Section 6.1 prior to such date and (ii) has been designated as such by the Borrowers in a written notice delivered to the Administrative Agent (other than any such Subsidiary as to which the Borrowers has revoked such designation by written notice to the Administrative Agent); provided that at no time shall all Immaterial Subsidiaries so designated by the Borrowers have in the aggregate consolidated assets or annual consolidated revenues (as reflected on the most recent financial statements delivered pursuant to Section 6.1 prior to such time) in excess of 3% of consolidated assets or annual consolidated revenues, respectively, of Holdings, the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries.

Increased Amount Date ”: as defined in Section 2.25.

Indebtedness ”: of any Person at any date, without duplication, (a) all indebtedness of such Person for borrowed money, (b) all obligations of such Person for the deferred purchase price of Property or services (other than (i) trade payables, current accounts and similar obligations incurred in the ordinary course of such Person’s business and not more than 90 days past due (unless being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings) and (ii) earn-outs and other contingent payments in respect of acquisitions except to the extent that the liability on account of any such earn-out or contingent payment becomes fixed), (c) all obligations of such Person evidenced by notes, bonds, debentures or other similar instruments, (d) all indebtedness created or arising under any conditional sale or other title retention agreement with respect to Property acquired by such Person (even though the rights and remedies of the seller or lender under such agreement in the event of default are limited to repossession or sale of such Property, in which case only the lesser of the amount of such obligation and the fair market value of such Property shall constitute Indebtedness), (e) all Capital Lease Obligations of such Person, (f) all obligations of such Person, contingent or otherwise, as an account party or applicant under acceptance, letter of credit or similar facilities, (g) all obligations of such Person in respect of Disqualified Capital Stock, except for agreements with directors, officers and employees to acquire such Capital Stock upon the death or termination of employment of such director, officer or employee, (h) all Guarantee Obligations of such Person in respect of obligations of the kind referred to in clauses (a) through (f) above, other than guarantees of operating leases in the ordinary course of business, and (i) all obligations of the kind referred to in clauses (a) through (h) above secured by (or for which the holder of such obligation has an existing right, contingent or otherwise, to be secured by) any Lien on Property (including, without limitation, accounts and contract rights) owned by such Person, whether or not such Person has assumed or become liable for the payment of such obligation (and in the event such Person has not assumed or become liable for payment of such obligation, only the lesser of the amount of such obligation and the fair market value of such Property shall constitute Indebtedness). 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.

Initial Term Commitment ”: as to any Lender, the obligation of such Lender, if any, to make an Initial Term Loan to the Borrowers in a principal amount not to exceed the amount set forth under the heading “Initial Term Commitment” opposite such Lender’s name on the Lender Addendum delivered by such Lender, or, as the case may be, in the Assignment and Assumption pursuant to which such Lender became a party hereto. The original aggregate amount of the Initial Term Commitments is $175,000,000.

 

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Initial Term Facility ”: the Initial Term Commitments and the Initial Term Loans made thereunder.

Initial Term Loan ”: as defined in Section 2.1.

Insolvency ”: with respect to any Multiemployer Plan, the condition that such Plan is insolvent within the meaning of Section 4245 of ERISA.

Insolvent ”: pertaining to a condition of Insolvency.

Instrument ”: as defined in the Guarantee and Collateral Agreement.

Intellectual Property ”: the collective reference to all rights, priorities and privileges relating to intellectual property, whether arising under United States, multinational or foreign laws or otherwise, including, without limitation, copyrights, domain names, patents, trademarks, trade names, technology, know-how and processes, and all rights to sue at law or in equity for any infringement or other impairment thereof, including the right to receive all proceeds and damages therefrom.

Interest Payment Date ”: (a) with respect to any ABR Loan, (i) the last Business Day of each March, June, September and December to occur while such ABR Loan is outstanding and the final maturity date of such ABR Loan, (b) with respect to any Eurodollar Loan, (i) the last day of the Interest Period applicable to the borrowing of which such Loan is a part ( provided , that in the case of a Eurodollar Loan with an Interest Period of more than three months’ duration, the Interest Payment Date shall be each day prior to the last day of such Interest Period that occurs at intervals of three months’ duration after the first day of such Interest Period) and (ii) the applicable maturity date and (c) as to any Term Loan, the date of any repayment or prepayment made in respect thereof.

Interest Period ”: as to any Eurodollar Loan, (a) initially, the period commencing on the borrowing or conversion date, as the case may be, with respect to such Eurodollar Loan and ending one, two, three or six or (with the consent of each affected Lender) twelve months thereafter, as selected by the Borrowers in its notice of borrowing or notice of conversion, as the case may be, given with respect thereto; and (b) thereafter, each period commencing on the last day of the next preceding Interest Period applicable to such Eurodollar Loan and ending one, two, three or six or (with the consent of each affected Lender) twelve months thereafter, as selected by the Borrowers by irrevocable notice to the Administrative Agent not later than 1:00 P.M., New York City time, on the date that is three Business Days prior to the last day of the then current Interest Period with respect thereto; provided that all of the foregoing provisions relating to Interest Periods are subject to the following:

(i) if any Interest Period would otherwise end on a day that is not a Business Day, such Interest Period shall be extended to the next succeeding Business Day unless the result of such extension would be to carry such Interest Period into another calendar month in which event such Interest Period shall end on the immediately preceding Business Day;

(ii) any Interest Period that would otherwise extend beyond the date final payment is due on the Term Loans shall end on such due date; and

 

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(iii) any Interest Period that begins on the last Business Day of a calendar month (or on a day for which there is no numerically corresponding day in the calendar month at the end of such Interest Period) shall end on the last Business Day of a calendar month.

Intermediate Holdings ”: Vince Intermediate Holding, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and as of the Closing Date, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Holdings.

Investments ”: as defined in Section 7.7.

IPO ”: the initial public offering of the common stock of Holdings, pursuant to the Registration Statement on Form S-1, filed with the SEC on September 24, 2013, as amended.

Joinder Agreement ”: an agreement substantially in the form of Exhibit H.

Joint Lead Arrangers ”: Bank of America, N.A. and J.P. Morgan Securities.

Junior Indebtedness ”: as defined in Section 7.2(m).

Kellwood Intercompany Note ”: the promissory note dated November 27, 2013 to Kellwood Company in an aggregate outstanding principal amount immediately prior to the Closing Date equal to $341,500,000.

Latest Maturity Date ” shall mean, at any date of determination, the latest maturity date applicable to any Term Loan hereunder at such time, including the latest maturity date of any Initial Term Loan, Extended Term Loan, New Term Loan or Other Term Loan, in each case as extended in accordance with this Agreement from time to time.

Lender Addendum ”: with respect to any initial Lender, a Lender Addendum, substantially in the form of Exhibit I, to be executed and delivered by such Lender on the Closing Date as provided in Section 10.19.

Lender Default ”: (i) the refusal (which may be given verbally or in writing that has not been retracted) or failure of any Lender to make available its portion of any incurrence of Term Loans (unless the subject of a good faith dispute) which refusal or failure is not cured within one Business Day after the date of such refusal or failure; (ii) the failure of any Lender to pay over to the Administrative Agent or any other Lender any other amount required to be paid by it hereunder within one Business Day of the date when due, unless the subject of a good faith dispute or subsequently cured pursuant to Section 2.24; or (iii) a Lender is deemed insolvent or such Lender becomes subject to a Lender-Related Distress Event.

Lender-Related Distress Event ”: with respect to any Lender or any Person that directly or indirectly controls such Lender (each, a “ Distressed Person ”), as the case may be, a voluntary or involuntary case with respect to such Distressed Person under the Bankruptcy Code of the United States or any similar bankruptcy laws or other applicable insolvency laws of its jurisdiction of formation is commenced, or a custodian, conservator, receiver or similar official is appointed for such Distressed Person or any substantial part of such Distressed Person’s assets, or such Distressed Person or any Person that directly or indirectly controls such Distressed Person is subject to a forced liquidation, merger, sale or other change of control supported in whole or in part by guaranties or other support of (including without limitation the nationalization or assumption of ownership or operating control by) the U.S. government or other governmental authority, or such Distressed Person makes a general assignment for the benefit of creditors or is otherwise adjudicated as, or determined by any governmental authority having regulatory authority over such Distressed Person or its assets to be, insolvent, bankrupt, or deficient in meeting any capital adequacy or liquidity standard of any such governmental authority.

 

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Lenders ”: as defined in the preamble hereto.

Lien ”: any mortgage, pledge, hypothecation, collateral assignment, encumbrance, lien (statutory or other), charge or other security interest or any other security agreement of any kind or nature whatsoever (including any conditional sale or other title retention agreement and any capital lease having substantially the same economic effect as any of the foregoing). For the avoidance of doubt, it is understood and agreed that Holdings, the Borrowers and any Restricted Subsidiary may, as part of its business, grant licenses to Intellectual Property owned or developed by, or licensed to, such entity. For purposes of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents, such licensing activity shall not constitute a “Lien” on such Intellectual Property.

Loan Documents ”: the collective reference to this Agreement, the Security Documents, the Applications, the Notes (if any), any Joinder Agreement, any Extension Amendment, any Refinancing Amendment, the ABL Intercreditor Agreement, the First Lien Intercreditor Agreement (if any) and the Second Lien Intercreditor Agreement (if any), and any Amendment or Refinancing to any of the foregoing.

Loan Parties ”: Holdings, the Borrowers and each Subsidiary Guarantor.

Management Investors ”: the directors and other employees of Holdings and its Subsidiaries.

Material Adverse Effect ”: a material adverse effect on (a) the business, assets, financial condition or results of operations of the Loan Parties and their subsidiaries, taken as a whole, (b) the ability of the Borrowers and the Guarantors (taken as a whole) to perform their obligations under any Loan Document and (c) the rights and remedies of the Lenders and the Administrative Agent under the Term Facility (other than any material adverse effect on the rights and remedies of the Lenders or the Administrative Agent that may result from the failure of the Administrative Agent to maintain possession of certificates actually delivered to it representing securities pledged under the Loan Documents or to file Uniform Commercial Code financing statements or continuation statements or equivalent filings).

Material Subsidiary ”: any Subsidiary that is not an Immaterial Subsidiary.

Materials of Environmental Concern ”: any gasoline or petroleum (including crude oil or any fraction thereof) or petroleum products, polychlorinated biphenyls, urea-formaldehyde insulation, asbestos, pollutants, contaminants, radioactivity and any other substances that are defined as hazardous or toxic under any Environmental Law, that are regulated pursuant to any Environmental Law.

Moody’s ”: Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. or any successor to the rating agency business thereof.

Mortgage ”: any mortgage, deed of trust, hypothec or other similar document made by any Loan Party in favor of, or for the benefit of, the Administrative Agent for the benefit of the Secured Parties, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and the Borrowers (taking into account the law of the jurisdiction in which such mortgage, deed of trust, hypothec or similar document is to be recorded), as the same may be amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time.

 

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Most Recently Ended ”: with respect to any period, the most recently ended period for which the financial statements required by Section 6.1(a) or Section 6.1(b) , as applicable, are then available.

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

Net Cash Proceeds ”: (a) in connection with any Disposition or any Recovery Event (without regard to the minimum amount set forth in the definition thereof), the proceeds thereof in the form of cash and Cash Equivalents (including any such proceeds received by way of deferred payment of principal pursuant to a note or installment receivable or purchase price adjustment receivable or otherwise, but only as and when received) of such Disposition or Recovery Event received by any Loan Party, net of attorneys’ fees, accountants’ fees, investment banking fees, consulting fees, amounts required to be applied to the repayment of Indebtedness secured by a Lien expressly permitted hereunder on any asset which is the subject of such Disposition or Recovery Event (other than any Lien pursuant to a Security Document) and other customary fees and expenses actually incurred by any Loan Party in connection therewith and net of taxes paid or reasonably estimated to be payable by any Loan Party as a result thereof (after taking into account any available tax credits or deductions and any tax sharing arrangements) and (b) in connection with any Equity Issuance or other issuance or sale of debt securities or instruments or the incurrence of Funded Debt, the cash proceeds received from such issuance or incurrence, net of attorneys’ fees, investment banking fees, accountants’ fees, consulting fees, underwriting discounts and commissions and other customary fees and expenses actually incurred in connection therewith.

New Term Lender ”: a Lender that has a New Term Loan.

New Term Loan Commitments ”: as defined in Section 2.25.

New Term Loans ”: any loan made by any New Term Lender pursuant to Section 2.25.

New Term Loan Maturity Date ”: the date on which a New Term Loan matures.

Non-Excluded Taxes ”: all Taxes imposed on any amounts payable by or on account of any Loan Party hereunder or under any Loan Document other than Excluded Taxes.

Non-Guarantor Subsidiary ”: any Subsidiary of the Borrowers which is not a Subsidiary Guarantor.

Non-Recourse Debt ”: Indebtedness (a) no default with respect to which would permit (upon notice, lapse of time or both) any holder of any other Indebtedness of Holdings, the Borrowers or any of the Restricted Subsidiaries to declare a default on such other Indebtedness or cause the payment thereof to be accelerated or payable prior to its stated maturity, and (b) as to which the lenders or holders thereof have been notified in writing that they will not have any recourse to the capital stock or assets of Holdings, the Borrowers or any of the Restricted Subsidiaries (other than the Capital Stock of an Unrestricted Subsidiary which is the issuer or a guarantor or the direct or indirect parent of the issuer or guarantor of such indebtedness).

Non-U.S. Lender ”: any Lender or any Transferee that is not a “United States person” within the meaning of Code Section 7701(a)(30).

Note ”: any promissory note evidencing any Term Loan.

 

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Obligations ”: the unpaid principal of and interest on (including, without limitation, interest accruing after the maturity of the Term Loans and interest accruing after the filing of any petition in bankruptcy, or the commencement of any insolvency, reorganization or like proceeding, relating to the Loan Parties, whether or not a claim for post-filing or post-petition interest is allowed in such proceeding) the Term Loans and all other obligations and liabilities of the Loan Parties to the Administrative Agent or to any Lender (or, in the case of Specified Hedge Agreements of the Borrowers or any of their Subsidiaries to the Administrative Agent, any Lender or any affiliate of any Lender), whether direct or indirect, absolute or contingent, due or to become due, or now existing or hereafter incurred, which may arise under, out of, or in connection with, this Agreement, any other Loan Document, any Specified Hedge Agreement or any other document made, delivered or given in connection herewith or therewith, whether on account of principal, interest, reimbursement obligations, fees, indemnities, costs, expenses (including, without limitation, all fees, charges and disbursements of counsel to the Administrative Agent or any Lender that are required to be paid by the Borrowers pursuant hereto) or otherwise; provided that (a) obligations of the Borrowers or any of its Subsidiaries under any Specified Hedge Agreement shall be secured and guaranteed pursuant to the Security Documents only to the extent that, and for so long as, the other Obligations are so secured and guaranteed, (b) any release of Collateral or Guarantors effected in the manner permitted by this Agreement (including any release which is automatically permitted) shall not require the consent of holders of obligations under Specified Hedge Agreements and (c) the Obligations shall exclude all Excluded Swap Obligations.

OFAC ”: as defined in the definition of “Embargoed Person”.

Other Taxes ”: any and all present or future stamp or documentary Taxes or any other excise or property Taxes assessed by any federal, state, local or foreign Governmental Authority having the power to impose such Tax arising from any payment made hereunder or under any other Loan Document or from the execution, delivery or enforcement of, or otherwise with respect to, this Agreement or any other Loan Document.

Other Term Loan Commitments ”: one or more Tranches of term loan commitments hereunder that result from a Refinancing Amendment entered into after the Closing Date.

Other Term Loans ”: one or more Tranches of Term Loans that result from a Refinancing Amendment entered into after the Closing Date.

Participant ”: as defined in Section 10.6(c).

PBGC ”: the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation established pursuant to Subtitle A of Title IV of ERISA (or any successor).

Permitted Acquisition ”: (i) any acquisition (including, if applicable, in the case of any Intellectual Property, by way of license) approved by the Required Lenders or (ii) any acquisition of a majority controlling interest in the Capital Stock, or all or substantially all of the assets, of any Person, or of all or substantially all of the assets constituting a division, product line or business line of any Person, or a purchase or acquisition of a real estate portfolio or stores from any other Person (each, an “ Acquisition ”), if such Acquisition described in this clause (ii) complies with the following criteria:

(a) no Event of Default shall be in effect immediately prior to and after giving effect to such Acquisition; provided that, with respect to an Acquisition being financed with the proceeds of a New Term Loan Commitment, the condition set forth in this clause (a) shall only be required to be satisfied on the date on which definitive agreements with respect to such Acquisition are entered into, assuming that such New Term Loan Commitment is established, and the Loans thereunder made, on such date, the proceeds thereof are applied on such date and such Acquisition closes on such date;

 

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(b) after giving effect to the consummation of such Acquisition and to the incurrence of any Indebtedness associated therewith, Holdings shall be in compliance with Section 7.1 for the Most Recently Ended period of four consecutive fiscal quarters of Holdings; provided that, with respect to an Acquisition being financed with the proceeds of a New Term Loan Commitment, the condition set forth in this clause (b) shall only be required to be satisfied on the date on which definitive agreements with respect to such Acquisition are entered into, assuming that such New Term Loan Commitment is established, and the Loans thereunder made, on such date, the proceeds thereof are applied on such date and such Acquisition closes on such date;

(c) any Person or assets or division acquired is, at the time of such Acquisition, and shall be in the same business or lines of business, or business reasonably related, ancillary or complementary thereto, in which the Borrowers and/or their Subsidiaries are engaged as of the Closing Date;

(d) such Acquisition shall have been approved or recommended by the board of directors or similar governing body of the Person acquired;

(e) in the event the purchase price for the Acquisition exceeds $15,000,000, prior to the consummation of such Acquisition, the Administrative Agent shall have received at least two Business Days prior to the consummation of such Acquisition (i) a certificate, signed by a financial officer of Holdings, evidencing compliance with clause (b) of this definition, together with all relevant financial information with respect to the acquired assets, including, without limitation, the aggregate consideration for such Acquisition and any other information reasonably requested by the Administrative Agent to demonstrate such compliance, and (ii) the then current drafts of the documentation to be executed in connection with such Acquisition (with final copies of such documentation to be delivered to the Administrative Agent promptly upon becoming available), including all schedules and exhibits thereto; and

(f) such Person shall have become a Restricted Subsidiary and, if such Person shall be a wholly-owned Domestic Subsidiary (and not an Immaterial Subsidiary after giving pro forma effect to such Acquisition and not otherwise an Excluded Subsidiary), a Guarantor and the provisions of Section 6.8 shall have been complied with to the reasonable satisfaction of the Administrative Agent; provided that, notwithstanding the foregoing, the aggregate consideration expended in respect of Persons that shall not become Guarantors or wholly owned Subsidiaries may not exceed $15,000,000.

Permitted Amendment or Refinancing ” shall mean, with respect to any Person, any Amendment or Refinancing of any Indebtedness of such Person; provided that (a) the principal amount (or accreted value, if applicable) thereof does not exceed the principal amount (or accreted value, if applicable) of the Indebtedness so Amended or Refinanced except (i) by an amount equal to unpaid accrued interest and premium (including tender premiums and make whole amounts) thereon plus other reasonable and customary fees and expenses (including upfront fees, original issue discount and defeasance costs) incurred in connection with such Amendment or Refinancing and (ii) by an amount equal to any existing commitments unutilized thereunder, (b) other than with respect to a Permitted Amendment or Refinancing in respect of Indebtedness permitted pursuant to Section 7.2(c), the Indebtedness resulting from such Amendment or Refinancing has a final maturity date equal to or later than the final maturity date of, and has a Weighted Average Life to Maturity equal to or greater than the Weighted Average Life to Maturity of, the Indebtedness being Amended or Refinanced, (c) other than with respect to a Permitted

 

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Amendment or Refinancing in respect of Indebtedness permitted pursuant to Section 7.2(c), at the time thereof, no Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing, (d) if such Indebtedness being Amended or Refinanced is Indebtedness permitted pursuant to Section 7.2(d), 7.2(j), 7.2(m) or 7.2(o), (i) to the extent such Indebtedness being Amended or Refinanced is subordinated in right of payment or in lien priority to the Obligations, the Indebtedness resulting from such Amendment or Refinancing is subordinated in right of payment or in lien priority, as applicable, to the Obligations on terms at least as favorable to the Lenders as those contained in the documentation governing the Indebtedness being Amended or Refinanced, (ii) the terms and conditions of any such Amended or Refinanced Indebtedness under Section 7.2(m) shall be usual and customary for high yield securities of the type issued, (iii) the other terms and conditions (including, if applicable, as to collateral but excluding as to subordination, pricing, premiums and optional prepayment or optional redemption provisions) of any such Amended or Refinanced Indebtedness, taken as a whole, are not materially less favorable to the Loan Parties or the Lenders than the terms and conditions of the Indebtedness being Amended or Refinanced, taken as a whole (provided that a certificate of a Responsible Officer delivered to the Administrative Agent at least five Business Days prior to the incurrence of such Indebtedness, together with a reasonably detailed description of the material terms and conditions of such Indebtedness or drafts of the documentation relating thereto, stating that the Borrowers has determined in good faith that such terms and conditions satisfy the foregoing requirement shall be conclusive evidence that such terms and conditions satisfy the requirements of clause (ii) and this clause (iii) unless the Administrative Agent notifies the Borrowers within such five Business Day period that it disagrees with such determination (including a reasonable description of the basis upon which it disagrees)) and (iv) the obligors (including any guarantors) in respect of the Indebtedness resulting from such modification, refinancing, refunding, renewal, replacement or extension shall be the same as the obligors (including any guarantors) of the Indebtedness being Amended or Refinanced, (e) in the case of any Permitted Amendment or Refinancing that is secured (including in respect of the ABL Facility), such Permitted Amendment or Refinancing is secured only by all or any portion of the collateral securing the Indebtedness being Amended or Refinanced and (f) in the case of any Permitted Amendment or Refinancing that is guaranteed (including in respect of the ABL Facility), such Permitted Amendment or Refinancing is guaranteed only by the Guarantors guaranteeing the Indebtedness being Amended or Refinanced. When used with respect to any specified Indebtedness, “Permitted Amendment or Refinancing” shall mean the Indebtedness incurred to effectuate a Permitted Amendment or Refinancing of such specified Indebtedness.

Permitted First Priority Refinancing Debt ”: any secured Indebtedness incurred by the Borrowers in the form of one or more series of senior secured notes; provided that (i) such Indebtedness may only be secured by assets consisting of Collateral on a pari passu basis (but without regard to the control of remedies) with the Obligations and may not be secured by any property or assets of Holdings, the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary other than the Collateral, (ii) such Indebtedness constitutes Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness, (iii) such Indebtedness does not mature or have scheduled amortization or payments of principal and is not subject to mandatory redemption, repurchase, prepayment or sinking fund obligation (except customary asset sale or change of control provisions), in each case prior to the then Latest Maturity Date, (iv) such Indebtedness is not at any time guaranteed by any Subsidiaries other than Subsidiaries that are Guarantors, (v) the other terms and conditions of such Indebtedness (excluding pricing, premiums and optional prepayment or optional redemption provisions) are customary market terms for securities of such type ( provided that such terms shall in no event include any financial maintenance covenants) and, in any event, when taken as a whole, are not more favorable to the investors providing such Indebtedness than the terms and conditions of the applicable Refinanced Debt (except with respect to any terms (including covenants) and conditions contained in such Indebtedness that are applicable only after the then Latest Maturity Date) ( provided that a certificate of a Responsible Officer delivered to the Administrative Agent at least five Business Days prior to the incurrence of such Indebtedness, together with a reasonably detailed description of the material terms and conditions of such Indebtedness or drafts of the documentation relating thereto, stating that the Borrowers

 

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has determined in good faith that such terms and conditions satisfy the requirement of this clause (v) shall be conclusive evidence that such terms and conditions satisfy such requirement unless the Administrative Agent notifies the Borrowers within such five Business Day period that it disagrees with such determination (including a reasonable description of the basis upon which it disagrees)), (vi) no Default shall exist immediately prior to or after giving effect to such incurrence, (vii) the security agreements relating to such Indebtedness are substantially the same as the applicable Security Documents (with such differences as are reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent) and (viii) a Senior Representative acting on behalf of the holders of such Indebtedness shall have become party to or otherwise subject to the provisions of (1) the ABL Intercreditor Agreement and (2) the First Lien Intercreditor Agreement; provided that if such Indebtedness is the initial Permitted First Priority Refinancing Debt incurred by the Borrowers, then the Borrowers, Holdings, the Subsidiary Guarantors, the Administrative Agent and the Senior Representative for such Indebtedness shall have executed and delivered the First Lien Intercreditor Agreement. Permitted First Priority Refinancing Debt will include any Registered Equivalent Notes issued in exchange therefor.

Permitted Investors ”: the collective reference to (i) the Sponsor and Sponsor Affiliates, (ii) the Management Investors, (iii) any Permitted Transferees of any of the foregoing Persons, (iv) other co-investors of Holdings as of the Closing Date, and (v) any ‘‘group’’ (within the meaning of Section 13(d)(3) or Section 14(d)(2) of the Securities Exchange Act or any successor provision) of which any of the foregoing are members; provided that in the case of such ‘‘group’’ and without giving effect to the existence of such ‘‘group’’ or any other ‘‘group,’’ such Persons specified in clauses (i), (ii) or (iii) above, collectively, have beneficial ownership, directly or indirectly, of more than 50% of the total voting power of the voting stock of Holdings held by such ‘‘group,” and provided further, that, in no event shall the Sponsor own a lesser percentage of voting stock than any other Person or group referred to in clauses (ii), (iii) and (iv).

Permitted Second Priority Refinancing Debt ”: secured Indebtedness incurred by the Borrowers in the form of one or more series of second lien secured notes or second lien secured loans; provided that (i) such Indebtedness may only be secured by assets consisting of Collateral on a second lien, subordinated basis to the Obligations, the obligations in respect of any Permitted First Priority Refinancing Debt and the obligations in respect of the ABL Facility and may not be secured by any property or assets of Holdings, the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary other than the Collateral, (ii) such Indebtedness constitutes Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness, (iii) such Indebtedness does not mature or have scheduled amortization or payments of principal and is not subject to mandatory redemption, repurchase, prepayment or sinking fund obligation (except customary asset sale or change of control provisions), in each case prior to the date that is ninety-one (91) days after the then Latest Maturity Date, (iv) such Indebtedness is not at any time guaranteed by any Subsidiaries other than Subsidiaries that are Guarantors, (v) the other terms and conditions of such Indebtedness (excluding pricing, premiums and optional prepayment or optional redemption provisions) are customary market terms for Indebtedness of such type and, in any event, when taken as a whole, are not more favorable to the investors or lenders providing such Indebtedness than the terms and conditions of the applicable Refinanced Debt (except with respect to any terms (including covenants) and conditions contained in such Indebtedness that are applicable only after the then Latest Maturity Date) ( provided that a certificate of a Responsible Officer delivered to the Administrative Agent at least five Business Days prior to the incurrence of such Indebtedness, together with a reasonably detailed description of the material terms and conditions of such Indebtedness or drafts of the documentation relating thereto, stating that the Borrowers has determined in good faith that such terms and conditions satisfy the requirement of this clause (v) shall be conclusive evidence that such terms and conditions satisfy such requirement unless the Administrative Agent notifies the Borrowers within such five Business Day period that it disagrees with such determination (including a reasonable description of the basis upon which it disagrees)), (vi) the security agreements relating to such Indebtedness reflect the second lien nature of the security interests and are

 

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otherwise substantially the same as the applicable Security Documents (with such differences as are reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent), (vii) no Default shall exist immediately prior to or after giving effect to such incurrence and (viii) a Senior Representative acting on behalf of the holders of such Indebtedness shall have become party to or otherwise subject to the provisions of (1) the ABL Intercreditor Agreement and (2) the Second Lien Intercreditor Agreement; provided that if such Indebtedness is the initial Permitted Second Priority Refinancing Debt incurred by the Borrowers, then the Borrowers, Holdings, the Subsidiary Guarantors, the Administrative Agent and the Senior Representative for such Indebtedness shall have executed and delivered the Second Lien Intercreditor Agreement. Permitted Second Priority Refinancing Debt will include any Registered Equivalent Notes issued in exchange therefor.

Permitted Seller Note ”: a promissory note containing subordination and other related provisions reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent, representing Indebtedness of the Borrowers or any of its Subsidiaries incurred in connection with any acquisition permitted under Section 7.7(f) and payable to the seller in connection therewith.

Permitted Transferee ”: (a) in the case of the Sponsor, (i) any Sponsor Affiliate, (ii) any managing director, general partner, limited partner, director, officer or employee of the Sponsor or any Sponsor Affiliate (collectively, the “ Sponsor Associates ”), (iii) the heirs, executors, administrators, testamentary trustees, legatees or beneficiaries of any Sponsor Associate and (iv) any trust, the beneficiaries of which, or a corporation or partnership, the stockholders or partners of which, include only a Sponsor Associate, his or her spouse, parents, siblings, members of his or her immediate family (including adopted children and step children) and/or direct lineal descendants; and (b) in the case of any Management Investor, (i) his or her executor, administrator, testamentary trustee, legatee or beneficiaries, (ii) his or her spouse, parents, siblings, members of his or her immediate family (including adopted children and step children) and/or direct lineal descendants or (iii) a trust, the beneficiaries of which are a corporation or partnership, the stockholders or partners of which, include only a Management Investor and his or her spouse, parents, siblings, members of his or her immediate family (including adopted children) and/or direct lineal descendants.

Person ”: an individual, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, unlimited liability company, business trust, joint stock company, trust, unincorporated association, joint venture, Governmental Authority or other entity of whatever nature.

Plan ”: at a relevant time, any employee benefit plan as defined in Section 3(3) of ERISA and in respect of which Holdings, the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries is (or, if such plan were terminated at such time, would under Section 4069 of ERISA be deemed to be) an “employer” as defined in Section 3(5) of ERISA.

Pledged Securities ”: as defined in the Guarantee and Collateral Agreement.

Pledged Stock ”: as defined in the Guarantee and Collateral Agreement.

Prime Rate ”: as defined in the definition of “ABR”.

Property ”: any right or interest in or to property of any kind whatsoever, whether real, personal or mixed and whether tangible or intangible, including, without limitation, Capital Stock.

Qualifying Bid ”: as defined in Schedule 2.27.

Qualified Capital Stock ”: any Capital Stock that is not Disqualified Capital Stock.

 

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Recipient ”: the Administrative Agent, any Lender or any other recipient (including, for the avoidance of doubt, any Transferee) of any payment to be made by or on account of any obligation of any Loan Party hereunder.

Recovery Event ”: any settlement of or payment in respect of any property or casualty insurance claim or any condemnation proceeding relating to any asset of Holdings, a Borrower or any Subsidiary Guarantor, in an amount for each such event exceeding $2,000,000.

Refinancing Amendment ”: an amendment to this Agreement executed by each of (a) Holdings, (b) the Borrowers, (c) the Administrative Agent, (d) each Additional Lender and (e) each existing Lender that agrees to provide any portion of the Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness being incurred pursuant thereto, in accordance with Section 2.29.

Register ”: as defined in Section 10.6(b)(iv).

Registered Equivalent Notes ”: with respect to any notes originally issued in a Rule 144A or other private placement transaction under the Securities Act of 1933, substantially identical notes (having the same Guarantees) issued in a dollar-for-dollar exchange therefor pursuant to an exchange offer registered with the SEC.

Regulation U ”: Regulation U of the Board as in effect from time to time.

Reinvestment Deferred Amount ”: with respect to any Reinvestment Event, the aggregate Net Cash Proceeds received by a Borrower or any Subsidiary Guarantor for its own account in connection therewith that are not applied to prepay the Term Loans pursuant to Section 2.12 as a result of the delivery of a Reinvestment Notice. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, in no event shall the aggregate Reinvestment Deferred Amount, solely to the extent such Reinvestment Deferred Amount is derived from the proceeds of Asset Sales and excluding any Recovery Amounts, exceed $25,000,000 over the life of the Term Facility.

Reinvestment Event ”: any Asset Sale or Recovery Event in respect of which a Loan Party has delivered a Reinvestment Notice.

Reinvestment Notice ”: a written notice signed on behalf of Holdings, a Borrower or any Subsidiary Guarantor by a Responsible Officer stating that Holdings, such Borrower or such Subsidiary Guarantor (directly or indirectly through a Subsidiary) intends and expects to use all or a specified portion of the Net Cash Proceeds of an Asset Sale or Recovery Event to acquire assets useful in its (or such Subsidiary’s) business.

Reinvestment Prepayment Amount ”: with respect to any Reinvestment Event, the Reinvestment Deferred Amount relating thereto less any amount committed to be expended prior to the relevant Reinvestment Prepayment Date (a “ Committed Reinvestment Amount ”), or actually expended prior to such date, in each case to acquire assets useful in the business.

Reinvestment Prepayment Date ”: with respect to any Reinvestment Event, the earlier of (i) the date occurring 12 months after such Reinvestment Event and (ii) with respect to any portion of a Reinvestment Deferred Amount, the date on which Holdings, a Borrower or a Subsidiary Guarantor shall have determined not to acquire assets useful in its or such Subsidiary’s business with such portion of such Reinvestment Deferred Amount.

 

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Release ”: any release, spill, emission, leaking, dumping, injection, pouring, deposit, disposal, discharge, dispersal, leaching or migration into or through the environment or within or upon any building, structure or facility.

Reorganization ”: with respect to any Multiemployer Plan, the condition that such plan is in reorganization within the meaning of Section 4241 of ERISA.

Reply Amount ”: as defined in Schedule 2.27.

Reply Price ”: as defined in Schedule 2.27.

Reportable Event ”: any of the events set forth in Section 4043(c) of ERISA, other than those events as to which the thirty day notice period is waived by the PBGC in accordance with the regulations thereunder.

Representatives ”: as defined in Section 10.14.

Repricing Transaction ”: (1) the incurrence by Holdings, a Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries of any Indebtedness (including, without limitation, any new or additional term loans under this Agreement (including Other Term Loans), whether incurred directly or by way of the conversion of Term Loans into a new tranche of replacement term loans under this Agreement) that is broadly marketed or syndicated to banks and other institutional investors in financings similar to the facilities provided for in this Agreement (i) having an “effective” yield for such Indebtedness that is less than the “effective” yield for Term Loans being refinanced or prepaid (with the comparative determinations to be made in the reasonable judgment of the Administrative Agent consistent with generally accepted financial practices, after giving effect to, among other factors, margin, upfront or similar fees or “original issue discount”, in each case, shared with all lenders or holders of such Indebtedness or Term Loans, as the case may be, but excluding the effect of any arrangement, structuring, syndication or other fees payable in connection therewith that are not shared with all lenders or holders of such Indebtedness or Term Loans, as the case may be, and without taking into account any fluctuations in Eurodollar Rate or ABR or comparable rate), but excluding Indebtedness incurred in connection with a Change of Control, and (ii) the proceeds of which are used to prepay (or, in the case of a conversion, deemed to prepay or replace), in whole or in part, outstanding principal of Term Loans or (2) any effective reduction in the Applicable Rate for Term Loans (e.g., by way of amendment, waiver or otherwise) (with such determination to be made in the reasonable judgment of the Administrative Agent, consistent with generally accepted financial practices). Any such determination by the Administrative Agent as contemplated by preceding clauses (1) and (2) shall be conclusive and binding on all Lenders holding Term Loans.

Required Lenders ”: at any time, the holders of more than 50% of the aggregate unpaid principal amount of the Term Loans then outstanding.

Requirement of Law ”: as to any Person, the certificate of incorporation and by-laws or other organizational or governing documents of such Person, and any law, treaty, rule or regulation or determination of an arbitrator or a court or other Governmental Authority, in each case applicable to or binding upon such Person or any of its property or to which such Person or any of its property is subject.

Responsible Officer ”: the chief executive officer, president, chief financial officer (or similar title), chief operating officer, controller or treasurer (or similar title) of Holdings or either Borrower, as applicable, or (with respect to Section 6.7) any Restricted Subsidiary and, with respect to financial matters, the chief financial officer (or similar title) or treasurer (or similar title) of Holdings or either Borrower, as applicable.

 

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Restricted Payments ”: as defined in Section 7.6.

Restricted Subsidiary ”: any Subsidiary of Vince which is not an Unrestricted Subsidiary.

Return Bid ”: as defined in Schedule 2.27.

S&P ”: Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services or any successor to the rating agency business thereof.

SEC ”: the Securities and Exchange Commission (or successors thereto or an analogous Governmental Authority).

Second Lien Intercreditor Agreement ”: a “junior lien” intercreditor agreement among the Administrative Agent and one or more Senior Representatives for holders of Permitted Second Priority Refinancing Debt, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent.

Secured Parties ”: collectively, the Lenders, the Administrative Agent, any other holder from time to time of any of the Obligations (in their capacities as holders thereof) and, in each case, their respective successors and permitted assigns.

Securities Exchange Act ”: the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

Security Documents ”: the collective reference to the Guarantee and Collateral Agreement, the ABL Intercreditor Agreement, the First Lien Intercreditor Agreement (if any), the Second Lien Intercreditor Agreement (if any) and all other security documents (including any Mortgages) hereafter delivered to the Administrative Agent (or any agent thereof or trustee appointed by the Administrative Agent) purporting to grant a Lien on any Property of any Loan Party to secure the Obligations.

Senior Representative ”: with respect to any series of Permitted First Priority Refinancing Debt or Permitted Second Priority Refinancing Debt, the trustee, administrative agent, collateral agent, security agent or similar agent under the indenture or agreement pursuant to which such Indebtedness is issued, incurred or otherwise obtained, as the case may be, and each of their successors in such capacities.

Shared Services Agreement ”: that certain Shared Services Agreement dated as of the Closing Date by and among Kellwood Company, LLC and Vince, as amended, modified, extended, restated, replaced, or supplemented from time to time.

Single Employer Plan ”: any Plan that is covered by Title IV of ERISA, but which is not a Multiemployer Plan.

Solvent ”: with respect to any Person, as of any date of determination, (a) on a going concern basis the amount of the “fair value” of the assets of such Person will, as of such date, exceed the amount of all “liabilities of such Person, contingent or otherwise”, as of such date, as such quoted terms are determined in accordance with applicable federal and state laws governing determinations of the

 

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insolvency of debtors, (b) the present fair saleable value of the assets of such Person will, as of such date, be greater than the amount that will be required to pay the liability of such Person on its debts as such debts become absolute and matured, (c) such Person will not have, as of such date, an unreasonably small amount of capital with which to conduct its business and (d) such Person will be able to pay its debts as they mature. For purposes of this definition, (i) “debt” means liability on a “claim”, (ii) “claim” means any (x) right to payment, whether or not such a right is reduced to judgment, liquidated, unliquidated, fixed, contingent, matured, unmatured, disputed, undisputed, legal, equitable, secured or unsecured or (y) right to an equitable remedy for breach of performance if such breach gives rise to a right to payment, whether or not such right to an equitable remedy is reduced to judgment, fixed, contingent, matured or unmatured, disputed, undisputed, secured or unsecured and (iii) except as otherwise provided by applicable law, the amount of “contingent liabilities” at any time shall be the amount thereof which, can reasonably be expected to become actual or matured liabilities.

Specified Equity Contribution ”: as defined in the definition of Consolidated EBITDA.

Specified Hedge Agreement ”: any Hedge Agreement (including all agreements listed on Schedule 7.15 , even if entered into prior to the Closing Date) (a) entered into by (i) a Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries and (ii) the Administrative Agent, a Joint Lead Arranger, any Lender or any affiliate of any thereof at the time such Hedge Agreement was entered into, as counterparty and (b) that has been designated by such Lender counterparty and Holdings, by notice to the Administrative Agent, as a Specified Hedge Agreement. The designation of any Hedge Agreement as a Specified Hedge Agreement shall not create in favor of the Administrative Agent, the Joint Lead Arranger or the Lender or affiliate thereof that is a party thereto any rights in connection with the management or release of any Collateral or of the obligations of any Guarantor under the Guarantee and Collateral Agreement.

Specified Transaction ”: (a) any Investment that results in a Person becoming a Restricted Subsidiary or an Unrestricted Subsidiary, any Permitted Acquisition or any Disposition that results in a Restricted Subsidiary ceasing to be a Subsidiary of the Borrowers, any Investment constituting an acquisition of assets constituting a business unit, line of business or division of another Person or any Disposition of a business unit, line of business or division of the Borrowers or a Restricted Subsidiary, any designation of a Subsidiary as a Restricted Subsidiary or Unrestricted Subsidiary, in each case whether by merger, consolidation, amalgamation or otherwise or (b) any incurrence or repayment of Indebtedness (other than Indebtedness incurred or repaid under any revolving credit facility or line of credit), Restricted Payment, and New Term Loan Commitments that by the terms of this Agreement requires such test to be calculated on a “pro forma basis” or after giving “pro forma effect.”

Sponsor ”: Sun Capital Partners V, L.P. and any Affiliates thereof (but excluding any portfolio companies of the foregoing).

Sponsor Affiliate ” shall mean the collective reference to any entities (other than a portfolio company) controlled directly or indirectly by the Sponsor.

Subsidiary ”: as to any Person, a corporation, partnership, limited liability company or other entity of which shares of stock or other ownership interests having ordinary voting power (other than stock or such other ownership interests having such power only by reason of the happening of a contingency) to elect a majority of the board of directors or other managers of such corporation, partnership or other entity are at the time owned, or the management of which is otherwise controlled, directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, or both, by such Person. Unless otherwise qualified, all references to a “Subsidiary” or to “Subsidiaries” in this Agreement shall refer to a direct or indirect Subsidiary or Subsidiaries of Vince.

 

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Subsidiary Guarantors ”: each wholly owned Domestic Subsidiary (other than any Excluded Subsidiary). For the avoidance of doubt, the Borrowers may cause any Restricted Subsidiary that is not a Subsidiary Guarantor to guarantee the Obligations by causing such Restricted Subsidiary to become a party to the Guarantee and Collateral Agreement, unless and until such time as such Restricted Subsidiary is released from all of its obligations under the Guarantee and Collateral Agreement in accordance with the terms and provisions of Sections 10.15(a)(ii)(B) or 10.15(b) hereof.

Swap Obligation ”: as defined in the definition of “Excluded Swap Obligations”.

Syndication Agent ”: as defined in the preamble hereto.

Tax Receivable Agreement ”: that certain Tax Receivable Agreement dated as of the Closing Date by and between Holdings, the stockholders party thereto and Sun Cardinal LLC, as stockholder representative.

Taxes ”: all present or future taxes, levies, imposts, duties, deductions, withholdings, assessments or other similar fees or charges in the nature of a tax, levy, et cetera, imposed by any Governmental Authority, including any interest, additions to tax or penalties applicable thereto.

Term Facility ”: the Commitments and the Term Loans made thereunder.

Term Lender ”: each Lender that has a Commitment or that holds a Term Loan.

Term Loan ”: the Initial Term Loans, any Extended Term Loans, any New Term Loans and any Other Term Loans, collectively.

Term Maturity Date ”: means (a) as to any Initial Term Loan that has not been extended pursuant to Section 2.26, the sixth anniversary of the Closing Date, (b) as to any New Term Loan that has not been extended pursuant to Section 2.26, the New Term Loan Maturity Date, (c) as to any Other Term Loans, the final maturity date as specified in the applicable Refinancing Amendment.

Term Percentage ”: as to any Term Lender at any time, the percentage which the sum of such Lender’s Commitments then constitutes of the aggregate Commitments (or, at any time after the Closing Date, the percentage which the aggregate principal amount of such Lender’s Term Loans then outstanding constitutes of the aggregate principal amount of the Term Loans then outstanding).

Tranche ”: as defined in Section 2.25.

Transferee ”: any Assignee or Participant.

Type ”: as to any Term Loan, its nature as an ABR Loan or a Eurodollar Loan.

United States ”: the United States of America.

Unrestricted Subsidiary ”: (i) any Subsidiary of Vince designated as such and listed on Schedule 4.14 on the Closing Date and (ii) any Subsidiary of Vince that is designated by a resolution of the board of directors of Vince as an Unrestricted Subsidiary, but only to the extent that, in the case of each of clauses (i) and (ii), such Subsidiary: (a) has no Indebtedness other than Non-Recourse Debt; (b) is not party to any agreement, contract, arrangement or understanding with Holdings, a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary unless the terms of any such agreement, contract, arrangement or understanding are no less favorable to Holdings, such Borrower or such Restricted Subsidiary than those that might be

 

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obtained at the time from Persons who are not Affiliates of the Borrowers; (c) is a Person with respect to which none of Holdings, a Borrower or a Restricted Subsidiary has any direct or indirect obligation (x) to subscribe for additional Capital Stock or warrants, options or other rights to acquire Capital Stock or (y) to maintain or preserve such Person’s financial condition or to cause such Person to achieve any specified levels of operating results; and (d) has not guaranteed or otherwise provided credit support at the time of such designation for any Indebtedness of Holdings, a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary. If, at any time, any Unrestricted Subsidiary would fail to meet the foregoing requirements as an Unrestricted Subsidiary, it shall thereafter cease to be an Unrestricted Subsidiary for purposes hereof. Subject to the foregoing, the board of directors of Vince may at any time designate any Unrestricted Subsidiary to be a Restricted Subsidiary or any Restricted Subsidiary to be an Unrestricted Subsidiary; provided that (i) such designation shall only be permitted if no Default or Event of Default would be in existence following such designation and Holdings would be in compliance with Section 7.1 on the date of such designation after giving pro form a effect to such designation, (ii) any designation of an Unrestricted Subsidiary as a Restricted Subsidiary shall be deemed to be an incurrence of Indebtedness by a Restricted Subsidiary of any outstanding Indebtedness of such Unrestricted Subsidiary and (iii) any designation of a Restricted Subsidiary as an Unrestricted Subsidiary shall be deemed to be an Investment in an Unrestricted Subsidiary and shall reduce amounts available for Investments in Unrestricted Subsidiaries permitted by Section 7.7 in an amount equal to the fair market value of the Subsidiary so designated as of the time of designation; provided that Vince may subsequently redesignate any such Unrestricted Subsidiary as a Restricted Subsidiary so long as Vince does not subsequently re-designate such Restricted Subsidiary as an Unrestricted Subsidiary for a period of the succeeding four fiscal quarters.

U.S. Lender ”: as defined in Section 2.20(e).

U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate ”: as defined in section 2.20(d)(ii).

Vehicles ”: all cars, trucks, trailers, construction and earth moving equipment and other vehicles covered by a certificate of title law of any state or province.

Vince ”: Vince, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and wholly-owned subsidiary of Intermediate Holdings.

Weighted Average Life to Maturity ” shall mean, when applied to any Indebtedness at any date, the number of years obtained by dividing: (i) the sum of the products obtained by multiplying (a) the amount of each then remaining installment, sinking fund, serial maturity or other required payments of principal, including payment at final maturity, in respect thereof, by (b) the number of years (calculated to the nearest one-twelfth) that will elapse between such date and the making of such payment; by (ii) the then outstanding principal amount of such Indebtedness; provided that for purposes of determining the Weighted Average Life to Maturity of any Indebtedness that is being Amended or Refinanced (the “ Applicable Indebtedness ”), the effects of any amortization of or prepayments made on such Applicable Indebtedness prior to the date of the applicable Amendment or Refinancing shall be disregarded.

1.2 Other Definitional Provisions .

(a) Unless otherwise specified therein, all terms defined in this Agreement shall have the defined meanings when used in the other Loan Documents or any certificate or other document made or delivered pursuant hereto or thereto.

 

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(b) As used herein and in the other Loan Documents, and any certificate or other document made or delivered pursuant hereto or thereto, (i) accounting terms relating to Holdings, the Borrowers and the Subsidiaries not defined in Section 1.1 and accounting terms partly defined in Section 1.1, to the extent not defined, shall have the respective meanings given to them under GAAP, except as otherwise specifically prescribed herein, (ii) the words “include”, “includes” and “including” shall be deemed to be followed by the phrase “without limitation”, (iii) references to agreements or other Contractual Obligations shall, unless otherwise specified, be deemed to refer to such agreements or Contractual Obligations as Amended or Refinanced, amended, supplemented, restated or otherwise modified from time to time, (iv) references to any Requirement of Law shall include all statutory and regulatory provisions consolidating, amending, replacing, supplementing or interpreting such Law (including by succession of comparable successor laws), and (v) any term referred herein by cross-reference to a defined term in the ABL Facility shall be deemed to be a cross-reference to a defined term in the ABL Facility or a comparable term in an Amendment or Refinancing thereof.

(c) The words “hereof”, “herein” and “hereunder” and words of similar import, when used in this Agreement, shall refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular provision of this Agreement, and Annex, Section, Schedule and Exhibit references are to this Agreement unless otherwise specified.

(d) The term “license” shall include sub-license.

(e) The meanings given to terms defined herein shall be equally applicable to both the singular and plural forms of such terms.

(f) All references to any Person shall be constructed to include such Person’s successors and assigns (subject to any restriction on assignment set forth herein) and, in the case of any Governmental Authority, any other Governmental Authority that shall have succeeded to any or all of the functions thereof.

(g) In the computation of periods of time from a specified date to a later specified date, the word “from” means “from and including”; the words “to” and “until” each mean “to but excluding”; and the word “through” means “to and including.”

(h) All references to “knowledge” of any Loan Party or a Restricted Subsidiary of Holdings means the actual knowledge of a Responsible Officer.

(i) For purposes of determining compliance with Article VII with respect to any amount of Indebtedness or Investment in a currency other than Dollars, no Default or Event of Default shall be deemed to have occurred solely as a result of changes in rates of currency exchange occurring after the time such Indebtedness or Investment is incurred (so long as such Indebtedness or Investment, at the time incurred, made or acquired, was permitted hereunder).

(j) All certifications to be made hereunder by an officer or representative of a Loan Party shall be made by such person in his or her capacity solely as an officer or a representative of such Loan Party, on such Loan Party’s behalf and not in such Person’s individual capacity.

1.3 Pro Forma Calculations .

(a) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, the Consolidated Net Total Leverage Ratio and the Consolidated Net Total Secured Leverage Ratio shall be calculated in the manner prescribed by this Section 1.3; provided that notwithstanding anything to the contrary in clause (b), (c) or (d) of this Section 1.3, when calculating the Consolidated Net Total Leverage Ratio for purposes of (i) the Excess Cash Flow Percentage and (ii) determining actual compliance (and not compliance on a pro forma basis) with Section 7.1, the events described in this Section 1.3 that occurred subsequent to the end of the applicable period shall not be given pro forma effect.

 

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(b) For purposes of calculating the Consolidated Net Total Leverage Ratio and the Consolidated Net Total Secured Leverage Ratio, Specified Transactions (and the incurrence or repayment of any Indebtedness in connection therewith) that have been made (i) during the applicable period and (ii) subsequent to such period and prior to or simultaneously with the event for which the calculation of any such ratio is made shall be calculated on a pro forma basis assuming that all such Specified Transactions (and any increase or decrease in Consolidated EBITDA and the component financial definitions used therein attributable to any Specified Transaction) had occurred on the first day of the applicable period. If since the beginning of any applicable period any Person that subsequently became a Restricted Subsidiary or was merged, amalgamated or consolidated with or into Holdings or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries since the beginning of such period shall have made any Specified Transaction that would have required adjustment pursuant to this Section 1.3, then the Consolidated Net Total Leverage Ratio and the Consolidated Net Total Secured Leverage Ratio shall be calculated to give pro forma effect thereto in accordance with this Section 1.3.

(c) Whenever pro forma effect is to be given to a Specified Transaction, the pro forma calculations shall be made in good faith by a Responsible Officer of Holdings and include, for the avoidance of doubt, the amount of cost savings and synergies projected by Holdings in good faith to be reasonably anticipated to be realizable within 12 months after the closing date of such Specified Transaction ( provided that to the extent any such operational changes are not associated with a transaction, such changes shall be limited to those for which all steps have been taken for realizing such savings and are factually supportable, reasonably identifiable and supported by an officer’s certificate delivered to the Administrative Agent) (calculated on a pro forma basis as though such cost savings and synergies had been realized on the first day of such period as if such cost savings and synergies were realized during the entirety of such period) relating to such Specified Transaction, net of the amount of actual benefits realized during such period from such actions; provided that any increase in Consolidated EBITDA as a result of cost savings and synergies shall be subject to the limitations set forth in the definition of Consolidated EBITDA.

(d) In the event that a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary incurs (including by assumption or guarantees) or repays (including by redemption, repayment, retirement or extinguishment) any Indebtedness included in the calculations of the Consolidated Net Total Leverage Ratio and the Consolidated Net Total Secured Leverage Ratio, as the case may be (in each case, other than Indebtedness incurred or repaid under any revolving credit facility in the ordinary course of business for working capital purposes), (i) during the applicable period and (ii) subsequent to the end of the applicable period and prior to or simultaneously with the event for which the calculation of any such ratio is made, then the Consolidated Net Total Leverage Ratio and the Consolidated Net Total Secured Leverage Ratio shall be calculated giving pro forma effect to such incurrence or repayment of Indebtedness, to the extent required, as if the same had occurred on the last day of the applicable period.

SECTION 2.

AMOUNT AND TERMS OF COMMITMENTS

2.1 Term Commitments . Subject to the terms and conditions hereof, each Term Lender severally agrees to make a term loan (each, an “ Initial Term Loan ” and collectively, the “ Initial Term Loans ”) in Dollars to the Borrowers on the Closing Date in an amount not to exceed the amount of the Initial Term Commitment of such Lender. The Initial Term Loans may from time to time be Eurodollar Loans or ABR Loans, as determined by the Borrowers and notified to the Administrative Agent in accordance with Sections 2.2 and 2.13.

 

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2.2 Procedure for Term Loan Borrowing . The Borrowers shall give the Administrative Agent irrevocable notice (which notice must be received by the Administrative Agent prior to 10:00 A.M., New York City time, on the day of the anticipated Closing Date) requesting that the Term Lenders make the Term Loans on the Closing Date and specifying the amount to be borrowed. The Initial Term Loans made on the Closing Date shall initially be ABR Loans unless the initial Term Lenders and the Administrative Agent otherwise agree. Upon receipt of such notice the Administrative Agent shall promptly notify each Term Lender thereof. Not later than 3:00 P.M., New York City time, on the Closing Date each Term Lender shall make available to the Administrative Agent at the Funding Office an amount in immediately available funds equal to the Term Loan or Term Loans to be made by such Lender. The Administrative Agent shall credit the account designated in writing by the Borrowers to the Administrative Agent with the aggregate of the amounts made available to the Administrative Agent by the Term Lenders in immediately available funds.

2.3 Amortization . The Term Loan of each Term Lender shall be payable in equal consecutive quarterly installments, commencing on March 31, 2014, on the last Business Day of each March, June, September and December following the Closing Date in an amount equal to one quarter of one percent (0.25%) of the Term Loans funded on the Closing Date (as adjusted to reflect any prepayments thereof), with the remaining balance thereof payable on the Term Maturity Date.

2.4 [Reserved] .

2.5 [Reserved] .

2.6 [Reserved] .

2.7 [Reserved] .

2.8 Repayment of Term Loans .

(a) The Borrowers hereby, jointly and severally, unconditionally promise to pay to the Administrative Agent for the account of the appropriate Term Lender, the principal amount of each outstanding Term Loan of such Term Lender made to the Borrowers in installments in accordance with the amortization schedule set forth in Section 2.3 (or on such earlier date on which the Term Loans become due and payable pursuant to Section 8). The Borrowers hereby further agree, jointly and severally, to pay interest on the unpaid principal amount of the Term Loans made to the Borrowers from time to time outstanding from the date hereof until payment in full thereof at the rates per annum, and on the dates, set forth in Section 2.15.

(b) Each Lender shall maintain in accordance with its usual practice an account or accounts evidencing indebtedness of the Borrowers to such Lender resulting from each Term Loan of such Lender from time to time, including the amounts of principal and interest payable and paid to such Lender from time to time under this Agreement.

(c) The Administrative Agent, on behalf of the Borrowers, shall maintain the Register pursuant to Section 10.6(b)(iv), and a subaccount therein for each Lender, in which shall be recorded (i) the amount of each Term Loan made hereunder and any Note evidencing such Term Loan, the Type of such Term Loan and each Interest Period applicable thereto, (ii) the amount of any principal, interest and fees, as applicable, due and payable or to become due and payable from the Borrowers to each Lender hereunder and (iii) the amount of any sum received by the Administrative Agent hereunder from the Borrowers and each Lender’s share thereof.

 

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(d) The entries made in the Register and the accounts of each Lender maintained pursuant to Section 2.8(c) shall, to the extent permitted by applicable law, be prima facie evidence of the existence and amounts of the obligations of the Borrowers therein recorded (absent manifest error); provided , however , that the failure of the Administrative Agent or any Lender to maintain the Register or any such account, or any error therein, shall not in any manner affect the obligation of the Borrowers to repay (with applicable interest) the Term Loans made to the Borrowers by such Lender in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.

(e) Any Lender may request that the Term Loans made by it be evidenced by a promissory note. In such event, the Borrowers 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 registered assigns) and in a form approved by the Administrative Agent. Thereafter, the Term Loans evidenced by such promissory note and interest thereon shall at all times (including after assignment pursuant to Section 10.6) 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 registered assigns).

2.9 Fees, etc . The Borrowers, jointly and severally agree to pay to the Joint Lead Arrangers, the Administrative Agent and the Documentation Agent, for their respective accounts, such fees in the amounts and on the dates as set forth in any fee agreements with the Joint Lead Arrangers, the Administrative Agent or the Documentation Agent, as the case may be.

The Borrowers, jointly and severally agree to pay to the Administrative Agent for the benefit of each Lender on the Closing Date “original issue discount” or upfront fees, as determined by the Lead Arrangers, in an amount equal to 1.00% of Term Loans funded by each Lender.

2.10 [Reserved] .

2.11 Optional Prepayments .

(a) The Borrowers may at any time and from time to time prepay the Term Loans, in whole or in part, without premium or penalty, upon irrevocable notice delivered to the Administrative Agent no later than 1:00 P.M., New York City time, three Business Days prior thereto, in the case of Eurodollar Loans, and no later than 1:00 P.M., New York City time, one Business Day prior thereto, in the case of ABR Loans, which notice shall specify (i) the date and amount of prepayment and (ii) whether the prepayment is of Eurodollar Loans or ABR Loans; provided that if a Eurodollar Loan is prepaid on any day other than the last day of the Interest Period applicable thereto, the Borrowers shall also pay any amounts owing pursuant to Section 2.21. Upon receipt of any such notice the Administrative Agent shall promptly notify each relevant Lender thereof. If any such notice is given, the amount specified in such notice shall be due and payable on the date specified therein ( provided that such notice may be conditioned on receiving the proceeds of any Amendment or Refinancing of Indebtedness, any Equity Issuance, the consummation of a Change of Control or the Disposition of Property), together with accrued interest to such date on the amount prepaid. Partial prepayments of Term Loans shall be in an aggregate principal amount of (i) $1,000,000 or a whole multiple of $100,000 in excess thereof (in the case of prepayments of ABR Loans) or (ii) $1,000,000 or a whole multiple of $500,000 in excess thereof (in the case of prepayments of Eurodollar Loans), and in each case shall be subject to the provisions of Section 2.18.

 

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(b) In the event that, on or prior to the first anniversary of the Closing Date, the Borrowers (x) make any prepayment of Term Loans in connection with any Repricing Transaction, or (y) effect any amendment of this Agreement having the effect of a Repricing Transaction, the Borrowers shall pay to the Administrative Agent, for the ratable account of each of the Lenders, (I) in the case of clause (x), a prepayment premium of 1% of the aggregate principal amount of the Term Loans being prepaid and (II) in the case of clause (y), a payment equal to 1% of the aggregate principal amount of the applicable Term Loans outstanding immediately prior to such amendment.

2.12 Mandatory Prepayments .

(a) Unless the Required Lenders shall otherwise agree, if any Indebtedness (excluding any Indebtedness incurred in accordance with Section 7.2) shall be incurred by a Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries an amount equal to 100% of the Net Cash Proceeds thereof shall be applied on the date of receipt of such Net Cash Proceeds toward the prepayment of the Term Loans as set forth in Section 2.12(d).

(b) Unless the Required Lenders shall otherwise agree, if on any date a Borrower or any Subsidiary Guarantor shall for its own account receive Net Cash Proceeds from any Asset Sale or Recovery Event then, unless a Reinvestment Notice shall be delivered in respect thereof, such Net Cash Proceeds shall be applied on such date toward the prepayment of the Term Loans as set forth in Section 2.12(d); provided that notwithstanding the foregoing, on the date (the “ Trigger Date ”) that is six months after the applicable Reinvestment Prepayment Date, the Term Loans shall be prepaid as set forth in Section 2.12(d) by an amount equal to the portion of any Committed Reinvestment Amount with respect to the relevant Reinvestment Event not actually expended by such Trigger Date; provided further that such Net Cash Proceeds may be applied, along with such prepayment of Term Loans (to the extent the Borrowers elect, or are required by the terms thereof), to purchase, redeem or repay any Permitted First Priority Refinancing Debt, pursuant to the agreements governing such other Indebtedness, on not more than a pro rata basis with respect to such prepayments of Term Loans.

(c) Unless the Required Lenders shall otherwise agree, if, for any fiscal year of Holdings commencing with the fiscal year ending on or nearest to January 31, 2015, there shall be Excess Cash Flow, the Borrowers shall, on the relevant Excess Cash Flow Application Date, apply an amount equal to (i) the Excess Cash Flow Percentage of such Excess Cash Flow minus (ii) the sum of (A) the aggregate amount of all prepayments or cash collateralization of ABL Indebtedness during such fiscal year or, at the Borrowers’ option and without duplication across fiscal years, after such fiscal year but prior to the Excess Cash Flow Application Date, to the extent accompanied by permanent optional reductions of the commitments under the ABL Facility and (B) all optional prepayments of the Term Loans during such fiscal year or, at the Borrowers’ option and without duplication across fiscal years, after such fiscal year but prior to the Excess Cash Flow Application Date, pursuant to Section 2.11(a) and Section 2.27 and all optional prepayments or repurchases of Permitted First Priority Refinancing Debt during such fiscal year or, at the Borrowers’ option and without duplication across fiscal years, after such fiscal year but prior to the Excess Cash Flow Application Date (with the amount of Term Loans prepaid pursuant to Section 2.27 or Permitted First Priority Refinancing Debt being prepaid or repurchased being equal to the lesser of the aggregate principal amount thereof and the cash purchase price therefor), in each case other than to the extent any such prepayment is funded with the proceeds of new long-term Indebtedness, toward the prepayment of the Term Loans as set forth in Section 2.12(d). Each such prepayment shall be made on a date (an “ Excess Cash Flow Application Date ”) no later than ten Business Days after the date on which the financial statements of Holdings referred to in Section 6.1(a), for the fiscal year with respect to which such prepayment is made, are required to be delivered to the Lenders.

 

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(d) Amounts to be applied in connection with prepayments pursuant to Section 2.12 shall be applied to the prepayment of the Term Loans in accordance with Section 2.18(b) until paid in full. The application of any prepayment pursuant to Section 2.12 shall be made, first , to ABR Loans and, second , to Eurodollar Loans. Each prepayment of the Term Loans under Section 2.12 shall be accompanied by accrued interest to the date of such prepayment on the amount prepaid.

(e) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in Section 2.12(d), 2.18 or 10.7, with respect to the amount of any mandatory prepayment described in Section 2.12 that is allocated to Term Loans (which, for avoidance of doubt, includes any New Term Loans) (such amounts, the “ Prepayment Amount ”), at any time when Term Loans remain outstanding, the Borrowers will, in lieu of applying such amount to the prepayment of Term Loans as provided in paragraph (d) above, on the date specified in Section 2.12 for such prepayment, give the Administrative Agent telephonic notice (promptly confirmed in writing) requesting that the Administrative Agent prepare and provide to each Term Lender (which, for avoidance of doubt, includes each New Term Lender) a notice (each, a “ Prepayment Option Notice ”) as described below. As promptly as practicable after receiving such notice from the Borrowers, the Administrative Agent will send to each Term Lender a Prepayment Option Notice, which shall be in the form of Exhibit J (or such other form approved by the Administrative Agent), and shall include an offer by the Borrowers to prepay on the date (each a “ Mandatory Prepayment Date ”) that is ten Business Days after the date of the Prepayment Option Notice, the relevant Term Loans of such Lender by an amount equal to the portion of the Prepayment Amount indicated in such Lender’s Prepayment Option Notice as being applicable to such Lender’s Term Loans. On the Mandatory Prepayment Date, the Borrowers shall pay to the relevant Term Lenders the aggregate amount necessary to prepay that portion of the outstanding relevant Term Loans in respect of which such Lenders have accepted (it being understood that any Lender’s failure to object prior to the relevant Mandatory Prepayment Date shall be deemed as an acceptance by such Lender of such Prepayment Option Notice and the amount to be prepaid in respect of Term Loans held by such Lender) prepayment as described above; provided that, following such offer and application, any amount remaining unapplied shall be offered by the Administrative Agent ratably to the Term Lenders not so declining such prepayment as a further prepayment hereunder (with such Lenders having the right to accept or decline such further prepayment at the time and in the manner specified by the Administrative Agent) and, to the extent such Term Lenders decline to accept further prepayment, any amount remaining unapplied (collectively, the “ Declined Amounts ”) shall be returned to the Borrowers. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Lenders shall not be permitted to decline proceeds from any Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness.

(f) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Section 2.12, (i) to the extent that the repatriation to the United States of any Excess Cash Flow attributable to Foreign Subsidiaries (“ Foreign Subsidiary Excess Cash Flow ”) would be (x) prohibited or delayed by applicable local law or (y) restricted by applicable organizational documents or (z) prohibited, delayed or restricted any agreement permitted by Section 7.13, an amount equal to the portion of such Foreign Subsidiary Excess Cash Flow that would be so affected were the Borrowers to attempt to repatriate such cash will not be required to be applied to repay Term Loans at the times provided in this Section 2.12 so long, but only so long, as the applicable local law or applicable organizational documents would not otherwise permit repatriation to the United States (the Borrowers hereby agree to use all commercially reasonable efforts to overcome or eliminate any such restrictions on repatriation, even if the Borrowers do not intend to actually repatriate such cash, so that an amount equal to the full amount of such Foreign Subsidiary Excess Cash Flow will otherwise be subject to repayment under this Section 2.12), and if within one year following the date on which the respective prepayment would otherwise have been required such repatriation of any of such affected Foreign Subsidiary Excess Cash Flow is permissible under the applicable local law or applicable organizational documents (even if such cash is actually not repatriated), an amount equal to the amount of the Foreign Subsidiary Excess Cash Flow that could be repatriated will be promptly (and in any event not later than two Business Days) applied (net of an amount equal to the

 

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additional taxes that would be payable or reserved against as a result of a repatriation and any additional costs that would be incurred as a result of a repatriation, whether or not a repatriation actually occurs) by the Borrowers to the repayment of the Term Loans pursuant to this Section 2.12 and (ii) to the extent that the Borrowers have determined in good faith that repatriation of any Foreign Subsidiary Excess Cash Flow would have adverse tax cost consequences with respect to such Foreign Subsidiary Excess Cash Flow, an amount equal to such Foreign Subsidiary Excess Cash Flow that would be so affected will not be subject to repayment under this Section 2.12; provided that for purposes of this Section 2.12, Excess Cash Flow shall be deemed allocable to each Foreign Subsidiary, with respect to any period, in an amount equal to (i) the Consolidated EBITDA of such Foreign Subsidiary for such period, divided by (ii) the Consolidated EBITDA of Holdings and its Restricted Subsidiaries for such period (it being understood and agreed for the avoidance of doubt that such allocation shall exclude any reduction from interest and principal payments in respect of the Obligations). For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in this Agreement requires, or is intended to require, any actual repatriation of any Foreign Subsidiary Excess Cash Flow.

(g) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Section 2.12, (i) to the extent that the repatriation to the United States of any or all of the Net Cash Proceeds of any disposition by a Foreign Subsidiary (“ Foreign Disposition ”) or the Net Cash Proceeds of any Recovery Event incurred by a Foreign Subsidiary (“ Foreign Recovery Event ”) would be (x) prohibited or delayed by applicable local law, (y) restricted by applicable organizational documents or any agreement permitted by Section 7.12 or 7.13 or (z) subject to other onerous organizational or administrative impediments, an amount equal to the Net Cash Proceeds that would be so affected were the Borrowers to attempt to repatriate such cash will not be required to be applied to repay Term Loans at the times provided in this Section 2.12 so long, but only so long, as the applicable local law, applicable organizational documents or other impediment would not otherwise permit repatriation to the United States (the Borrowers hereby agree to use all commercially reasonable efforts to overcome or eliminate any such restrictions on or impediments to repatriation even if the Borrowers do not intend to actually repatriate such cash, so that an amount equal to the full amount of such Net Cash Proceeds will otherwise be subject to repayment under this Section 2.12), and if within one year following the date on which the respective prepayment would otherwise have been required such repatriation of any of such affected Net Cash Proceeds is permissible under the applicable local law or applicable organizational documents or the impediment to such repatriation has ceased to exist, even if such cash is not actually repatriated at such time, an amount equal to the amount of the Net Cash Proceeds will be promptly (and in any event not later than two Business Days) applied (net of an amount equal to the additional taxes that would be payable or reserved against and any additional costs that would be incurred as a result of a repatriation, whether or not a repatriation actually occurs) by the Borrowers to the repayment of the Term Loans pursuant to this Section 2.12 and (ii) to the extent that the Borrowers have determined in good faith that repatriation of any of or all the Net Cash Proceeds of any Foreign Disposition or Foreign Recovery Event would have adverse tax cost consequences with respect to such Net Cash Proceeds, an amount equal to such Net Cash Proceeds that would be so affected will not be subject to repayment under this Section 2.12. For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in this Agreement requires, or is intended to require, any actual repatriation of any Foreign Subsidiary’s Net Cash Proceeds.

2.13 Conversion and Continuation Options .

(a) The Borrowers may elect from time to time to convert Eurodollar Loans made to the Borrowers to ABR Loans by giving the Administrative Agent prior irrevocable notice of such election no later than 1:00 P.M., New York City time, on the second Business Day preceding the proposed conversion date; provided that if any Eurodollar Loan is so converted on any day other than the last day of the Interest Period applicable thereto, the Borrowers shall also pay any amounts owing pursuant to Section 2.21. The Borrowers may elect from time to time to convert ABR Loans made to the Borrowers to Eurodollar Loans by giving the Administrative Agent prior irrevocable notice of such election no later than 1:00 P.M., New York City time, on the third Business Day preceding the proposed conversion date

 

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(which notice shall specify the length of the initial Interest Period therefor); provided that no ABR Loan may be converted into a Eurodollar Loan when any Event of Default has occurred and is continuing and the Administrative Agent or the Required Lenders have determined in its or their sole discretion not to permit such conversions. Upon receipt of any such notice the Administrative Agent shall promptly notify each relevant Lender thereof.

(b) Any Eurodollar Loan may be continued as such by the Borrowers giving irrevocable notice to the Administrative Agent, in accordance with the applicable provisions of the term “Interest Period” set forth in Section 1.1 and no later than 1:00 P.M., New York City time, on the third Business Day preceding the proposed continuation date, of the length of the next Interest Period to be applicable to such Term Loans; provided that if any Eurodollar Loan is so continued on any day other than the last day of the Interest Period applicable thereto, the Borrowers shall also pay any amounts owing pursuant to Section 2.21 and; provided , further , that no Eurodollar Loan may be continued as such when any Event of Default has occurred and is continuing and the Administrative Agent has or the Required Lenders have determined in its or their sole discretion not to permit such continuations and; provided , further , that if the Borrowers shall fail to give any required notice as described above in this paragraph or if such continuation is not permitted pursuant to the preceding proviso such Term Loans shall be automatically converted to ABR Loans on the last day of such then expiring Interest Period. Upon receipt of any such notice the Administrative Agent shall promptly notify each relevant Lender thereof.

2.14 Minimum Amounts and Maximum Number of Eurodollar Tranches . Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, all borrowings, conversions, continuations and optional prepayments of Eurodollar Loans and all selections of Interest Periods shall be in such amounts and be made pursuant to such elections so that (a) after giving effect thereto, the aggregate principal amount of the Eurodollar Loans comprising each tranche of Eurodollar Loans shall be equal to a minimum of $1,000,000 or a whole multiple of $500,000 in excess thereof and (b) no more than ten tranches of Eurodollar Loans shall be outstanding at any one time.

2.15 Interest Rates and Payment Dates .

(a) Each Eurodollar Loan shall bear interest for each day during each Interest Period with respect thereto at a rate per annum equal to the Eurodollar Rate determined for such day plus the Applicable Margin.

(b) Each ABR Loan shall bear interest at a rate per annum equal to the ABR plus the Applicable Margin.

(c) If all or a portion of the principal amount of any Term Loan shall not be paid when due (whether at the stated maturity, by acceleration or otherwise), such overdue amount shall bear interest at a rate per annum equal to the rate that would otherwise be applicable thereto pursuant to the foregoing provisions of this Section plus 2%, and (ii) if all or a portion of any interest payable on any Term Loan or any commitment fee or other amount payable hereunder shall not be paid when due (whether at the stated maturity, by acceleration or otherwise, but after giving effect to any applicable grace period therefor), such overdue amount shall bear interest at a rate per annum equal to the rate then applicable to ABR Loans plus 2%, in each case, with respect to clauses (i) and (ii) above, from the date of such non-payment until such amount is paid in full (as well after and before judgment).

(d) Interest shall be payable by the Borrowers in arrears on each Interest Payment Date; provided that interest accruing pursuant to paragraph (c) of this Section shall be payable from time to time on demand.

 

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2.16 Computation of Interest and Fees .

(a) Interest and fees payable pursuant hereto shall be calculated on the basis of a 360-day year for the actual days elapsed, except that, with respect to ABR Loans the rate of interest thereon shall be calculated on the basis of a 365- (or 366-, as the case may be) day year for the actual days elapsed. The Administrative Agent shall as soon as practicable notify the Borrowers and the relevant Lenders of each determination of a Eurodollar Rate. Any change in the interest rate on a Term Loan resulting from a change in the ABR or the Eurocurrency Reserve Percentage shall become effective as of the opening of business on the day on which such change becomes effective. The Administrative Agent shall as soon as practicable notify the Borrowers and the relevant Lenders of the effective date and the amount of each such change in interest rate.

(b) Each determination of an interest rate by the Administrative Agent pursuant to any provision of this Agreement shall be presumptively correct in the absence of manifest error. The Administrative Agent shall, at the request of the Borrowers, deliver to the Borrowers a statement showing the quotations used by the Administrative Agent in determining any interest rate pursuant to Section 2.15(a) and Section 2.15(b).

2.17 Inability to Determine Rates .

If the Required Lenders determine that for any reason in connection with any request for a Term Loan or a conversion to or continuation thereof that (i) Dollar deposits are not being offered to banks in the London interbank eurodollar market for the applicable amount and Interest Period of such Term Loan, (ii) adequate and reasonable means do not exist for determining the Eurodollar Rate for any requested Interest Period with respect to a proposed Eurodollar Loan or in connection with a ABR Loan, or (iii) the Eurodollar Rate for any requested Interest Period with respect to a proposed Eurodollar Loan or in connection with a Eurodollar Loan does not adequately and fairly reflect the cost to such Lenders of funding such Term Loan, the Administrative Agent will promptly so notify the Borrowers and each Lender. Thereafter, the obligation of the Lenders to make or maintain Eurodollar Loans and ABR Loans as to which the interest rate is determined with reference to the Eurodollar Rate shall be suspended until the Administrative Agent (upon the instruction of the Required Lenders) revokes such notice (any such time period, the “ Eurodollar Unavailability Period ”). Upon receipt of such notice, the Borrowers may revoke any pending request for a Borrowing of, conversion to or continuation of Eurodollar Loans or, failing that, will be deemed to have converted such request into a request for ABR Loans in the amount specified therein.

2.18 Pro Rata Treatment and Payments .

(a) Each borrowing by the Borrowers from the Lenders hereunder shall be made pro rata according to the respective Term Percentages of the relevant Lenders. Each payment (other than prepayments, to the extent expressly provided for herein) in respect of principal or interest in respect of the Term Loans and each payment in respect of fees payable hereunder shall be applied to the amounts of such obligations owing to the Term Lenders, pro rata according to the respective amounts then due and owing to such Lenders.

(b) Each optional prepayment of the Term Loans shall be applied to the remaining installments thereof as specified by the Borrowers. Each mandatory prepayment on account of principal of and interest on the Term Loans pursuant to Section 2.12 shall be applied to any installments thereof (1) in direct order of maturity of the remaining installments under the Term Facility for the next eight (8) amortization payments following the relevant prepayment event, and (2) thereafter, ratably to remaining installments. Amounts repaid or prepaid on account of the Term Loans may not be reborrowed.

 

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(c) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the provisions of the preceding Sections 2.18(a) and (b) shall be subject to (i) the express provisions of this Agreement which require, or permit, differing payments to be made to non-Defaulting Lenders as opposed to Defaulting Lenders, (ii) the express provisions of this Agreement which permit disproportionate payments with respect to various of the Tranches as, and to the extent, provided herein, and (iii) the express provisions of Sections 2.24, 2.25, 2.26, 2.27, 2.28 and 2.29, which permit disproportionate payments with respect to the Loans as, and to the extent, provided therein.

(d) All payments (including prepayments) by the Borrowers hereunder, whether on account of principal, interest, fees or otherwise, shall be made in Dollars without setoff or counterclaim and shall be made prior to 2:00 P.M., New York City time, on the due date thereof to the Administrative Agent, for the account of the relevant Lenders, at the Funding Office, in immediately available funds. The Administrative Agent shall distribute such payments to the relevant Lenders promptly upon receipt in like funds as received. If any payment hereunder (other than payments on the Eurodollar Loans) becomes due and payable on a day other than a Business Day, such payment shall be extended to the next succeeding Business Day. If any payment on a Eurodollar Loan becomes due and payable on a day other than a Business Day, the maturity thereof shall be extended to the next succeeding Business Day unless the result of such extension would be to extend such payment into another calendar month, in which event such payment shall be made on the immediately preceding Business Day. In the case of any extension of any payment of principal pursuant to the preceding two sentences, interest thereon shall be payable at the then applicable rate during such extension.

(e) Unless the Administrative Agent shall have been notified in writing by any Lender prior to a borrowing that such Lender will not make the amount that would constitute its share of such borrowing available to the Administrative Agent, the Administrative Agent may assume that such Lender is making such amount available to the Administrative Agent, and the Administrative Agent may, in reliance upon such assumption, make available to the Borrowers a corresponding amount. If such amount is not made available to the Administrative Agent by the required time on the Borrowing Date therefor, such Lender shall pay to the Administrative Agent on demand, such amount with interest thereon, at a rate equal to the greater of (i) the Federal Funds Effective Rate and (ii) a rate determined by the Administrative Agent in accordance with banking industry rules on interbank compensation, for the period until such Lender makes such amount immediately available to the Administrative Agent. A certificate of the Administrative Agent submitted to any Lender with respect to any amounts owing under this paragraph shall be presumptively correct in the absence of manifest error. If such Lender’s share of such borrowing is not made available to the Administrative Agent by such Lender within three Business Days after such Borrowing Date, the Administrative Agent shall give notice of such fact to the Borrowers and the Administrative Agent shall also be entitled to recover such amount with interest thereon at the rate per annum applicable to ABR Loans, on demand, from the Borrowers. Nothing herein shall be deemed to limit the rights of the Administrative Agent or the Borrowers against any Defaulting Lender.

(f) Unless the Administrative Agent shall have been notified in writing by the Borrowers prior to the date of any payment due to be made by the Borrowers hereunder that the Borrowers will not make such payment to the Administrative Agent, the Administrative Agent may assume that the Borrowers is making such payment, and the Administrative Agent may, but shall not be required to, in reliance upon such assumption, make available to the relevant Lenders their respective pro rata shares of a corresponding amount. If such payment is not made to the Administrative Agent by the Borrowers within three Business Days after such due date, the Administrative Agent shall be entitled to recover, on demand, from each relevant Lender to which any amount which was made available pursuant to the preceding sentence, such amount with interest thereon at the rate per annum equal to the daily average Federal Funds Effective Rate. Nothing herein shall be deemed to limit the rights of the Administrative Agent or any Lender against the Borrowers.

 

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2.19 Requirements of Law .

(a) If any Change in Law:

(i) shall impose, modify or hold applicable any reserve, special deposit, compulsory loan or similar requirement against assets held by, deposits or other liabilities in or for the account of, advances, loans or other extensions of credit by, or any other acquisition of funds by, any office of such Lender that is not otherwise included in the determination of the Eurodollar Rate hereunder;

(ii) shall subject any Lender to any additional Taxes with respect to any Loan Document or any Term Loan made pursuant to this Agreement (except for Non-Excluded Taxes or Other Taxes, which are indemnified under Section 2.20, and any Excluded Tax); or

(iii) shall impose on such Lender any other condition not otherwise contemplated hereunder;

and the result of any of the foregoing is to increase the cost to such Lender by an amount which such Lender reasonably deems to be material, of making, converting into, continuing or maintaining Eurodollar Loans (in each case hereunder), or to reduce any amount receivable hereunder in respect thereof, then, in any such case, the Borrowers shall promptly pay such Lender within ten Business Days after the Borrowers’ receipt of a reasonably detailed invoice therefor (showing with reasonable detail the calculations thereof), any additional amounts necessary to compensate such Lender for such increased cost or reduced amount receivable. If any Lender becomes entitled to claim any additional amounts pursuant to this Section, it shall promptly notify the Borrowers (with a copy to the Administrative Agent) of the event by reason of which it has become so entitled.

(b) If any Lender shall have determined that any Change in Law regarding capital adequacy or in the interpretation or application thereof or compliance by such Lender or any corporation controlling such Lender with any request or directive regarding capital adequacy (whether or not having the force of law) from any Governmental Authority first made, in each case, subsequent to the date hereof shall have the effect of reducing the rate of return on such Lender’s or such corporation’s capital as a consequence of its obligations hereunder to a level below that which such Lender or such corporation could have achieved but for such Change in Law (taking into consideration such Lender’s or such corporation’s policies with respect to capital adequacy) by an amount deemed by such Lender to be material, then from time to time, after submission by such Lender to the Borrowers (with a copy to the Administrative Agent) of a reasonably detailed written request therefor (consistent with the detail provided by such Lender to similarly situated borrowers), the Borrowers shall pay to such Lender such additional amount or amounts as will compensate such Lender or such corporation for such reduction.

(c) A certificate as to any additional amounts payable pursuant to this Section submitted by any Lender to the Borrowers (with a copy to the Administrative Agent) shall be presumptively correct in the absence of manifest error. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section, the Borrowers shall not be required to compensate a Lender pursuant to this Section for any amounts incurred more than nine months prior to the date that such Lender notifies the Borrowers of such Lender’s intention to claim compensation therefor; provided that if the Change in Law giving rise to such claim have a retroactive effect, then such nine-month period shall be extended to include the period of such retroactive effect. The obligations of the Borrowers pursuant to this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement and the payment of the Obligations.

 

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2.20 Taxes .

(a) All payments made by or on account of any Loan Party under any Loan Document shall be made free and clear of, and without deduction or withholding for or on account of, any Taxes unless required by applicable Requirements of Law. If any Taxes are required to be withheld by any applicable withholding agent from any amounts payable by or on account of any Loan Party under any Loan Document, (i) the applicable withholding agent shall make such deductions, (ii) the applicable withholding agent shall timely pay the full amount deducted to the relevant Governmental Authority in accordance with applicable Requirements of Law, and (iii) to the extent the deduction is on account of Non-Excluded Taxes or Other Taxes, the amounts so payable by the applicable Loan Party to the Administrative Agent or such Lender shall be increased to the extent necessary such that the Administrative Agent or such Lender (after deduction or withholding of all Non-Excluded Taxes and Other Taxes) receives an amount equal to the sum it would have received had no such deductions or withholdings been made.

(b) Without limiting the provisions of paragraph (a) above, the Borrowers shall timely pay any Other Taxes to the relevant Governmental Authority in accordance with applicable Requirements of Law.

(c) Whenever any Non-Excluded Taxes or Other Taxes are payable by any Loan Party pursuant to this Section 2.20, as promptly as possible thereafter the Borrowers shall send to the Administrative Agent for the account of the Administrative Agent or Lender, as the case may be, a certified copy of an original official receipt received by the Borrowers showing payment thereof if such receipt is obtainable, or, if not, other reasonable evidence of payment. The Borrowers shall indemnify the Administrative Agent and the Lenders for any Non-Excluded Taxes payable in connection with any payments made by any Loan Party under any Loan Document and any Other Taxes (including Non-Excluded Taxes or Other Taxes imposed or asserted on or attributable to amounts payable under this Section 2.20), and any reasonable expenses arising therefrom or with respect thereto, whether or not such Non-Excluded Taxes or Other Taxes were correctly or legally imposed or asserted by the relevant Governmental Authority; provided , however , that if an indemnitee does not notify the Borrowers of any indemnification claim under this Section 2.20(c) within 180 days after such indemnitee has received written notice of the claim of a taxing authority giving rise to such indemnification claim, the Borrowers shall not be required to indemnify such indemnitee for any incremental interest or penalties resulting from such indemnitee’s failure to notify the Borrowers within such 180 day period. A certificate as to the amount of such payment or liability delivered to the Borrowers by a Lender (with a copy to the Administrative Agent), or by the Administrative Agent on its own behalf, shall be conclusive absent manifest error.

(d) Each Non-U.S. Lender shall deliver to the Borrowers and the Administrative Agent (or, in the case of a Participant, to the Lender from which the related participation shall have been purchased) whichever of the following is applicable:

(i) two accurate and complete original, signed copies of IRS Form W-8BEN (or any successor or other applicable form) claiming eligibility for benefits of an income tax treaty to which the United States is a party or IRS Form W-ECI (or any successor or other applicable form),

(ii) in the case of a Non-U.S. Lender claiming exemption from United States federal withholding tax under Section 871(h) or 881(c) of the Code with respect to payments of “portfolio interest”, a statement substantially in the form of Exhibit F (a “ U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate ”) and two accurate and complete original, signed copies of IRS Form W-8BEN, or any subsequent versions or successors to such forms, in each case properly completed and duly executed by such Non-U.S. Lender,

 

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(iii) to the extent a Non-U.S. Lender is not the beneficial owner (for example, where the Non-U.S. Lender is a partnership or a participating Lender), two accurate and complete original, signed copies of IRS Form W-8IMY (or any successor or other applicable form) of the Non-U.S. Lender, accompanied by IRS Form W-8ECI, IRS Form W-8BEN, U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate, IRS Form W-8IMY, as applicable, or any other required information (or any successor or other applicable forms) from each beneficial owner that would be required under this Section 2.20 if such beneficial owner were a Lender (provided that, if the Non-U.S. Lender is a partnership for U.S. federal income Tax purposes (and not a participant Lender), and one or more beneficial owners are claiming the portfolio interest exemption, the U.S. Tax Compliance Certificate may be provided by such Non-U.S. Lender on behalf of such beneficial owners, provided such certificates are duly executed and properly completed originals), or

(iv) any other form prescribed by applicable requirements of U.S. federal income Tax law as a basis for claiming exemption from or a reduction in U.S. federal withholding Tax duly completed together with such supplementary documentation as may be prescribed by applicable Requirements of Law to permit the Borrowers and the Administrative Agent to determine the withholding or deduction required to be made.

Forms described in this Section 2.20(d) shall be delivered by each Non-U.S. Lender on or before the date it becomes a party to this Agreement (or, in the case of any Participant, on or before the date such Participant purchases the related participation). In addition, each Non-U.S. Lender shall deliver such forms promptly upon the obsolescence, invalidity or expiration of any form previously delivered by such Non-U.S. Lender. Each Non-U.S. Lender shall promptly notify the Borrowers and the Administrative Agent in writing at any time such Non-U.S. Lender determines that it is no longer in a position to provide any previously delivered certificate to the Borrowers and the Administrative Agent (or any other form of certification adopted by the United States taxing authorities for such purpose). Notwithstanding any other provision of this paragraph, a Non-U.S. Lender shall not be required to deliver any form pursuant to Section 2.20(d) that such Non-U.S. Lender is not legally eligible to deliver.

(e) Each Lender or Transferee that is a United States person (as such term is defined in Section 7701(a)(30) of the Code) (a “ U.S. Lender ”) shall deliver to the Borrowers and the Administrative Agent two accurate and complete original, signed copies of IRS Form W-9, or any subsequent versions or successors to such form. Such forms shall be delivered by each U.S. Lender on or before the date it becomes a party to this Agreement. In addition, each U.S. Lender shall deliver such forms promptly upon the obsolescence, invalidity or expiration of any form previously delivered by such U.S. Lender. Each U.S. Lender shall promptly notify the Borrowers and the Administrative Agent in writing at any time it determines that such U.S. Lender is no longer in a position to provide any previously delivered certifications to the Borrowers (or any other form of certification adopted by the United States taxing authorities for such purpose). Where a Participant has delivered an IRS Form W-8 to a U.S. Lender pursuant to Section 2.12(d), such U.S. Lender shall deliver to the Borrowers and the Administrative Agent two accurate and complete original, signed copies thereof on or before the date such Participant purchases the related participation.

(f) If a payment made to a Recipient under any Loan Document would be subject to U.S. federal withholding Tax imposed by FATCA if such Recipient were to fail to comply with the applicable reporting requirements of FATCA (including those contained in Sections 1471(b) or 1472(b) of the Code, as applicable), such Recipient shall deliver to the Borrowers and the Administrative Agent, at the time or times prescribed by law and at such time or times reasonably requested by the Borrowers or

 

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the Administrative Agent, such documentation prescribed by applicable law (including as prescribed by Section 1471(b)(3)(C)(i) of the Code) and such additional documentation reasonably requested by the Borrowers or the Administrative Agent as may be necessary for the Borrowers or the Administrative Agent to comply with their obligations under FATCA, to determine whether such Recipient has complied with such Lender’s obligations under FATCA or to determine, if necessary, the amount to deduct and withhold from such payment. Solely for the purposes of this Section 2.02(f), “FATCA” shall include any amendments made to FATCA after the date of this Agreement.

(g) On or before the date the Administrative Agent (or any successor thereto) becomes a party to this Agreement, the Administrative Agent shall provide to the Borrowers two accurate and complete original, signed copies of IRS Form W-9. In addition, the Administrative Agent (or any successor thereto) shall deliver such forms promptly upon the obsolescence, invalidity or expiration of any form previously delivered.

(h) If the Administrative Agent or any Recipient determines, in good faith, that it has received a refund of any Non-Excluded Taxes or Other Taxes as to which it has been indemnified by the Borrowers or with respect to which the Borrowers have paid additional amounts pursuant to Section 2.19 or this Section 2.20, it shall promptly pay over such refund to the Borrowers (but only to the extent of indemnity payments made, or additional amounts paid, by the Borrowers under this Section 2.20 with respect to the Non-Excluded Taxes or Other Taxes giving rise to such refund), net of all out-of-pocket expenses of the Administrative Agent or such Recipient and without interest (other than any interest paid by the relevant Governmental Authority with respect to such refund); provided that the Borrowers, upon the request of the Administrative Agent or such Recipient, agree to repay the amount paid over to the Borrowers (plus any penalties, interest or other charges imposed by the relevant Governmental Authority) to the Administrative Agent or such Recipient in the event the Administrative Agent or such Recipient is required to repay such refund to such Governmental Authority; provided , further , that the Borrowers shall not be required to repay to the Administrative Agent or the Recipient an amount in excess of the amount paid over by such party to the Borrowers pursuant to this Section. This paragraph shall not be construed to require the Administrative Agent or any Recipient to make available its tax returns (or any other information relating to its taxes that it deems confidential) to the Borrowers or any other Person.

(i) The agreements in this Section 2.20 shall survive the termination of this Agreement and the payment of the Obligations.

2.21 Indemnity . The Borrowers agree to indemnify each Lender for, and to hold each Lender harmless from, any loss or expense (other than lost profits, including the Applicable Margin) that such Lender may actually sustain or incur as a consequence of (a) default by the Borrowers in making a borrowing of, conversion into or continuation of Eurodollar Loans after the Borrowers have given a notice requesting the same in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement, (b) default by the Borrowers in making any prepayment of or conversion from Eurodollar Loans after the Borrowers have given a notice thereof in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement or (c) the making of a prepayment, conversion or continuation of Eurodollar Loans on a day that is not the last day of an Interest Period with respect thereto. A reasonably detailed certificate as to (showing in reasonable detail the calculation of) any amounts payable pursuant to this Section submitted to the Borrowers by any Lender shall be presumptively correct in the absence of manifest error. This covenant shall survive the termination of this Agreement and the payment of the Obligations.

2.22 Illegality . Notwithstanding any other provision herein, if the adoption of or any change in any Requirement of Law or in the interpretation or application thereof, in each case, first made after the date hereof, shall make it unlawful for any Lender to make or maintain Eurodollar Loans as contemplated by this Agreement, such Lender shall promptly give notice thereof to the Administrative

 

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Agent and the Borrowers, and (a) the commitment of such Lender hereunder to make Eurodollar Loans, continue Eurodollar Loans as such and convert ABR Loans to Eurodollar Loans shall be suspended during the period of such illegality and (b) such Lender’s Term Loans then outstanding as Eurodollar Loans, if any, shall be converted automatically to ABR Loans on the respective last days of the then current Interest Periods with respect to such Term Loans or within such earlier period as required by law.

If any such conversion of a Eurodollar Loan occurs on a day which is not the last day of the then current Interest Period with respect thereto, the Borrowers shall pay to such Lender such amounts, if any, as may be required pursuant to Section 2.21.

2.23 Mitigation of Costs; Change of Lending Office . Each Lender agrees that, upon the occurrence of any event giving rise to the operation of Section 2.19, 2.20(a), 2.20(c) or 2.22 with respect to such Lender, it will, if requested by the Borrowers, use reasonable efforts (subject to overall policy considerations of such Lender) to designate another lending office for any Term Loans affected by such event with the object of avoiding the consequences of such event; provided that such designation is made on terms that, in the sole judgment of such Lender, cause such Lender and its lending office(s) to suffer no material economic, legal or regulatory disadvantage and; provided , further , that nothing in this Section shall affect or postpone any of the obligations of the Borrowers or the rights of any Lender pursuant to Section 2.19, 2.20(a), 2.20(c) or 2.22.

2.24 Replacement of Lenders . The Borrowers shall be permitted to replace with a financial institution, or prepay all the outstanding Loans of, any Lender that (a) requests reimbursement for amounts owing pursuant to Section 2.19, 2.20 or 2.21 (to the extent a request made by a Lender pursuant to the operation of Section 2.21 is materially greater than requests made by other Lenders) or gives a notice of illegality pursuant to Section 2.22, (b) defaults in its obligations to make Term Loans hereunder or is a Defaulting Lender, or (c) that has refused to consent to any waiver or amendment with respect to any Loan Document that requires such Lender’s consent and has been consented to by the Required Lenders; provided that (i) any such replacement does not conflict with any Requirement of Law, (ii) the replacement financial institution shall purchase, or the Borrowers shall prepay, at par, all Term Loans and other amounts owing to such replaced Lender on or prior to the date of replacement, (iii) the Borrowers shall be liable to such replaced Lender under Section 2.21 (as though Section 2.21 were applicable) if any Eurodollar Loan owing to such replaced Lender shall be purchased other than on the last day of the Interest Period relating thereto, (iv) any replacement financial institution, if not already a Lender, shall be reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent to the extent that an assignment to such replacement financial institution of the rights and obligations being acquired by it would otherwise require the consent of the Administrative Agent pursuant to Section 10.6(c), (v) any replaced Lender shall be obligated to make such replacement in accordance with the provisions of Section 10.6, (vi) the Borrowers shall pay all additional amounts (if any) required pursuant to Section 2.19 or 2.20, as the case may be, in respect of any period prior to the date on which such replacement shall be consummated, (vii) if applicable, the replacement financial institution shall consent to such amendment or waiver and (viii) any such replacement shall not be deemed to be a waiver of any rights that the Borrowers, the Administrative Agent or any other Lender shall have against the replaced Lender. If a Defaulting Lender cures all the Lender Defaults that caused such Lender to become a Defaulting Lender either (a) within three Business Days after the Borrowers notifies such Defaulting Lender that the Borrowers intends to replace such Defaulting Lender in accordance with this Section 2.24 or (b) if the Borrowers has not elected to remove such Defaulting Lender pursuant to this Section 2.24, at any time after such Lender becomes a Defaulting Lender, then three Business Days after such Defaulting Lender cures all existing Lender Defaults (to the reasonable satisfaction of the Administrative Agent, each Issuing Lender and the Borrowers) with respect to such Lender, it shall be deemed not to be a Defaulting Lender, all such Lender’s rights to payment under the Loan Documents shall be restored and the Borrowers shall no longer have the right to remove such Lender pursuant to this Section 2.24; provided that if such Lender commits

 

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one or more additional Lender Defaults after the date that such Lender was reinstated as a non-Defaulting Lender in accordance with this Section 2.24, the prior written consent of the Required Lenders shall be required to restore such Lender as a non-Defaulting Lender even after the cure of all such subsequent Lender Defaults.

2.25 Incremental Term Loans . The Borrowers may by written notice to the Administrative Agent elect to request the establishment of one or more new term loan commitments (the “ New Term Loan Commitments ”) hereunder, in an aggregate amount for all such New Term Loan Commitments not in excess of the greater of (a) $50.0 million and (b) an unlimited amount, so long as in the case of this clause (b), after giving effect to such New Term Loans, the Consolidated Net Total Secured Leverage Ratio on a pro forma basis (but without netting the cash proceeds of such New Term Loans for purposes of determining the Consolidated Net Total Secured Leverage Ratio) shall be equal to or less than 3.00 to 1.00, plus, in each case, in the case of New Term Loans that serve to effectively extend the maturity of any then outstanding Term Loans, an amount equal to the portion of such then outstanding Term Loans to be replaced with such New Term Loans. Each such notice shall specify the date (each, an “ Increased Amount Date ”) on which the Borrowers propose that the New Term Loan Commitments shall be effective, which shall be a date not less than five (5) Business Days after the date on which such notice is delivered to Administrative Agent unless the Administrative Agent otherwise agrees; provided that any Lender offered or approached to provide all or a portion of any New Term Loan Commitments may elect or decline, in its sole discretion, to provide such New Term Loan Commitment. Such New Term Loan Commitments shall become effective as of such Increased Amount Date; provided that (1) no Event of Default shall exist or would exist after giving effect thereto and Holdings shall be in pro forma compliance with Section 7.1 on such Increased Amount Date after giving effect to such New Term Loan Commitments and to the making of any Tranche of New Term Loans pursuant thereto and after giving effect to any Permitted Acquisition, Investment permitted by Section 7.7 or redemption, repurchase, defeasance, repayment or refinancing of Indebtedness consummated in accordance therewith (but without netting the cash proceeds of such New Term Loans for purposes of determining the Consolidated Net Total Leverage Ratio) ( provided that to the extent the proceeds of such New Term Loans will be used to consummate a Permitted Acquisition or Investment permitted by Section 7.7, the conditions set forth in clause (1) above shall only be required to be satisfied on the date on which definitive agreements with respect to such Permitted Acquisition or Investment permitted by Section 7.7 are entered into, assuming that such New Term Loan Commitments are established, and the Loans thereunder made, on such date, the proceeds thereof are applied on such date and such Permitted Acquisition or Investment permitted by Section 7.7 closes on such date); (2) the interest rate margins applicable to any New Term Loan will be determined by the Borrowers and the Lenders providing such New Term Loan and such interest rate margins (which shall be deemed to include original issue discount (based on a four (4) year average life to maturity or, if less, the remaining life to maturity) and upfront fees, but exclude arrangement, commitment, structuring and underwriting fees and any amendment fees paid or payable to the Joint Lead Arrangers or the Documentation Agent (or their respective affiliates) in their capacities as such in connection with the existing Initial Term Facility or to one or more arrangers (or its affiliates) in their capacities as such applicable to the New Term Loans or New Term Loan Commitments or any other or other fees payable in connection with the existing Initial Term Facility or the New Term Loans or New Term Loan Commitments that are not paid generally to Lenders providing the existing Initial Term Loan Facility or such New Term Loans) will not be more than 0.50% higher than the interest margins applicable to the existing Initial Term Facility, unless the interest rate margins with respect to the existing Initial Term Facility are increased by an amount equal to the difference between the interest rate margins with respect to the New Term Loans and the corresponding interest rate margins on the existing Initial Term Facility, minus 0.50%, provided , that if the lowest permissible Eurodollar Rate is greater than 1.00% for such New Term Loans, the difference between such “floor” and 1.00%, in the case of the Eurodollar Rate for such New Term Loans, shall be equated to interest rate margin for purposes of this clause (3) and to the extent the provisions of this clause (3) would require the interest rate margins applicable

 

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to the existing Initial Term Loans to be increased, such increase shall first be applied to the “floors” in respect of the existing Initial Term Loans; (4) the proceeds of any New Term Loans shall be used for general corporate purposes of the Borrowers and their Subsidiaries (including Permitted Acquisitions and Investments permitted by Section 7.7); (5) the New Term Loans shall rank pari passu in right of payment and of Collateral with the existing Initial Term Loans; (6) in the case of any New Term Loans, the maturity date thereof shall not be earlier than the Term Maturity Date applicable to Initial Term Loans and the Weighted Average Life to Maturity shall be equal to or greater than the Weighted Average Life to Maturity of the Initial Term Loans that are not New Term Loans; (7) all terms and documentation with respect to any New Term Loans which differ from those with respect to the Initial Term Loans shall be reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent, except as set forth in clauses (3) and (6) above; (8) such New Term Loan Commitments shall be effected pursuant to one or more Joinder Agreements executed and delivered by the Borrowers, the Administrative Agent and one or more New Term Lenders; and (9) the Borrowers shall deliver or cause to be delivered any customary legal opinions or other documents reasonably requested by Administrative Agent in connection with any such transaction. Any New Term Loans made on an Increased Amount Date that have terms and provisions that differ from those of the Initial Term Loans, as applicable, outstanding on the date on which such New Term Loans are made shall be designated as a separate tranche (a “ Tranche ”) of Term Loans, as applicable, for all purposes of this Agreement.

On any Increased Amount Date on which any New Term Loan Commitments become effective, subject to the foregoing terms and conditions, each lender with a New Term Loan Commitment (each, a “ New Term Lender ”) shall become a Lender hereunder with respect to such New Term Loan Commitment.

The terms and provisions of the New Term Loan Commitments of any Tranche shall be, except as otherwise set forth in the relevant Joinder Agreement, identical to those of the applicable Term Loans and for purposes of this Agreement, any New Term Loans or New Term Loan Commitments shall be deemed to be Term Loans and Term Loan Commitments. Each Joinder Agreement may, without the consent of any other Lenders, effect such amendments to this Agreement and the other Loan Documents as may be necessary or appropriate, in the reasonable opinion of the Administrative Agent and the Borrowers, to effect the provisions of this Section 2.25.

2.26 Extended Term Loans .

(a) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, subject to the terms of this Section 2.26, the Borrowers may at any time and from time to time when no Event of Default then exists request that all or a portion of Initial Term Loans or New Term Loans (each, an “ Existing Term Loan Tranche ” and “ Existing New Term Loan Tranche ”, respectively), together with any related outstandings, be converted to extend the scheduled maturity date(s) of any payment of principal with respect to all or any portion of the principal amount (and related outstandings) of such Term Loans, New Term Loans (any such Term Loans which have been so converted, “ Extended Term Loans ” and “ Extended New Term Loans ”, respectively) and to provide for other terms consistent with this Section 2.26. In order to establish any Extended Loans, the Borrowers shall provide a notice to the Administrative Agent (who shall provide a copy of such notice to each of the Lenders under the applicable Existing Tranche) (each, an “ Extension Request ”) setting forth the proposed terms of the Extended Loans to be established, which shall (x) be identical as offered to each Lender under the relevant Existing Tranche (other than the proposed interest rates and fees payable) and (y) be identical to the Term Loans under the relevant Existing Tranche from which such Extended Loans are to be converted, except that: (i) all or any of the scheduled amortization payments of principal of the Extended Term Loans may be delayed to later dates than the scheduled amortization payments of principal of the Term Loans of such Existing Term Loan Tranche, to the extent provided in the applicable Extension Amendment; (ii) the Extension

 

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Amendment may provide for other covenants and terms that apply solely to any period after the Latest Maturity Date that is in effect on the effective date of the Extension Amendment (immediately prior to the establishment of such Extended Loans); (iii) Extended Term Loans may have mandatory prepayment terms which provide for the application of proceeds from mandatory prepayment events to be made first to prepay the Term Loans under the relevant Existing Tranche from which such Extended Loans have been converted before applying any such proceeds to prepay such Extending Term Loans; and (iv) Extended Term Loans may have optional prepayment terms (including call protection and terms which allow Term Loans under the relevant Existing Tranche from which such Extended Term Loans have been converted to be optionally prepaid prior to the prepayment of such Extended Term Loans) as may be agreed by the Borrowers and the Lenders thereof; provided that no Extended Term Loans may be optionally prepaid prior to the date on which all Term Loans with an earlier final stated maturity (including Term Loans under the Existing Term Loan Tranche from which such Term Loans were converted) are repaid in full, unless such optional prepayment is accompanied by a pro rata optional prepayment of such other Term Loans; provided , however, that (A) in no event shall the final maturity date of any Extended Loans of a given Extension Series at the time of establishment thereof be earlier than the then Latest Maturity Date of any other Term Loans hereunder and (B) the Weighted Average Life to Maturity of any Extended Loans of a given Extension Series at the time of establishment thereof shall be no shorter than the remaining Weighted Average Life to Maturity of any other Term Loans then outstanding. Any Extended Loans converted pursuant to any Extension Request shall be designated a series (each, an “ Extension Series ”) of Extended Loans, as applicable, for all purposes of this Agreement; provided that any Extended Loans converted from an Existing Tranche may, to the extent provided in the applicable Extension Amendment, be designated as an increase in any previously established Extension Series with respect to such Existing Tranche.

(b) The Borrowers shall provide the applicable Extension Request at least five (5) Business Days prior to the date on which Lenders under the Existing Term Loan Tranche are requested to respond, and shall agree to such procedures, if any, as may be established by, or acceptable to, the Administrative Agent, in each case acting reasonably to accomplish the purposes of this Section 2.26. No Lender shall have any obligation to agree to have any of its Term Loans of any Existing Tranche converted into Extended Loans pursuant to any Extension Request. Any Lender (i) (each, an “ Extending Term Lender ”) wishing to have all or a portion of its Term Loans under the Existing Term Loan Tranche subject to such Extension Request converted into Extended Term Loans shall notify the Administrative Agent (each, an “ Extension Election ”) on or prior to the date specified in such Extension Request of the amount of its Term Loans under the applicable Existing Tranche which it has elected to request be converted into Extended Loans (subject to any minimum denomination requirements imposed by the Administrative Agent). Any Lender that does not respond to the Extension Request on or prior to the date specified therein shall be deemed to have rejected such Extension. In the event that the aggregate principal amount of Term Loans under the respective Existing Term Loan Tranche, subject to Extension Elections relating to a particular Extension Request, exceeds the amount of Extended Term Loans requested pursuant to such Extension Request, Term Loan of such Existing Term Loan Tranche shall either (i) be converted to Extended Term Loan of such Existing Term Loan Tranche, on a pro rata basis based on the aggregate principal amount of Term Loan of such Existing Term Loan Tranche included in each such Extension Elections or (ii) to the extent such option is expressly set forth in the respective Extension Request, the Borrowers shall have the option to increase the amount of Extended Term Loans so that such excess does not exist.

(c) Extended Term Loans shall be established pursuant to an amendment (each, a “ Extension Amendment ”) to this Agreement among the Borrowers, the Administrative Agent and each Extending Term Lender, providing an Extended Term Loan thereunder which shall be consistent with the provisions set forth in Section 2.26(a) above (but which shall not require the consent of any other Lender). The Administrative Agent shall promptly notify each relevant Lender as to the effectiveness of

 

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each Extension Amendment. After giving effect to the Extension, the Commitments shall cease to be a part of the Tranche they were a part of immediately prior to the Extension and shall be a new Tranche hereunder.

(d) With respect to any Extension consummated by the Borrowers pursuant to this Section 2.26, such Extension shall not constitute voluntary or mandatory payments or prepayments for purposes of this Agreement. The Administrative Agent and the Lenders hereby consent to each Extension and the other transactions contemplated by this Section 2.26 (including, for the avoidance of doubt, payment of any interest or fees in respect of any Extended Term Loan on such terms as may be set forth in the Extension Request) and hereby waive the requirements of any provision of this Credit Agreement (including, without limitation, Sections 2.11, 2.12, 2.18 or 10.7) or any other Loan Document that may otherwise prohibit any Extension or any other transaction contemplated by this Section 2.26, provided that such consent shall not be deemed to be an acceptance of the Extension Request.

(e) Each of the parties hereto hereby agrees that this Agreement and the other Loan Documents may be amended pursuant to an Extension Amendment, without the consent of any other Lenders, to the extent (but only to the extent) necessary to (i) reflect the existence and terms of any Extended Loans incurred pursuant thereto, (ii) modify the scheduled repayments with respect to any Existing Term Loan Tranche subject to an Extension Election to reflect a reduction in the principal amount of the Term Loans thereunder in an amount equal to the aggregate principal amount of the Extended Term Loans converted pursuant to the applicable Extension (with such amount to be applied ratably to reduce scheduled repayments of such Term Loans), (iii) make such other changes to this Agreement and the other Loan Documents consistent with the provisions and intent of Section 2.10, (iv) establish new Tranches or sub-Tranches in respect of Term Loans so extended and such technical amendments as may be necessary in connection with the establishment of such new Tranches or sub-Tranches, in each case on terms consistent with this Section 2.26, and (v) effect such other amendments to this Agreement and the other Loan Documents as may be necessary or appropriate, in the reasonable opinion of the Administrative Agent and the Borrowers, to effect the provisions of this Section 2.26, and the Required Lenders hereby expressly authorize the Administrative Agent to enter into any such Extension Amendment. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Administrative Agent shall have the right (but not the obligation) to seek the advice or concurrence of the Required Lenders with respect to any matter contemplated by this Section 2.26 and, if the Administrative Agent seeks such advice or concurrence, the Administrative Agent shall be permitted to enter into such amendments with the Borrowers in accordance with any instructions actually received by such Required Lenders and shall also be entitled to refrain from entering into such amendments with the Borrowers unless and until it shall have received such advice or concurrence; provided , however , that whether or not there has been a request by the Administrative Agent for any such advice or concurrence, all such amendments entered into with the Borrowers by the Administrative Agent hereunder shall be binding and conclusive on the Lenders. Without limiting the foregoing, in connection with any Extension, the respective Loan Parties shall (at their expense) amend (and the Administrative Agent is hereby directed to amend) any Mortgage that has a maturity date prior to the Latest Maturity Date so that such maturity date is extended to the Latest Maturity Date (or such later date as may be advised by local counsel to the Administrative Agent).

 

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2.27 Reverse Dutch Auction Repurchases .

(a) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement or any other Loan Document, the Borrowers may, at any time and from time to time after the Closing Date, conduct reverse Dutch auctions in order to purchase Term Loans (an “ Auction ”) (each such Auction to be managed exclusively by the Administrative Agent or another investment bank of recognized standing selected by the Borrowers following consultation with the Administrative Agent (in such capacity, the “ Auction Manager ”)), so long as the following conditions are satisfied:

(i) each Auction shall be conducted in accordance with the procedures, terms and conditions set forth in this Section 2.27 and Schedule 2.27(a) ;

(ii) no Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing on the date of the delivery of each Auction Notice and at the time of purchase of the Term Loans in connection with any Auction;

(iii) the principal amount (calculated on the face amount thereof) of all Term Loans that the Borrowers offer to purchase in any such Auction shall be no less than $5,000,000 (unless another amount is agreed to by the Administrative Agent);

(iv) the aggregate principal amount (calculated on the face amount thereof) of all Term Loans so purchased by the Borrowers shall automatically be cancelled and retired by the Borrowers on the settlement date of the relevant purchase (and may not be resold);

(v) no more than one Auction may be ongoing at any one time; and

(vi) at the time of each purchase of Term Loans through an Auction, the Borrowers shall have delivered to the Auction Manager an officer’s certificate of a Responsible Officer certifying as to compliance with preceding clauses (ii) and (iii).

(b) The Borrowers must terminate an Auction if they fail to satisfy one or more of the conditions set forth above which are required to be met at the time which otherwise would have been the time of purchase of Term Loans, pursuant to the Auction. If the Borrowers commence any Auction (and all relevant requirements set forth above which are required to be satisfied at the time of the commencement of the respective Auction have in fact been satisfied), and if at such time of commencement the Borrowers believe in good faith that all required conditions set forth above which are required to be satisfied at the time of the purchase of Term Loans pursuant to such Auction shall be satisfied, then the Borrowers shall have no liability to any Lender for any termination of the respective Auction as a result of its failure to satisfy one or more of the conditions set forth above which are required to be met at the time which otherwise would have been the time of purchase of Term Loans pursuant to the Auction, and any such failure shall not result in any Default or Event of Default hereunder. With respect to all purchases of Term Loans made by the Borrowers pursuant to this Section 2.27, (x) the Borrowers shall pay on the settlement date of each such purchase all accrued and unpaid interest (except to the extent otherwise set forth in the relevant offering documents), if any, on the purchased Term Loans up to the settlement date of such purchase and (y) such purchases (and the payments made by the Borrowers and the cancellation of the purchased Term Loans, in each case in connection therewith) shall not constitute voluntary or mandatory payments or prepayments for purposes of Section 2.18 or 10.7. At the time of purchases of Term Loans pursuant to an Auction, the then remaining scheduled repayments shall be reduced by the aggregate principal amount (taking the face amount thereof) of Term Loans repurchased pursuant to such Auction with such reduction to be applied to such repayments on a pro rata basis (based on the then-remaining principal amount of each such repayment).

 

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(c) The Administrative Agent and the Lenders hereby consent to the Auctions and the other transactions contemplated by this Section 2.27 (provided that no Lender shall have an obligation to participate in any such Auctions) and hereby waive the requirements of any provision of this Agreement (including, without limitation, Sections 2.11, 2.12, 2.18 or 10.7 (it being understood and acknowledged that purchases of the Term Loans by the Borrowers contemplated by this Section 2.27 shall not constitute Investments by the Borrowers)) or any other Loan Document that may otherwise prohibit any Auction or any other transaction contemplated by this Section 2.27. The Auction Manager acting in its capacity as such hereunder shall be entitled to the benefits of the provisions of Section 9 and Section 10.5 mutatis mutandis as if each reference therein to the “Administrative Agent” were a reference to the Auction Manager, and the Administrative Agent shall cooperate with the Auction Manager as reasonably requested by the Auction Manager in order to enable it to perform its responsibilities and duties in connection with each Auction.

2.28 Sponsor and Affiliate Term Loan Repurchases . Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Credit Agreement, the Sponsor, any Sponsor Affiliate or any other Affiliate of the Borrowers may be an assignee in respect of Term Loans (and to such extent shall constitute an “Assignee”); provided that:

(a) the aggregate principal amount of Term Loans held by the Sponsor and the Sponsor Affiliates at any time shall not exceed 25% of the aggregate outstanding principal amount of the Term Loans (the “ Cap ”);

(b) any such Term Loans acquired by the Sponsor or any Sponsor Affiliate may, with the consent of the Borrowers, be contributed to the Borrowers (whether through any of their direct or indirect parent entities or otherwise) and exchanged for junior debt or equity securities of such parent entity or the Borrowers that are otherwise permitted to be issued by such entity at such time and any such Term Loans so contributed to the Borrowers shall automatically be cancelled and retired by the Borrowers on the settlement date of the relevant purchase (and may not be resold);

(c) notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the definition of “Required Lenders”, or in Section 10.1, the Sponsor or any Sponsor Affiliate holders of any Term Loans acquired pursuant to this Section 2.28 shall not be entitled to vote such Term Loans in any “Required Lender” vote pursuant to the terms of this Agreement or any other Loan Document (it being understood that the holder of such Term Loans shall have the right to consent to votes requiring the consent of “all Lenders” or “all Lenders directly and affected thereby” pursuant to Section 10.1 or otherwise), and for purposes of any such vote such Term Loans shall be deemed to have been voted in proportion to the votes of the other Lenders;

(d) the Sponsor and the Sponsor Affiliates shall be prohibited from being appointed as, or succeeding to the rights and duties of, Administrative Agent under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents until such time (if any) as when all Obligations (other than those held by the Sponsor or any of its Affiliates) have been paid in full in cash;

(e) by acquiring a Term Loan hereunder, each of the Sponsor and each Sponsor Affiliate thereof shall be deemed to have (I) waived its right to receive information prepared by Administrative Agent or any Lender (or any advisor, agent or counsel thereof) under or in connection with the Loan Documents (in each case to the extent not provided to the Loan Parties) and attend any meeting or conference call with Administrative Agent or any Lender, (II) agreed that it is prohibited from making or bringing any claim, in its capacity as a Lender, against Administrative Agent or any Lender with respect to the duties and obligations of such Persons under the Loan Documents, and (III) agreed, without limiting its rights as a Lender described in this Section 2.28, that it will have no right whatsoever to require Administrative Agent or any Lender to undertake any action (or refrain from taking any action) with respect to this Agreement or any other Loan Document;

 

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(f) any Term Loans acquired by Holdings or any Subsidiary thereof pursuant to this Section 2.28 shall be immediately canceled (or contributed to the Borrowers for cancelation);

(g) the Sponsor or such Sponsor Affiliate identifies itself as an Affiliate of the Loan Parties prior to the assignment of Term Loans to it pursuant to the respective Assignment and Assumption Agreement; and

(h) the assigning Lender and the Sponsor or such Sponsor Affiliate shall execute and deliver to the Administrative Agent an assignment agreement substantially in the form of Exhibit D-2 hereto (an “ Affiliated Lender Assignment and Assumption ”) in lieu of an Assignment and Assumption.

2.29 Refinancing Amendments .

(a) At any time after the Closing Date, the Borrowers may obtain, from any Lender or any Additional Lender, Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness in respect of all or any portion of the Term Loans then outstanding under this Agreement (which for purposes of this clause (a) will be deemed to include any then outstanding Other Term Loans, New Term Loans or Extended Term Loans), in the form of Other Term Loans or Other Term Loan Commitments pursuant to a Refinancing Amendment; provided that (A) such Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness will rank pari passu in right of payment and of Collateral with the other Loans and Commitments hereunder, (B) such Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness will have such pricing and optional prepayment terms as may be agreed by the Borrowers and the Lenders thereof ( provided that such Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness may participate on a pro rata basis or on a less than pro rata basis (but not on a greater than pro rata basis) in any voluntary or mandatory prepayments hereunder, as specified in the applicable Refinancing Amendment), (C) such Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness will have a maturity date later than the maturity date of, and will have a Weighted Average Life to Maturity that is not shorter than, the Term Loans being refinanced, (D) subject to clauses (B) and (C) above, such Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness will have terms and conditions that are substantially identical to, or less favorable to (as reasonably determined by the Borrowers) the lenders or investors providing such Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness than, the Refinanced Debt and (E) the proceeds of such Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness shall be applied, substantially concurrently with the incurrence thereof, to the prepayment of outstanding Term Loans being so refinanced; provided further that the terms and conditions applicable to such Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness may provide for any additional or different financial or other covenants or other provisions that are agreed between the Borrowers and the Lenders thereof and applicable only during periods after the then Latest Maturity Date. The effectiveness of any Refinancing Amendment shall be subject to the satisfaction on the date thereof of each of the conditions set forth in Section 5.2 (and for purposes thereof the incurrence of the Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness shall be deemed to be a irrevocable notice pursuant to Section 2.2) and, to the extent reasonably requested by the Administrative Agent, receipt by the Administrative Agent of customary legal opinions, board resolutions and officers’ certificates, in each case consistent with those delivered on the Closing Date under Section 5.1 (other than changes to such legal opinions resulting from a change in law, change in fact or change to counsel’s form of opinion reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent), and customary reaffirmation agreements. Each Tranche of Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness incurred under this Section 2.29(a) shall be in an aggregate principal amount that is (x) not less than $25,000,000 and (y) an integral multiple of $1,000,000 in excess thereof, unless otherwise agreed by the Administrative Agent. The Administrative Agent shall promptly notify each Lender as to the effectiveness of each Refinancing Amendment. Each of the parties hereto hereby agrees that, upon the effectiveness of any Refinancing Amendment, this Agreement shall be deemed amended to

 

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the extent (but only to the extent) necessary to reflect the existence and terms of the Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness incurred pursuant thereto (including any amendments necessary to treat the Loans and Commitments subject thereto as Other Term Loans and/or Other Term Loan Commitments).

(b) Any Refinancing Amendment may, without the consent of any other Lenders, effect such amendments to this Agreement and the other Loan Documents as may be necessary or appropriate, in the reasonable opinion of the Administrative Agent and the Borrowers, to effect the provisions of this Section. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Administrative Agent shall have the right (but not the obligation) to seek the advice or concurrence of the Required Lenders with respect to any matter contemplated by this Section 2.29 and, if the Administrative Agent seeks such advice or concurrence, it shall be permitted to enter into such amendments with the Borrowers in accordance with any instructions actually received by such Required Lenders and shall also be entitled to refrain from entering into such amendments with the Borrowers unless and until it shall have received such advice or concurrence; provided , however that whether or not there has been a request by the Administrative Agent for any such advice or concurrence, all such amendments entered into with the Borrowers by the Administrative Agent hereunder shall be binding and conclusive on the Lenders.

(c) This Section 2.29 shall supersede any provisions in Section 2.18 or 10.1 to the contrary.

SECTION 3.

[RESERVED]

SECTION 4.

REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES

To induce the Administrative Agent and the Lenders to enter into this Agreement and to make the Term Loans, Holdings and the Borrowers hereby jointly represent and warrant (as to themselves and each of their Subsidiaries) to the Administrative Agent and each Lender, which representations and warranties shall be deemed made on the Closing Date and on the date of each borrowing of Term Loans hereunder, that:

4.1 Financial Condition . The (i) audited income statement of Vince for the fiscal years ending as at January 29, 2011, January 28, 2012 and February 2, 2013, reported on by and accompanied by an unqualified report from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, and (ii) unaudited consolidated balance sheet of Vince as of April 27, 2013 and August 3, 2013, and the related consolidated statements of income and of cash flows for the fiscal quarters ended on such dates present fairly in all material respects the financial condition of Vince as at such dates, and the results of its operations and its cash flows (as applicable) for the respective periods then ended. All such financial statements, including the related schedules and notes thereto and normal year-end adjustments, have been prepared in accordance with GAAP applied consistently throughout the periods involved (except as approved by the aforementioned firm of accountants and disclosed therein and, in the case of such unaudited financial statements, subject to normal year-end adjustments and the absence of footnotes). Except as set forth on Schedule 4.1, as of the Closing Date, Holdings and its Subsidiaries (i) do not have any material Guarantee Obligations, contingent liabilities or material liabilities for taxes, or any long-term leases or unusual forward or long-term commitments, including, without limitation, any interest rate or foreign currency swap or exchange transaction or other obligation in respect of derivatives, which are not reflected in the most recent financial statements referred to in this paragraph but which would in accordance with GAAP be so reflected in a consolidated balance sheet of Holdings as of the Closing Date and (ii) are not party to any arrangement to pay principal or interest with respect to any Indebtedness of any Person which is not

 

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reflected in the most recent financial statements referred to in this paragraph, (x) which was incurred by Holdings or any of its Subsidiaries or guaranteed by Holdings or any of its Subsidiaries at any time or the proceeds of which are or were transferred to or used by Holdings or any of its Subsidiaries and (y) the payments in respect of which are intended to be made with the proceeds of payments to such Person by Holdings or any of its consolidated Subsidiaries or with any Indebtedness or Capital Stock issued Holdings or any such Subsidiary.

4.2 No Change .

(a) As of the Closing Date there has been no event, circumstance, development, change or effect since February 2, 2013 that has had or would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

(b) At any time after the Closing Date as of which this representation and warranty is made or deemed made, there has been no event, development or circumstance since February 2, 2013 that has had or would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

4.3 Existence; Compliance with Law . Each of Holdings, the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries (a) (i) is duly organized (or incorporated), validly existing and in good standing (or, only where if applicable, the equivalent status in any foreign jurisdiction) under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization or incorporation, (ii) has the corporate or organizational power and authority, and the legal right, to own and operate its Property, to lease the Property it operates as lessee and to conduct the business in which it is currently engaged except, in each case, to the extent that any such failure to have such power, authority or right would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect and (iii) is duly qualified as a foreign corporation or limited liability company and in good standing (where such concept is relevant) under the laws of each jurisdiction where its ownership, lease or operation of Property or the conduct of its business requires such qualification except, in each case, to the extent that the failure to be so qualified or in good standing (where such concept is relevant) would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect and (b) is in compliance with all Requirements of Law except to the extent that any such failure to comply therewith would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

4.4 Corporate Power; Authorization; Enforceable Obligations . Each Loan Party has the corporate power and authority to make, deliver and perform the Loan Documents to which it is a party and, in the case of the Borrowers, to borrow hereunder. Each Loan Party has taken all necessary corporate or other action to authorize the execution, delivery and performance of the Loan Documents to which it is a party and, in the case of the Borrowers, to authorize the extensions of credit on the terms and conditions of this Agreement. Except as would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, no consent or authorization of, filing with, notice to or other act by or in respect of, any Governmental Authority is required in connection with the extensions of credit hereunder or the execution, delivery, performance, validity or enforceability of this Agreement or any of the other Loan Documents, except (i) consents, authorizations, filings and notices described in Schedule 4.4, which consents, authorizations, filings and notices have been obtained or made and are in full force and effect or the failure to obtain which would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect and (ii) the filings referred to in Section 4.17. Each Loan Document has been duly executed and delivered on behalf of each Loan Party that is a party thereto. This Agreement constitutes, and each other Loan Document upon execution will constitute, a legal, valid and binding obligation of each Loan Party that is a party thereto, enforceable against each such Loan Party in accordance with its terms, except as enforceability may be limited by applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or similar laws affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights generally and by general equitable principles (whether enforcement is sought by proceedings in equity or at law) and the implied covenants of good faith and fair dealing.

 

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4.5 No Legal Bar . The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents, the borrowings hereunder and the use of the proceeds thereof will not (a) violate the organizational or governing documents of any of the Loan Parties, (b) violate in any material respect any Requirement of Law or any material Contractual Obligation of Holdings, the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries or (c) result in, or require, the creation or imposition of any Lien on any of their respective properties or revenues pursuant to any Requirement of Law or any such Contractual Obligation (other than the Liens permitted by Section 7.3).

4.6 No Material Litigation . No litigation, proceeding or, to the knowledge of Holdings and the Borrowers, investigation of or before any arbitrator or Governmental Authority is pending or, to the knowledge of Holdings and the Borrowers, likely to be commenced within a reasonable time period against Holdings, the Borrowers or any of the Restricted Subsidiaries or against any of their Properties or revenues which, taken as a whole, (a) are material and adverse with respect to any of the Loan Documents or (b) would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

4.7 No Default . No Default or Event of Default has occurred and is continuing.

4.8 Ownership of Property; Liens . Except as set forth in Schedule 4.8A, each of Holdings, the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries has good and marketable title in fee simple to, or a valid leasehold interest in or in the case of real property subject to a license, a right to use, all its real property, and good title to, or a valid leasehold interest in or right to use, all its other Property (other than Intellectual Property), in each case, except where the failure to do so would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, and none of such Property is subject to any Lien except as permitted by the Loan Documents. Schedule 4.8B lists all real property which is owned, leased or licensed to use by any Loan Party as of the Closing Date.

4.9 Intellectual Property . Each of Holdings, the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries owns, or has a valid license to use, all Intellectual Property necessary for the conduct of its business as currently conducted free and clear of all Liens, except for Liens permitted by Section 7.3 and except where the failure to so own or have a license to use would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. To Holdings’ or the Borrowers’ knowledge, no holding, injunction, decision or judgment has been rendered by any Governmental Authority and none of Holdings, the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries has entered into any settlement stipulation or other agreement (except license agreements in the ordinary course of business) which would cancel the validity of Holdings’, the Borrowers’ or any Restricted Subsidiary’s rights in any Intellectual Property owned or licensed by Holdings, the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary (the “ Borrower Intellectual Property ”) in any respect that would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. To Holdings’ or the Borrowers’ knowledge, no pending claim has been asserted or threatened in writing by any Person challenging the use by Holdings, the Borrowers or its Restricted Subsidiaries of any Borrower Intellectual Property or the validity of any Borrower Intellectual Property, except in each case as would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. To Holdings’ or the Borrowers’ knowledge, the use of any Borrower Intellectual Property by Holdings, the Borrowers or their Restricted Subsidiaries does not infringe on the rights of any other Person in a manner that would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. Holdings, the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries have taken all commercially reasonable actions that in the exercise of their reasonable business judgment should be taken to protect the Borrower Intellectual Property, including Borrower Intellectual Property that is confidential in nature, except where the failure to do so would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

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4.10 Taxes . Each of Holdings, the Borrowers and each of their Restricted Subsidiaries (i) has timely filed or caused to be filed all federal, state, provincial and other Tax returns that are required to be filed by it, and (ii) has duly and timely paid all Taxes shown to be due and payable on said returns and all other Taxes, fees or other charges imposed on it or any of its Property, assets, income, businesses and franchises by any Governmental Authority responsible for administering Taxes (other than any the amount or validity of which are currently being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings and with respect to which any reserves required in conformity with GAAP have been provided on the books of Holdings, the Borrowers or such Restricted Subsidiary, as the case may be), except in each case where the failure to do so would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect. There are no current, proposed or, to the knowledge of Holdings, the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries, pending Tax assessments, deficiencies or audits against Holdings, the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries, as the case may be, except those that are currently being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings and with respect to which any reserves required in conformity with GAAP have been provided on the books of Holdings, the Borrowers or such Restricted Subsidiary, as the case may be, or that would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect.

4.11 Federal Regulations . No part of the proceeds of any Term Loans, and no other extensions of credit hereunder, will be used for “buying” or “carrying” any “margin stock” within the respective meanings of each of the quoted terms under Regulation U as now and from time to time hereafter in effect or for any purpose that violates the provisions of the regulations of the Board. If requested by any Lender (through the Administrative Agent) or the Administrative Agent, the Borrowers will 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 referred to in Regulation U.

4.12 ERISA .

(a) Except as would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect: neither a Reportable Event nor an “accumulated funding deficiency” (within the meaning of Section 412(a) of the Code or Section 302(a)(2) of ERISA) has occurred during the five-year period prior to the date on which this representation is made with respect to any Single Employer Plan, and each Plan has complied with the applicable provisions of ERISA and the Code; no termination of a Single Employer Plan has occurred, and no Lien in favor of the PBGC or a Single Employer Plan has arisen, during such five-year period; the present value of all accrued benefits under each Single Employer Plan (based on those assumptions used to fund such Single Employer Plans) did not, as of the last annual valuation date prior to the date on which this representation is made or deemed made, exceed the value of the assets of such Single Employer Plan allocable to such accrued benefits; none of Holdings, the Borrowers nor any of their Restricted Subsidiaries has had (or reasonably expects to have) a complete or partial withdrawal from any Multiemployer Plan that has resulted or would reasonably be expected to result in a liability under ERISA and, to the knowledge of Holdings and the Borrowers, no Multiemployer Plan is in Reorganization or Insolvent.

(b) Holdings, the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries have not incurred, and do not reasonably expect to incur, any liability under ERISA or the Code with respect to any plan within the meaning of Section 3(3) of ERISA which is subject to Title IV of ERISA that is maintained by a Commonly Controlled Entity (other than Holdings, the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries) (a “ Commonly Controlled Plan ”) merely by virtue of being treated as a single employer under Title IV of ERISA with the sponsor of such plan that would reasonably be likely to have a Material Adverse Effect and result in a direct obligation of Holdings, the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries to pay money.

 

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4.13 Investment Company Act . No Loan Party is an “investment company”, or a company “controlled” by an “investment company”, within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.

4.14 Subsidiaries .

(a) The Subsidiaries listed on Schedule 4.14 constitute all the Subsidiaries of Holdings at the Closing Date. Schedule 4.14 sets forth as of the Closing Date the name and jurisdiction of incorporation of each Subsidiary and, as to each Subsidiary, the percentage of each class of Capital Stock owned by any Loan Party and the designation of such Subsidiary as a Restricted Subsidiary or an Unrestricted Subsidiary.

(b) As of the Closing Date, except as set forth on Schedule 4.14, there are no outstanding subscriptions, options, warrants, calls, rights or other agreements or commitments of any nature relating to any Capital Stock of the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries.

4.15 Environmental Matters . Other than exceptions to any of the following that would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect: none of Holdings, the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries (i) has failed to comply with any Environmental Law or to obtain, maintain or comply with any permit, license or other approval required under any Environmental Law for the operation of the Business; or (ii) has become subject to any Environmental Liability.

4.16 Accuracy of Information, etc . No statement or information (excluding the projections and pro forma financial information referred to below and information of a general economic or general industry nature) contained in this Agreement, any other Loan Document, the Confidential Information Memorandum or any certificate furnished to the Administrative Agent or the Lenders or any of them, by or on behalf of any Loan Party for use in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or the other Loan Documents when taken as a whole, contained as of the date such statement, information, or certificate was so furnished (or, in the case of the Confidential Information Memorandum, as of the Closing Date), any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements contained herein or therein not materially misleading in light of the circumstances under which such statements contained therein. The projections and pro forma financial information contained in the materials referenced above are based upon good faith estimates and assumptions believed by management of the Borrowers to be reasonable at the time made, it being recognized by the Lenders that such financial information as it relates to future events is not to be viewed as fact, that such financial information is subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond the control of the Loan Parties, that no assurance can be given that the projected results will be realized, and that actual results during the period or periods covered by such projections and financial information may differ significantly from the projected results set forth therein by a material amount. There is no fact known to any Loan Party that could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect that has not been expressly disclosed herein, in the other Loan Documents, in the Confidential Information Memorandum or in any other documents, certificates and statements furnished to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders for use in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby and by the other Loan Documents.

4.17 Security Documents .

(a) The Guarantee and Collateral Agreement is effective to create in favor of the Administrative Agent for the benefit of the Secured Parties, a legal, valid and enforceable security interest (except as enforceability may be limited by applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or similar laws affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights generally and by general

 

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equitable principles (whether enforcement is sought by proceedings in equity or at law) and the implied covenants of good faith and fair dealing) in the Collateral described therein (including any proceeds of any item of Collateral) to the extent required by the Guarantee and Collateral Agreement. In the case of (i) the Pledged Securities described in the Guarantee and Collateral Agreement, when any stock certificates or notes, as applicable, representing such Pledged Securities are delivered to the Administrative Agent, together with appropriate blank instruments of transfer and (ii) the other Collateral described in the Guarantee and Collateral Agreement, when financing statements in appropriate form are filed, within the time periods (if any) required by applicable law, in the offices specified on Schedule 4.17 (which financing statements have been duly completed and executed (as applicable) and delivered to the Administrative Agent) and such other filings as are specified on Schedule 4.17 are made, the Administrative Agent shall have a fully perfected Lien on, and security interest in, all right, title and interest of the Loan Parties in such Collateral (including any proceeds of any item of Collateral) (to the extent a security interest in such Collateral can be perfected through the filing of financing statements in the offices specified on Schedule 4.17 and the filings specified on Schedule 4.17, and through the delivery of the Pledged Securities and such instruments of transfer required to be delivered on the Closing Date), as security for the Obligations, in each case prior and superior in right to any other Person (except (i) in the case of Collateral other than Pledged Stock, Liens permitted by Section 7.3 and (ii) Liens having priority by operation of law) to the extent required by the Guarantee and Collateral Agreement.

(b) Upon the execution and delivery of any Mortgage to be executed and delivered pursuant to Section 6.8(b), such Mortgage shall be effective to create in favor of the Administrative Agent for the benefit of the Secured Parties a legal, valid and enforceable Lien on the mortgaged property described therein and proceeds thereof; and when such Mortgage is filed in the recording office designated by the Borrowers, such Mortgage shall constitute a fully perfected Lien on, and security interest in, all right, title and interest of the Loan Parties in such mortgaged property and the proceeds thereof, as security for the Obligations (as defined in the relevant Mortgage), in each case prior and superior in right to any other Person (other than Liens permitted by Section 7.3 or other encumbrances or rights permitted by the relevant Mortgage).

4.18 Solvency . Holdings and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, are, and (after giving effect to the incurrence of all Indebtedness and obligations being incurred in connection herewith and with the ABL Facility and the redemption, repayment, defeasance, repayment or refinancing of any Indebtedness substantially simultaneously therewith) will be, Solvent.

4.19 Senior Indebtedness .

All borrowings of Term Loans permitted under this Agreement are, and when incurred or issued will be, permitted under (and shall give rise to no breach or violation of) the ABL Facility, any Junior Indebtedness and any Permitted Amendment or Refinancing of any of the foregoing (or under the definitive documentation relating thereto).

4.20 Labor Matters . There are no strikes or other labor disputes against Holdings, the Borrowers or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries pending or, to the knowledge of Holdings or the Borrowers, threatened that (individually or in the aggregate) could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. Hours worked by and payment made to employees of Holdings, the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries have not been in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act or any other applicable Requirement of Law dealing with such matters that (individually or in the aggregate) could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. All payments due from Holdings, the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries on account of employee health and welfare insurance that (individually or in the aggregate) could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect if not paid have been paid or accrued as a liability on the books of Holdings, the Borrowers or the relevant Restricted Subsidiary.

 

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4.21 Regulation H . No Mortgage encumbers improved real property that is located in an area that has been identified by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development as an area having special flood hazards and in which flood insurance has been made available under the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968.

4.22 Anti-Money Laundering and Economic Sanctions Laws .

(a) No Loan Party, none of its Subsidiaries and, to the knowledge of senior management of each Loan Party, none of its Affiliates and none of the respective officers, directors, brokers or agents of such Loan Party, such Subsidiary or, to the knowledge of senior management of each Loan Party, Affiliate (i) has violated or is in violation of any applicable Anti-Money Laundering Law or (ii) has engaged or engages in any transaction, investment, undertaking or activity that conceals the identity, source or destination of the proceeds of the Term Loans from any category of offenses designated in any applicable law, regulation or other binding measure implementing the “Forty Recommendations” and “Nine Special Recommendations” published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering.

(b) No Loan Party, none of its Subsidiaries and, to the knowledge of senior management of each Loan Party, none of its Affiliates and none of the respective officers, directors, brokers or agents of such Loan Party, such Subsidiary or, to the knowledge of senior management of each Loan Party, such Affiliate that is acting or benefiting in any capacity in connection with the Term Loans is an Embargoed Person.

(c) Except as otherwise authorized by OFAC, to the extent applicable to such Person, no Loan Party, none of its Subsidiaries and, to the knowledge of senior management of each Loan Party, none of its Affiliates and none of the respective officers, directors, brokers or agents of such Loan Party, such Subsidiary or, to the knowledge of senior management of each Loan Party, such Affiliate acting or benefiting in any capacity in connection with the Term Loans (i) conducts any business or engages in making or receiving any contribution of funds, goods or services to or for the benefit of any Embargoed Person, (ii) deals in, or otherwise engages in any transaction related to, any property or interests in property blocked pursuant to any applicable Economic Sanctions Laws or (iii) engages in or conspires to engage in any transaction that evades or avoids, or has the purpose of evading or avoiding, or attempts to violate, any of the applicable prohibitions set forth in any Economic Sanctions Laws.

4.23 FCPA . Holdings, the Borrowers and each of their Subsidiaries is in compliance with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, except as would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. No part of the proceeds of the Loans has been or will be used by Holdings, the Borrowers or their Subsidiaries, directly or indirectly, for any payments to any Person, governmental official or employee, political party, official of a political party, candidate for political office, or anyone else acting in an official capacity, in order to obtain, retain or direct business or obtain any improper advantage, in violation of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, in each case, except as would not reasonably expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

4.24 Insurance . The properties of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries are insured with financially sound and reputable insurance companies not Affiliates of the Borrowers, in such amounts, with such deductibles and covering such risks as are customarily carried by companies of established repute engaged in the same or similar businesses operating in the same or similar locations.

 

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4.25 Broker’s or Finder’s Commissions . No broker’s or finder’s fee or commission will be payable with respect to the execution and delivery of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents.

SECTION 5.

CONDITIONS PRECEDENT

5.1 Conditions to Initial Extension of Credit . The agreement of each Lender to make the initial extension of credit requested to be made by it is subject to the satisfaction (or waiver), prior to or concurrently with the making of such extension of credit on the Closing Date, of the following conditions precedent:

(a) Credit Agreement; Security Documents . The Administrative Agent shall have received (i) this Agreement, executed and delivered by the Administrative Agent, Holdings, the Borrowers, the Joint Lead Arrangers, the Syndication Agent, the Documentation Agent and each Lender whose name appears on the signature pages hereof (or, with respect to each Person which shall be a Lender as of the Closing Date, a duly completed, executed and delivered Lender Addendum) and (ii) the Guarantee and Collateral Agreement, executed and delivered by the Loan Parties and the Administrative Agent.

(b) Existing Indebtedness . (i) Holdings, the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries shall have no Indebtedness for borrowed money outstanding as of the Closing Date other than under the Term Facility, the ABL Facility and the other Indebtedness permitted by Section 7.2, and (ii) Holdings, the Borrowers and their Subsidiaries shall have repaid in full all Indebtedness outstanding under the Kellwood Intercompany Note, together with all accrued but unpaid interest, fees and other amounts owing thereunder.

(c) Transactions, etc . The following transactions shall be consummated:

(i) The IPO shall have been consummated;

(ii) Substantially concurrently with the satisfaction of the other conditions precedent set forth in this subsection 5.1(c), Holdings, the Borrowers and certain of their Subsidiaries shall have entered into the ABL Facility; and

(iii) The Administrative Agent shall have received a counterpart of the ABL Intercreditor Agreement, signed by the administrative agent under the ABL Facility and acknowledged by Holdings, Borrowers and the Subsidiary Guarantors party thereto.

(d) Fees . The Administrative Agent shall have received all fees required to be paid, and all reasonable out-of-pocket expenses for which reasonably detailed invoices have been presented (including reasonable fees, disbursements and other charges of counsel to the Administrative Agent), on or before the Closing Date.

(e) Solvency Certificate . The Administrative Agent shall have received a solvency certificate signed by the chief financial officer on behalf of Holdings, substantially in the form of Exhibit G hereto.

 

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(f) Lien Searches . The Administrative Agent shall have received the results of a recent lien search in each of the jurisdictions in which Uniform Commercial Code financing statements or other filings or recordations should be made to evidence or perfect security interests in all assets of the Loan Parties, and such search shall reveal no liens on any of the assets of the Loan Party, except for Liens permitted by Section 7.3 or liens to be discharged on or prior to the Closing Date.

(g) Closing Certificate . The Administrative Agent shall have received a certificate of each Loan Party, dated the Closing Date, substantially in the form of Exhibit C, with appropriate insertions and attachments.

(h) Legal Opinions . The Administrative Agent shall have received an executed legal opinion of Kirkland & Ellis LLP, counsel to the Loan Parties, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent.

(i) Pledged Stock; Stock Powers; Pledged Notes . The Administrative Agent shall have received (i) the certificates representing the shares, if any, of Capital Stock of the Borrowers and (to the extent required by the terms of Section 6.8(d) and the Guarantee and Collateral Agreement) each of the Borrowers’ Subsidiaries pledged to the Administrative Agent pursuant to (and, in the case of the Capital Stock of any Foreign Subsidiary, subject to the limitations of) the Guarantee and Collateral Agreement, together with an undated stock power for each such certificate executed in blank by a duly authorized officer of the pledgor thereof and (ii) each promissory note (if any) required to be pledged to the Administrative Agent pursuant to the Guarantee and Collateral Agreement endorsed (without recourse) in blank (or accompanied by an executed transfer form in blank) by the pledgor thereof.

(j) Filings, Registrations and Recordings . Each document (including, without limitation, any Uniform Commercial Code financing statement) required by the Security Documents to be filed, registered or recorded in order to create in favor of the Administrative Agent for the benefit of the Secured Parties, a perfected Lien on the Collateral described therein with the priority provided for in the Security Documents, shall have been delivered to the Administrative Agent in proper form for filing, registration or recordation.

(k) Insurance . The Administrative Agent shall have received insurance certificates and endorsements satisfying the requirements of Section 6.5(c).

(l) Pro Forma Balance Sheet; Financial Statements; Financial Plan . The Lenders shall have received (i) the unaudited pro forma consolidated balance sheet of Holdings and its consolidated Subsidiaries (the “ Pro Forma Balance Sheet ”), certified by Holdings as having been prepared giving effect (as if such events had occurred on such date) to (A) the Term Loans to be made on the Closing Date and the use of the proceeds thereof, (B) the IPO and (C) the payment of fees and expenses in connection with the foregoing; and (ii) the financial statements of Holdings and its Subsidiaries referred to in Section 4.1. The Pro Forma Balance Sheet shall have been prepared based upon the best information available to Holdings as of the date of delivery thereof, and present fairly in all material respects on a pro forma basis the estimated financial position of Holdings and its consolidated Subsidiaries as at the end of the fiscal quarter ending August 3, 2013, assuming that the events specified in the preceding sentence had actually occurred at such date, and shall be so certified by the Borrowers.

(m) Certificate of Representations and Warranties . The Administrative Agent shall have received a certificate of representations and warranties from the Borrowers, executed by a financial officer of the Borrowers, substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit E.

 

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(n) Know Your Customer . On or before the Closing Date, the initial Lenders shall have received all documentation and other information that such initial Lender requests at least 10 days prior to the Closing Date in order to comply with its ongoing obligations under applicable “know your customer” and anti-money laundering rules and regulations, including the Act.

(o) Other Certifications . The Administrative Agent shall have received the following:

(i) a copy of the bylaws or other similar organizational document of each Loan Party and each amendment thereto, certified as being a true and correct copy thereof by the applicable Loan Party;

(ii) a copy of a certificate of the applicable Governmental Authority of the jurisdiction in which each such Loan Party is organized, dated reasonably near the date of the initial extension of credit, listing the charter or other similar organizational document of such Loan Party and each amendment thereto on file in such office and, if available, certifying that (A) such amendments are the only amendments to such Person’s charter on file in such office, (B) such Person has paid all franchise taxes to the date of such certificate and (C) such Person is duly organized and in good standing or full force and effect under the laws of such jurisdiction; and

(iii) a certificate, dated the Closing Date and signed by a Responsible Officer of Holdings, confirming compliance with the conditions set forth in Sections 5.2(a) and (b).

5.2 Conditions to All Extensions of Credit . The agreement of each Lender to make any extension of credit (other than New Term Loans) requested to be made by it is subject to the satisfaction (or waiver), prior to or concurrently with the making of such extension of credit on any date, of the following conditions precedent:

(a) The representations and warranties of the Borrowers and each other Loan Party contained in Section 4 or any other Loan Document, or which are contained in any document furnished at any time under or in connection herewith or therewith, shall be true and correct in all material respects on and as of the date of such extension of credit, except to the extent that such representations and warranties specifically refer to an earlier date, in which case they shall be true and correct in all material respects as of such earlier date, and except that for purposes of this Section 5.2, the representations and warranties contained in Section 4.1 shall be deemed to refer to the most recent statements furnished pursuant to Sections 6.1(a) and (b), respectively.

(b) No Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing on such date or after giving effect to the extensions of credit required to be made on such date.

5.3 New Term Loans . Prior to the incurrence of any New Term Loans, Holdings and the Borrowers shall have satisfied (or caused to be satisfied) all of the applicable conditions set forth in Section 2.25 and the relevant Joinder Agreement.

 

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SECTION 6.

AFFIRMATIVE COVENANTS

Each of Holdings and the Borrowers (on behalf of itself and each of the Restricted Subsidiaries) hereby agrees that, so long as the Commitments remain in effect or any Term Loan or other amount is owing to any Lender or the Administrative Agent hereunder (other than contingent or indemnification obligations not then due), Holdings and the Borrowers shall and (to the extent relevant) shall cause each of the Restricted Subsidiaries to:

6.1 Financial Statements . Furnish to the Administrative Agent for delivery to each Lender (which may be delivered via posting on Intralinks):

(a) within 120 days after the end of each fiscal year of Holdings, commencing with the fiscal year ending on or around February 1, 2014, a copy of the audited consolidated balance sheet of Holdings and its consolidated Subsidiaries as at the end of such year and the related audited consolidated statements of income and of cash flows for such year, setting forth in each case in comparative form the figures as of the end of and for the previous year, reported on by independently certified public accountants of nationally recognized standing without qualification, exception or explanatory statement as to “going concern” (other than any such exception or explanatory statement (but not qualification) that is expressly solely with respect to, or expressly resulting solely from, (i) an upcoming maturity date of a Term Facility occurring within one year from the time such report is delivered or (ii) an inability or potential inability to satisfy the covenant set forth in Section 7.1 of this Agreement on a future date or in a future period) or qualification arising out of the scope of the audit; and

(b) as soon as available, but in any event not later than 60 days after the end of each of the first three quarterly periods of each fiscal year of Holdings, commencing with the fiscal quarter ending on or around November 2, 2013 (provided, that for the fiscal quarter ending on or around November 2, 2013, such financial statements shall be due within the time period prescribed by the SEC reporting requirements), the unaudited consolidated balance sheet of Holdings and its consolidated Restricted Subsidiaries as at the end of such quarter and the related unaudited consolidated statements of income and of cash flows for such quarter and the portion of the fiscal year through the end of such quarter, setting forth in each case in comparative form the figures as of the end of and for the corresponding period in the previous year, certified by a Responsible Officer as being fairly stated in all material respects (subject to normal year-end audit adjustments and the lack of notes); all such financial statements to be complete and correct in all material respects and to be prepared in reasonable detail and in accordance with GAAP applied consistently throughout the periods reflected therein and with prior periods (except as approved by such accountants or officer, as the case may be, and disclosed therein and except, in the case of the financial statements referred to in clause (b), for customary year-end adjustments and the absence of footnotes).

If Holdings has filed (within the time period required above) a Form 10-Q or 10-K, as applicable, with the SEC for any fiscal quarter or fiscal year described above, then to the extent that such quarterly or annual report on Form 10-Q or 10-K contains any of the foregoing items, the Lenders will accept such Form 10-Q or 10-K in lieu of such items; provided that such filings shall be delivered to the Administrative Agent and each Lender in the same manner as set forth below. Documents required to be delivered pursuant to this Section 6.1 may be delivered by posting such documents electronically with notice of such posting to the Administrative Agent and each Lender and if so posted, shall be deemed to have been delivered on the date (i) on which the Borrowers posts such documents, or provides a link thereto on the Borrowers’ website on the Internet at www.vince.com, or (ii) on which such documents are posted on the Borrowers’ behalf on IntraLinks/IntraAgency or another relevant website, if any, to which each Lender and the Administrative Agent have been granted access (whether a commercial, third-party website or whether sponsored by the Administrative Agent).

 

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6.2 Certificates; Other Information . Furnish to the Administrative Agent for delivery to each Lender, or, in the case of clause (f), to the relevant Lender:

(a) concurrently with the delivery of the financial statements referred to in Section 6.1(a), a certificate of the independent certified public accountants of the Borrowers in customary form reporting on such financial statements stating that in making the examination necessary therefor no knowledge was obtained of any Default or Event of Default, except as specified in such certificate (which certificate may be limited to the extent required by accounting rules or guidelines and will not be required if such accountants no longer provide such certificates to its customers (or their lenders) generally);

(b) concurrently with the delivery of any financial statements pursuant to Section 6.1, (i) a certificate of a Responsible Officer on behalf of Holdings stating that such Responsible Officer has obtained no knowledge of any Default or Event of Default except as specified in such certificate and (ii) (x) if applicable for such period, a Compliance Certificate containing all information and calculations necessary for determining compliance by Holdings, the Borrowers and its Subsidiaries with the provisions of Section 7.1 as of the last day of the fiscal quarter or fiscal year of Holdings, as the case may be, and (y) to the extent not previously disclosed to the Administrative Agent, a description of any new Subsidiary and of any change in the jurisdiction of organization of any other Loan Party and a listing of any new registrations, and applications for registration, of Intellectual Property acquired or made by any Loan Party since the date of the most recent list delivered pursuant to this clause (y) (or, in the case of the first such list so delivered, since the Closing Date);

(c) as soon as available, but in any event not later than 90 days after the end of each fiscal year of Holdings (commencing with the fiscal year ending on or nearest to February 1, 2014), a detailed consolidated budget for the following fiscal year (including a projected consolidated balance sheet of Holdings, the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries as of the end of the following fiscal year and the related consolidated statements of projected cash flow and projected income (collectively, the “ Annual Operating Budget ”);

(d) promptly after the same are sent, copies of all financial statements and reports that Holdings or the Borrowers sends to the holders of any class of its debt securities or public equity securities (except for Permitted Investors) and, promptly after the same are filed, copies of all financial statements and reports that Holdings or the Borrowers may make to, or file with, the SEC, in each case to the extent not already provided pursuant to Section 6.1 or any other clause of this Section 6.2;

(e) promptly upon delivery thereof to Holdings or the Borrowers and to the extent permitted, copies of any accountants’ letters addressed to its Board of Directors (or any committee thereof); and

(f) promptly, such additional financial and other information as the Administrative Agent (for its own account or upon the reasonable request from any Lender) may from time to time reasonably request.

Documents required to be delivered pursuant to this Section 6.2 may be delivered by posting such documents electronically with notice of such posting to the Administrative Agent and each Lender and if so posted, shall be deemed to have been delivered on the date (i) on which the Borrowers posts such documents, or provides a link thereto on the Borrowers’ website on the Internet at www.vince.com, or (ii) on which such documents are posted on the Borrowers’ behalf on IntraLinks/IntraAgency or another relevant website, if any, to which each Lender and the Administrative Agent have access (whether a commercial, third-party website or whether sponsored by the Administrative Agent).

 

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6.3 Payment of Obligations . Pay, discharge or otherwise satisfy at or before maturity or before they become delinquent, as the case may be, all its material Taxes, governmental assessments and governmental charges (other than Indebtedness), except (a) where the amount or validity thereof is currently being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings and reserves required in conformity with GAAP with respect thereto have been provided on the books of Holdings, the Borrowers or their Subsidiaries, as the case may be, or (b) to the extent that failure to pay or satisfy such obligations could not, in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

6.4 Conduct of Business and Maintenance of Existence, etc.; Compliance .

(a) (i) Preserve, renew and keep in full force and effect its corporate or other existence and (ii) take all reasonable action to maintain all rights (other than Intellectual Property rights, the maintenance of which is addressed in Section 6.5(b)), privileges and franchises necessary or desirable in the normal conduct of its business, except, in each case, as otherwise permitted by Section 7.4 or except, in the case of clause (ii) above, to the extent that failure to do so could not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and (b) comply with all Requirements of Law except to the extent that failure to comply therewith could not, in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

(b) Except, in any case, where the failure to do so, either individually or in the aggregate, could not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, comply, and cause all lessees and other Persons operating or occupying its properties to comply, in all material respects, with all applicable Environmental Laws; and

(c) conduct any investigation, study, sampling and testing, and undertake any cleanup, removal, remedial or other action necessary to remove and clean up all Releases of Materials of Environmental Concern occurring at any of its properties, in each case in accordance with the requirements of all Environmental Laws; provided that none of the Borrowers nor any of the Restricted Subsidiaries shall be required to undertake any such cleanup, removal, remedial or other action to the extent that either (A) (i) its obligation to do so is being contested in good faith and by proper proceedings, and (ii) appropriate reserves are being maintained with respect to such circumstances in accordance with GAAP, or (B) the failure to make such undertaking could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

6.5 Maintenance of Property; Insurance .

(a) Keep all material Property necessary in its business in reasonably good working order and condition, ordinary wear and tear excepted.

(b) Take all commercially reasonable and necessary steps, including, in any proceeding before the United States Patent and Trademark Office or the United States Copyright Office, to maintain and pursue each application (and to obtain the relevant registration) and to maintain each registration of the Borrower Intellectual Property, including, filing of applications for renewal, affidavits of use and affidavits of incontestability, except in each case to the extent that failure to do so would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

(c) Maintain insurance with financially sound and reputable insurance companies (after giving effect to any self-insurance compatible with the following standards) insurance on all its material Property in at least such amounts and against at least such risks (but including in any event public liability, product liability and business interruption) as are usually insured against in the same general area by companies engaged in the same or a similar business. All such insurance shall, to the

 

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extent customary (but in any event, not including business interruption insurance and personal injury insurance) (i) provide that no cancellation thereof shall be effective until at least 10 days after receipt by the Administrative Agent of written notice thereof and (ii) name the Administrative Agent as insured party or loss payee.

(d) If any portion of any Property subject to a Mortgage is at any time located in an area identified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (or any successor agency) as a special flood hazard area with respect to which flood insurance has been made available under the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (as now or hereafter in effect or successor act thereto), then the Borrowers shall, or shall cause each Loan Party to (i) maintain, or cause to be maintained, with a financially sound and reputable insurer, flood insurance in an amount and otherwise sufficient to comply with all applicable rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to the Flood Insurance Laws and (ii) deliver to the Administrative Agent evidence of such compliance in form and substance reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent.

(e) Cause fire and extended coverage policies maintained with respect to any Collateral to be endorsed or otherwise amended to include (A) a non-contributing mortgage clause (regarding improvements to real estate) and lenders’ loss payable clause (regarding personal property), in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent, which endorsements or amendments shall provide that the insurer shall pay all proceeds otherwise payable to the Loan Parties under the policies directly to the Administrative Agent, (B) a provision to the effect that none of the Loan Parties or any other Person shall be a co-insurer and (C) such other provisions as the Administrative Agent may reasonably require from time to time to protect the interests of the Loan Parties, (ii) cause commercial general liability policies to be endorsed to name the Administrative Agent as an additional insured, (iii) cause business interruption policies to name the Administrative Agent as a loss payee, and (iv) cause each such policy referred to in this Section 6.5 to also provide that it shall not be canceled, modified or not renewed (A) by reason of nonpayment of premium except upon not less than ten (10) days’ prior written notice thereof by the insurer to the Administrative Agent (giving the Administrative Agent the right to cure defaults in the payment of premiums) or (B) for any other reason except upon not less than thirty (30) days’ prior written notice thereof by the insurer to the Administrative Agent.

(f) Deliver to the Administrative Agent, prior to the cancellation, modification or non-renewal of any such policy of insurance, a copy of a renewal or replacement policy (or other evidence of renewal of a policy previously delivered to the Administrative Agent, including an insurance binder) together with evidence satisfactory to the Agent of payment of the premium therefor.

6.6 Inspection of Property; Books and Records; Discussions .

(a) Keep proper books of records and account in which full, true and correct entries in conformity with GAAP and all Requirements of Law shall be made of all material dealings and transactions in relation to its business and activities, (b) permit representatives of any Lender to visit and inspect any of its properties (in the case of any real property lease, to the extent permitted in the relevant lease agreement) and examine and make abstracts from any of its books and records upon reasonable prior notice and during normal business hours ( provided that such visits shall be coordinated by the Administrative Agent), (c) permit representatives of any Lender to have reasonable discussions regarding the business, operations, properties and financial and other condition of Holdings, the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries with officers and employees of Holdings, the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries, and (provided that any Lender shall coordinate any request for such discussions through the Administrative Agent), (d) permit representatives of the Administrative Agent to have reasonable discussions regarding the business, operations, properties and financial and other condition of Holdings, the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries with its independent certified public accountants;

 

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provided that a Responsible Officer of Holdings or the Borrowers shall be present during such discussion and any such discussions with Holdings’ independent certified public accountants at Holdings’ expense shall, except while an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing, be limited to one meeting per calendar year.

6.7 Notices . Promptly upon a Responsible Officer of Holdings or any Loan Party obtaining knowledge thereof, give notice to the Administrative Agent (who shall promptly notify each Lender) of:

(a) the occurrence of any Default or Event of Default;

(b) any litigation, investigation or proceeding which may exist at any time between Holdings, the Borrowers or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries and any other Person, that in either case, could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;

(c) the following events, that, individually or in the aggregate, could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, as soon as possible and in any event within 30 days after Holdings, the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary knows thereof: (i) the occurrence of any Reportable Event with respect to any Single Employer Plan, a failure to make any required contribution to a Single Employer Plan, the creation of any Lien in favor of the PBGC or a Single Employer Plan or any withdrawal from, or the termination, Reorganization or Insolvency of, any Multiemployer Plan, (ii) the institution of proceedings or the taking of any other action by the PBGC or Holdings or any Commonly Controlled Entity or any Multiemployer Plan with respect to the withdrawal from, or the termination, Reorganization or Insolvency of, any Plan or (iii) the occurrence of any similar events with respect to a Commonly Controlled Plan, that would reasonably be likely to result in a direct obligation of Holdings, the Borrowers or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to pay money;

(d) any development or event that has had or could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and

(e) the acquisition of any Property after the Closing Date in which the Administrative Agent does not already have a perfected security interest and in which a security interest is required to be created or perfected pursuant to Section 6.8.

Each notice pursuant to this Section shall be accompanied by a statement of a Responsible Officer setting forth details of the occurrence referred to therein and stating what action Holdings, the Borrowers or the relevant Restricted Subsidiary proposes to take with respect thereto.

6.8 Additional Collateral, etc .

(a) With respect to any Property (other than Vehicles, cash, Cash Equivalents and other assets expressly excluded from the Collateral or excluded from the requirement that a Lien is perfected on such Property pursuant to the Security Documents) located in the United States acquired after the Closing Date by any Loan Party (other than (x) any interests in real property and any Property described in paragraph (b) of this Section 6.8, (y) any Property subject to a Lien expressly permitted by Section 7.3(g) and (z) Instruments, Certificated Securities, Securities and Chattel Paper, which are referred to in the last sentence of this paragraph (a)) as to which the Administrative Agent for the benefit of the Secured Parties does not have a perfected Lien, promptly (i) give notice of such Property to the Administrative Agent and execute and deliver to the Administrative Agent such amendments to the Guarantee and Collateral Agreement or such other documents as the Administrative Agent reasonably

 

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requests to grant to the Administrative Agent for the benefit of the Secured Parties a security interest in such Property and (ii) take all actions reasonably requested by the Administrative Agent to grant to the Administrative Agent for the benefit of the Secured Parties a perfected security interest (to the extent required by the Security Documents and with the priority required by Section 4.17) in such Property (with respect to Property of a type owned by a Loan Party as of the Closing Date to the extent the Administrative Agent for the benefit of the Secured Parties, has a perfected security interest in such Property as of the Closing Date), including, without limitation, the filing of Uniform Commercial Code financing statements in such jurisdictions as may be required by the Guarantee and Collateral Agreement or by law or as may be reasonably requested by the Administrative Agent. Any Instrument, Certificated Security (other than in respect of the Capital Stock of any Subsidiary), Security or Chattel Paper in excess of $500,000 shall be promptly delivered to the Administrative Agent indorsed in a manner reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent to be held as Collateral pursuant to the relevant Security Document.

(b) With respect to any fee interest in any real property located in the United States having a value (together with improvements thereof) of at least $2,000,000 acquired after the Closing Date by any Loan Party (other than any such real property subject to a Lien expressly permitted by Section 7.3(g)), (i) give notice of such acquisition to the Administrative Agent and execute and deliver a first priority Mortgage (subject to Liens permitted by Section 7.3) in favor of the Administrative Agent for the benefit of the Secured Parties, covering such real property ( provided that no Mortgage nor survey shall be obtained if the Administrative Agent determines in consultation with the Borrowers that the costs of obtaining such Mortgage or survey are excessive in relation to the value of the security to be afforded thereby), (ii) provide the Lenders with (1) a lenders’ title insurance policy with extended coverage covering such real property in an amount at least equal to the purchase price of such real property (or such other amount as shall be reasonably specified by the Administrative Agent) as well as (2) “Life-of-Loan” flood hazard determination (together with an executed notice to Borrower) and evidence of flood insurance, if applicable and (3) a current ALTA survey thereof, together with a surveyor’s certificate unless the title insurance policy referred to above shall not contain an exception for any matter shown by a survey (except to the extent an existing survey has been provided and specifically incorporated into such title insurance policy) and shall include all reasonably requested survey-related endorsements, each in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent, and (iii) deliver to the Administrative Agent legal opinions relating to the matters described above, which opinions shall be in form and substance, and from counsel, reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent.

(c) With respect to any new Domestic Subsidiary (other than an Excluded Subsidiary) created or acquired after the Closing Date (which, for the purposes of this paragraph, shall include any Domestic Subsidiary that was previously an Excluded Subsidiary that no longer qualifies as an Excluded Subsidiary) by any Loan Party, promptly (i) give notice of such acquisition or creation to the Administrative Agent and, if requested by the Administrative Agent, execute and deliver to the Administrative Agent such amendments to the Guarantee and Collateral Agreement or such other documents as the Administrative Agent reasonably deems necessary to grant to the Administrative Agent for the benefit of the Secured Parties a perfected security interest (to the extent required by the Security Documents and with the priority required by Section 4.17) in the Capital Stock of such new Subsidiary that is owned by such Loan Party, (ii) deliver to the Administrative Agent the certificates, if any, representing such Capital Stock, together with undated stock powers, in blank, executed and delivered by a duly authorized officer of such Loan Party, and (iii) if such new Subsidiary is a wholly owned Domestic Subsidiary (and is not an Excluded Subsidiary), cause such new Subsidiary (A) to become a party to the Guarantee and Collateral Agreement and (B) to take such actions necessary or advisable to grant to the Administrative Agent for the benefit of the Secured Parties a perfected security interest (to the extent required by the Security Documents and with the priority required by Section 4.17) in the Collateral described in the Guarantee and Collateral Agreement with respect to such new Subsidiary (to the extent

 

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the Administrative Agent, for the benefit of the Secured Parties, has a perfected security interest in the same type of Collateral as of the Closing Date), including, without limitation, the filing of Uniform Commercial Code financing statements in such jurisdictions as may be required by the Guarantee and Collateral Agreement or by law or as may be reasonably requested by the Administrative Agent.

(d) With respect to any new first tier Foreign Subsidiary that is a Material Subsidiary (and is not an Unrestricted Subsidiary) created or acquired after the Closing Date (which, for the purposes of this paragraph, shall include any first-tier Foreign Subsidiary that previously was an Immaterial Subsidiary or an Unrestricted Subsidiary and becomes a Material Subsidiary or a Restricted Subsidiary, as applicable) by any Loan Party, promptly (i) give notice of such acquisition or creation to the Administrative Agent and, if requested by the Administrative Agent, execute and deliver to the Administrative Agent such amendments to the Guarantee and Collateral Agreement or such other documents as the Administrative Agent deems necessary or reasonably advisable in order to grant to the Administrative Agent, for the benefit of the Secured Parties, a perfected security interest (to the extent required by the Security Documents and with the priority required by Section 4.17) in the Capital Stock of such new Subsidiary that is owned by such Loan Party ( provided that in no event shall more than 65% of the total outstanding voting Capital Stock of any such Foreign Subsidiary be required to be so pledged), and (ii) to the extent permitted by applicable law, deliver to the Administrative Agent the certificates, if any, representing such Capital Stock, together with undated stock powers, in blank, executed and delivered by a duly authorized officer of such Loan Party, and take such other action as may be necessary or, in the reasonable opinion of the Administrative Agent, necessary to perfect or ensure appropriate priority the Lien of the Administrative Agent thereon.

Notwithstanding any provision set forth herein or in any other Loan Documents to the contrary, in no event shall (w) any Excluded Subsidiary be required to guarantee the obligations of the Borrowers, (x) the assets of any Excluded Subsidiary constitute security or secure, or such assets or the proceeds of such assets be required to be available for, payment of the obligations of the Borrowers or any Domestic Subsidiary, (y) more than 65% of the voting stock of any Foreign Subsidiary directly held by the Borrowers or any Subsidiary Guarantor be required to be pledged to secure the obligations of the Borrowers or any Domestic Subsidiary or (z) any Capital Stock of any Foreign Subsidiary not directly owned by the Borrowers or any Subsidiary Guarantor be required to be pledged to secure the obligations of the Borrowers or any Domestic Subsidiary.

6.9 Further Assurances . Maintain the security interest created by the Security Documents as a perfected security interest having at least the priority described in Section 4.17 (to the extent such security interest can be perfected through the filing of UCC-1 financing statements, the Intellectual Property filings to be made pursuant to Schedule 4 of the Guarantee and Collateral Agreement or the delivery of Pledged Securities required to be delivered under the Guarantee and Collateral Agreement), subject to the rights of the Loan Parties under the Loan Documents to dispose of the Collateral. From time to time the Loan Parties shall execute and deliver, or cause to be executed and delivered, such additional instruments, certificates or documents, and take all such actions, as the Administrative Agent may reasonably request for the purposes of implementing or effectuating the provisions of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents, or of renewing the rights of the Secured Parties with respect to the Collateral as to which the Administrative Agent, for the ratable benefit of the Secured Parties, has a perfected Lien pursuant hereto or thereto, including, without limitation, filing any financing or continuation statements or financing change statements under the Uniform Commercial Code (or other similar laws) in effect in any United States jurisdiction with respect to the security interests created hereby.

6.10 Use of Proceeds . The proceeds of the Initial Term Loans shall be used to finance the repayment in full of the Kellwood Intercompany Note and the payment of related fees and expenses. The proceeds of any New Term Loans after the Closing Date shall be used as specified in the applicable Joinder Agreement.

 

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6.11 Credit Ratings . For so long as any Term Loans remain outstanding, use its commercially reasonable efforts to maintain a public corporate family rating with respect to the Borrowers and a public credit rating with respect to the Loans, in each case from each of Moody’s and S&P.

6.12 Post-Closing Obligations . Perform all actions indentified on Schedule 6.12 by the deadlines set forth therein as such deadlines may be extended by the Administrative Agent in its sole discretion.

SECTION 7.

NEGATIVE COVENANTS

Holdings and the Borrowers (on behalf of themselves and each of the Restricted Subsidiaries) hereby agree that, so long as the Commitments remain in effect or any Term Loan or other amount is owing to any Lender or the Administrative Agent hereunder (other than contingent or indemnification obligations not then due), Holdings and the Borrowers shall not, and shall not permit any of the Restricted Subsidiaries to:

7.1 Consolidated Net Total Leverage Ratio . (a) Permit the Consolidated Net Total Leverage Ratio of Holdings as at the last day of any period of four consecutive fiscal quarters of Holdings ending on or nearest to the date set forth below to exceed the ratio set forth below opposite such date:

 

Period   

Consolidated Net

Total Leverage

Ratio

February 1, 2014

   3.75 to 1.00

May 3, 2014

   3.75 to 1.00

August 2, 2014

   3.75 to 1.00

November 1, 2014

   3.75 to 1.00

January 31, 2015

   3.50 to 1.00

May 2, 2015

   3.50 to 1.00

August 1, 2015

   3.50 to 1.00

October 31, 2015

   3.50 to 1.00

January 30, 2016 and the last date of each fiscal quarter thereafter

   3.25 to 1.00

(b) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in Section 7.1, if Holdings fails to comply with the requirements of Section 7.1, then subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the definition of Consolidated EBITDA, Holdings shall have the right to effect a Specified Equity Contribution to cause compliance with Section 7.1 for the applicable period. The Borrowers shall give the Administrative Agent written notice (the “ Cure Notice ”) of a Specified Equity Contribution on or before the day the Specified Equity Contribution is consummated. Upon the delivery by the Borrowers of a Cure Notice, no Event of Default or Default shall be deemed to exist pursuant to Section 7.1 (and, subject to the next sentence, any such Default or Event of Default shall be retroactively considered not to have existed or occurred). If the Specified Equity Contribution is not consummated within 10 Business Days after the day on which financial statements are required to be delivered for the applicable fiscal quarter, each such Default or Event of Default shall be deemed reinstated.

 

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7.2 Indebtedness . Create, issue, incur, assume, or suffer to exist any Indebtedness, except:

(a) Indebtedness of Holdings, the Borrowers or any Subsidiary Guarantor pursuant to any Loan Document or Hedge Agreements (including the New Term Loans or Other Term Loans);

(b) Indebtedness (i) of the Borrowers to any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, (ii) of any Subsidiary Guarantor to the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary or (iii) of any Non-Guarantor Subsidiary to any other Non-Guarantor Subsidiary; provided that (x) in the case of Indebtedness owing to a Loan Party, such Indebtedness shall be evidenced by one or more promissory notes that are pledged to the Administrative Agent for the benefit of the Secured Parties pursuant to the Guarantee and Collateral Agreement and (y) in the case of any Indebtedness owing by a Loan Party to any Restricted Subsidiary that is not a Subsidiary Guarantor, (A) such Indebtedness shall be on subordination terms reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and (B) such Indebtedness shall be otherwise permitted under the provisions of Section 7.7;

(c) (i) Indebtedness (including, without limitation, Capital Lease Obligations) secured by Liens permitted by Section 7.3(g) in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed, together with any Permitted Amendment or Refinancing referred to in the following clause (iii) hereof, $10,000,000 at any one time outstanding; (ii) Indebtedness arising out of sale and leaseback transactions permitted by Section 7.10; and (iii) any Permitted Amendment or Refinancings of any of the foregoing;

(d) Indebtedness outstanding on the date hereof and listed on Schedule 7.2(d) and any Permitted Amendment or Refinancings thereof;

(e) Guarantee Obligations (i) by a Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries of obligations of a Borrower or any Subsidiary Guarantor (ii) by any Non-Guarantor Subsidiary of obligations of any Non-Guarantor Subsidiary or (iii) by Holdings of lease obligations of a Borrower or of a Restricted Subsidiary;

(f) Indebtedness of Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries in respect of local lines of credit, letters of credit, bank guarantees, factoring arrangements, sale/leaseback transactions and similar extensions of credit in the ordinary course of business not to exceed, at any one time outstanding, an aggregate principal amount equal to $5,000,000;

(g) Indebtedness of the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries arising from the honoring by a bank or other financial institution of a check, draft or similar instrument inadvertently drawn by the Borrowers or such Restricted Subsidiary in the ordinary course of business against insufficient funds, so long as such Indebtedness is promptly repaid;

(h) (i) Indebtedness of any Non-Guarantor Subsidiary to a Borrower or any Subsidiary Guarantor and (ii) Guarantee Obligations of a Borrower or any Subsidiary Guarantor of Indebtedness of any Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries, in an aggregate principal amount for all such Indebtedness and, without duplication, Guarantee Obligations not to exceed, together with any Investments under Section 7.7(r), $5,000,000 at any one time outstanding;

(i) additional Indebtedness of the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries in an aggregate principal amount (for the Borrowers and all Restricted Subsidiaries) not to exceed $10,000,000 at any one time outstanding; provided that up to $5,000,000 of such indebtedness may be secured by Liens permitted by Section 7.3(u);

 

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(j) Indebtedness under a Permitted Seller Note issued as consideration in connection with an acquisition permitted under Section 7.7(f), in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed, together with any Permitted Amendment or Refinancing referred to in this clause (j), $10,000,000 at any one time outstanding, and any Permitted Amendment or Refinancing thereof; provided that any such Indebtedness shall be subordinated to the Obligations in a manner reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent;

(k) Indebtedness of the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries in respect of workers’ compensation claims, health, disability or other employee benefits, property casualty or liability insurance, take-or-pay obligations in supply arrangements, self-insurance obligations, performance, bid and surety bonds and completion guaranties, in each case in the ordinary course of business;

(l) Indebtedness incurred by the Borrowers or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries arising from agreements providing for indemnification or adjustment of purchase price or similar obligations in any case incurred in connection with an acquisition or other Investment permitted by Section 7.7(f) or the disposition of any business, assets or Restricted Subsidiary;

(m) unsecured, senior, senior subordinated or subordinated Indebtedness of Holdings or the Borrowers (including guarantees thereof by any Subsidiary Guarantor) (such Indebtedness and/or guarantees incurred under this clause (m) or any Permitted Amendment or Refinancing thereof being collectively referred to as the “ Junior Indebtedness ”); provided that (i) no scheduled principal payments, prepayments, redemptions or sinking fund or like payments of any Junior Indebtedness shall be required prior to the date at least 180 days after the then Latest Maturity Date), (ii) the terms of any Junior Indebtedness shall be usual and customary for high yield securities, (iii) no Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing at the time of incurrence of such Indebtedness or would result therefrom, (iv) in the case of Junior Indebtedness that is subordinated Indebtedness, the terms of subordination applicable to any Junior Indebtedness shall be reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and shall, in any event, define “senior indebtedness” or a similar phrase for purposes thereof to include all of the Obligations of the Loan Parties, and (v) at the time such Indebtedness was incurred, and immediately after giving effect thereto, the Consolidated Net Total Leverage Ratio for the Most Recently Ended period of four consecutive fiscal quarters of Holdings is not greater than the ratio set forth in Section 7.1 that is applicable at such time, less 0.25 to 1.00;

(n) Indebtedness of the Borrowers or any Subsidiary Guarantor as an account party in respect of trade letters of credit issued in the ordinary course of business;

(o) (i) Indebtedness of any Person that becomes a Restricted Subsidiary as part of a Permitted Acquisition or any Investment permitted by Section 7.7 after the Closing Date; provided that (A) such acquired Indebtedness exists at the time such Person becomes a Restricted Subsidiary and is not created in contemplation of or in connection with such Person becoming a Restricted Subsidiary (except to the extent such acquired Indebtedness refinanced (and did not increase principal (except for accrued interest and premium (including tender premiums and make whole amounts) thereon plus other reasonable and customary fees and expenses (including upfront fees, original issue discount and defeasance costs) or shorten maturity during the term of this Agreement) other Indebtedness to facilitate such entity becoming a Restricted Subsidiary), and (B) the aggregate principal amount of Indebtedness permitted by this clause (o)(i) shall not at

 

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any one time outstanding exceed, together with any Permitted Amendment or Refinancing referred to in the following clause (ii) hereof, $5,000,000; and (ii) any Permitted Amendment or Refinancing thereof;

(p) [reserved];

(q) [reserved];

(r) Indebtedness consisting of promissory notes issued by a Borrower or any Guarantor to current or former officers, consultants and directors or employees, their respective estates, spouses or former spouses to finance the purchase or redemption of Capital Stock of Holdings issued in lieu of cash payment; provided that such purchase or redemption is permitted under Section 7.6(g);

(s) Indebtedness of the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary consisting of the financing of insurance premiums in the ordinary course of business;

(t) guaranties in the ordinary course of business of the obligations of suppliers, customers, franchisees and licensees of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries;

(u) (i) Indebtedness of the Borrowers (as defined herein and in the ABL Facility) or a Loan Party (as defined herein and in the ABL Facility) in respect of the ABL Facility; provided that the principal amount of the Indebtedness outstanding at any time pursuant to this clause (u)(i) shall not exceed, together with any Permitted Amendment or Refinancing referred in the following clause (ii) hereof, $50,000,000 (and if exercised, an additional $20,000,000 under the incremental portion of the ABL Facility); and (ii) any Permitted Amendment or Refinancing thereof; and

(v) Indebtedness consisting of earn-outs and similar deferred consideration in consideration in connection with a Permitted Acquisition or other Investment permitted by Section 7.7 in an aggregate amount outstanding at any one time not to exceed $10,000,000.

7.3 Liens . Create, incur, assume or suffer to exist any Lien upon any of its Property, whether now owned or hereafter acquired, except for:

(a) Liens for taxes, assessments or other governmental charges or levies not yet due or which are being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings; provided that adequate reserves with respect thereto are maintained on the books of the Borrowers or their Restricted Subsidiaries, as the case may be, to the extent required by GAAP;

(b) landlords’, carriers’, warehousemen’s, mechanics’, materialmen’s, repairmen’s or other like Liens arising in the ordinary course of business which are not overdue for a period of more than 90 days, that are being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings or the existence of which, individually or in the aggregate would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;

(c) [reserved];

(d) deposits and other Liens to secure the performance of bids, trade contracts (other than for borrowed money), leases, subleases, statutory obligations, surety and appeal bonds, performance bonds and other obligations of a like nature incurred in the ordinary course of business;

 

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(e) easements, zoning restrictions, rights-of-way, restrictions and other similar encumbrances incurred in the ordinary course of business that, in the aggregate, do not materially detract from the value of the Property subject thereto or materially interfere with the ordinary conduct of the business of the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries;

(f) Liens (i) in existence on the date hereof listed on Schedule 7.3(f) (or to the extent not listed on Schedule 7.3(f), where the fair market value of the Property to which such Lien is attached is less than $500,000) and (ii) securing Indebtedness permitted by Section 7.2(d);

(g) Liens securing Indebtedness of the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary incurred pursuant to Section 7.2(c), 7.2(f) or 7.2(o); provided that in the case of any such Liens securing Indebtedness incurred pursuant to Section 7.2(c) to the extent, in each case, such Indebtedness was incurred to finance Permitted Acquisitions or Investments permitted under Section 7.7, (x) such Liens shall be created substantially concurrently with the acquisition of the assets financed by such Indebtedness and (y) such Liens do not at any time encumber any Property of the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary other than the Property financed by such Indebtedness and the proceeds thereof and after-acquired property subjected to a Lien securing Indebtedness and other obligations incurred prior to such time (and which Indebtedness and other obligations are permitted hereunder) that require, pursuant to their terms at such time, a pledge of after-acquired property, it being understood that such requirement shall not be permitted to apply to any property to which such requirement would not have applied but for such acquisition;

(h) Liens created pursuant to the Security Documents;

(i) any interest or title of a lessor or licensor under any leases or subleases, licenses or sublicenses entered into by the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary in the ordinary course of its business and covering only the assets so leased or licensed, and any financing statement filed in connection with any such lease or license;

(j) Liens arising from judgments in circumstances not constituting an Event of Default under Section 8(h);

(k) Liens on property or assets acquired pursuant to an acquisition permitted under Section 7.7(f) (and the proceeds thereof) or assets of a Subsidiary Guarantor in existence at the time such Subsidiary Guarantor is acquired pursuant to an acquisition permitted under Section 7.7(f) and not created in contemplation thereof;

(l) Liens on Property of Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries securing Indebtedness or other obligations not prohibited by this Agreement to be incurred by such Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries;

(m) receipt of progress payments and advances from customers in the ordinary course of business to the extent same creates a Lien on the related inventory and proceeds thereof;

(n) Liens in favor of customs and revenue authorities arising as a matter of law to secure the payment of customs duties in connection with the importation of goods;

 

77


(o) Liens arising out of consignment or similar arrangements for the sale by the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries of goods through third parties in the ordinary course of business;

(p) Liens solely on any cash earnest money deposits made by the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries in connection with an Investment permitted by Section 7.7;

(q) Liens deemed to exist in connection with Investments permitted by Section 7.7(b) that constitute repurchase obligations;

(r) Liens upon specific items of inventory or other goods and proceeds of the Borrowers or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries arising in the ordinary course of business securing such Person’s obligations in respect of bankers’ acceptances issued or created for the account of such Person to facilitate the purchase, shipment or storage of such inventory or other goods;

(s) Liens on cash or cash equivalents securing any Hedge Agreement permitted hereunder;

(t) [reserved];

(u) other Liens with respect to obligations that do not exceed $5,000,000 at any one time outstanding;

(v) the rights reserved or vested in any Person by the terms of any lease, license, franchise, grant or permit held by the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries or by a statutory provision, to terminate any such lease, license, franchise, grant or permit, or to require annual or periodic payments as a condition to the continuance thereof;

(w) banker’s Liens, rights of set-off or similar rights and remedies as to deposit accounts or other funds maintained with a depositary institution;

(x) Liens arising from Uniform Commercial Code financing statement filings regarding operating leases or consignments entered into by the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries in the ordinary course of business;

(y) Liens (i) of a collection bank arising under Section 4-210 of the Uniform Commercial Code on items in the course of collection, (ii) attaching to commodity trading accounts or other commodities brokerage accounts incurred in the ordinary course of business; and (iii) in favor of a banking institution arising as a matter of law encumbering deposits (including the right of set-off) and which are within the general parameters customary in the banking industry;

(z) Liens encumbering reasonable customary initial deposits and margin deposits and similar Liens attaching to commodity trading accounts or other brokerage accounts incurred in the ordinary course of business and not for speculative purposes;

(aa) Liens that are contractual rights of set-off (i) relating to the establishment of depository relations with banks not given in connection with the issuance of Indebtedness, (ii) relating to pooled deposit or sweep accounts of the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary to permit satisfaction of overdraft or similar obligations incurred in the ordinary course of business of the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries or (iii) relating to purchase orders and other agreements entered into by the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary in the ordinary course of business;

 

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(bb) Liens solely on any cash earnest money deposits made by the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries in connection with any letter of intent or purchase agreement not prohibited hereunder;

(cc) Liens arising by operation of law under Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code in favor of a reclaiming seller of goods or buyer of goods;

(dd) security given to a public or private utility or any governmental authority as required in the ordinary course of business;

(ee) Liens on securities which are the subject of repurchase agreements incurred in the ordinary course of business;

(ff) so long as the same is subject to the ABL Intercreditor Agreement in the capacity of ABL Obligations, Liens on Collateral (as defined herein and in the ABL Facility) securing Indebtedness incurred pursuant to Section 7.2(u) and any other “ Obligations” as defined in the ABL Facility; and

(gg) Liens on the Collateral securing Permitted First Priority Refinancing Debt or Permitted Second Priority Refinancing Debt; provided , that (x) any such Liens in respect of Permitted First Priority Refinancing Debt are subject to the ABL Intercreditor Agreement and the First Lien Intercreditor Agreement and (y) any such Liens in respect of Permitted Second Priority Refinancing Debt are subject to the ABL Intercreditor Agreement and the Second Lien Intercreditor Agreement.

7.4 Fundamental Changes . Consummate any merger, consolidation or amalgamation, or liquidate, wind up or dissolve itself (or suffer any liquidation or dissolution), or Dispose of all or substantially all of its Property or business, except that:

(a) (i) any Restricted Subsidiary may be merged, amalgamated, liquidated or consolidated with or into a Borrower ( provided that such Borrower shall be the continuing or surviving corporation) or (ii) any Restricted Subsidiary may be merged, amalgamated, liquidated or consolidated with or into any Subsidiary Guarantor ( provided that (x) a Subsidiary Guarantor shall be the continuing or surviving corporation or (y) simultaneously with such transaction, the continuing or surviving corporation shall become a Subsidiary Guarantor and the Borrowers shall comply with Section 6.8 in connection therewith);

(b) any Non-Guarantor Subsidiary may be merged or consolidated with or into, or be liquidated into, any other Non-Guarantor Subsidiary;

(c) any Non-Guarantor Subsidiary may Dispose of all or substantially all of its assets (upon voluntary liquidation, dissolution, winding-up or otherwise) to any Restricted Subsidiary;

(d) Dispositions permitted by Section 7.5 may be consummated;

(e) any Investment expressly permitted by Section 7.7 may be structured as a merger, consolidation or amalgamation;

(f) any Excluded Subsidiary may be dissolved or liquidated; and

 

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(g) So long as no Default or Event of Default is continuing or would result therefrom, Intermediate Holdings may be merged with and into Vince, with Vince being the surviving entity in such merger.

7.5 Dispositions of Property . Dispose of any of its owned Property (including, without limitation, receivables) whether now owned or hereafter acquired, or, in the case of any Restricted Subsidiary, issue or sell any shares of such Restricted Subsidiary’s Capital Stock to any Person, except:

(a) the Disposition of surplus, obsolete or worn out property in the ordinary course of business;

(b) (i) the sale of inventory in the ordinary course of business, (ii) the cross-licensing or licensing of Intellectual Property, in the ordinary course of business and (iii) the contemporaneous exchange, in the ordinary course of business, of Property for Property of a like kind (other than as set forth in clause (ii)), to the extent that the Property received in such exchange is of a value equivalent to the value of the Property exchanged ( provided that after giving effect to such exchange, the value of the Property of the Borrowers or any Subsidiary Guarantor subject to perfected first priority Liens in favor of the Administrative Agent under the Security Documents is not materially reduced);

(c) Dispositions permitted by Section 7.4;

(d) the sale or issuance of any Subsidiary’s Capital Stock to a Borrower or any Subsidiary Guarantor; provided that the sale or issuance of Capital Stock of an Unrestricted Subsidiary to a Borrower or any Subsidiary Guarantor is otherwise permitted by Section 7.7;

(e) the Disposition of other assets, so long as at least (i) 75% of the consideration received by the disposing Person is cash or Cash Equivalents, (ii) any such Disposition is made for fair market value, as determined in good faith and approved by the board of directors or similar governing body of the disposing Person and (iii) the requirements of Section 2.12(b), to the extent applicable, are complied with in connection therewith;

(f) any Recovery Event; provided that the requirements of Section 2.12(b) are complied with in connection therewith;

(g) the leasing, occupancy agreements or sub-leasing of Property that would not materially interfere with the required use (if any) of such Property by the Borrowers or their Restricted Subsidiaries;

(h) the sale or discount, in each case without recourse and in the ordinary course of business, of overdue accounts receivable arising in the ordinary course of business, but only in connection with the compromise or collection thereof consistent with the Borrowers’ commercially reasonable business judgment (and not as part of any bulk sale or financing of receivables);

(i) transfers of condemned property as a result of the exercise of “eminent domain” or other similar policies to the respective Governmental Authority or agency that has condemned same (whether by deed in lieu of condemnation or otherwise), and transfers of properties that have been subject to a casualty to the respective insurer of such property as part of an insurance settlement;

 

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(j) the Disposition of any Immaterial Subsidiary or any Unrestricted Subsidiary or their respective assets;

(k) the transfer of Property (i) by a Borrower or any Subsidiary Guarantor to a Borrower or any other Subsidiary Guarantor or (ii) from a Non-Guarantor Subsidiary to (A) a Borrower or any Subsidiary Guarantor for no more than fair market value or (B) any other Non-Guarantor Subsidiary that is a Restricted Subsidiary; provided that any sale or issuance of Capital Stock of an Unrestricted Subsidiary to a Borrower or any Subsidiary Guarantor is otherwise permitted by Section 7.7;

(l) the Disposition of Cash Equivalents in the ordinary course of business;

(m) sale and leaseback transactions permitted by Section 7.10;

(n) Liens permitted by Section 7.3;

(o) Restricted Payments permitted by Section 7.6;

(p) the cancelation of intercompany Indebtedness among the Borrowers and the Subsidiary Guarantors;

(q) Investments permitted by Section 7.7; and

(r) the sale or issuance of the Capital Stock of (i) any Foreign Subsidiary that is a Restricted Subsidiary to any other Foreign Subsidiary that is a Restricted Subsidiary or (ii) any Foreign Subsidiary that is an Unrestricted Subsidiary to any other Foreign Subsidiary that is an Unrestricted Subsidiary, in each case, including, without limitation, in connection with any tax restructuring activities not otherwise prohibited hereunder.

7.6 Restricted Payments . Declare or pay any dividend on, or make any payment on account of, or set apart assets for a sinking or other analogous fund for, the purchase, redemption, defeasance, retirement or other acquisition of, any Capital Stock of Holdings, a Borrower or any Subsidiary, whether now or hereafter outstanding, or make any other distribution in respect thereof, either directly or indirectly, whether in cash or property or in obligations of Holdings, a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary, or enter into any derivatives or other transaction with any financial institution, commodities or stock exchange or clearinghouse (a “ Derivatives Counterparty ”) obligating Holdings, a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary to make payments to such Derivatives Counterparty as a result of any change in market value of any such Capital Stock (collectively, “ Restricted Payments ”), except that:

(a) any Subsidiary may make Restricted Payments, directly or indirectly, to a Borrower or any Subsidiary Guarantor, and a Borrower may make Restricted Payments to Holdings;

(b) Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries may make Restricted Payments to other Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries;

(c) provided that (i) no Default or Event of Default is continuing or would result therefrom and (ii) the Consolidated Net Total Leverage Ratio, calculated on a pro forma basis, is at least 0.25 to 1.00 lower than the applicable Consolidated Net Total Leverage Ratio covenant level required by Section 7.1 after giving effect to such Restricted Payment, Holdings may make Restricted Payments in an aggregate amount not to exceed the Available Excess Amount;

 

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provided that no Restricted Payments may be made under this clause (c) during any fiscal quarter if a Specified Equity Contribution has been (or is anticipated to be) exercised in respect of either of the two immediately preceding fiscal quarters;

(d) [reserved];

(e) Investments permitted by Section 7.7;

(f) Holdings may make Restricted Payments in the form of common stock of Holdings or preferred stock of Holdings; and

(g) so long as no Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing, Holdings may purchase its common stock or common stock options from present or former officers, consultants and directors or employees (and their heirs, estates and assigns) of Holdings, the Borrowers or any Subsidiary upon the death, disability or termination of employment of such officer or employee; provided that the aggregate amount of payments under this clause (g) in any fiscal year of Holdings shall not exceed the sum of (i) $2,000,000 plus any proceeds received from key man life insurance policies and (ii) any Restricted Payments permitted (but not made) pursuant to this clause (g) in the immediately prior fiscal year.

7.7 Investments . Make any advance, loan, extension of credit (by way of guaranty or otherwise) or capital contribution to, or purchase any Capital Stock, bonds, notes, debentures or other debt securities of, or all or substantially all of the assets constituting an ongoing business from, or make any other investment in, any other Person, other than guarantees of operating leases in the ordinary course of business (all of the foregoing, “ Investments ”), except:

(a) extensions of trade credit in the ordinary course of business;

(b) Investments in Cash Equivalents;

(c) Investments arising in connection with the incurrence of Indebtedness permitted by Sections 7.2(b), (e) and (h);

(d) loans and advances to employees of Holdings, the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries in the ordinary course of business in an aggregate amount (for Holdings, the Borrowers and all Restricted Subsidiaries) not to exceed $2,000,000 (excluding (for purposes of such cap) travel and entertainment expenses, but including relocation expenses) at any one time outstanding;

(e) Investments (other than those relating to the incurrence of Indebtedness permitted by Section 7.7(c)) by the Borrowers or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries in the Borrowers or any Person that, prior to such Investment, is a Subsidiary Guarantor or becomes a Subsidiary Guarantor at the time of such Investment;

(f) Permitted Acquisitions to the extent that any Person acquired in such acquisition becomes a Subsidiary Guarantor or a part of the Borrowers or any Subsidiary Guarantor or becomes (whether or not such Person is a wholly owned Subsidiary) a Subsidiary Guarantor in the manner contemplated by Section 6.8(c);

(g) loans by the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries to the officers or directors of Holdings or the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries in connection with

 

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management incentive plans; provided that such loans represent cashless transactions pursuant to which such officers or directors directly invest the proceeds of such loans in the Capital Stock of Holdings;

(h) Investments by the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries in joint ventures or similar arrangements in an aggregate amount (for the Borrowers and all Restricted Subsidiaries) not to exceed $5,000,000 at any one time outstanding;

(i) Investments (including debt obligations) received in the ordinary course of business by the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary in connection with the bankruptcy or reorganization of suppliers and customers and in settlement of delinquent obligations of, and other disputes with, customers and suppliers arising out of the ordinary course of business;

(j) Investments (i) by any Non-Guarantor Subsidiary in any other Non-Guarantor Subsidiary;

(k) Investments in existence on the Closing Date and listed on Schedule 7.7;

(l) Investments of the Borrowers or any Restricted Subsidiary under Hedge Agreements permitted hereunder;

(m) Investments of any Person in existence at the time such Person becomes a Restricted Subsidiary; provided that such Investment was not made in connection with or anticipation of such Person becoming a Restricted Subsidiary;

(n) [reserved];

(o) [reserved];

(p) provided that (i) no Default or Event of Default is continuing or would result therefrom and (ii) Holdings is in compliance with Section 7.1 before and after giving effect to such Investment, the Borrowers may make Investments in an aggregate amount (determined as the amount originally advanced, loaned or otherwise invested, less any returns on the respective Investment not to exceed the original amount invested) not to exceed at any time outstanding the Available Excess Amount;

(q) Subsidiaries of the Borrowers may be established or created, if (i) to the extent such new Subsidiary is a Domestic Subsidiary, the Borrowers and such Subsidiary comply with the provisions of Section 6.8(c) and (ii) to the extent such new Subsidiary is a Foreign Subsidiary, the Borrowers comply with the provisions of Section 6.8(d); provided that, in each case, to the extent such new Subsidiary is created solely for the purpose of consummating a merger transaction pursuant to an acquisition or Investment permitted by Section 7.7(f), 7.7(p), 7.7(r) or 7.7(y), and such new Subsidiary at no time holds any assets or liabilities other than any merger consideration contributed to it contemporaneously with the closing of such merger transactions, such new Subsidiary shall not be required to take the actions set forth in Section 6.8(c) or 6.8(d), as applicable, until the respective acquisition is consummated (at which time the surviving entity of the respective merger transaction shall be required to so comply within ten Business Days);

(r) Investments by the Borrowers or any Subsidiary Guarantor in any Non-Guarantor Subsidiary in an aggregate amount (for the Borrowers and all Subsidiary Guarantors) not to exceed $5,000,000 less the amount of Indebtedness incurred under Section 7.2(h) at any one time outstanding;

 

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(s) Investments arising directly out of the receipt by a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary of non-cash consideration for any sale of assets permitted under Section 7.5; provided that such non-cash consideration shall in no event exceed 25% of the total consideration received for such sale;

(t) Investments resulting from pledges and deposits referred to in Sections 7.3(c) and (d);

(u) the forgiveness or conversion to equity of any Indebtedness permitted by Section 7.2(b), 7.2(e) or 7.2(h);

(v) [reserved];

(w) any Investment in a Foreign Subsidiary to the extent such Investment is substantially contemporaneously repaid in full with a dividend or other distribution from such Foreign Subsidiary;

(x) Guarantee Obligations permitted by Section 7.2 and any payments made in respect of such Guarantees Obligations; and

(y) provided that no Default or Event of Default is continuing or would result therefrom, additional Investments so long as the aggregate amount thereof outstanding (determined as the amount originally advanced, loaned or otherwise invested, less any returns on the respective Investment not to exceed the original amount invested) at no time exceeds $15,000,000.

It is further understood and agreed that for purposes of determining the value of any Investment outstanding for purposes of this Section 7.7, such amount shall deemed to be the amount of such Investment when made, purchased or acquired less any returns on such Investment (not to exceed the original amount invested).

7.8 Optional Payments and Modifications of Certain Debt Instruments .

(a) Make any optional or voluntary payment, prepayment, repurchase or redemption of, or otherwise voluntarily or optionally defease the principal of or interest on, or any other amount owing in respect of any Junior Indebtedness, except: (i) in an amount not to exceed the Available Excess Amount; provided that (x) no Default or Event of Default is continuing or would result therefrom, and (y) the Consolidated Net Total Leverage Ratio, calculated on a pro forma basis, is at least 0.25 to 1.00 lower than the applicable Consolidated Net Total Leverage Ratio covenant level required by Section 7.1 after giving effect to such payment, prepayment, repurchase, redemption or defeasance; (ii) the Borrowers may prepay, redeem, repurchase or defease any Junior Indebtedness with the proceeds of any Permitted Amendment or Refinancing or pursuant to any asset sale tender offers required by the terms of such Indebtedness, (iii) any such Indebtedness may be converted to, or exchanged for, Capital Stock (other than Disqualified Capital Stock) of Holdings, and (iv) prepayments from the proceeds of Capital Stock (other than Disqualified Capital Stock) issued by Holdings, so long as such prepayment occurs reasonably contemporaneously with the issuance of such Capital Stock.

 

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(b) Amend, modify or otherwise change, or consent or agree to any amendment, modification, waiver or other change to (i) any agreement or instrument governing or evidencing Junior Indebtedness in any manner that is materially adverse to the Lenders without the prior consent of the Administrative Agent (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed) or (ii) any of the terms of any agreement relating to any Junior Indebtedness or any agreement related to a Permitted Amendment or Refinancing of any of the foregoing (other than (w) any such amendment, modification, waiver or other change pursuant to a Permitted Refinancing of such Indebtedness or (x) that would extend the maturity or reduce the amount of any payment of principal thereof or reduce the rate or extend any date for payment of interest thereon and does not involve the payment of a consent fee (other than the payment of any consent fees to the extent permitted by clause (x) of Section 7.8(a)).

7.9 Transactions with Affiliates . Enter into any transaction, including, without limitation, any purchase, sale, lease or exchange of Property, the rendering of any service or the payment of any management, advisory or similar fees, with any Affiliate (other than Holdings, a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary) unless such transaction is (a) otherwise not prohibited under this Agreement and (b) upon fair and reasonable terms no less favorable to Holdings, such Borrower or such Restricted Subsidiary, as the case may be, than it would obtain in a comparable arm’s length transaction with a Person that is not an Affiliate. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Borrowers and their Restricted Subsidiaries may without being subject to the terms of this Section 7.9, (i) enter into any transaction with any Person which is an Affiliate of Holdings only by reason of such Person and Holdings having common directors; (ii) enter into and perform its or their obligations under the agreements set forth on Schedule 7.9, as in effect on the Closing Date or as the same may be amended, supplemented, replaced or otherwise modified from time to time in a manner that does not materially increase the obligations of the Loan Parties thereunder, and (iii) enter into transactions with Affiliates permitted by Section 7.2(h), 7.2(i), 7.2(r), 7.4(c), 7.5(d), 7.5(k)(ii), 7.6, 7.7(c), 7.7(r), or 7.7(w) hereof. For the avoidance of doubt, this Section 7.9 shall not apply to employment arrangements with, and payments of compensation, indemnification payments, expense reimbursement or benefits to or for the benefit of, current or former employees, officers or directors of Holdings, the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries.

7.10 Sales and Leasebacks . Enter into any arrangement with any Person providing for the leasing by a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary of real or personal property which is to be sold or transferred by such Borrower or such Restricted Subsidiary (a) to such Person or (b) to any other Person to whom funds have been or are to be advanced by such Person on the security of such property or rental obligations of such Borrower or such Restricted Subsidiary, in each case except for (i) sales or transfers that do not exceed $5,000,000 in the aggregate at any one time outstanding, (ii) sales or transfers by a Borrower or any Subsidiary Guarantor to a Borrower or any other Subsidiary Guarantor and (iii) sales or transfers by any Non-Guarantor Subsidiary to any other Non-Guarantor Subsidiary that is a Restricted Subsidiary.

7.11 Changes in Fiscal Periods . Permit the fiscal year of Holdings to end on a day other than the Saturday closest to January 31st of each year.

7.12 Negative Pledge Clauses . Enter into any agreement that prohibits or limits the ability of Holdings, a Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries to create, incur, assume or suffer to exist any Lien upon any of its Property or revenues, whether now owned or hereafter acquired, to secure the Obligations or, in the case of any Guarantor, its obligations under the Guarantee and Collateral Agreement, other than (a) this Agreement and the other Loan Documents, any agreement related to the

 

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ABL Facility and Junior Indebtedness or any agreement related to any Permitted Amendment or Refinancing of any of the foregoing, (b) any agreements governing any secured Indebtedness otherwise permitted hereby (in which case, any prohibition or limitation shall only be effective against the assets financed thereby and the proceeds thereof), (c) software and other Intellectual Property licenses pursuant to which Holdings, a Borrower or such Restricted Subsidiary is the licensee or licensor of the relevant software or Intellectual Property, as the case may be, (in which case, any prohibition or limitation shall relate only to the assets subject of the applicable license), (d) Contractual Obligations incurred in the ordinary course of business and on customary terms which limit Liens on the assets subject of the applicable Contractual Obligation or impose restrictions on cash or other deposits with respect thereto, (e) any agreements regarding Indebtedness of any Non-Guarantor Subsidiary not prohibited under Section 7.2 (in which case, any prohibition or limitation shall only be effective against the assets of such Non-Guarantor Subsidiary and any other Non-Guarantor Subsidiary), (f) prohibitions and limitations in effect on the date hereof and listed on Schedule 7.12, (g) customary provisions contained in joint venture agreements and other similar agreements applicable to joint ventures entered into in the ordinary course of business, (h) customary provisions restricting the subletting or assignment of any lease or sublease governing a leasehold interest, (i) customary restrictions and conditions contained in any agreement relating to a Disposition permitted by Section 7.4 or 7.5, (j) any agreement in effect at the time any Person becomes a Subsidiary, so long as such agreement was not entered into in contemplation of such Person becoming a Subsidiary and (k) any restrictions on Liens imposed by any amendments, modifications, restatements, renewals, increases, supplements, refundings, replacements or refinancings of the contracts, instruments or obligations referred to in clauses (f) and (j) above; provided that such amendments, modifications, restatements, renewals, increases, supplements, refundings, replacements or refinancings are, in the good faith judgment of the Borrowers, no more restrictive with respect to such encumbrance and other restrictions than those prior to such amendment, modification, restatement, renewal, increase, supplement, refunding, replacement or refinancing.

7.13 Clauses Restricting Subsidiary Distributions . Enter into any consensual encumbrance or restriction on the ability of any Restricted Subsidiary to (a) make Restricted Payments in respect of any Capital Stock of such Restricted Subsidiary held by, or pay any Indebtedness owed to, a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary or (b) make Investments in a Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary, except for such encumbrances or restrictions existing under or by reason of (i) any restrictions existing under the Loan Documents, (ii) any restrictions with respect to such Restricted Subsidiary imposed pursuant to an agreement that has been entered into in connection with the Disposition of all or substantially all of the Capital Stock or assets of such Restricted Subsidiary, (iii) any restrictions set forth in the documentation for the ABL Facility or any Junior Indebtedness or any Permitted Amendment or Refinancing of any of the foregoing, (iv) any restrictions contained in agreements related to Indebtedness of any (A) Borrower or any Subsidiary Guarantor with respect to the Disposition of assets securing such Indebtedness (in which case, any prohibition or limitation shall only be effective against the assets financed thereby and the proceeds thereof) and (B) Non-Guarantor Subsidiary not prohibited under Section 7.2 (in which case such restriction shall relate only to such Non-Guarantor Subsidiary and any other Non-Guarantor Subsidiary), (v) any restrictions regarding licenses or sublicenses by a Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries of Intellectual Property in the ordinary course of business (in which case such restriction shall relate only to such Intellectual Property), (vi) Contractual Obligations incurred in the ordinary course of business which include customary provisions restricting the assignment of any agreement relating thereto or imposing restrictions on cash or other deposits with respect thereto, (vii) customary provisions contained in joint venture agreements and other similar agreements applicable to joint ventures entered into in the ordinary course of business, (viii) customary provisions restricting the subletting or assignment of any lease or sublease governing a leasehold interest, (ix) customary restrictions and conditions contained in any agreement relating to a Disposition permitted by Section 7.4 or 7.5, (x) any agreement in effect at the time any Person becomes a Restricted Subsidiary, so long as such agreement was not entered into in contemplation of such Person becoming a Restricted Subsidiary,

 

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(xi) such restrictions in effect on the Closing Date and listed on Schedule 7.13, (xii) negative pledges and restrictions on Liens and Dispositions in favor of any holder of Indebtedness for borrowed money permitted under Section 7.2 but only if such negative pledge or restriction expressly permits Liens for the benefit of the Administrative Agent and the Lenders with respect to the credit facilities established hereunder and the Obligations under the Loan Documents on a senior basis and without a requirement that such holders of such Indebtedness be secured by such Liens equally and ratably or on a junior basis and (xiii) negative pledges and restrictions on Liens and Dispositions imposed by any amendments, modifications, restatements, renewals, increases, supplements, refundings, replacements or refinancings of the contracts, instruments or obligations referred to in clauses (x) and (xi) above; provided that such amendments, modifications, restatements, renewals, increases, supplements, refundings, replacements or refinancings are, in the good faith judgment of the Borrowers, no more restrictive with respect to such encumbrance and other restrictions than those prior to such amendment, modification, restatement, renewal, increase, supplement, refunding, replacement or refinancing.

7.14 Lines of Business . Enter into any business, either directly or through any of its Restricted Subsidiaries, except for the Business.

7.15 Limitation on Hedge Agreements . Enter into any Hedge Agreement other than Hedge Agreements entered into in the ordinary course of business or as required hereby, and not for speculative purposes, to protect against changes in interest rates or foreign exchange rates or commodity, raw material, energy or utility prices. Schedule 7.15 is a list of all such agreements in effect on the Closing Date (with notional amounts).

7.16 Limitation on Activities of Holdings . In the case of Holdings only, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement or any other Loan Document:

(a) conduct, transact or otherwise engage in, or commit to conduct, transact or otherwise engage in, any business or operations other than (i) those incidental to its ownership of the Capital Stock of Intermediate Holdings and (indirectly) Vince, the Subsidiaries of Vince and those incidental to Investments by or in Holdings permitted hereunder, (ii) those incidental to the issuance of and performance under the ABL Facility, any Junior Indebtedness or any Permitted Amendment or Refinancing of any of the foregoing, (iii) activities incidental to the maintenance of its existence and compliance with applicable laws and legal, tax and accounting matters related thereto and activities relating to its employees (including but not limited to payment or reimbursement of indemnification obligations to its directors or officers and payment of board of directors fees), (iv) activities relating to the performance of obligations under the Loan Documents to which it is a party or expressly permitted thereunder, (v) engaging in activities incidental to being a public company, (vi) the receipt and payment of Restricted Payments permitted under Section 7.6 and (vii) the other transactions expressly permitted under this Section 7.16; or

(b) incur, create, assume or suffer to exist any Indebtedness or other liabilities or financial obligations, except (i) Junior Indebtedness permitted by Section 7.2(m), (ii) nonconsensual obligations imposed by operation of law, (iii) pursuant to the Loan Documents to which it is a party, (iv) obligations with respect to its Capital Stock and options in respect thereof (v) in respect of the ABL Facility or any Credit Agreement Refinancing Indebtedness (or any Permitted Amendment or Refinancing or any of the foregoing), (vi) obligations to its employees, officers and directors not prohibited hereunder, and (vii) guarantees permitted by 7.2(e)(iii).

 

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SECTION 8.

EVENTS OF DEFAULT

If any of the following events shall occur and be continuing:

(a) The Borrowers shall fail to pay (i) any principal of any Term Loan when due in accordance with the terms hereof or (ii) any interest owed by it on any Term Loan, or any other amount payable by it hereunder or under any other Loan Document, within five Business Days after any such interest or other amount becomes due in accordance with the terms hereof; or

(b) Any representation or warranty made or deemed made by any Loan Party herein or in any other Loan Document or that is contained in any certificate, document or financial or other statement furnished by it at any time under or in connection with this Agreement or any such other Loan Document, shall, in either case, prove to have been inaccurate in any material respect on or as of the date made or deemed made or furnished; or

(c) Any Loan Party shall default in the observance or performance of any agreement contained in Section 6.4(a)(i) (with respect to Holdings or a Borrower), Section 6.7(a) or Section 7 of this Agreement; or

(d) Any Loan Party shall default in the observance or performance of any other agreement contained in this Agreement or any other Loan Document (other than as provided in paragraphs (a) through (c) of this Section), and such default shall continue unremedied for a period of 30 days after such Loan Party receives from the Administrative Agent or any Lender notice of the existence of such default; or

(e) Holdings, the Borrowers or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries shall (i) default in making any payment of any principal of any Indebtedness (excluding the Term Loans) on the scheduled or original due date with respect thereto; or (ii) default in making any payment of any interest on any such Indebtedness beyond the period of grace, if any, provided in the instrument or agreement under which such Indebtedness was created; or (iii) default in the observance or performance of any other agreement or condition relating to any such Indebtedness or contained in any instrument or agreement evidencing, securing or relating thereto, or any other event of default shall occur, the effect of which payment or other default or other event of default described in clauses (i), (ii) or (iii) of this paragraph (e) is to cause, or to permit the holder or beneficiary of such Indebtedness (or a trustee or agent on behalf of such holder or beneficiary) to cause, with the giving of notice if required, such Indebtedness to become due prior to its stated maturity or to become subject to a mandatory offer to purchase by the obligor thereunder or to become payable; provided that (A) a default, event or condition described in this paragraph shall not at any time constitute an Event of Default unless, at such time, one or more defaults or events of default of the type described in this paragraph shall have occurred and be continuing with respect to Indebtedness the outstanding principal amount of which exceeds in the aggregate $15,000,000 and (B) this paragraph (e) shall not apply to (I) secured Indebtedness that becomes due as a result of the sale, transfer, destruction or other disposition of the Property or assets securing such Indebtedness if such sale, transfer, destruction or other disposition is not prohibited hereunder or (II) any Guarantee Obligations except to the extent such Guarantee Obligations shall become due and payable by any Loan Party and remain unpaid after any applicable grace period or period permitted following demand for the payment thereof; provided further that no such event under the ABL Facility shall constitute an Event of Default under this clause (e) until the earliest to occur of (x) the date that is sixty (60) days after such event or circumstance (but only if

 

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such event or circumstance has not been waived or cured), (y) the acceleration of the Indebtedness under the ABL Facility and (z) any Exercise of Secured Creditor Remedies (as defined in the ABL Intercreditor Agreement) by the ABL Administrative Agent in respect of any Collateral; or

(f) (i) Holdings, a Borrower or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries (other than any Immaterial Subsidiary) shall commence any case, proceeding or other action (A) under any existing or future law of any jurisdiction, domestic or foreign, relating to bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization or relief of debtors, seeking to have an order for relief entered with respect to it, or seeking to adjudicate it a bankrupt or insolvent, or seeking reorganization, arrangement, adjustment, winding-up, liquidation, dissolution, composition or other relief with respect to it or its debts, or (B) seeking appointment of a receiver, trustee, custodian, conservator or other similar official for it or for all or any substantial part of its assets, or Holdings, a Borrower or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries (other than any Immaterial Subsidiary) shall make a general assignment for the benefit of its creditors; or (ii) there shall be commenced against Holdings, a Borrower or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries (other than any Immaterial Subsidiary) any case, proceeding or other action of a nature referred to in clause (i) above that (A) results in the entry of an order for relief or any such adjudication or appointment or (B) remains undismissed, undischarged or unbonded for a period of 60 days; or (iii) there shall be commenced against Holdings, a Borrower or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries (other than any Immaterial Subsidiary) any case, proceeding or other action seeking issuance of a warrant of attachment, execution, distraint or similar process against substantially all of its assets that results in the entry of an order for any such relief that shall not have been vacated, discharged, or stayed or bonded pending appeal within 60 days from the entry thereof; or (iv) Holdings, a Borrower or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries (other than any Immaterial Subsidiary) shall consent to or approve of, or acquiescence in, any of the acts set forth in clause (i), (ii), or (iii) above; or (v) Holdings, a Borrower or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries (other than any Immaterial Subsidiary) shall generally not, or shall be unable to, or shall admit in writing its inability to, pay its debts as they become due; or

(g) (i) Holdings, a Borrower or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries shall incur any liability in connection with any non-exempt “prohibited transaction” (as defined in Section 406 of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code) involving any Plan, (ii) any “accumulated funding deficiency” (as defined in Section 302 of ERISA), whether or not waived, shall exist with respect to any Single Employer Plan or any Lien in favor of the PBGC or a Single Employer Plan shall arise on the assets of Holdings, a Borrower or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries, (iii) a Reportable Event shall occur with respect to, or proceedings shall commence to have a trustee appointed, or a trustee shall be appointed, to administer or to terminate, any Single Employer Plan, which Reportable Event or commencement of proceedings or appointment of a trustee is reasonably likely to result in the termination of such Single Employer Plan for purposes of Title IV of ERISA, (iv) any Single Employer Plan shall terminate for purposes of Title IV of ERISA, (v) Holdings, a Borrower or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries shall, or is reasonably likely to, incur any liability as a result of a withdrawal from, or the Insolvency or Reorganization of, a Multiemployer Plan or (vi) any other event or condition (other than one which could not reasonably be expected to result in a violation of any applicable law or of the qualification requirements of the Code) shall occur or exist with respect to a Plan or a Commonly Controlled Plan; and in each case in clauses (i) through (vi) above, such event or condition, together with all other such events or conditions, if any, could reasonably be expected to result in a direct obligation of Holdings, a Borrower or any of their Restricted Subsidiaries to pay money that would have a Material Adverse Effect; or

 

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(h) One or more judgments or decrees shall be entered against Holdings, a Borrower or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries (other than Immaterial Subsidiaries) involving for Holdings, a Borrower and any such Restricted Subsidiaries taken as a whole a liability (to the extent not paid or covered by insurance or effective indemnity) of $15,000,000 or more, and all such judgments or decrees shall not have been vacated, discharged, stayed or bonded pending appeal within 45 days from the entry thereof; or

(i) Any of the Security Documents shall cease, for any reason (other than by reason of the express release thereof pursuant to Section 10.15), to be in full force and effect in any material respect, or any Loan Party shall so assert in writing, or any Lien on any material amount of Collateral created by any of the Security Documents shall cease in any material respect to be enforceable and of the same effect and priority purported to be created thereby; or

(j) (i) Holdings shall cease directly or indirectly to own 100% of the Capital Stock of the Borrowers (subject to the right of Intermediate Holdings to merge into Vince, as permitted in Section 7.4(g)) or (ii) any “person” or “group” (as such terms are used in Section 13(d) and 14(d) of the Securities Exchange Act), other than one or more Permitted Investors, shall be the “beneficial owner” (as defined in Rules 13d-3 and 13d-5 under the Securities Exchange Act) of Capital Stock having more, directly or indirectly, than 35% of the total voting power of all outstanding Capital Stock of Holdings in the election of directors, unless at such time the Permitted Investors are direct or indirect “beneficial owners” (as so defined) of Capital Stock of Holdings having a greater percentage of the total voting power of all outstanding Capital Stock of Holdings in the election of directors than that owned by each other “person” or “group” described above; (iii) for any reason whatsoever, a majority of the Board of Directors of Holdings shall not be Continuing Directors; or (iv) a “Change of Control” (or comparable term) shall occur under the ABL Facility, any Junior Indebtedness or the documentation for any Permitted Amendment or Refinancing of any of the foregoing, in each case (other than the ABL Facility), if the outstanding principal amount thereof is in excess of $15,000,000; or

(k) Any Junior Indebtedness which is subordinated Indebtedness or any guarantees thereof (or any Permitted Amendment or Refinancing thereof which is also subordinated Indebtedness ) shall cease, for any reason, to be validly subordinated to the Obligations or the obligations of Holdings and the Subsidiary Guarantors under the Guarantee and Collateral Agreement, as the case may be, as provided in the indenture therefor, or any Loan Party or any Affiliate of any Loan Party;

then, and in any such event, (A) if such event is an Event of Default specified in clause (i) or (ii) of paragraph (f) above with respect to a Borrower, automatically the Commitments shall immediately terminate and the Term Loans hereunder (with accrued interest thereon) and all other amounts owing under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents shall immediately become due and payable, and (B) if such event is any other Event of Default, either or both of the following actions may be taken with the consent of the Required Lenders, the Administrative Agent may, or upon the request of the Required Lenders, the Administrative Agent shall, by notice to the Borrowers, declare the Term Loans hereunder (with accrued interest thereon) and all other amounts owing under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents to be due and payable forthwith, whereupon the same shall immediately become due and payable. Except as expressly provided above in this Section or otherwise in any Loan Document, presentment, demand and protest of any kind are hereby expressly waived by Holdings and the Borrowers.

 

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SECTION 9.

THE ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT

9.1 Appointment .

(a) Each Lender hereby irrevocably designates and appoints the Administrative Agent as the agent of such Lender under the Loan Documents and each such Lender irrevocably authorizes the Administrative Agent, in such capacity, to take such action on its behalf under the provisions of the applicable Loan Documents and to exercise such powers and perform such duties as are expressly delegated to the Administrative Agent by the terms of the applicable Loan Documents, together with such other powers as are reasonably incidental thereto. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Administrative Agent is hereby expressly authorized to execute any and all documents (including releases) with respect to the Collateral and the rights of the Secured Parties with respect thereto, as contemplated by and in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement and the Security Documents (including, for the avoidance of doubt, (x) the ABL Intercreditor Agreement and any amendment or supplement expressly contemplated thereby and (y) upon the incurrence of any Permitted First Priority Refinancing Debt or Permitted Second Priority Refinancing Debt, the First Lien Intercreditor Agreement or the Second Lien Intercreditor Agreement, respectively). Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary elsewhere in this Agreement, the Administrative Agent shall not have any duties or responsibilities, except those expressly set forth herein or any fiduciary relationship with any Lender, and no implied covenants, functions, responsibilities, duties, obligations or liabilities shall be read into this Agreement or any other Loan Document or otherwise exist against the Administrative Agent.

(b) The Administrative Agent shall also act as the “collateral agent” under the Loan Documents, and each of the Lenders (including in its capacities as a potential counterparty to a Specified Hedge Agreement) hereby irrevocably appoints and authorizes the Administrative Agent to act as the agent of such Lender for purposes of acquiring, holding and enforcing any and all Liens on Collateral granted by any of the Loan Parties to secure any of the Obligations, together with such powers and discretion as are reasonably incidental thereto. In this connection, the Administrative Agent, as “collateral agent,” and any agents or attorneys-in-fact appointed by the Administrative Agent pursuant to Section 9.2 for purposes of holding or enforcing any Lien on the Collateral (or any portion thereof) granted under the Security Documents, or for exercising any rights and remedies thereunder at the direction of the Administrative Agent, shall be entitled to the benefits of all provisions of this Section 9 (including Section 9.7) and Section 10.5, as though such agents and attorneys-in-fact were the “collateral agent” under the Loan Documents as if set forth in full herein with respect thereto.

9.2 Delegation of Duties . The Administrative Agent may execute any of its duties under the applicable Loan Documents by or through agents or attorneys-in-fact and shall be entitled to advice of counsel concerning all matters pertaining to such duties. The Administrative Agent shall not be responsible for the negligence or misconduct of any agents or attorneys in-fact selected by it with reasonable care.

9.3 Exculpatory Provisions . Neither the Administrative Agent nor any of its officers, directors, employees, agents, attorneys-in-fact or affiliates shall be (i) liable for any action lawfully taken or omitted to be taken by it or such Person under or in connection with this Agreement or any other Loan Document (except to the extent that any of the foregoing are found by a final and nonappealable decision of a court of competent jurisdiction to have resulted from its or such Person’s own bad faith, gross negligence or willful misconduct) or (ii) responsible in any manner to any of the Lenders for any recitals, statements, representations or warranties made by any Loan Party or any officer thereof contained in this Agreement or any other Loan Document or in any certificate, report, statement or other document referred

 

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to or provided for in, or received by the Administrative Agent under or in connection with, this Agreement or any other Loan Document or for the value, validity, effectiveness, genuineness, enforceability or sufficiency of this Agreement or any other Loan Document or for any failure of any Loan Party, a party thereto to perform its obligations hereunder or thereunder. The Administrative Agent shall not be under any obligations to any Lender to ascertain or to inquire as to the observance or performance of any of the agreements contained in, or conditions of this Agreement of any other Loan Document, or to inspect the properties, books or records of any Loan Party.

9.4 Reliance by the Administrative Agent . The Administrative Agent shall be entitled to rely, and shall be fully protected in relying, upon any instrument, writing, resolution, notice, consent, certificate, affidavit, letter, telecopy, telex or teletype message, statement, order or other document or conversation believed by it to be genuine and correct and to have been signed, sent or made by the proper Person or Persons and upon advice and statements of legal counsel (including counsel to Holdings and the Borrowers), independent accountants and other experts selected by the Administrative Agent. The Administrative Agent may deem and treat the payee of any Note as the owner thereof for all purposes unless a written notice of assignment, negotiation or transfer thereof shall have been filed with the Administrative Agent. The Administrative Agent shall be fully justified in failing or refusing to take any action under the applicable Loan Document unless it shall first receive such advice or concurrence of the Required Lenders (or, if so specified by this Agreement, all Lenders) as it deems appropriate or it shall first be indemnified to its satisfaction by the Lenders against any and all liability and expense that may be incurred by it by reason of taking or continuing to take any such action. The Administrative Agent shall in all cases be fully protected in acting, or in refraining from acting, under the applicable Loan Documents in accordance with a request of the Required Lenders (or, if so specified by this Agreement, all Lenders), and such request and any action taken or failure to act pursuant thereto shall be binding upon all the Lenders and all future holders of the Term Loans.

9.5 Notice of Default . The Administrative Agent shall not be deemed to have knowledge or notice of the occurrence of any Default or Event of Default unless the Administrative Agent has received notice from a Lender, Holdings or the Borrowers referring to this Agreement, describing such Default or Event of Default and stating that such notice is a “notice of default”. In the event that the Administrative Agent receives such a notice, the Administrative Agent shall give notice thereof to the Lenders. The Administrative Agent shall take such action with respect to such Default or Event of Default as shall be reasonably directed by the Required Lenders (or, if so specified by this Agreement, all Lenders); provided that unless and until the Administrative Agent shall have received such directions, the Administrative Agent may (but shall not be obligated to) take such action, or refrain from taking such action, with respect to such Default or Event of Default as it shall deem advisable in the best interests of the Lenders.

9.6 Non-Reliance on Administrative Agent and Other Lenders . Each Lender expressly acknowledges that neither the Administrative Agent nor any of its officers, directors, employees, agents, attorneys-in-fact or affiliates have made any representations or warranties to it and that no act by the Administrative Agent hereafter taken, including any review of the affairs of a Loan Party or any affiliate of a Loan Party, shall be deemed to constitute any representation or warranty by the Administrative Agent to any Lender. Each Lender represents to the Administrative Agent 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 appraisal of and investigation into the business, operations, property, financial and other condition and creditworthiness of the Loan Parties and their affiliates and made its own decision to make its Term Loans hereunder and enter into this Agreement. Each Lender also represents 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 deem appropriate at the time, continue to make its own credit analysis, appraisals and decisions in

 

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taking or not taking action under the applicable Loan Documents, and to make such investigation as it deems necessary to inform itself as to the business, operations, property, financial and other condition and creditworthiness of the Loan Parties and their affiliates. Except for notices, reports and other documents expressly required to be furnished to the Lenders by the Administrative Agent hereunder, the Administrative Agent shall not have any duty or responsibility to provide any Lender with any credit or other information concerning the business, operations, property, condition (financial or otherwise), prospects or creditworthiness of any Loan Party or any affiliate of a Loan Party that may come into the possession of the Administrative Agent or any of its officers, directors, employees, agents, attorneys-in-fact or affiliates.

9.7 Indemnification . The Lenders agree to indemnify the Administrative Agent in its capacity as such (to the extent not reimbursed by the Borrowers and without limiting the obligation of the Borrowers to do so), ratably according to their respective pro rata shares (based on their respective principal amount of Term Loans) in effect on the date on which indemnification is sought under this Section (or, if indemnification is sought after the date upon which the Commitments shall have terminated and the Term Loans shall have been paid in full, ratably in accordance with such pro rata shares immediately prior to such date), from and against any and all liabilities, obligations, losses, damages, penalties, actions, judgments, suits, costs, expenses or disbursements of any kind whatsoever that may at any time (whether before or after the payment of the Term Loans) be imposed on, incurred by or asserted against the Administrative Agent in any way relating to or arising out of, the Commitments, this Agreement, any of the other Loan Documents or any documents contemplated by or referred to herein or therein or the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby or any action taken or omitted by the Administrative Agent under or in connection with any of the foregoing; provided that no Lender shall be liable for the payment of any portion of such liabilities, obligations, losses, damages, penalties, actions, judgments, suits, costs, expenses or disbursements that are found by a final and nonappealable decision of a court of competent jurisdiction to have resulted from the Administrative Agent’s gross negligence or willful misconduct. The agreements in this Section shall survive the payment of the Term Loans and all other amounts payable hereunder.

9.8 Administrative Agent in Its Individual Capacity . The Administrative Agent and its affiliates may make loans to, accept deposits from and generally engage in any kind of business with any Loan Party as though the Administrative Agent were not the Administrative Agent. With respect to its Term Loans made or renewed by it, the Administrative Agent shall have the same rights and powers under the applicable Loan Documents as any Lender and may exercise the same as though it were not the Administrative Agent, and the terms “Lender” and “Lenders” shall include the Administrative Agent in its individual capacity.

9.9 Resignation or Removal of Administrative Agent .

(a) The Administrative Agent may resign upon 30 days’ notice to the Lenders and the Borrowers. Upon receipt of any such notice of resignation, the Required Lenders shall appoint from among the Lenders a successor agent for the Lenders, which successor agent shall (unless an Event of Default under Section 8(a) or Section 8(f) with respect to the Borrowers shall have occurred and be continuing) be subject to approval by the Borrowers (which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed), whereupon such successor agent shall succeed to the rights, powers and duties of the retiring Administrative Agent, and the retiring Administrative Agent’s rights, powers and duties as Administrative Agent shall be terminated, without any other or further act or deed on the part of the retiring Administrative Agent or any of the parties to this Agreement or any holders of the Term Loans. If no successor Administrative Agent shall have been so appointed by the Required Lenders with such consent of the Borrowers and shall have accepted such appointment within 30 days after the retiring Administrative Agent’s giving of notice of resignation, then the retiring Administrative Agent may, on behalf of the Lenders and with the consent of the Borrowers (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed), appoint a successor Administrative Agent, that shall be a bank that has an office in New York, New York with a combined capital and surplus of at least $500,000,000; provided that if the Administrative Agent shall notify the Borrowers and the Lenders that no qualifying Person has accepted such appointment, then such resignation shall nonetheless become effective in accordance with such notice and (i) the retiring Administrative Agent shall be discharged from its duties and obligations hereunder and under the other Loan Documents (except that in the case of any collateral security held by the Administrative Agent on

 

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behalf of the Lenders under any of the Loan Documents, the retiring Administrative Agent shall continue to hold such collateral security until such time as a successor Administrative Agent is appointed) and (ii) all payments, communications and determinations provided to be made by, to or through the Administrative Agent shall instead be made by or to each Lender, until such time as the Required Lenders appoint a successor Administrative Agent as provided for above in this Section. Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing, the Administrative Agent may resign its role as Administrative Agent under the ABL Intercreditor Agreement, First Lien Intercreditor Agreement and Second Lien Intercreditor Agreement. After any retiring Administrative Agent’s resignation as Agent, the provisions of this Section 9 and Sections 2.21 and 10.5 shall inure to its benefit as to any actions taken or omitted to be taken by it while it was Administrative Agent under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents.

(b) If the Person serving as Administrative Agent is a Defaulting Lender pursuant to clause (iii) of the definition of Lender Default, the Required Lenders may, to the extent permitted by applicable law, by notice in writing to the Borrowers and such Person remove such Person as Administrative Agent and, in consultation with the Borrowers, appoint a successor. If no such successor shall have been so appointed by the Required Lenders and shall have accepted such appointment within 30 days (or such earlier day as shall be agreed by the Required Lenders) (the “ Removal Effective Date ”), then such removal shall nonetheless become effective in accordance with such notice on the Removal Effective Date.

9.10 Authorization to Release Liens and Guarantees . The Administrative Agent is hereby irrevocably authorized by each of the Lenders to effect any release or subordination of Liens or Guarantee Obligations contemplated by Section 10.15 without further action or consent by the Lenders.

9.11 Arranger and Other Agents . None of the Joint Lead Arrangers, the Syndication Agent or the Documentation Agent shall have any duties or responsibilities hereunder in their respective capacities as such.

9.12 Administrative Agent May File Proofs of Claim . In case of the pendency of any proceeding under any Debtor Relief Law or any other judicial proceeding relative to any Loan Party, the Administrative Agent (irrespective of whether the principal of any Term Loan shall then be due and payable as herein expressed or by declaration or otherwise and irrespective of whether the Administrative Agent shall have made any demand on the Borrowers) shall be entitled and empowered, by intervention in such proceeding or otherwise,

(a) to file and prove a claim for the whole amount of the principal and interest owing and unpaid in respect of the Term Loans and all other Obligations that are owing and unpaid and to file such other documents as may be necessary or advisable in order to have the claims of the Lenders and the Administrative Agent (including any claim for the reasonable compensation, expenses, disbursements and advances of the Lenders and the Administrative Agent and their respective agents and counsel and all other amounts due the Lenders and the Administrative Agent under Sections 2.9, 2.21, 3.3, 3.5 and 10.5) allowed in such judicial proceeding; and

 

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(b) to collect and receive any monies or other property payable or deliverable on any such claims and to distribute the same;

and any custodian, receiver, assignee, trustee, liquidator, sequestrator or other similar official in any such judicial proceeding is hereby authorized by each Lender to make such payments to the Administrative Agent and if the Administrative Agent shall consent to the making of such payments directly to the Lenders, to pay to the Administrative Agent any amount due for the reasonable compensation, expenses, disbursements and advances of the Administrative Agent and its agents and counsel, and any other amounts due the Administrative Agent under Sections 2.9, 2.21 and 10.5.

Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to authorize the Administrative Agent to authorize or consent to or accept or adopt on behalf of any Lender any plan of reorganization, arrangement, adjustment or composition affecting the Obligations or the rights of any Lender or to authorize the Administrative Agent to vote in respect of the claim of any Lender or in any such proceeding.

9.13 Withholding Taxes . To the extent required by any applicable laws, the Administrative Agent may withhold from any payment to any Lender an amount equivalent to any applicable withholding Tax. Without limiting or expanding the provisions of Section 2.20, each Lender shall indemnify and hold harmless the Administrative Agent against, within ten Business Days after written demand therefor, any and all Taxes and any and all related losses, claims, liabilities and expenses (including fees, charges and disbursements of any counsel for the Administrative Agent) incurred by or asserted against the Administrative Agent by the IRS or any other Governmental Authority as a result of the failure of the Administrative Agent to properly withhold Tax from amounts paid to or for the account of any Lender for any reason (including, without limitation, because the appropriate form was not delivered or not properly executed, or because such Lender failed to notify the Administrative Agent of a change in circumstance that rendered the exemption from, or reduction of withholding Tax ineffective). A certificate as to the amount of such payment or liability delivered to any Lender by the Administrative Agent shall be conclusive absent manifest error. Each Lender hereby authorizes the Administrative Agent to set off and apply any and all amounts at any time owing to such Lender under this Agreement or any other Loan Document against any amount due the Administrative Agent under this Section 9.13. The agreements in this Section 9.13 shall survive the resignation and/or replacement of the Administrative Agent, any assignment of rights by, or the replacement of, a Lender, the termination of the Commitments and the repayment, satisfaction or discharge of all other Obligations.

SECTION 10.

MISCELLANEOUS

10.1 Amendments and Waivers . Neither this Agreement, any other Loan Document, nor any terms hereof or thereof may be amended, supplemented or modified except in accordance with the provisions of this Section 10.1. The Required Lenders and each Loan Party party to the relevant Loan Document may, or, with the written consent of the Required Lenders, the Administrative Agent and each Loan Party to the relevant Loan Document may, from time to time, (a) enter into written amendments, supplements or modifications hereto and to the other Loan Documents for the purpose of adding any provisions to this Agreement or the other Loan Documents or changing in any manner the rights or obligations of the Administrative Agent, the Lenders or of the Loan Parties hereunder or thereunder or (b) waive, on such terms and conditions as the Required Lenders or the Administrative Agent may specify in such instrument, any of the requirements of this Agreement or the other Loan Documents or any Default or Event of Default and its consequences; provided , however , that no such waiver and no such amendment, supplement or modification shall (i) forgive or reduce the principal amount or extend the

 

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final scheduled date of maturity of any Term Loan (except extensions expressly permitted by Section 2.26), extend the scheduled date of any amortization payment in respect of any Term Loan, reduce the stated rate of any interest or fee payable hereunder (except that any amendment or modification of defined terms used in the financial covenant in this Agreement or waiver of post-default rates of interest shall not constitute a reduction in the rate of interest or fees for purposes of this clause (i)), extend or increase the Commitment of any Lender, in each case without the written consent of each Lender directly and adversely affected thereby; (ii) eliminate or reduce the voting rights of any Lender under this Section 10.1 without the written consent of such Lender; (iii) reduce any percentage specified in the definition of Required Lenders (it being understood that, with the consent of the Required Lenders (if such consent is otherwise required), additional extensions of credit pursuant to this Agreement may be included in the determination of the Required Lenders on substantially the same basis as the extensions of Term Loans are included on the Closing Date), consent to the assignment or transfer by a Borrower of any of its rights and obligations under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents, release all or substantially all of the Collateral or release all or substantially all of the value of the Guarantees under the Guarantee and Collateral Agreement (other than in connection with the sale of Guarantors in a transaction permitted by Section 7.4 or 7.5), in each case without the written consent of all Lenders; (iv) amend, modify or waive any provision of paragraph (a) or (c) of Section 2.18 or paragraph (a) of Section 10.7 without the written consent of each Lender directly and adversely affected thereby (except that amendments to such sections or any other provision requiring pro rata payments or sharing of payments in connection with transactions permitted by Sections 2.25, 2.26, 2.27, 2.28 or 2.29 (or any similar programs that may in the future be permitted hereunder shall only require approval (to the extent any such approval is otherwise required) of the Required Lenders); (v) amend, modify or waive any provision of paragraph (b) of Section 2.18 without the written consent of the Lenders adversely affected thereby; (vi) amend, modify or waive any provision of Section 9 without the written consent of the Administrative Agent; (vii) amend the assignment provisions of Section 10.6(b) to make them more restrictive without the written consent of each Lender directly and adversely affected thereby; or (viii) amend Section 2.26 the effect of which is to extend the maturity of any Lender’s Term Loans, New Term Loans or Other Term Loans without its consent; provided , further that (x) in connection with an amendment that addresses solely a Repricing Transaction, only the consent of the Lenders holding Term Loans subject to such Repricing Transaction that will continue as a Lender in respect of the repriced tranche of Term Loans or modified Term Loans shall be required for such amendment, (y) no Lender consent is required to effect an amendment in connection with Other Term Loans, New Term Loans, Extended Term Loans or Extended New Term Loans (except as expressly provided in Sections 2.25, 2.26 or 2.29, as applicable) or to effect any amendment expressly contemplated by Section 7.11, and (z) no Lender consent is required to effect any amendment or supplement to the ABL Intercreditor Agreement (I) that is for the purpose of adding the holders of Other Term Loans, New Term Loans, Extended Term Loans or Extended New Term Loans (or a representative with respect thereto) as parties thereto, as expressly contemplated by the terms of the ABL Intercreditor Agreement (it being understood that any such amendment or supplement may make such other changes to the applicable intercreditor agreement as, in the good faith determination of the Administrative Agent, are required to effectuate the foregoing and provided, that such other changes are not adverse, in any material respect, to the interests of the Lenders) or (II) that is expressly contemplated by the ABL Intercreditor Agreement; provided further that no such agreement shall amend, modify or otherwise affect the rights or duties of the Administrative Agent hereunder or under any other Loan Document without the prior written consent of the Administrative Agent. Any such waiver and any such amendment, supplement or modification shall apply equally to each of the Lenders and shall be binding upon the Loan Parties, the Lenders, the Administrative Agent and all future holders of the Term Loans. In the case of any waiver, the Loan Parties, the Lenders and the Administrative Agent shall be restored to their former position and rights hereunder and under the other Loan Documents, and any Default or Event of Default waived shall be deemed to be cured and not continuing unless limited by the terms of such waiver, but no such waiver shall extend to any subsequent or other Default or Event of Default, or impair any right consequent on any such subsequent or other Default or Event of Default.

 

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Anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding, during such period as a Lender is a Defaulting Lender, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, such Lender will not be entitled to vote in respect of amendments, waivers and consents hereunder and the Commitment and the outstanding Term Loans or other extensions of credit of such Lender hereunder will not be taken into account in determining whether the Required Lenders, all affected Lenders or all of the Lenders, as required, have approved any such amendment, waiver or consent (and the definitions of “Required Lenders” will automatically be deemed modified accordingly for the duration of such period); provided that any such amendment or waiver that would increase or extend the term of the Commitment of such Defaulting Lender, extend the date fixed for the payment of principal or interest owing to such Defaulting Lender hereunder, reduce the principal amount of any obligation owing to such Defaulting Lender, reduce the amount of or the rate or amount of interest on any amount owing to such Defaulting Lender or of any fee payable to such Defaulting Lender hereunder, or alter the terms of this proviso, will require the consent of such Defaulting Lender. In addition, to the extent any Defaulting Lender has defaulted on any amounts owing to the Borrowers hereunder, the Borrowers shall be entitled to offset any amounts the Borrowers owes the Defaulting Lender with such unpaid amounts.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Section 10.01, guarantees, collateral security documents and related documents executed by Subsidiaries in connection with this Agreement may be in a form reasonably determined by the Administrative Agent and may be, together with this Agreement, amended, supplemented and waived with the consent of the Administrative Agent at the request of the Borrowers without the need to obtain the consent of any other Lender if such amendment, supplement or waiver is delivered in order (i) to comply with local Requirements of Law or advice of local counsel, (ii) to cure ambiguities, omissions, mistakes or defects or (iii) to cause such guarantee, collateral security document or other document to be consistent with this Agreement and the other Loan Documents; provided that any amendment, supplement or waiver of this Agreement be promptly delivered to the Lenders via posting on Intralinks.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, this Agreement may be amended (or amended and restated) with the written consent of the Required Lenders, the Administrative Agent, Holdings and the Borrowers (a) to add one or more additional credit facilities to this Agreement (it being understood that no Lender shall have any obligation to provide or to commit to provide all or any portion of any such additional credit facility) and to permit the extensions of credit from time to time outstanding thereunder and the accrued interest and fees in respect thereof to share ratably in the benefits of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents with the Term Loans and the accrued interest and fees in respect thereof and (b) to include appropriately the Lenders holding such credit facilities in any determination of the Required Lenders.

Notwithstanding any of the foregoing, any provision of this Agreement or any other Loan Document may be amended by an agreement in writing entered into by Holdings, the Borrowers and the Administrative Agent to cure any ambiguity, omission, mistake, defect or inconsistency so long as the Lenders shall have received at least five Business Days prior written notice thereof and the Administrative Agent shall not have received, within five Business Days of the date of such notice to the Lenders, a written notice from the Required Lenders stating that the Required Lenders object to such amendment.

 

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10.2 Notices . All notices, requests and demands to or upon the respective parties hereto to be effective shall be in writing (including by telecopy), and, unless otherwise expressly provided herein, shall be deemed to have been duly given or made when delivered, or three Business Days after being deposited in the mail, postage prepaid, or, in the case of telecopy notice, when received, addressed as follows in the case of Holdings, the Borrowers, the Administrative Agent, and as set forth in an administrative questionnaire delivered to the Administrative Agent in the case of the Lenders, or to such other address as may be hereafter notified by the respective parties hereto:

 

Holdings:    Vince Holding Corp.
   1441 Broadway, 6th Floor
   New York, NY 10018
   Attention: Lisa Klinger
                     Jay Dubiner
   Telecopy: (212) 881-9900
   Email: lklinger@vince.com
                JDubiner@Vince.com
The Borrowers:    Vince, LLC
   1441 Broadway, 6th Floor
   New York, NY 10018
   Attention: Lisa Klinger
                     Jay Dubiner
   Telecopy: (212) 881-9900
   Email: lklinger@vince.com
               JDubiner@Vince.com
   and
   Vince Intermediate Holding, LLC
   1441 Broadway, 6th Floor
   New York, NY 10018
   Attention: Lisa Klinger
                     Jay Dubiner
   Telecopy: (212) 881-9900
   Email: lklinger@vince.com
               JDubiner@Vince.com
Any notice to Holdings or a Borrower shall be accompanied by concurrent notice to:
   Sun Capital Partners, Inc.
   5200 Town Center Circle, #600
   Boca Raton, FL 33486
   Attention: C. Deryl Couch
                      Jason Neimark
                      Brian McGee
   Telecopy: (561) 394-0540
   Email: dcouch@suncappart.com
               jneimark@suncappart.com
               bmcgee@suncappart.com
   Kirkland & Ellis LLP
   300 N LaSalle
   Chicago, IL 60654
   Attention: Douglas Gessner, P.C.
                     Jocelyn Hirch

 

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   Telecopy: (312) 862-2200
   Email: douglas.gessner@kirkland.com
               jhirsch@kirkland.com
The Administrative Agent:    Bank of America, N.A.
(with respect to notices    101 N. Tryon St.
under Section 2)    Charlotte, NC 28255
   Attention: James Underwood
   Credit Services Representative
   Telecopy: (704) 548-5646
   Telephone: (980) 683-2812
   Email: james.a.underwood@baml.com
The Administrative Agent:    Bank of America, N.A.
(with respect to all other    Global Commercial Banking
notices)    MC# IL4-135-09-61
   135 S. LaSalle St.
   Chicago, IL 60603
   Attention: Denise Jones
   AVP, Agency Mgmt Officer II
   Telecopy: (877) 206-8413
   Telephone: (312) 828-1846
   Email: denise.j.jones@baml.com
   with a copy to:
   Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP
   Worldwide Plaza
   825 Eighth Avenue
   New York, NY 10019
   Attention: Michael S. Goldman
   Telecopy: (212) 474-3700
   Email: mgoldman@cravath.com

provided that any notice, request or demand to or upon the Administrative Agent, the Lenders, Holdings or the Borrowers shall not be effective until received.

Notices and other communications to the Lenders hereunder may be delivered or furnished by electronic communications pursuant to procedures approved by the Administrative Agent; provided that the foregoing shall not apply to notices pursuant to Section 2 unless otherwise agreed by the Administrative Agent and the applicable Lender, as the case may be. The Administrative Agent, Holdings or the Borrowers 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

 

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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.

Each of the Borrowers and the Administrative Agent may change its address, telecopier, telephone number or email address for notices and other communications hereunder by notice to the other parties hereto. Each other Lender may change its address, telecopier, telephone number or email address for notices and other communications hereunder by notice to the Borrowers and the Administrative Agent. In addition, each Lender agrees to notify the Administrative Agent from time to time to ensure that the Administrative Agent has on record (i) an effective address, contact name, telephone number, telecopier number and electronic mail address to which notices and other communications may be sent and (ii) accurate wire instructions for such Lender. Furthermore, each Public Lender agrees to cause at least one individual at or on behalf of such Public Lender to at all times have selected the “Private Side Information” or similar designation on the content declaration screen of the Platform in order to enable such Public Lender or its delegate, in accordance with such Public Lender’s compliance procedures and applicable law, including United States federal and state securities laws, to make reference to Borrower Materials that are not made available through the “Public Side Information” portion of the Platform and that may contain material non-public information with respect to the Borrowers or its securities for purposes of United States federal or state securities laws.

The Administrative Agent and the Lenders shall be entitled to rely and act upon any notices (including telephonic notices) purportedly given by or on behalf of the Borrowers even if (i) such notices were not made in a manner specified herein, were incomplete or were not preceded or followed by any other form of notice specified herein, or (ii) the terms thereof, as understood by the recipient, varied from any confirmation thereof. The Borrowers shall indemnify the Administrative Agent, each Lender and each such Person’s Affiliates and the partners, directors, officers, employees, agents, trustees and advisors of such Person and of such Person’s Affiliates from all losses, costs, expenses and liabilities resulting from the reliance by such Person on each notice purportedly given by or on behalf of the Borrowers. All telephonic notices to and other telephonic communications with the Administrative Agent may be recorded by the Administrative Agent, and each of the parties hereto hereby consents to such recording.

10.3 No Waiver; Cumulative Remedies . No failure to exercise and no delay in exercising, on the part of the Administrative Agent or any Lender, any right, remedy, power or privilege hereunder or under the other Loan Documents shall operate as a waiver thereof; nor shall any single or partial exercise of any right, remedy, power or privilege hereunder preclude any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any other right, remedy, power or privilege. The rights, remedies, powers and privileges herein provided are cumulative and not exclusive of any rights, remedies, powers and privileges provided by law.

10.4 Survival of Representations and Warranties . All representations and warranties made hereunder, in the other Loan Documents and in any document, certificate or statement delivered pursuant hereto or in connection herewith shall survive the execution and delivery of this Agreement and the making of the Term Loans and other extensions of credit hereunder.

10.5 Payment of Expenses; Indemnification . The Borrowers agree (a) to pay or reimburse the Administrative Agent and the Joint Lead Arrangers for all their respective reasonable and documented out-of-pocket costs and expenses incurred in connection with the syndication of the Term Facilities (other than fees payable to syndicate members) and the development, preparation, execution and delivery of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents and any other documents prepared in

 

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connection herewith or therewith and any amendment, supplement or modification thereto, and, as to the Administrative Agent only, the administration of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby, including, without limitation, the reasonable and documented fees and disbursements and other charges of counsel to the Administrative Agent (including one primary counsel and such local counsel as the Administrative Agent may reasonably require in connection with collateral matters, but no more than one counsel in any jurisdiction) in connection with all of the foregoing, (b) to pay or reimburse each Lender, the Administrative Agent, each Joint Lead Arranger, the Syndication Agent and the Documentation Agent for all their out-of-pocket costs and expenses incurred in connection with the enforcement of any rights under this Agreement, the other Loan Documents and any such other documents and in connection with the Term Loans made under this Agreement, including all such expenses incurred during any workout, restructuring or negotiations in respect of such Term Loans, including, without limitation, the fees and disbursements of counsel (including the allocated fees and expenses of in-house counsel) to each Lender and the Administrative Agent, and (c) to pay, indemnify or reimburse each Lender, the Administrative Agent, each Joint Lead Arranger, the Syndication Agent and the Documentation Agent and their respective affiliates, and their respective officers, directors, employees, affiliates, agents and controlling Persons (each, an “ Indemnitee ”) for, and hold each Indemnitee harmless from and against any and all other liabilities, obligations, losses, damages, penalties, costs, expenses or disbursements arising out of any actions, judgments or suits of any kind or nature whatsoever, arising out of or in connection with any claim, action or proceeding relating to or otherwise with respect to the execution, delivery, enforcement performance and administration of this Agreement, the other Loan Documents and any such other documents, including, without limitation, any of the foregoing relating to the use of proceeds of the Term Loans or the violation of, noncompliance with or liability under, any Environmental Law applicable to the operations of Holdings, the Borrowers, any of their Subsidiaries or any of the Properties and the fees and disbursements and other charges of legal counsel in connection with claims, actions or proceedings by any Indemnitee against Holdings or the Borrowers hereunder (all the foregoing in this clause (c), collectively, the “ Indemnified Liabilities ”); provided that neither Holdings nor the Borrowers shall have any obligation hereunder to any Indemnitee with respect to Indemnified Liabilities to the extent such Indemnified Liabilities (x) are found by a final and nonappealable decision of a court of competent jurisdiction to have resulted from material breach of the Loan Documents or the bad faith, gross negligence or willful misconduct of, such Indemnitee or its affiliates, officers, directors, trustees, employees, advisors, agents or controlling Persons, (y) result from any dispute solely among any Indemnitees (other than any claim against the Administrative Agent, a Joint Lead Arranger, the Syndication Agent or the Documentation Agent in its capacity as such) or (z) result from any settlement of a claim by an Indemnitee or its affiliates, officers, directors, trustees, employees, advisors, agents or controlling Persons without the consent of Holdings and the Borrowers (not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed). All amounts due under this Section 10.5 shall be payable promptly after receipt of a reasonably detailed invoice therefor. Statements payable by the Borrowers pursuant to this Section 10.5 shall be submitted to the Borrowers at the address thereof set forth in Section 10.2, or to such other Person or address as may be hereafter designated by the Borrowers in a written notice to the Administrative Agent. The agreements in this Section 10.5 shall survive repayment of the Obligations.

10.6 Successors and Assigns; Participations and Assignments .

(a) The provisions of this Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns permitted hereby, except that (i) the Borrowers may not assign or otherwise transfer any of its rights or obligations hereunder without the prior written consent of the Administrative Agent and each Lender (and any attempted assignment or transfer by the Borrowers without such consent shall be null and void ab initio ) and (ii) no Lender may assign or otherwise transfer its rights or obligations hereunder except in accordance with this Section 10.6.

 

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(b) (i) Subject to the conditions set forth in paragraph (b)(ii) below, any Lender may assign (other than to any Disqualified Institution or a natural person) to one or more assignees (each, an “ Assignee ”), all or a portion of its rights and obligations under this Agreement (including all or a portion of its Commitments and the Term Loans at the time owing to it) with the prior written consent (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed) of:

(A) the Borrowers; provided that no consent of the Borrowers shall be required for an assignment to a Lender, an Affiliate of a Lender, an Approved Fund (as defined below) or, if an Event of Default under Section 8(a) or (f) has occurred and is continuing, any other Person; provided further ; that the Borrowers shall be deemed to have consented to any such assignment unless it shall object thereto by written notice to the Administrative Agent within ten Business Days after having received notice thereof; and

(B) the Administrative Agent.

Any such assignment by any Lender need not be ratable as among the Term Facilities.

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

(A) except in the case of an assignment to a Lender, an Affiliate of a Lender or an Approved Fund or an assignment of the entire remaining amount of the assigning Lender’s Commitments or Term Loans, the amount of the Commitments or Term Loans of the assigning Lender subject to each such assignment (determined as of (I) the date the Assignment and Assumption with respect to such assignment is delivered to the Administrative Agent or (II) if earlier, the “trade date” (if any) specified in such Assignment and Assumption) shall not be less than $1,000,000, unless the Borrowers and the Administrative Agent otherwise consent; provided that (1) no such consent of the Borrowers shall be required if an Event of Default under Section 8(a) or (f) has occurred and is continuing and (2) such amounts shall be aggregated in respect of each Lender and its Affiliates or Approved Funds, if any;

(B) the parties to each assignment shall execute and deliver to the Administrative Agent an Assignment and Assumption, together with a processing and recordation fee of $3,500 (which shall not be payable by the Borrowers); provided that only one such fee shall be payable in the case of contemporaneous assignments to or by two or more related Approved Funds; and

(C) the Assignee, if it shall not be a Lender, shall deliver to the Administrative Agent an administrative questionnaire.

For the purposes of this Section 10.6, “ Approved Fund ” means any Person (other than a natural person) that is engaged in making, purchasing, holding or investing in bank loans and similar extensions of credit in the ordinary course and that is administered or managed by (a) a Lender, (b) an Affiliate of a Lender or (c) (i) an entity or an Affiliate of an entity that administers or manages a Lender or (ii) an entity or an Affiliate of an entity that is the investment advisor to a Lender.

 

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(iii) Subject to acceptance and recording thereof pursuant to paragraph (b)(iv) below, 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 2.19, 2.20, 2.21 and 10.5). Any assignment or transfer by a Lender of rights or obligations under this Agreement that does not comply with this Section 10.6 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 (c) of this Section 10.6.

(iv) The Administrative Agent, acting for this purpose as an agent of the Borrowers, shall maintain at one of its offices 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 (and interest amounts) of the Term Loans owing to, each Lender pursuant to the terms hereof from time to time (the “ Register ”). Holdings, the Borrowers, the Administrative Agent and the Lenders shall treat each Person whose name is recorded in the Register pursuant to the terms hereof as a Lender hereunder for all purposes of this Agreement (and the entries in the Register shall be conclusive for such purposes), notwithstanding notice to the contrary. The Register is intended to cause each Loan and other obligation hereunder to be in registered form within the meaning of Section 5f.103-1(c) of the United States Treasury Regulations and within the meaning of Sections 163(f), 871(h)(2) and 881(c)(2) of the Code. The Register shall be available for inspection by Holdings, the Borrowers and any Lender, at any reasonable time and from time to time upon reasonable prior notice.

(v) 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 10.6 and any written consent to such assignment required by paragraph (b) of this Section 10.6, 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.

(vi) Notwithstanding the foregoing, any sale or assignment pursuant to this Section 10.6(b) to a Sponsor Affiliate shall be made via an Affiliated Lender Assignment and Assumption, in accordance with this Section 10.6(b) and Section 2.28.

(c) (i) Any Lender may, without the consent of the Borrowers or the Administrative Agent, sell participations (other than to any Disqualified Institution) 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 (including all or a portion of its Commitments and the Term Loans owing to it); provided that (A) such Lender’s obligations under this Agreement shall remain unchanged, (B) such Lender shall remain solely responsible to the other parties hereto for the performance of such obligations, (C) the Borrowers, the Administrative Agent 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 (D) in the case of Participants that comprise the Sponsor or Sponsor Affiliates, such Sponsor or Sponsor Affiliates shall agree to be subject to the requirements and limitations set forth in Sections 2.28(b), 2.28(d) and 10.6(e), to the same extent as if it were a Lender and had acquired its interest by assignment. Any agreement pursuant to which a Lender sells such a participation shall provide that such Lender shall retain the sole right to enforce this Agreement and to approve any amendment, modification or waiver of any provision of this Agreement; provided that such agreement may provide that such Lender will not,

 

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without the consent of the Participant, agree to any amendment, modification or waiver that (1) requires the consent of each Lender directly and adversely affected thereby pursuant to the proviso to the second sentence of Section 10.1 and (2) directly affects such Participant. Subject to paragraph (c)(ii) of this Section 10.6, the Borrowers agrees that each Participant shall be entitled to the benefits of Sections 2.19, 2.20 and 2.21 (subject to the limitations and requirements of such Sections and Sections 2.23 and 2.24) to the same extent as if it were a Lender and had acquired its interest by assignment pursuant to paragraph (b) of this Section 10.6. Notwithstanding the previous sentence, a Participant shall not be entitled to the benefits of Section 2.20 unless the Borrowers and the Administrative Agent are notified of the participation sold to such Participant and such Participant agrees, for the benefit of the Borrowers, to comply with Section 2.20(d), (e) and (f) and be subject to the definition of Excluded Taxes, in each case, as though it were a Lender.

(ii) A Participant shall not be entitled to receive any greater payment under Section 2.19 or 2.20 than the applicable Lender would have been entitled to receive with respect to the participation sold to such Participant. Each Lender that sells a participation shall, acting solely for this purpose as an agent of the Borrowers, maintain a register on which it enters the name and address of each Participant and the principal amounts (and interest amounts) 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 in connection with a Tax audit or other proceeding or is required by the Borrower’s Tax return preparer or auditor 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 and within the meaning of Sections 163(f), 871(h)(2) and 881(c)(2) of the Code. 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.

(d) Any Lender may, without the consent of or notice to the Administrative Agent or the Borrowers, 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 pledge or assignment to secure obligations to a Federal Reserve Bank, and this Section 10.6 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 pledgee or Assignee for such Lender as a party hereto. The Borrowers, upon receipt of written notice from the relevant Lender, agrees to issue Notes to any Lender requiring Notes to facilitate transactions of the type described in this paragraph (d).

(e) Each Sponsor Affiliate, solely in its capacity as a Lender, hereby agrees, and each Affiliated Lender Assignment and Assumption shall provide a confirmation, that, if any Loan Party shall be subject to any voluntary or involuntary proceeding commenced under any Debtor Relief Law now or hereafter in effect (“ Bankruptcy Proceedings ”), (A) such Sponsor Affiliate shall not take any step or action in such Bankruptcy Proceeding to object to, impede, or delay the exercise of any right or the taking of any action by the Administrative Agent (or the taking of any action by a third party that is supported by the Administrative Agent) in relation to such Sponsor Affiliate’s claim with respect to its Term Loans (a “ Claim ”) (including, without limitation, objecting to any debtor in possession financing, use of cash collateral, grant of adequate protection, sale or disposition, compromise, or plan of reorganization) so long as such Sponsor Affiliate is treated in connection with such exercise or action on the same or better terms as the other Lenders and (B) with respect to any matter requiring the vote of the Lenders during the pendency of a Bankruptcy Proceeding (including, without limitation, voting on any plan of reorganization), the Term Loans held by such Sponsor Affiliate (and any Claim with respect

 

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thereto) shall be deemed to be voted by such Sponsor Affiliate in the same proportion as the allocation of voting with respect to such matter by Lenders who are not Sponsor Affiliates, so long as such Sponsor Affiliate is treated in connection with the exercise of such right or taking of such action on the same or better terms as the other Lenders. For the avoidance of doubt, the Lenders and each Sponsor Affiliate agree and acknowledge that the provisions set forth in this Section 10.06(e) constitute a “subordination agreement” as such term is contemplated by, and utilized in, Section 510(a) of the Bankruptcy Code, and, as such, would be enforceable for all purposes in any case where a Loan Party has filed for protection under any Federal, state or foreign bankruptcy, insolvency, receivership or similar law now or hereafter in effect applicable to such Loan Party. Except as expressly provided in this Section 10.06(e), the provisions of this Section 10.6(e) shall not be applicable to any Sponsor Affiliate.

(f) Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Administrative Agent shall have no obligation to determine the compliance with the provisions of Sections 10.6(b)(vi) and 10.6(c)(i)(D) with respect to any assignment to a Sponsor or Sponsor Affiliate (including, without limitation, compliance with the Cap or monitoring the identity of any Sponsor or Sponsor Affiliate) or otherwise monitor the assignments of Loans to the Sponsor or Sponsor Affiliates and shall not be responsible or liable in any way for any assignment made in violation thereof.

10.7 Adjustments; Set-off .

(a) Except to the extent that this Agreement provides for payments to be allocated to a particular Lender or to the Lenders (including without limitation (i) the express provisions of this Agreement which require, or permit, differing payments to be made to non-defaulting Lenders as opposed to Defaulting Lenders, (ii) the express provisions of this Agreement which permit disproportionate payments with respect to various of the Tranches as, and to the extent, provided herein, and (iii) the express provisions of Sections 2.25, 2.26, 2.27, 2.28 or 2.29, which permit disproportionate payments with respect to the Loans as, and to the extent, provided therein), if any Lender (a “ Benefitted Lender ”) shall at any time receive any payment of all or part of the Obligations owing to it other than in connection with Section 10.6, or receive any collateral in respect thereof (whether voluntarily or involuntarily, by setoff, pursuant to events or proceedings of the nature referred to in Section 8(f), or otherwise) in a greater proportion than any such payment to or collateral received by any other Lender, if any, in respect of such other Lender’s Obligations, such Benefitted Lender shall purchase for cash from the other Lenders a participating interest in such portion of each such other Lender’s Obligations, or shall provide such other Lenders with the benefits of any such collateral, as shall be necessary to cause such Benefitted Lender to share the excess payment or benefits of such collateral ratably with each of the Lenders; provided , however , that if all or any portion of such excess payment or benefits is thereafter recovered from such Benefitted Lender, such purchase shall be rescinded, and the purchase price and benefits returned, to the extent of such recovery, but without interest.

(b) In addition to any rights and remedies of the Lenders provided by law, each Lender shall have the right, without prior notice to the Borrowers, any such notice being expressly waived by the Borrowers to the extent permitted by applicable law, upon any amount becoming due and payable by the Borrowers hereunder (whether at the stated maturity, by acceleration or otherwise) after the expiration of any cure or grace periods, to set off and appropriate and apply against such amount any and all deposits (general or special, time or demand, provisional or final but excluding trust accounts, employee benefit accounts, fiduciary or trust purposes, payroll and withholding accounts and the like), in any currency, and any other credits, indebtedness or claims, in any currency, in each case whether direct or indirect, absolute or contingent, matured or unmatured, at any time held or owing by such Lender or any branch or agency thereof to or for the credit or the account of the Borrowers. Each Lender agrees promptly to notify the Borrowers and the Administrative Agent after any such setoff and application made by such Lender; provided that the failure to give such notice shall not affect the validity of such setoff and application.

 

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10.8 Counterparts . This Agreement may be executed by one or more of the parties to this Agreement on any number of separate counterparts, and all of said counterparts taken together shall be deemed to constitute one and the same instrument. Delivery of an executed signature page of this Agreement or Lender Addendum by facsimile transmission shall be effective as delivery of a manually executed counterpart hereof. A set of the copies of this Agreement signed by all the parties shall be lodged with the Borrowers and the Administrative Agent.

10.9 Severability . Any provision of this Agreement that is prohibited or unenforceable in any jurisdiction shall, as to such jurisdiction, be ineffective to the extent of such prohibition or unenforceability without invalidating the remaining provisions hereof, and any such prohibition or unenforceability in any jurisdiction shall not invalidate or render unenforceable such provision in any other jurisdiction.

10.10 Integration . This Agreement and the other Loan Documents represent the entire agreement of Holdings, the Borrowers, the Administrative Agent and the Lenders with respect to the subject matter hereof and thereof.

10.11 GOVERNING LAW . THIS AGREEMENT AND ANY CLAIM, CONTROVERSY OR DISPUTE ARISING UNDER OR RELATED TO THIS AGREEMENT AND THE RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF THE PARTIES UNDER THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY, AND CONSTRUED AND INTERPRETED IN ACCORDANCE WITH, THE LAW OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.

10.12 Submission To Jurisdiction; Waivers . Each of Holdings and the Borrowers hereby irrevocably and unconditionally:

(a) submits for itself and its Property in any legal action or proceeding relating to this Agreement and the other Loan Documents to which it is a party, or for recognition and enforcement of any judgment in respect thereof, to the exclusive general jurisdiction of the courts of the State of New York, the courts of the United States for the Southern District of New York, and appellate courts from any thereof; provided that nothing in this Agreement or in any other Loan Document shall affect any right that the Administrative Agent or any Lender may otherwise have to bring any action or proceeding relating to this Agreement or any other Loan Document against the Borrowers or any other Loan Party or its properties in the courts of any jurisdiction;

(b) consents that any such action or proceeding may be brought in such courts and waives any objection that it may now or hereafter have to the venue of any such action or proceeding in any such court or that such action or proceeding was brought in an inconvenient court and agrees not to plead or claim the same;

(c) agrees that service of process in any such action or proceeding may be effected by mailing a copy thereof by registered or certified mail (or any substantially similar form of mail), postage prepaid, to it at its address set forth in Section 10.2 or at such other address of which the Administrative Agent shall have been notified pursuant thereto;

(d) agrees that nothing herein shall affect the right to effect service of process in any other manner permitted by law or shall limit the right to sue in any other jurisdiction; and

 

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(e) waives, to the maximum extent not prohibited by law, any right it may have to claim or recover in any legal action or proceeding referred to in this Section any special, exemplary, punitive or consequential damages; provided that this clause (e) shall not limit the indemnity obligations set forth in Sections 9.7 or 10.5.

10.13 Acknowledgments . Each of Holdings and the Borrowers hereby acknowledges that:

(a) it has been advised by counsel in the negotiation, execution and delivery of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents;

(b) neither the Administrative Agent nor any Lender has any fiduciary relationship with or duty to either of Holdings or the Borrowers arising out of or in connection with this Agreement or any of the other Loan Documents, and the relationship between the Administrative Agent and Lenders, on one hand, and Holdings and the Borrowers, on the other hand, in connection herewith or therewith is solely that of debtor and creditor; and

(c) no joint venture is created hereby or by the other Loan Documents or otherwise exists by virtue of the transactions contemplated hereby among the Lenders or among Holdings, the Borrowers and the Lenders.

10.14 Confidentiality . The Administrative Agent and the Lenders agree to treat any and all information, regardless of the medium or form of communication, that is disclosed, provided or furnished, directly or indirectly, by or on behalf of Holdings or any of its affiliates, whether in writing, orally, by observation or otherwise and whether furnished before or after the Closing Date (“ Confidential Information ”), strictly confidential and not to use Confidential Information for any purpose other than negotiating, making available, syndicating and administering this Agreement (the “ Agreed Purposes ”). Without limiting the foregoing, the Administrative Agent and each Lender agrees to maintain the confidentiality of all Confidential Information, and the Administrative Agent and each Lender agrees not to disclose Confidential Information, at any time, in any manner whatsoever, directly or indirectly, to any other Person whomsoever, except (1) to its affiliates, directors, officers, employees, counsel, trustees and other representatives (collectively, the “ Representatives ”), to the extent necessary to permit such Representatives to assist in connection with the Agreed Purposes, (2) to prospective Lenders and participants in connection with the syndication (including secondary trading) of the Term Facilities and Commitments and Term Loans hereunder, in each case who are informed of the confidential nature of the information and agree to observe and be bound by standard confidentiality terms, (3) upon the request or demand of any Governmental Authority having jurisdiction over it, (4) in response to any order of any Governmental Authority or as may otherwise be required pursuant to any Requirement of Law, (5) to the extent reasonably required or necessary, in connection with any litigation or similar proceeding relating to the Term Facilities, (6) that has been publicly disclosed other than in breach of this Section 10.14, (7) to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners or any similar organization or any nationally recognized rating agency that requires access to information about a Lender’s investment portfolio in connection with ratings issued with respect to such Lender or (8) to the extent reasonably required or necessary, in connection with the exercise of any remedy under the Loan Documents.

10.15 Release of Collateral and Guarantee Obligations; Subordination of Liens .

(a) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein or in any other Loan Document, (i) upon request of the Borrowers (A) in connection with any Disposition of Property permitted by the Loan Documents, (B) if approved, authorized or ratified in writing by the Required Lenders (or all of the Lenders hereunder, to the extent required by Section 10.1), (C) with respect to

 

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Property owned by a Subsidiary Guarantor upon release of such Subsidiary Guarantor from its obligations under the Guarantee and Collateral Agreement pursuant to clause (ii) below or (D) as otherwise may be expressly provided in the relevant Security Documents or the ABL Intercreditor Agreement, the Administrative Agent shall (without notice to, or vote or consent of, any Lender, or any affiliate of any Lender that is a party to any Specified Hedge Agreement or contingent or indemnification obligations not then due) take such actions as shall be required to release its security interest in any Collateral and (ii) upon the request of the Borrowers in connection with (A) a transaction or designation permitted hereunder that causes any Subsidiary Guarantor to become an Excluded Subsidiary, or (B) if approved, authorized or ratified in writing by the Required Lenders (or all of the Lenders hereunder, to the extent required by Section 10.1), the Administrative Agent shall (without notice to, or vote or consent of, any Lender, or any affiliate of any Lender that is a party to any Specified Hedge Agreement or contingent or indemnification obligations not then due) take such actions as shall be required to release such Subsidiary Guarantor from its obligations under the Loan Documents to which it is a party. Any representation, warranty or covenant contained in any Loan Document relating to any such Property or Person so released (other than Property Disposed of to the Borrowers or any of its Restricted Subsidiaries) shall no longer be deemed to be repeated once such Property is so Disposed of.

(b) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein or any other Loan Document, when all Obligations (other than (x) obligations in respect of any Specified Hedge Agreement and (y) any contingent or indemnification obligations not then due) have been paid in full, all Commitments have terminated or expired, upon request of the Borrowers, the Administrative Agent shall (without notice to, or vote or consent of, any Lender, or any affiliate of any Lender that is a party to any Specified Hedge Agreement) take such actions as shall be required to release its security interest in all Collateral, and to release all Guarantee Obligations under any Loan Document, whether or not on the date of such release there may be outstanding Obligations in respect of Specified Hedge Agreements or contingent or indemnification obligations not then due. Any such release of Guarantee Obligations shall be deemed subject to the provision that such Guarantee Obligations shall be reinstated if after such release any portion of any payment in respect of the Obligations guaranteed thereby shall be rescinded or must otherwise be restored or returned upon the insolvency, bankruptcy, dissolution, liquidation or reorganization of the Borrowers or any Guarantor, or upon or as a result of the appointment of a receiver, intervenor or conservator of, or trustee or similar officer for, the Borrowers or any Guarantor or any substantial part of its property, or otherwise, all as though such payment had not been made.

(c) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein or in any other Loan Document, upon request of the Borrowers in connection with any Liens permitted by the Loan Documents, the Administrative Agent shall (without notice to, or vote or consent of, any Lender) take such actions as shall be required to subordinate the Lien on any Collateral to any Lien permitted under Section 7.3.

10.16 Accounting Changes . In the event that any Accounting Change (as defined below) shall occur and such change results in a change in the method of calculation of the financial covenant, standards or terms in this Agreement, then Holdings and the Administrative Agent agree to enter into negotiations in order to amend such provisions of this Agreement so as to equitably reflect such Accounting Changes with the desired result that the criteria for evaluating Holdings’ financial condition shall be the same after such Accounting Changes as if such Accounting Changes had not been made. Until such time as such an amendment shall have been executed and delivered by Holdings, the Administrative Agent and the Required Lenders, the financial covenant and all standards and terms in this Agreement shall continue to be calculated or construed as if such Accounting Changes had not occurred. “ Accounting Changes ” refers to changes in accounting principles required by the promulgation of any rule, regulation, pronouncement or opinion by the Financial Accounting Standards Board of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants or, if applicable, the SEC.

 

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Notwithstanding any other provision contained herein, any lease that is treated as an operating lease for purposes of GAAP as of the date hereof shall not be treated as Indebtedness and shall continue to be treated as an operating lease (and any future lease, if it were in effect on the date hereof, that would be treated as an operating lease for purposes of GAAP as of the date hereof shall be treated as an operating lease), in each case for purposes of this Agreement, notwithstanding any change in GAAP after the date hereof.

Notwithstanding any other provision contained herein, all terms of an accounting or financial nature used here shall be construed, and all computations of amounts and ratios referred to herein shall be made, without giving effect to Statement of Financial Accounting Standards 141R or ASC 805 (or any other financial accounting standard having a similar result or effect).

10.17 WAIVERS OF JURY TRIAL . EACH OF HOLDINGS, THE BORROWERS, THE ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT AND THE LENDERS HEREBY IRREVOCABLY AND UNCONDITIONALLY WAIVE TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY LEGAL ACTION OR PROCEEDING RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT OR ANY OTHER LOAN DOCUMENT AND FOR ANY COUNTERCLAIM THEREIN.

10.18 USA PATRIOT ACT . Each Lender hereby notifies the Loan Parties that pursuant to the requirements of the USA Patriot Act (Title III of Publ. 107-56 (signed into law October 26, 2001)) (the “ Act ”), it is required to obtain, verify and record information that identifies the Loan Parties, which information includes the name and address of the Borrowers and other information that will allow such Lender to identify the Loan Parties in accordance with the Act. The Borrowers shall, promptly following a request by the Administrative Agent or any Lender, provide all documentation and other information that the Administrative Agent or such Lender requests in order to comply with its ongoing obligations under applicable “know your customer” and anti-money laundering rules and regulations, including the Act.

10.19 Delivery of Lender Addenda . Each Lender (other than any Lender whose name appears on the signature pages to this Agreement) shall become a party to this Agreement by delivering to the Administrative Agent a Lender Addendum duly executed by such Lender.

10.20 The Platform . The Borrowers hereby acknowledge that (i) the Administrative Agent will make available to the Lenders materials and/or information provided by or on behalf of the Borrowers hereunder (collectively, “ Borrower Materials ”) by posting the Borrowers Materials on IntraLinks or another similar electronic system (the “ Platform ”) and (ii) certain of the Lenders (each, a “ Public Lender ”) may have personnel who do not wish to receive material non-public information with respect to the Borrowers or their Affiliates, or the respective securities of any of the foregoing, and who may be engaged in investment and other market-related activities with respect to such Persons’ securities. The Borrowers hereby agree that they will use commercially reasonable efforts to identify that portion of the Borrower Materials that may be distributed to the Public Lenders and that (1) all such Borrower Materials shall be clearly and conspicuously marked “PUBLIC” which, at a minimum, shall mean that the word “PUBLIC” shall appear prominently on the first page thereof; (2) by marking Borrower Materials “PUBLIC,” the Borrowers shall be deemed to have authorized the Administrative Agent and the Lenders to treat such Borrower Materials as not containing any material non-public information (although it may be sensitive and proprietary) with respect to the Borrowers or their securities for purposes of United States federal and state securities laws; (3) all Borrower Materials marked “PUBLIC” are permitted to be made available through a portion of the Platform designated “Public Side Information”; and (4) the Administrative Agent shall be entitled to treat any Borrower Materials that are not marked “PUBLIC” as being suitable only for posting on a portion of the Platform not designated “Public Side Information.”

 

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THE PLATFORM IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE.” THE AGENT PARTIES (AS DEFINED BELOW) DO NOT WARRANT THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE BORROWER MATERIALS OR THE ADEQUACY OF THE PLATFORM, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM LIABILITY FOR ERRORS IN OR OMISSIONS FROM THE BORROWER MATERIALS. NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTY RIGHTS OR FREEDOM FROM VIRUSES OR OTHER CODE DEFECTS, IS MADE BY ANY AGENT PARTY IN CONNECTION WITH THE BORROWER MATERIALS OR THE PLATFORM. In no event shall the Administrative Agent or any of its Affiliates and the partners, directors, officers, employees, agents, trustees and advisors of such Person and of such Person’s Affiliates (collectively, the “ Agent Parties ”) have any liability to the Borrowers, any Lender or any other Person for losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses of any kind (whether in tort, contract or otherwise) arising out of the Borrowers’ or the Administrative Agent’s transmission of materials and/or information provided by or on behalf of the Borrowers under the Loan Documents through the Internet, except to the extent that such losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses are determined by a court of competent jurisdiction by a final and nonappealable judgment to have resulted from the gross negligence, willful misconduct or bad faith of such Agent Party; provided , however , that in no event shall any Agent Party have any liability to the Borrowers, any Lender or any other Person for indirect, special, incidental, consequential or punitive damages (as opposed to direct or actual damages).

10.21 ABL Intercreditor Agreement . Each Lender hereunder (on behalf of itself and its Affiliates): (a) consents to the subordination of Liens provided for in the ABL Intercreditor Agreement, (b) agrees that it will be bound by and will take no actions contrary to the provisions of the ABL Intercreditor Agreement and (c) authorizes and instructs the Administrative Agent to enter into the ABL Intercreditor Agreement as the Term Agent (as defined in the ABL Intercreditor Agreement) on behalf of such Lender. The foregoing provisions are intended as an inducement to the ABL Secured Parties (as defined in the ABL Intercreditor Agreement) to enter into the arrangements contemplated by the ABL Collateral Documents (as defined in the ABL Intercreditor Agreement) and the ABL Secured Parties are intended third party beneficiaries of such provisions and the provisions of the ABL Intercreditor Agreement. Any reference in this Agreement to “first priority lien” or words of similar effect in describing the security interests created under the Loan Documents shall be understood to refer to such priority subject to the ABL Intercreditor Agreement. In the event of any conflict between this Agreement (or any other Loan Document) and the ABL Intercreditor Agreement, the provisions of the ABL Intercreditor Agreement shall govern and control.

10.22 Joint and Several Liability . Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, each Borrower shall be jointly and severally, directly and unconditionally, liable for all Obligations, it being understood that the Loans to each Borrower inure to the benefit of the Borrowers, and that the Administrative Agent and the Lenders are relying on the joint and several liability of the Borrowers as co-makers in extending the Loans hereunder. Each Borrower hereby unconditionally and irrevocably agrees that upon default in the payment when due (whether at stated maturity, by acceleration or otherwise) of any principal of, or interest on, any Obligation, it will forthwith pay the same, without notice or demand, unless such payment is then prohibited by applicable law. No payment or payments made by any Borrower or any other Person or received or collected by the Administrative Agent or any Lender from any Borrower or any Person by virtue of any action or proceeding or any setoff or appropriation or application at any time or from time to time in reduction of or in payment of the Obligations shall be deemed to modify, reduce, release or otherwise affect the liability of each Borrower under this Agreement for the remaining Obligations, which shall remain liable for all remaining and thereafter arising Obligations until the Obligations are paid in full (other than contingent indemnification obligations not then due).

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be duly executed and delivered by their proper and duly authorized officers as of the day and year first above written.

 

VINCE HOLDING CORP.
By:  

/s/ Lisa Klinger

Name:   Lisa Klinger
Title:   Chief Financial Officer and
  Treasurer
VINCE INTERMEDIATE HOLDING, LLC
By:  

/s/ Lisa Klinger

Name:   Lisa Klinger
Title:   Chief Financial Officer and
  Treasurer
VINCE, LLC
By:  

/s/ Lisa Klinger

Name:   Lisa Klinger
Title:   Chief Financial Officer and
  Treasurer


BANK OF AMERICA, N.A.,

as Administrative Agent

By:  

/s/ Denise Jones

Name:   Denise Jones
Title:   Assistant Vice President


BANK OF AMERICA, N.A.,

as Lender

By:  

/s/ David H. Strickert

Name:   David H. Strickert
Title:   Managing Director

Exhibit 10.6

INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT

THIS INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT (this “ Agreement ”) is made and entered into as of [            ] between Vince Holding Corp., a Delaware corporation (the “ Company ”), and [            ] (“ Indemnitee ”).

WHEREAS, highly competent persons have become more reluctant to serve corporations as directors or officers or in other capacities unless they are provided with adequate protection through insurance or adequate indemnification against inordinate risks of claims and actions against them arising out of their service to and activities on behalf of the corporation;

WHEREAS, the uncertainties relating to such insurance and to indemnification have increased the difficulty of attracting and retaining such persons;

WHEREAS, the Board of Directors of the Company (the “ Board ”) has determined that the increased difficulty in attracting and retaining such persons is detrimental to the best interests of the Company’s stockholders and that the Company should act to assure such persons that there will be increased certainty of such protection in the future;

WHEREAS, it is reasonable, prudent and necessary for the Company contractually to obligate itself to indemnify, and to advance expenses on behalf of, such persons to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law so that they will serve or continue to serve the Company free from undue concern that they will not be so indemnified;

WHEREAS, this Agreement is a supplement to and in furtherance of the bylaws of the Company (the “ Bylaws ”) and any resolutions adopted pursuant thereto, and shall not be deemed a substitute therefor, nor to diminish or abrogate any rights of Indemnitee thereunder;

WHEREAS, Indemnitee may not be willing to serve as an officer or director without adequate protection, and the Company desires Indemnitee to serve in such capacity; Indemnitee is willing to serve, continue to serve and to take on additional service for or on behalf of the Company on the condition that he be so indemnified as herein provided; and

WHEREAS, Indemnitee has certain rights to indemnification, advancement of expenses and/or insurance provided by Sun Capital Partners, Inc. (“ Sun Capital ”) or affiliates of Sun Capital which Indemnitee and Sun Capital intend to be secondary to the primary obligation of the Company to indemnify Indemnitee and advance expenses as provided herein, with the Company’s acknowledgement and agreement to the foregoing being a material condition to Indemnitee’s willingness to serve on the Board.

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of Indemnitee’s agreement to serve as a director or officer from and after the date hereof, the parties hereto agree as follows:

1. Indemnity of Indemnitee . The Company hereby agrees to hold harmless and indemnify Indemnitee to the fullest extent permitted by law, as such may be amended from time to time. In furtherance of the foregoing indemnification, and without limiting the generality thereof:

(a) Proceedings other than Proceedings by or in the Right of the Company . Indemnitee shall be entitled to the rights of indemnification provided in this Section l(a) if, by reason of his Corporate Status (as hereinafter defined), Indemnitee is, or is


threatened to be made, a party to or participant in any Proceeding (as hereinafter defined) other than a Proceeding by or in the right of the Company. Pursuant to this Section 1(a) , Indemnitee shall be indemnified against all Expenses (as hereinafter defined), judgments, penalties, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by his, or on his behalf, in connection with such Proceeding or any claim, issue or matter therein, if Indemnitee acted in good faith and in a manner Indemnitee reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Company, and with respect to any criminal Proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe Indemnitee’s conduct was unlawful.

(b) Proceedings by or in the Right of the Company . Indemnitee shall be entitled to the rights of indemnification provided in this Section 1(b) if, by reason of his Corporate Status, Indemnitee is, or is threatened to be made, a party to or participant in any Proceeding brought by or in the right of the Company. Pursuant to this Section 1(b) , Indemnitee shall be indemnified against all Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by Indemnitee, or on Indemnitee’s behalf, in connection with such Proceeding if Indemnitee acted in good faith and in a manner Indemnitee reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Company; provided , however , if applicable law so provides, no indemnification against such Expenses shall be made in respect of any claim, issue or matter in such Proceeding as to which Indemnitee shall have been adjudged to be liable to the Company unless and to the extent that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware shall determine that such indemnification may be made.

(c) Indemnification for Expenses of a Party Who is Wholly or Partly Successful . Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, to the extent that Indemnitee is, by reason of his Corporate Status, a party to and is successful, on the merits or otherwise, in any Proceeding, he shall be indemnified to the maximum extent permitted by law, as such may be amended from time to time, against all Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by his or on his behalf in connection therewith. If Indemnitee is not wholly successful in such Proceeding but is successful, on the merits or otherwise, as to one or more but less than all claims, issues or matters in such Proceeding, the Company shall indemnify Indemnitee against all Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by his or on his behalf in connection with each successfully resolved claim, issue or matter. For purposes of this Section 1(c) and without limitation, the termination of any claim, issue or matter in such a Proceeding by dismissal, with or without prejudice, shall be deemed to be a successful result as to such claim, issue or matter.

2. Additional Indemnity . In addition to, and without regard to any limitations on, the indemnification provided for in Section 1 of this Agreement, the Company shall and hereby does indemnify and hold harmless Indemnitee against all Expenses, judgments, penalties, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by his or on his behalf if, by reason of his Corporate Status, he is, or is threatened to be made, a party to or participant in any Proceeding (including a Proceeding by or in the right of the Company), including, without limitation, all liability arising out of the negligence or active or passive wrongdoing of Indemnitee. The only limitation that shall exist upon the Company’s obligations pursuant to this Agreement shall be that the Company shall not be obligated to make any payment to Indemnitee that is finally determined (under the procedures, and subject to the presumptions, set forth in Sections 6 and 7 hereof) to be unlawful.

 

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3. Contribution .

(a) Whether or not the indemnification provided in Sections 1 and 2 hereof is available, in respect of any threatened, pending or completed Proceeding in which the Company is jointly liable with Indemnitee (or would be if joined in such Proceeding), the Company shall pay, in the first instance, the entire amount of any judgment or settlement of such Proceeding without requiring Indemnitee to contribute to such payment and the Company hereby waives and relinquishes any right of contribution it may have against Indemnitee. The Company shall not, without the Indemnitee’s prior written consent, enter into any such settlement of any Proceeding (in whole or in part) unless such settlement (i) provides for a full and final release of all claims asserted against Indemnitee and (ii) does not impose any Expense, judgment, fine, penalty or limitation on Indemnitee.

(b) Without diminishing or impairing the obligations of the Company set forth in the preceding subparagraph, if, for any reason, Indemnitee shall elect or be required to pay all or any portion of any judgment or settlement in any threatened, pending or completed Proceeding in which the Company is jointly liable with Indemnitee (or would be if joined in such Proceeding), the Company shall contribute to the amount of Expenses, judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred and paid or payable by Indemnitee in proportion to the relative benefits received by the Company and all officers, directors or employees of the Company, other than Indemnitee, who are jointly liable with Indemnitee (or would be if joined in such Proceeding), on the one hand, and Indemnitee, on the other hand, from the transaction from which such Proceeding arose; provided , however , that the proportion determined on the basis of relative benefit may, to the extent necessary to conform to law, be further adjusted by reference to the relative fault of the Company and all officers, directors or employees of the Company other than Indemnitee who are jointly liable with Indemnitee (or would be if joined in such Proceeding), on the one hand, and Indemnitee, on the other hand, in connection with the events that resulted in such expenses, judgments, fines or settlement amounts, as well as any other equitable considerations which the law may require to be considered. The relative fault of the Company and all officers, directors or employees of the Company, other than Indemnitee, who are jointly liable with Indemnitee (or would be if joined in such Proceeding), on the one hand, and Indemnitee, on the other hand, shall be determined by reference to, among other things, the degree to which their actions were motivated by intent to gain personal profit or advantage, the degree to which their liability is primary or secondary and the degree to which their conduct is active or passive.

(c) The Company hereby agrees to fully indemnify and hold Indemnitee harmless from any claims of contribution which may be brought by officers, directors or employees of the Company, other than Indemnitee, who may be jointly liable with Indemnitee.

(d) To the fullest extent permissible under applicable law, if the indemnification provided for in this Agreement is unavailable to Indemnitee for any reason whatsoever, the Company, in lieu of indemnifying Indemnitee, shall contribute to the amount

 

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incurred by Indemnitee, whether for judgments, fines, penalties, excise taxes, amounts paid or to be paid in settlement and/or for Expenses, in connection with any claim relating to an indemnifiable event under this Agreement, in such proportion as is deemed fair and reasonable in light of all of the circumstances of such Proceeding in order to reflect (i) the relative benefits received by the Company and Indemnitee as a result of the event(s) and/or transaction(s) giving cause to such Proceeding, and/or (ii) the relative fault of the Company (and its directors, officers, employees and agents) and Indemnitee in connection with such event(s) and/or transaction(s).

4. Indemnification for Expenses of a Witness . Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, to the extent that Indemnitee is, by reason of his Corporate Status, a witness, or is made (or asked to) respond to discovery requests, in any Proceeding to which Indemnitee is not a party, he shall be indemnified against all Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by his or on his behalf in connection therewith.

5. Advancement of Expenses . Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the Company shall advance all Expenses incurred by or on behalf of Indemnitee in connection with any Proceeding by reason of Indemnitee’s Corporate Status within thirty (30) days after the receipt by the Company of a statement or statements from Indemnitee requesting such advance or advances from time to time, whether prior to or after final disposition of such Proceeding. Such statement or statements shall reasonably evidence the Expenses incurred by Indemnitee and shall include or be preceded or accompanied by a written undertaking by or on behalf of Indemnitee to repay any Expenses advanced if it shall ultimately be determined that Indemnitee is not entitled to be indemnified against such Expenses. Any advances and undertakings to repay pursuant to this Section 5 shall be unsecured and interest free.

6. Procedures and Presumptions for Determination of Entitlement to Indemnification . It is the intent of this Agreement to secure for Indemnitee rights of indemnity that are as favorable as may be permitted under the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (“ DGCL ”) and public policy of the State of Delaware. Accordingly, the parties agree that the following procedures and presumptions shall apply in the event of any question as to whether Indemnitee is entitled to indemnification under this Agreement:

(a) To obtain indemnification under this Agreement, Indemnitee shall submit to the Company a written request, including therein or therewith such documentation and information as is reasonably available to Indemnitee and is reasonably necessary to determine whether and to what extent Indemnitee is entitled to indemnification. The Secretary of the Company shall, promptly upon receipt of such a request for indemnification, advise the Board in writing that Indemnitee has requested indemnification. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any failure of Indemnitee to provide such a request to the Company, or to provide such a request in a timely fashion, shall not relieve the Company of any liability that it may have to Indemnitee unless, and to the extent that, such failure actually and materially prejudices the interests of the Company.

(b) Upon written request by Indemnitee for indemnification pursuant to the first sentence of Section 6(a) hereof, a determination with respect to Indemnitee’s entitlement thereto shall be made in the specific case by one of the following four methods, which shall be at the election of the Board: (1) by a majority vote of the Disinterested Directors

 

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(as hereinafter defined), even though less than a quorum, (2) by a committee of Disinterested Directors designated by a majority vote of the Disinterested Directors, even though less than a quorum, (3) if there are no Disinterested Directors, or if the Disinterested Directors so direct, by Independent Counsel in a written opinion to the Board, a copy of which shall be delivered to Indemnitee, or (4) if so directed by the Board, by the stockholders of the Company; provided , however , that if a Change in Control has occurred, the determination with respect to Indemnitee’s entitlement to indemnification shall be made by Independent Counsel. For purposes hereof, Disinterested Directors are those members of the Board who are not parties to the Proceeding in respect of which indemnification is sought by Indemnitee.

(c) In the event the determination of entitlement to indemnification is to be made by Independent Counsel, the Independent Counsel shall be selected as provided in this Section 6(c) . If a Change in Control has not occurred, the Independent Counsel shall be selected by the Board (including a vote of a majority of the Disinterested Directors if obtainable), and the Company shall give written notice to the Indemnitee advising his of the identity of the Independent Counsel so selected. Indemnitee may, within 10 days after such written notice of selection shall have been given, deliver to the Company a written objection to such selection; provided , however , that such objection may be asserted only on the ground that the Independent Counsel so selected does not meet the requirements of “Independent Counsel” as defined in Section 13 of this Agreement, and the objection shall set forth with particularity the factual basis of such assertion. Absent a proper and timely objection, the Person so selected shall act as Independent Counsel. If a written objection is made and substantiated, the Independent Counsel selected may not serve as Independent Counsel unless and until such objection is withdrawn or a court has determined that such objection is without merit. If a Change in Control has occurred, the Independent Counsel shall be selected by the Indemnitee (unless the Indemnitee shall request that such selection be made by the Board, in which event the preceding sentence shall apply), and approved by the Board (which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld). If (i) an Independent Counsel is to make the determination of entitlement pursuant to this Section 6 , and (ii) within 20 days after submission by Indemnitee of a written request for indemnification pursuant to Section 6(a) hereof, no Independent Counsel shall have been selected and not objected to, either the Company or Indemnitee may petition the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware or other court of competent jurisdiction for resolution of any objection which shall have been made by Indemnitee to the Company’s selection of Independent Counsel and/or for the appointment as Independent Counsel of a Person selected by the court or by such other Person as the court shall designate, and the Person with respect to whom all objections are so resolved or the Person so appointed shall act as Independent Counsel under Section 6(b) hereof. The Company shall pay any and all reasonable fees and expenses of Independent Counsel incurred by such Independent Counsel in connection with acting pursuant to Section 6(b) hereof, and the Company shall pay all reasonable fees and expenses incident to the procedures of this Section 6(c) , regardless of the manner in which such Independent Counsel was selected or appointed.

(d) In making a determination with respect to entitlement to indemnification hereunder, the Person making such determination shall presume that Indemnitee is entitled to indemnification under this Agreement. Anyone seeking to overcome this presumption shall have the burden of proof and the burden of persuasion by clear and convincing evidence. Neither the failure of the Company (including by its directors or independent legal

 

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counsel) to have made a determination prior to the commencement of any action pursuant to this Agreement that indemnification is proper in the circumstances because Indemnitee has met the applicable standard of conduct, nor an actual determination by the Company (including by its directors or independent legal counsel) that Indemnitee has not met such applicable standard of conduct, shall be a defense to the action or create a presumption that Indemnitee has not met the applicable standard of conduct.

(e) Indemnitee shall be deemed to have acted in good faith if Indemnitee’s action is based on the records or books of account of the Enterprise (as hereinafter defined), including financial statements, or on information supplied to Indemnitee by the officers of the Enterprise in the course of their duties, or on the advice of legal counsel for the Enterprise or on information or records given or reports made to the Enterprise by an independent certified public accountant or by an appraiser or other expert selected with reasonable care by the Enterprise. In addition, the knowledge and/or actions, or failure to act, of any director, officer, agent or employee of the Enterprise shall not be imputed to Indemnitee for purposes of determining the right to indemnification under this Agreement. Whether or not the foregoing provisions of this Section 6(e) are satisfied, it shall in any event be presumed that Indemnitee has at all times acted in good faith and in a manner he reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Company. Anyone seeking to overcome this presumption shall have the burden of proof and the burden of persuasion by clear and convincing evidence.

(f) If the Person empowered or selected under this Section 6 to determine whether Indemnitee is entitled to indemnification shall not have made a determination within sixty (60) days after receipt by the Company of the request therefor, the requisite determination of entitlement to indemnification shall be deemed to have been made and Indemnitee shall be entitled to such indemnification absent (i) a misstatement by Indemnitee of a material fact, or an omission of a material fact necessary to make Indemnitee’s statement not materially misleading, in connection with the request for indemnification, or (ii) a prohibition of such indemnification under applicable law; provided , however , that such 60-day period may be extended for a reasonable time, not to exceed an additional thirty (30) days, if the Person making such determination with respect to entitlement to indemnification in good faith requires such additional time to obtain or evaluate documentation and/or information relating thereto; and provided , further , that the foregoing provisions of this Section 6(f) shall not apply if the determination of entitlement to indemnification is to be made by the stockholders pursuant to Section 6(b) of this Agreement and if (A) within fifteen (15) days after receipt by the Company of the request for such determination, the Board or the Disinterested Directors, if appropriate, resolve to submit such determination to the stockholders for their consideration at an annual meeting thereof to be held within seventy-five (75) days after such receipt and such determination is made thereat, or (B) a special meeting of stockholders is called within fifteen (15) days after such receipt for the purpose of making such determination, such meeting is held for such purpose within sixty (60) days after having been so called and such determination is made thereat.

(g) Indemnitee shall cooperate with the Person making such determination with respect to Indemnitee’s entitlement to indemnification, including providing to such Person upon reasonable advance request any documentation or information which is not privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure and which is reasonably available to

 

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Indemnitee and reasonably necessary to such determination. Any Independent Counsel, member of the Board or stockholder of the Company shall act reasonably and in good faith in making a determination regarding Indemnitee’s entitlement to indemnification under this Agreement. Any costs or expenses (including attorneys’ fees and disbursements) incurred by Indemnitee in so cooperating with the Person making such determination shall be borne by the Company (irrespective of the determination as to Indemnitee’s entitlement to indemnification) and the Company hereby indemnifies and agrees to hold Indemnitee harmless therefrom.

(h) The Company acknowledges that a settlement or other disposition short of final judgment may be successful if it permits a party to avoid expense, delay, distraction, disruption and uncertainty. In the event that any Proceeding to which Indemnitee is a party is resolved in any manner other than by adverse judgment against Indemnitee (including, without limitation, settlement of such action, claim or proceeding with or without payment of money or other consideration) it shall be presumed that Indemnitee has been successful on the merits or otherwise in such Proceeding. Anyone seeking to overcome this presumption shall have the burden of proof and the burden of persuasion by clear and convincing evidence.

(i) The termination of any Proceeding or of any claim, issue or matter therein, by judgment, order, settlement or conviction, or upon a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent, shall not (except as otherwise expressly provided in this Agreement) of itself adversely affect the right of Indemnitee to indemnification or create a presumption that Indemnitee did not act in good faith and in a manner which he reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Company or, with respect to any criminal Proceeding, that Indemnitee had reasonable cause to believe that his conduct was unlawful.

7. Remedies of Indemnitee .

(a) In the event that (i) a determination is made pursuant to Section 6 of this Agreement that Indemnitee is not entitled to indemnification under this Agreement, (ii) advancement of Expenses is not timely made pursuant to Section 5 of this Agreement, (iii) no determination of entitlement to indemnification is made pursuant to Section 6(b) of this Agreement within ninety (90) days after receipt by the Company of the request for indemnification, (iv) payment of indemnification is not made pursuant to this Agreement within ten (10) days after receipt by the Company of a written request therefor or (v) payment of indemnification is not made within ten (10) days after a determination has been made that Indemnitee is entitled to indemnification or such determination is deemed to have been made pursuant to Section 6 of this Agreement, Indemnitee shall be entitled to an adjudication in an appropriate court of the State of Delaware, or in any other court of competent jurisdiction, of Indemnitee’s entitlement to such indemnification, contribution or advancement of Expenses. Alternatively, Indemnitee, at his option, may seek an award in arbitration to be conducted by a single arbitrator pursuant to the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association. Except as set forth herein, the provisions of Delaware law (without regard to its conflict-of-law rules) shall apply to any such arbitration. The Company shall not oppose Indemnitee’s right to seek any such adjudication or award in arbitration.

 

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(b) In the event that a determination shall have been made pursuant to Section 6(b) of this Agreement that Indemnitee is not entitled to indemnification, any judicial Proceeding commenced pursuant to this Section 7 shall be conducted in all respects as a de novo trial, or arbitration, on the merits, and Indemnitee shall not be prejudiced by reason of the adverse determination under Section 6(b) . In any judicial Proceeding commenced pursuant to this Section 7 , Indemnitee shall be presumed to be entitled to indemnification under this Agreement and the Company shall have the burden of proving Indemnitee is not entitled to indemnification or advancement of Expenses, as the case may be, and the Company may not refer to or introduce into evidence any determination pursuant to Section 6(b) of this Agreement adverse to Indemnitee for any purpose. If Indemnitee commences a judicial Proceeding pursuant to this Section 7 , Indemnitee shall not be required to reimburse the Company for any advances pursuant to Section 5 until a final determination is made with respect to Indemnitee’s entitlement to indemnification (as to which all rights of appeal have been exhausted or lapsed).

(c) If a determination shall have been made pursuant to Section 6(b) of this Agreement that Indemnitee is entitled to indemnification, the Company shall be bound by such determination in any judicial Proceeding commenced pursuant to this Section 7 , absent (i) a misstatement by Indemnitee of a material fact, or an omission of a material fact necessary to make Indemnitee’s misstatement not materially misleading in connection with the application for indemnification, or (ii) a prohibition of such indemnification under applicable law.

(d) In the event that Indemnitee, pursuant to this Section 7 , seeks a judicial adjudication of his rights under, or to recover damages for breach of, this Agreement, or to recover under any directors’ and officers’ liability insurance policies maintained by the Company, the Company shall pay on his behalf, in advance, any and all expenses (of the types described in the definition of Expenses in Section 13 of this Agreement) actually and reasonably incurred by his in such judicial adjudication, regardless of whether Indemnitee ultimately is determined to be entitled to such indemnification, advancement of expenses or insurance recovery.

(e) The Company shall be precluded from asserting in any judicial Proceeding commenced pursuant to this Section 7 that the procedures and presumptions of this Agreement are not valid, binding and enforceable and shall stipulate in any such court that the Company is bound by all the provisions of this Agreement. The Company shall indemnify Indemnitee against any and all Expenses and, if requested by Indemnitee, shall (within ten (10) days after receipt by the Company of a written request therefore) advance, to the extent not prohibited by law, such expenses to Indemnitee, which are incurred by Indemnitee in connection with any action brought by Indemnitee for indemnification or advance of Expenses from the Company under this Agreement or under any directors’ and officers’ liability insurance policies maintained by the Company, regardless of whether Indemnitee ultimately is determined to be entitled to such indemnification, advancement of Expenses or insurance recovery, as the case may be.

(f) Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, no determination as to entitlement to indemnification under this Agreement shall be required to be made prior to the final disposition of the Proceeding.

 

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8. Non-Exclusivity; Survival of Rights; Insurance; Primacy of Indemnification; Subrogation .

(a) The rights of indemnification and to receive advancement of expenses as provided by this Agreement shall not be deemed exclusive of any other rights to which Indemnitee may at any time be entitled under applicable law, the certificate of incorporation of the Company (the “ Charter ”), the Bylaws, any agreement, a vote of stockholders, a resolution of directors or otherwise, of the Company. No amendment, alteration or repeal of this Agreement or of any provision hereof shall limit or restrict any right of Indemnitee under this Agreement in respect of any action taken or omitted by such Indemnitee in his Corporate Status prior to such amendment, alteration or repeal. To the extent that a change in the DGCL, whether by statute or judicial decision, permits greater indemnification than would be afforded currently under the Charter, Bylaws and this Agreement, it is the intent of the parties hereto that Indemnitee shall enjoy by this Agreement the greater benefits so afforded by such change. No right or remedy herein conferred is intended to be exclusive of any other right or remedy, and every other right and remedy shall be cumulative and in addition to every other right and remedy given hereunder or now or hereafter existing at law or in equity or otherwise. The assertion or employment of any right or remedy hereunder, or otherwise, shall not prevent the concurrent assertion or employment of any other right or remedy.

(b) The Company shall obtain and maintain in effect during the entire period for which the Company is obligated to indemnify Indemnitee under this Agreement, one or more policies of insurance with reputable insurance companies to provide the directors and officers of the Company with coverage for losses from wrongful acts and omissions and to ensure the Company’s performance of its indemnification obligations under this Agreement. Indemnitee shall be covered by such policy or policies in accordance with its or their terms to the maximum extent of the coverage available for any such officer or director under such policy or policies. In all such insurance policies, Indemnitee shall be named as an insured in such a manner as to provide Indemnitee with the same rights and benefits as are accorded to the most favorably insured of the Company’s directors and officers. At the time of the receipt of a notice of a claim pursuant to the terms hereof, the Company shall give prompt notice of the commencement of such Proceeding to the insurers in accordance with the procedures set forth in the respective policies. The Company shall thereafter take all necessary or desirable action to cause such insurers to pay, on behalf of Indemnitee, all amounts payable as a result of such Proceeding in accordance with the terms of such policies.

(c) The Company hereby acknowledges that Indemnitee has certain rights to indemnification, advancement of expenses and/or insurance provided by Sun Capital and certain affiliates that, directly or indirectly, (i) are controlled by, (ii) control or (iii) are under common control with, Sun Capital (collectively, the “ Fund Indemnitors ”). The Company hereby agrees (i) that it is the indemnitor of first resort (i.e., its obligations to Indemnitee are primary and any obligation of the Fund Indemnitors to advance expenses or to provide indemnification for the same expenses or liabilities incurred by Indemnitee are secondary), (ii) that it shall be required to advance the full amount of expenses incurred by Indemnitee and shall be liable for the full amount of all Expenses, judgments, penalties, fines and amounts paid in settlement to the extent legally permitted and as required by the terms of this Agreement and the Charter or Bylaws of the Company (or any other agreement between the Company and Indemnitee), without regard to any rights Indemnitee may have against the Fund Indemnitors, and (iii) that it irrevocably waives, relinquishes and releases the Fund Indemnitors from any and all claims against the Fund Indemnitors for contribution, subrogation or any other recovery of any kind in

 

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respect thereof. The Company further agrees that no advancement or payment by the Fund Indemnitors on behalf of Indemnitee with respect to any claim for which Indemnitee has sought indemnification from the Company shall affect the foregoing and the Fund Indemnitors shall have a right of contribution and/or be subrogated to the extent of such advancement or payment to all of the rights of recovery of Indemnitee against the Company. The Company and Indemnitee agree that the Fund Indemnitors are express third party beneficiaries of the terms of this Section 8(c) .

(d) Except as provided in Section 8(c) above, in the event of any payment under this Agreement, the Company shall be subrogated to the extent of such payment to all of the rights of recovery of Indemnitee (other than against the Fund Indemnitors), who shall execute all papers required and take all action necessary to secure such rights, including execution of such documents as are necessary to enable the Company to bring suit to enforce such rights.

(e) Except as provided in Section 8(c) above, the Company shall not be liable under this Agreement to make any payment of amounts otherwise indemnifiable hereunder if and to the extent that Indemnitee has otherwise actually received such payment under any insurance policy, contract, agreement or otherwise.

(f) Except as provided in Section 8(c) above, the Company’s obligation to indemnify or advance Expenses hereunder to Indemnitee who is or was serving at the request of the Company as a director, officer, employee or agent of any other corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise shall be reduced by any amount Indemnitee has actually received as indemnification or advancement of expenses from such other corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise.

9. Exception to Right of Indemnification . Notwithstanding any provision in this Agreement, the Company shall not be obligated under this Agreement to make any indemnity in connection with any claim made against Indemnitee:

(a) for which payment has actually been made to or on behalf of Indemnitee under any insurance policy or other indemnity provision, except with respect to any excess beyond the amount paid under any insurance policy or other indemnity provision; provided, that the foregoing shall not affect the rights of Indemnitee or the Fund Indemnitors set forth in Section 8(c) above; or

(b) for an accounting of profits made from the purchase and sale (or sale and purchase) by Indemnitee of securities of the Company within the meaning of Section 16(b) of the Exchange Act (as hereinafter defined), or similar provisions of state statutory law or common law; or

(c) for reimbursement to the Company of any bonus or other incentive-based or equity-based compensation or of any profits realized by Indemnitee from the sale of securities of the Company in each case as required under the Exchange Act; or

 

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(d) in connection with any Proceeding (or any part of any Proceeding) initiated by Indemnitee, including any Proceeding (or any part of any Proceeding) initiated by Indemnitee against the Company or its directors, officers, employees or other indemnitees, unless (i) the Company has joined in or the Board authorized the Proceeding (or any part of any Proceeding) prior to its initiation, (ii) the Company provides the indemnification, in its sole discretion, pursuant to the powers vested in the Company under applicable law, or (iii) the Proceeding is one to enforce Indemnitee’s rights under this Agreement.

10. Non–Disclosure of Payments . Except as expressly required by the securities laws of the United States of America, neither party shall disclose any payments under this Agreement unless prior approval of the other party is obtained. If any payment information must be disclosed, the Company shall afford the Indemnitee an opportunity to review all such disclosures and, if requested, to explain in such statement any mitigating circumstances regarding the events to be reported.

11. Duration of Agreement . All agreements and obligations of the Company contained herein shall continue upon the later of (i) ten (10) years after the date that Indemnitee shall have ceased to serve as a director or officer of the Company or a director, officer, trustee, partner, managing member, fiduciary, employee or agent of any other corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise which Indemnitee served at the request of the Company, and (ii) one (1) year after the final termination of any Proceeding (including any rights of appeal thereto) in respect of which Indemnitee is granted rights of indemnification or advancement of Expenses hereunder and of any Proceeding commenced by Indemnitee pursuant to Section 7 of this Agreement relating thereto (including any rights of appeal of any Section 7 Proceeding. This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of and be enforceable by the parties hereto and their respective successors (including any direct or indirect successor by purchase, merger, consolidation or otherwise to all or substantially all of the business or assets of the Company), assigns, spouses, heirs, executors and personal and legal representatives.

12. Security . To the extent requested by Indemnitee and approved by the Board, the Company may at any time and from time to time provide security to Indemnitee for the Company’s obligations hereunder through an irrevocable bank line of credit, funded trust or other collateral; provided , that such approval shall not be unreasonably withheld. Any such security, once provided to Indemnitee, may not be revoked or released without the prior written consent of Indemnitee.

13. Definitions . For purposes of this Agreement:

(a) “ Beneficial Owner ” shall have the meaning given to such term in Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act; provided , however , that Beneficial Owner shall exclude any Person otherwise becoming a Beneficial Owner by reason of the stockholders of the Company approving a merger of the Company with another entity.

(b) “ Change in Control ” shall be deemed to occur upon the earliest to occur after the date of this Agreement of any of the following events:

(i) Acquisition of Stock by Third Party . Any Person (as defined below), other than Sun Capital and its affiliates and other than a trustee or other fiduciary holding securities under an employee benefit plan of the Company or a corporation owned directly or indirectly by the stockholders of the Company in

 

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substantially the same proportions as their ownership of stock of the Company, is or becomes the Beneficial Owner (as defined above), directly or indirectly, of securities of the Company representing more than 50% of the combined voting power of the Company’s then outstanding securities;

(ii) Change in Board of Directors . During any period of two (2) consecutive years (not including any period prior to the execution of this Agreement), individuals who at the beginning of such period constitute the Board, and any new director (other than a director designated by a Person who has entered into an agreement with the Company to effect a transaction described in Section 13(b)(i) , 13(b)(iii) or 13(b)(iv) ) whose election by the Board or nomination for election by the Company’s stockholders was approved by a vote of at least two-thirds of the directors then still in office who either were directors at the beginning of the period or whose election or nomination for election was previously so approved, cease for any reason to constitute at least a majority of the members of the Board;

(iii) Corporate Transactions . The effective date of a merger or consolidation of the Company with any other entity, other than a merger or consolidation which would result in the voting securities of the Company outstanding immediately prior to such merger or consolidation continuing to represent (either by remaining outstanding or by being converted into voting securities of the surviving entity) more than 50% of the combined voting power of the voting securities of the surviving entity outstanding immediately after such merger or consolidation and with the power to elect at least a majority of the board of directors or other governing body of such surviving entity; and

(iv) Liquidation. The approval by the stockholders of the Company of a complete liquidation of the Company or an agreement or series of agreements for the sale or disposition by the Company of all or substantially all of the Company’s assets, or, if such approval is not required, the decision by the Board to proceed with such a liquidation, sale, or disposition in one transaction or a series of related transactions.

(c) “ Corporate Status ” describes the status of a person who is or was a director, officer, employee, agent or fiduciary of the Company, any direct or indirect subsidiary of the Company, or of any other corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other Enterprise that such person is or was serving at the express written request of the Company.

 

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(d) “ Disinterested Director ” means a director of the Company who is not and was not a party to the Proceeding in respect of which indemnification is sought by Indemnitee.

(e) “ Enterprise ” shall mean the Company and any other corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise that Indemnitee is or was serving at the request of the Company as a director, officer, employee, agent or fiduciary.

(f) “ Exchange Act ” shall mean the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

(g) “ Expenses ” shall include all reasonable court costs, transcript costs, fees of experts, witness fees, travel expenses, duplicating costs, printing and binding costs, telephone charges, postage, delivery service fees and all other disbursements or expenses of the types customarily incurred in connection with prosecuting, defending, preparing to prosecute or defend, investigating, participating, or being or preparing to be a witness in a Proceeding, or responding to, or objecting to, a request to provide discovery in any Proceeding. In addition, Expenses shall include the fees and expenses of counsel employed by the Indemnitee and any reasonable retainer required in connection with such Proceeding; provided that in no event shall the Company be liable for the fees and expenses of more than one counsel (in addition to any local counsel) for all Indemnitees in connection with any one action or separate but similar or related actions arising out of the same general allegations or circumstances; provided , however , that if any Indemnitee shall have reasonably concluded (based on the advice of counsel) that its representation by counsel for the Indemnitees creates a conflict of interest for such counsel, the Company shall be liable for the fees and expenses of a separate counsel for such Indemnitee. Expenses also shall include Expenses incurred in connection with any appeal resulting from any Proceeding and any federal, state, local or foreign taxes imposed on Indemnitee as a result of the actual or deemed receipt of any payments under this Agreement, including without limitation the premium, security for, and other costs relating to any cost bond, supersede as bond, or other appeal bond or its equivalent. Expenses, however, shall not include amounts paid in settlement by Indemnitee or the amount of judgments or fines against Indemnitee.

(h) “ Independent Counsel ” means a law firm, or a member of a law firm, that is experienced in matters of corporation law and neither presently is, nor in the past five (5) years has been, retained to represent: (i) the Company or Indemnitee in any matter material to either such party (other than with respect to matters concerning Indemnitee under this Agreement, or of other indemnitees under similar indemnification agreements), or (ii) any other party to the Proceeding giving rise to a claim for indemnification hereunder. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the term “Independent Counsel” shall not include any Person who, under the applicable standards of professional conduct then prevailing, would have a conflict of interest in representing either the Company or Indemnitee in an action to determine Indemnitee’s rights under this Agreement. The Company agrees to pay the reasonable fees of the Independent Counsel referred to above and to fully indemnify such counsel against any and all Expenses, claims, liabilities and damages arising out of or relating to this Agreement or its engagement pursuant hereto.

 

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(i) “ Person ” shall have the meaning as set forth in Sections 13(d) and 14(d) of the Exchange Act; provided , however , that Person shall exclude (i) the Company, (ii) any trustee or other fiduciary holding securities under an employee benefit plan of the Company, and (iii) any corporation owned, directly or indirectly, by the stockholders of the Company in substantially the same proportions as their ownership of stock of the Company.

(j) “ Proceeding ” includes any threatened, pending or completed action, suit, arbitration, alternate dispute resolution mechanism, investigation, inquiry, administrative hearing or any other actual, threatened or completed proceeding, whether brought by or in the right of the Company or otherwise and whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, in which Indemnitee was, is or will be involved as a party or otherwise, by reason of the fact that Indemnitee is or was an officer or director of the Company, by reason of any action taken by his or of any inaction on his part while acting as an officer or director of the Company, or by reason of the fact that he is or was serving at the request of the Company as a director, officer, employee, agent or fiduciary of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise; in each case whether or not he is acting or serving in any such capacity at the time any liability or expense is incurred for which indemnification can be provided under this Agreement; including one pending on or before the date of this Agreement, but excluding one initiated by an Indemnitee pursuant to Section 7 of this Agreement to enforce his rights under this Agreement.

14. Severability . If any provision or provisions of this Agreement shall be held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable for any reason whatsoever: (i) the validity, legality, and enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Agreement (including, without limitation, each portion of any Section, paragraph or sentence of this Agreement containing any such provision held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, that is not itself invalid, illegal or unenforceable) shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby and shall remain enforceable to the fullest extent permitted by law; (ii) such provision or provisions shall be deemed reformed to the fullest extent necessary to conform to applicable law and to give the maximum effect to the intent of the parties hereto; and (iii) to the fullest extent possible, the provisions of this Agreement (including, without limitation, each portion of any Section, paragraph or sentence of this Agreement containing any such provision held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, that is not itself invalid, illegal or unenforceable) shall be construed so as to give effect to the intent manifested thereby. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, this Agreement is intended to confer upon Indemnitee indemnification rights to the fullest extent permitted by applicable laws.

15. Enforcement and Binding Effect .

(a) The Company expressly confirms and agrees that it has entered into this Agreement and assumed the obligations imposed on it hereby in order to induce Indemnitee to serve as a director, officer or key employee of the Company, and the Company acknowledges that Indemnitee is relying upon this Agreement in serving as a director, officer or key employee of the Company.

 

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(b) Without limiting any of the rights of Indemnitee under the Charter or Bylaws of the Company as they may be amended from time to time, this Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings, oral, written and implied, between the parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof.

(c) The indemnification and advancement of expenses provided by, or granted pursuant to this Agreement shall be binding upon and be enforceable by the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns (including any direct or indirect successor by purchase, merger, consolidation or otherwise to all or substantially all of the business or assets of the Company), shall continue as to an Indemnitee who has ceased to be a director, officer, employee or agent of the Company or of any other Enterprise at the Company’s request, and shall inure to the benefit of Indemnitee and his spouse, assigns, heirs, devisees, executors and administrators and other legal representatives.

(d) The Company shall require and cause any successor (whether direct or indirect by purchase, merger, consolidation or otherwise) to all, substantially all or a substantial part, of the business and/or assets of the Company to expressly assume and agree to perform this Agreement in the same manner and to the same extent that the Company would be required to perform if no such succession had taken place.

(e) The Company and Indemnitee agree herein that a monetary remedy for breach of this Agreement, at some later date, may be inadequate, impracticable and difficult of proof, and further agree that such breach may cause Indemnitee irreparable harm. Accordingly, the parties hereto agree that Indemnitee may enforce this Agreement by seeking injunctive relief and/or specific performance hereof, without any necessity of showing actual damage or irreparable harm and that by seeking injunctive relief and/or specific performance, Indemnitee shall not be precluded from seeking or obtaining any other relief to which he may be entitled. The Company and Indemnitee further agree that Indemnitee shall be entitled to such specific performance and injunctive relief, including temporary restraining orders, preliminary injunctions and permanent injunctions, without the necessity of posting bonds or other undertaking in connection therewith. The Company acknowledges that in the absence of a waiver, a bond or undertaking may be required of Indemnitee by the court, and the Company hereby waives any such requirement of such a bond or undertaking.

16. Modification and Waiver . No supplement, modification, termination or amendment of this Agreement shall be binding unless executed in writing by both of the parties hereto. No waiver of any of the provisions of this Agreement shall be deemed or shall constitute a waiver of any other provisions hereof (whether or not similar) nor shall such waiver constitute a continuing waiver.

17. Notice By Indemnitee . Indemnitee agrees promptly to notify the Company in writing upon being served with or otherwise receiving any summons, citation, subpoena, complaint, indictment, information or other document relating to any Proceeding or matter which may be subject to indemnification covered hereunder. The failure to so notify the Company shall not relieve the Company of any obligation which it may have to Indemnitee under this Agreement or otherwise.

 

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18. Notices . All notices and other communications given or made pursuant to this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be deemed effectively given: (i) upon personal delivery to the party to be notified, (ii) when sent by confirmed electronic mail or facsimile if sent during normal business hours of the recipient, and if not so confirmed, then on the next business day, (iii) five (5) days after having been sent by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, postage prepaid, or (iv) one (1) day after deposit with a nationally recognized overnight courier, specifying next day delivery, with written verification of receipt. All communications shall be sent:

(a) To Indemnitee at the address set forth below Indemnitee’s signature hereto.

(b) To the Company at:

Vince Holding Corp.

1441 Broadway, 6th Floor

New York, NY 10018

Attention: Jay Dubiner

or to such other address as may have been furnished to Indemnitee by the Company or to the Company by Indemnitee, as the case may be.

19. Counterparts . This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same Agreement. This Agreement may also be executed and delivered by facsimile signature and in two or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument.

20. Headings . The headings of the paragraphs of this Agreement are inserted for convenience only and shall not be deemed to constitute part of this Agreement or to affect the construction thereof.

21. Usage of Pronouns . Use of the masculine pronoun shall be deemed to include usage of the feminine pronoun where appropriate.

22. Governing Law and Consent to Jurisdiction. This Agreement and the legal relations among the parties shall be governed by, and construed and enforced in accordance with, the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. The Company and Indemnitee hereby irrevocably and unconditionally (i) agree that any action or Proceeding arising out of or in connection with this Agreement shall be brought only in the Chancery Court of the State of Delaware (the “ Delaware Court ”), and not in any other state or federal court in the United States of America or any court in any other country, (ii) generally and unconditionally consent to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Delaware Court for purposes of any Proceeding arising out of or in connection with this Agreement, (iii) waive any objection to the laying of venue of any such Proceeding in the Delaware Court, and (iv) waive, and agree not to plead or to make, any claim that any such Proceeding brought in the Delaware Court has been brought in an improper or inconvenient forum. The foregoing consent to

 

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jurisdiction shall not constitute general consent to service of process in the state for any purpose except as provided above, and shall not be deemed to confer rights on any Person other than the parties to this Agreement.

[T HE R EMAINDER OF T HIS P AGE I S I NTENTIONALLY L EFT B LANK .]

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the parties hereto have executed this Agreement on and as of the day and year first written above.

 

VINCE HOLDING CORP.
By:  

 

Name:   Jay L. Dubiner
Title:  

Senior Vice President, Secretary and

General Counsel

INDEMNITEE

 

Name:   [                    ]
Address:  

 

 

 

 

S IGNATURE P AGE TO

I NDEMNIFICATION A GREEMENT

Exhibit 10.7

INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT

THIS INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT (this “ Agreement ”) is made and entered into as of [            ] between Vince Holding Corp., a Delaware corporation (the “ Company ”), and [            ] (“ Indemnitee ”).

WHEREAS, highly competent persons have become more reluctant to serve corporations as directors or officers or in other capacities unless they are provided with adequate protection through insurance or adequate indemnification against inordinate risks of claims and actions against them arising out of their service to and activities on behalf of the corporation;

WHEREAS, the uncertainties relating to such insurance and to indemnification have increased the difficulty of attracting and retaining such persons;

WHEREAS, the Board of Directors of the Company (the “ Board ”) has determined that the increased difficulty in attracting and retaining such persons is detrimental to the best interests of the Company’s stockholders and that the Company should act to assure such persons that there will be increased certainty of such protection in the future;

WHEREAS, it is reasonable, prudent and necessary for the Company contractually to obligate itself to indemnify, and to advance expenses on behalf of, such persons to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law so that they will serve or continue to serve the Company free from undue concern that they will not be so indemnified;

WHEREAS, this Agreement is a supplement to and in furtherance of the bylaws of the Company (the “ Bylaws ”) and any resolutions adopted pursuant thereto, and shall not be deemed a substitute therefor, nor to diminish or abrogate any rights of Indemnitee thereunder;

WHEREAS, Indemnitee may not be willing to serve as an officer or director without adequate protection, and the Company desires Indemnitee to serve in such capacity; Indemnitee is willing to serve, continue to serve and to take on additional service for or on behalf of the Company on the condition that he be so indemnified as herein provided; and

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of Indemnitee’s agreement to serve as a director or officer from and after the date hereof, the parties hereto agree as follows:

1. Indemnity of Indemnitee . The Company hereby agrees to hold harmless and indemnify Indemnitee to the fullest extent permitted by law, as such may be amended from time to time. In furtherance of the foregoing indemnification, and without limiting the generality thereof:

(a) Proceedings other than Proceedings by or in the Right of the Company . Indemnitee shall be entitled to the rights of indemnification provided in this Section l(a) if, by reason of his Corporate Status (as hereinafter defined), Indemnitee is, or is threatened to be made, a party to or participant in any Proceeding (as hereinafter defined) other than a Proceeding by or in the right of the Company. Pursuant to this Section 1(a) , Indemnitee shall be indemnified against all Expenses (as hereinafter defined), judgments, penalties, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by his, or on his behalf, in


connection with such Proceeding or any claim, issue or matter therein, if Indemnitee acted in good faith and in a manner Indemnitee reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Company, and with respect to any criminal Proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe Indemnitee’s conduct was unlawful.

(b) Proceedings by or in the Right of the Company . Indemnitee shall be entitled to the rights of indemnification provided in this Section 1(b) if, by reason of his Corporate Status, Indemnitee is, or is threatened to be made, a party to or participant in any Proceeding brought by or in the right of the Company. Pursuant to this Section 1(b) , Indemnitee shall be indemnified against all Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by Indemnitee, or on Indemnitee’s behalf, in connection with such Proceeding if Indemnitee acted in good faith and in a manner Indemnitee reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Company; provided , however , if applicable law so provides, no indemnification against such Expenses shall be made in respect of any claim, issue or matter in such Proceeding as to which Indemnitee shall have been adjudged to be liable to the Company unless and to the extent that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware shall determine that such indemnification may be made.

(c) Indemnification for Expenses of a Party Who is Wholly or Partly Successful . Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, to the extent that Indemnitee is, by reason of his Corporate Status, a party to and is successful, on the merits or otherwise, in any Proceeding, he shall be indemnified to the maximum extent permitted by law, as such may be amended from time to time, against all Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by his or on his behalf in connection therewith. If Indemnitee is not wholly successful in such Proceeding but is successful, on the merits or otherwise, as to one or more but less than all claims, issues or matters in such Proceeding, the Company shall indemnify Indemnitee against all Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by his or on his behalf in connection with each successfully resolved claim, issue or matter. For purposes of this Section 1(c) and without limitation, the termination of any claim, issue or matter in such a Proceeding by dismissal, with or without prejudice, shall be deemed to be a successful result as to such claim, issue or matter.

2. Additional Indemnity . In addition to, and without regard to any limitations on, the indemnification provided for in Section 1 of this Agreement, the Company shall and hereby does indemnify and hold harmless Indemnitee against all Expenses, judgments, penalties, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by his or on his behalf if, by reason of his Corporate Status, he is, or is threatened to be made, a party to or participant in any Proceeding (including a Proceeding by or in the right of the Company), including, without limitation, all liability arising out of the negligence or active or passive wrongdoing of Indemnitee. The only limitation that shall exist upon the Company’s obligations pursuant to this Agreement shall be that the Company shall not be obligated to make any payment to Indemnitee that is finally determined (under the procedures, and subject to the presumptions, set forth in Sections 6 and 7 hereof) to be unlawful.

 

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3. Contribution .

(a) Whether or not the indemnification provided in Sections 1 and 2 hereof is available, in respect of any threatened, pending or completed Proceeding in which the Company is jointly liable with Indemnitee (or would be if joined in such Proceeding), the Company shall pay, in the first instance, the entire amount of any judgment or settlement of such Proceeding without requiring Indemnitee to contribute to such payment and the Company hereby waives and relinquishes any right of contribution it may have against Indemnitee. The Company shall not, without the Indemnitee’s prior written consent, enter into any such settlement of any Proceeding (in whole or in part) unless such settlement (i) provides for a full and final release of all claims asserted against Indemnitee and (ii) does not impose any Expense, judgment, fine, penalty or limitation on Indemnitee.

(b) Without diminishing or impairing the obligations of the Company set forth in the preceding subparagraph, if, for any reason, Indemnitee shall elect or be required to pay all or any portion of any judgment or settlement in any threatened, pending or completed Proceeding in which the Company is jointly liable with Indemnitee (or would be if joined in such Proceeding), the Company shall contribute to the amount of Expenses, judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred and paid or payable by Indemnitee in proportion to the relative benefits received by the Company and all officers, directors or employees of the Company, other than Indemnitee, who are jointly liable with Indemnitee (or would be if joined in such Proceeding), on the one hand, and Indemnitee, on the other hand, from the transaction from which such Proceeding arose; provided , however , that the proportion determined on the basis of relative benefit may, to the extent necessary to conform to law, be further adjusted by reference to the relative fault of the Company and all officers, directors or employees of the Company other than Indemnitee who are jointly liable with Indemnitee (or would be if joined in such Proceeding), on the one hand, and Indemnitee, on the other hand, in connection with the events that resulted in such expenses, judgments, fines or settlement amounts, as well as any other equitable considerations which the law may require to be considered. The relative fault of the Company and all officers, directors or employees of the Company, other than Indemnitee, who are jointly liable with Indemnitee (or would be if joined in such Proceeding), on the one hand, and Indemnitee, on the other hand, shall be determined by reference to, among other things, the degree to which their actions were motivated by intent to gain personal profit or advantage, the degree to which their liability is primary or secondary and the degree to which their conduct is active or passive.

(c) The Company hereby agrees to fully indemnify and hold Indemnitee harmless from any claims of contribution which may be brought by officers, directors or employees of the Company, other than Indemnitee, who may be jointly liable with Indemnitee.

(d) To the fullest extent permissible under applicable law, if the indemnification provided for in this Agreement is unavailable to Indemnitee for any reason whatsoever, the Company, in lieu of indemnifying Indemnitee, shall contribute to the amount incurred by Indemnitee, whether for judgments, fines, penalties, excise taxes, amounts paid or to be paid in settlement and/or for Expenses, in connection with any claim relating to an indemnifiable event under this Agreement, in such proportion as is deemed fair and reasonable in light of all of the circumstances of such Proceeding in order to reflect (i) the relative benefits received by the Company and Indemnitee as a result of the event(s) and/or transaction(s) giving cause to such Proceeding, and/or (ii) the relative fault of the Company (and its directors, officers, employees and agents) and Indemnitee in connection with such event(s) and/or transaction(s).

 

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4. Indemnification for Expenses of a Witness . Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, to the extent that Indemnitee is, by reason of his Corporate Status, a witness, or is made (or asked to) respond to discovery requests, in any Proceeding to which Indemnitee is not a party, he shall be indemnified against all Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by his or on his behalf in connection therewith.

5. Advancement of Expenses . Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the Company shall advance all Expenses incurred by or on behalf of Indemnitee in connection with any Proceeding by reason of Indemnitee’s Corporate Status within thirty (30) days after the receipt by the Company of a statement or statements from Indemnitee requesting such advance or advances from time to time, whether prior to or after final disposition of such Proceeding. Such statement or statements shall reasonably evidence the Expenses incurred by Indemnitee and shall include or be preceded or accompanied by a written undertaking by or on behalf of Indemnitee to repay any Expenses advanced if it shall ultimately be determined that Indemnitee is not entitled to be indemnified against such Expenses. Any advances and undertakings to repay pursuant to this Section 5 shall be unsecured and interest free.

6. Procedures and Presumptions for Determination of Entitlement to Indemnification . It is the intent of this Agreement to secure for Indemnitee rights of indemnity that are as favorable as may be permitted under the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (“ DGCL ”) and public policy of the State of Delaware. Accordingly, the parties agree that the following procedures and presumptions shall apply in the event of any question as to whether Indemnitee is entitled to indemnification under this Agreement:

(a) To obtain indemnification under this Agreement, Indemnitee shall submit to the Company a written request, including therein or therewith such documentation and information as is reasonably available to Indemnitee and is reasonably necessary to determine whether and to what extent Indemnitee is entitled to indemnification. The Secretary of the Company shall, promptly upon receipt of such a request for indemnification, advise the Board in writing that Indemnitee has requested indemnification. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any failure of Indemnitee to provide such a request to the Company, or to provide such a request in a timely fashion, shall not relieve the Company of any liability that it may have to Indemnitee unless, and to the extent that, such failure actually and materially prejudices the interests of the Company.

(b) Upon written request by Indemnitee for indemnification pursuant to the first sentence of Section 6(a) hereof, a determination with respect to Indemnitee’s entitlement thereto shall be made in the specific case by one of the following four methods, which shall be at the election of the Board: (1) by a majority vote of the Disinterested Directors (as hereinafter defined), even though less than a quorum, (2) by a committee of Disinterested Directors designated by a majority vote of the Disinterested Directors, even though less than a quorum, (3) if there are no Disinterested Directors, or if the Disinterested Directors so direct, by Independent Counsel in a written opinion to the Board, a copy of which shall be delivered to Indemnitee, or (4) if so directed by the Board, by the stockholders of the Company; provided , however , that if a Change in Control has occurred, the determination with respect to Indemnitee’s entitlement to indemnification shall be made by Independent Counsel. For purposes hereof, Disinterested Directors are those members of the Board who are not parties to the Proceeding in respect of which indemnification is sought by Indemnitee.

 

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(c) In the event the determination of entitlement to indemnification is to be made by Independent Counsel, the Independent Counsel shall be selected as provided in this Section 6(c) . If a Change in Control has not occurred, the Independent Counsel shall be selected by the Board (including a vote of a majority of the Disinterested Directors if obtainable), and the Company shall give written notice to the Indemnitee advising his of the identity of the Independent Counsel so selected. Indemnitee may, within 10 days after such written notice of selection shall have been given, deliver to the Company a written objection to such selection; provided , however , that such objection may be asserted only on the ground that the Independent Counsel so selected does not meet the requirements of “Independent Counsel” as defined in Section 13 of this Agreement, and the objection shall set forth with particularity the factual basis of such assertion. Absent a proper and timely objection, the Person so selected shall act as Independent Counsel. If a written objection is made and substantiated, the Independent Counsel selected may not serve as Independent Counsel unless and until such objection is withdrawn or a court has determined that such objection is without merit. If a Change in Control has occurred, the Independent Counsel shall be selected by the Indemnitee (unless the Indemnitee shall request that such selection be made by the Board, in which event the preceding sentence shall apply), and approved by the Board (which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld). If (i) an Independent Counsel is to make the determination of entitlement pursuant to this Section 6 , and (ii) within 20 days after submission by Indemnitee of a written request for indemnification pursuant to Section 6(a) hereof, no Independent Counsel shall have been selected and not objected to, either the Company or Indemnitee may petition the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware or other court of competent jurisdiction for resolution of any objection which shall have been made by Indemnitee to the Company’s selection of Independent Counsel and/or for the appointment as Independent Counsel of a Person selected by the court or by such other Person as the court shall designate, and the Person with respect to whom all objections are so resolved or the Person so appointed shall act as Independent Counsel under Section 6(b) hereof. The Company shall pay any and all reasonable fees and expenses of Independent Counsel incurred by such Independent Counsel in connection with acting pursuant to Section 6(b) hereof, and the Company shall pay all reasonable fees and expenses incident to the procedures of this Section 6(c) , regardless of the manner in which such Independent Counsel was selected or appointed.

(d) In making a determination with respect to entitlement to indemnification hereunder, the Person making such determination shall presume that Indemnitee is entitled to indemnification under this Agreement. Anyone seeking to overcome this presumption shall have the burden of proof and the burden of persuasion by clear and convincing evidence. Neither the failure of the Company (including by its directors or independent legal counsel) to have made a determination prior to the commencement of any action pursuant to this Agreement that indemnification is proper in the circumstances because Indemnitee has met the applicable standard of conduct, nor an actual determination by the Company (including by its directors or independent legal counsel) that Indemnitee has not met such applicable standard of conduct, shall be a defense to the action or create a presumption that Indemnitee has not met the applicable standard of conduct.

 

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(e) Indemnitee shall be deemed to have acted in good faith if Indemnitee’s action is based on the records or books of account of the Enterprise (as hereinafter defined), including financial statements, or on information supplied to Indemnitee by the officers of the Enterprise in the course of their duties, or on the advice of legal counsel for the Enterprise or on information or records given or reports made to the Enterprise by an independent certified public accountant or by an appraiser or other expert selected with reasonable care by the Enterprise. In addition, the knowledge and/or actions, or failure to act, of any director, officer, agent or employee of the Enterprise shall not be imputed to Indemnitee for purposes of determining the right to indemnification under this Agreement. Whether or not the foregoing provisions of this Section 6(e) are satisfied, it shall in any event be presumed that Indemnitee has at all times acted in good faith and in a manner he reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Company. Anyone seeking to overcome this presumption shall have the burden of proof and the burden of persuasion by clear and convincing evidence.

(f) If the Person empowered or selected under this Section 6 to determine whether Indemnitee is entitled to indemnification shall not have made a determination within sixty (60) days after receipt by the Company of the request therefor, the requisite determination of entitlement to indemnification shall be deemed to have been made and Indemnitee shall be entitled to such indemnification absent (i) a misstatement by Indemnitee of a material fact, or an omission of a material fact necessary to make Indemnitee’s statement not materially misleading, in connection with the request for indemnification, or (ii) a prohibition of such indemnification under applicable law; provided , however , that such 60-day period may be extended for a reasonable time, not to exceed an additional thirty (30) days, if the Person making such determination with respect to entitlement to indemnification in good faith requires such additional time to obtain or evaluate documentation and/or information relating thereto; and provided , further , that the foregoing provisions of this Section 6(f) shall not apply if the determination of entitlement to indemnification is to be made by the stockholders pursuant to Section 6(b) of this Agreement and if (A) within fifteen (15) days after receipt by the Company of the request for such determination, the Board or the Disinterested Directors, if appropriate, resolve to submit such determination to the stockholders for their consideration at an annual meeting thereof to be held within seventy-five (75) days after such receipt and such determination is made thereat, or (B) a special meeting of stockholders is called within fifteen (15) days after such receipt for the purpose of making such determination, such meeting is held for such purpose within sixty (60) days after having been so called and such determination is made thereat.

(g) Indemnitee shall cooperate with the Person making such determination with respect to Indemnitee’s entitlement to indemnification, including providing to such Person upon reasonable advance request any documentation or information which is not privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure and which is reasonably available to Indemnitee and reasonably necessary to such determination. Any Independent Counsel, member of the Board or stockholder of the Company shall act reasonably and in good faith in making a determination regarding Indemnitee’s entitlement to indemnification under this Agreement. Any costs or expenses (including attorneys’ fees and disbursements) incurred by Indemnitee in so cooperating with the Person making such determination shall be borne by the Company (irrespective of the determination as to Indemnitee’s entitlement to indemnification) and the Company hereby indemnifies and agrees to hold Indemnitee harmless therefrom.

 

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(h) The Company acknowledges that a settlement or other disposition short of final judgment may be successful if it permits a party to avoid expense, delay, distraction, disruption and uncertainty. In the event that any Proceeding to which Indemnitee is a party is resolved in any manner other than by adverse judgment against Indemnitee (including, without limitation, settlement of such action, claim or proceeding with or without payment of money or other consideration) it shall be presumed that Indemnitee has been successful on the merits or otherwise in such Proceeding. Anyone seeking to overcome this presumption shall have the burden of proof and the burden of persuasion by clear and convincing evidence.

(i) The termination of any Proceeding or of any claim, issue or matter therein, by judgment, order, settlement or conviction, or upon a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent, shall not (except as otherwise expressly provided in this Agreement) of itself adversely affect the right of Indemnitee to indemnification or create a presumption that Indemnitee did not act in good faith and in a manner which he reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Company or, with respect to any criminal Proceeding, that Indemnitee had reasonable cause to believe that his conduct was unlawful.

7. Remedies of Indemnitee .

(a) In the event that (i) a determination is made pursuant to Section 6 of this Agreement that Indemnitee is not entitled to indemnification under this Agreement, (ii) advancement of Expenses is not timely made pursuant to Section 5 of this Agreement, (iii) no determination of entitlement to indemnification is made pursuant to Section 6(b) of this Agreement within ninety (90) days after receipt by the Company of the request for indemnification, (iv) payment of indemnification is not made pursuant to this Agreement within ten (10) days after receipt by the Company of a written request therefor or (v) payment of indemnification is not made within ten (10) days after a determination has been made that Indemnitee is entitled to indemnification or such determination is deemed to have been made pursuant to Section 6 of this Agreement, Indemnitee shall be entitled to an adjudication in an appropriate court of the State of Delaware, or in any other court of competent jurisdiction, of Indemnitee’s entitlement to such indemnification, contribution or advancement of Expenses. Alternatively, Indemnitee, at his option, may seek an award in arbitration to be conducted by a single arbitrator pursuant to the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association. Except as set forth herein, the provisions of Delaware law (without regard to its conflict-of-law rules) shall apply to any such arbitration. The Company shall not oppose Indemnitee’s right to seek any such adjudication or award in arbitration.

(b) In the event that a determination shall have been made pursuant to Section 6(b) of this Agreement that Indemnitee is not entitled to indemnification, any judicial Proceeding commenced pursuant to this Section 7 shall be conducted in all respects as a de novo trial, or arbitration, on the merits, and Indemnitee shall not be prejudiced by reason of the adverse determination under Section 6(b) . In any judicial Proceeding commenced pursuant to this Section 7 , Indemnitee shall be presumed to be entitled to indemnification under this Agreement and the Company shall have the burden of proving Indemnitee is not entitled to indemnification or advancement of Expenses, as the case may be, and the Company may not refer to or introduce into evidence any determination pursuant to Section 6(b) of this Agreement adverse to Indemnitee for any purpose. If Indemnitee commences a judicial Proceeding pursuant

 

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to this Section 7 , Indemnitee shall not be required to reimburse the Company for any advances pursuant to Section 5 until a final determination is made with respect to Indemnitee’s entitlement to indemnification (as to which all rights of appeal have been exhausted or lapsed).

(c) If a determination shall have been made pursuant to Section 6(b) of this Agreement that Indemnitee is entitled to indemnification, the Company shall be bound by such determination in any judicial Proceeding commenced pursuant to this Section 7 , absent (i) a misstatement by Indemnitee of a material fact, or an omission of a material fact necessary to make Indemnitee’s misstatement not materially misleading in connection with the application for indemnification, or (ii) a prohibition of such indemnification under applicable law.

(d) In the event that Indemnitee, pursuant to this Section 7 , seeks a judicial adjudication of his rights under, or to recover damages for breach of, this Agreement, or to recover under any directors’ and officers’ liability insurance policies maintained by the Company, the Company shall pay on his behalf, in advance, any and all expenses (of the types described in the definition of Expenses in Section 13 of this Agreement) actually and reasonably incurred by his in such judicial adjudication, regardless of whether Indemnitee ultimately is determined to be entitled to such indemnification, advancement of expenses or insurance recovery.

(e) The Company shall be precluded from asserting in any judicial Proceeding commenced pursuant to this Section 7 that the procedures and presumptions of this Agreement are not valid, binding and enforceable and shall stipulate in any such court that the Company is bound by all the provisions of this Agreement. The Company shall indemnify Indemnitee against any and all Expenses and, if requested by Indemnitee, shall (within ten (10) days after receipt by the Company of a written request therefore) advance, to the extent not prohibited by law, such expenses to Indemnitee, which are incurred by Indemnitee in connection with any action brought by Indemnitee for indemnification or advance of Expenses from the Company under this Agreement or under any directors’ and officers’ liability insurance policies maintained by the Company, regardless of whether Indemnitee ultimately is determined to be entitled to such indemnification, advancement of Expenses or insurance recovery, as the case may be.

(f) Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, no determination as to entitlement to indemnification under this Agreement shall be required to be made prior to the final disposition of the Proceeding.

8. Non-Exclusivity; Survival of Rights; Insurance; Primacy of Indemnification; Subrogation .

(a) The rights of indemnification and to receive advancement of expenses as provided by this Agreement shall not be deemed exclusive of any other rights to which Indemnitee may at any time be entitled under applicable law, the certificate of incorporation of the Company (the “ Charter ”), the Bylaws, any agreement, a vote of stockholders, a resolution of directors or otherwise, of the Company. No amendment, alteration or repeal of this Agreement or of any provision hereof shall limit or restrict any right of Indemnitee under this Agreement in respect of any action taken or omitted by such Indemnitee in

 

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his Corporate Status prior to such amendment, alteration or repeal. To the extent that a change in the DGCL, whether by statute or judicial decision, permits greater indemnification than would be afforded currently under the Charter, Bylaws and this Agreement, it is the intent of the parties hereto that Indemnitee shall enjoy by this Agreement the greater benefits so afforded by such change. No right or remedy herein conferred is intended to be exclusive of any other right or remedy, and every other right and remedy shall be cumulative and in addition to every other right and remedy given hereunder or now or hereafter existing at law or in equity or otherwise. The assertion or employment of any right or remedy hereunder, or otherwise, shall not prevent the concurrent assertion or employment of any other right or remedy.

(b) The Company shall obtain and maintain in effect during the entire period for which the Company is obligated to indemnify Indemnitee under this Agreement, one or more policies of insurance with reputable insurance companies to provide the directors and officers of the Company with coverage for losses from wrongful acts and omissions and to ensure the Company’s performance of its indemnification obligations under this Agreement. Indemnitee shall be covered by such policy or policies in accordance with its or their terms to the maximum extent of the coverage available for any such officer or director under such policy or policies. In all such insurance policies, Indemnitee shall be named as an insured in such a manner as to provide Indemnitee with the same rights and benefits as are accorded to the most favorably insured of the Company’s directors and officers. At the time of the receipt of a notice of a claim pursuant to the terms hereof, the Company shall give prompt notice of the commencement of such Proceeding to the insurers in accordance with the procedures set forth in the respective policies. The Company shall thereafter take all necessary or desirable action to cause such insurers to pay, on behalf of Indemnitee, all amounts payable as a result of such Proceeding in accordance with the terms of such policies.

9. Exception to Right of Indemnification . Notwithstanding any provision in this Agreement, the Company shall not be obligated under this Agreement to make any indemnity in connection with any claim made against Indemnitee:

(a) for which payment has actually been made to or on behalf of Indemnitee under any insurance policy or other indemnity provision, except with respect to any excess beyond the amount paid under any insurance policy or other indemnity provision; or

(b) for an accounting of profits made from the purchase and sale (or sale and purchase) by Indemnitee of securities of the Company within the meaning of Section 16(b) of the Exchange Act (as hereinafter defined), or similar provisions of state statutory law or common law; or

(c) for reimbursement to the Company of any bonus or other incentive-based or equity-based compensation or of any profits realized by Indemnitee from the sale of securities of the Company in each case as required under the Exchange Act; or

(d) in connection with any Proceeding (or any part of any Proceeding) initiated by Indemnitee, including any Proceeding (or any part of any Proceeding) initiated by Indemnitee against the Company or its directors, officers, employees or other indemnitees, unless (i) the Company has joined in or the Board authorized the Proceeding (or any part of any

 

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Proceeding) prior to its initiation, (ii) the Company provides the indemnification, in its sole discretion, pursuant to the powers vested in the Company under applicable law, or (iii) the Proceeding is one to enforce Indemnitee’s rights under this Agreement.

10. Non–Disclosure of Payments . Except as expressly required by the securities laws of the United States of America, neither party shall disclose any payments under this Agreement unless prior approval of the other party is obtained. If any payment information must be disclosed, the Company shall afford the Indemnitee an opportunity to review all such disclosures and, if requested, to explain in such statement any mitigating circumstances regarding the events to be reported.

11. Duration of Agreement . All agreements and obligations of the Company contained herein shall continue upon the later of (i) ten (10) years after the date that Indemnitee shall have ceased to serve as a director or officer of the Company or a director, officer, trustee, partner, managing member, fiduciary, employee or agent of any other corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise which Indemnitee served at the request of the Company, and (ii) one (1) year after the final termination of any Proceeding (including any rights of appeal thereto) in respect of which Indemnitee is granted rights of indemnification or advancement of Expenses hereunder and of any Proceeding commenced by Indemnitee pursuant to Section 7 of this Agreement relating thereto (including any rights of appeal of any Section 7 Proceeding. This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of and be enforceable by the parties hereto and their respective successors (including any direct or indirect successor by purchase, merger, consolidation or otherwise to all or substantially all of the business or assets of the Company), assigns, spouses, heirs, executors and personal and legal representatives.

12. Security . To the extent requested by Indemnitee and approved by the Board, the Company may at any time and from time to time provide security to Indemnitee for the Company’s obligations hereunder through an irrevocable bank line of credit, funded trust or other collateral; provided , that such approval shall not be unreasonably withheld. Any such security, once provided to Indemnitee, may not be revoked or released without the prior written consent of Indemnitee.

13. Definitions . For purposes of this Agreement:

(a) “ Beneficial Owner ” shall have the meaning given to such term in Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act; provided , however , that Beneficial Owner shall exclude any Person otherwise becoming a Beneficial Owner by reason of the stockholders of the Company approving a merger of the Company with another entity.

(b) “ Change in Control ” shall be deemed to occur upon the earliest to occur after the date of this Agreement of any of the following events:

(i) Acquisition of Stock by Third Party . Any Person (as defined below), other than Sun Capital Partners, Inc. and its affiliates and other than a trustee or other fiduciary holding securities under an employee benefit plan of the Company or a

 

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corporation owned directly or indirectly by the stockholders of the Company in substantially the same proportions as their ownership of stock of the Company, is or becomes the Beneficial Owner (as defined above), directly or indirectly, of securities of the Company representing more than 50% of the combined voting power of the Company’s then outstanding securities;

(ii) Change in Board of Directors . During any period of two (2) consecutive years (not including any period prior to the execution of this Agreement), individuals who at the beginning of such period constitute the Board, and any new director (other than a director designated by a Person who has entered into an agreement with the Company to effect a transaction described in Section 13(b)(i) , 13(b)(iii) or 13(b)(iv) ) whose election by the Board or nomination for election by the Company’s stockholders was approved by a vote of at least two-thirds of the directors then still in office who either were directors at the beginning of the period or whose election or nomination for election was previously so approved, cease for any reason to constitute at least a majority of the members of the Board;

(iii) Corporate Transactions . The effective date of a merger or consolidation of the Company with any other entity, other than a merger or consolidation which would result in the voting securities of the Company outstanding immediately prior to such merger or consolidation continuing to represent (either by remaining outstanding or by being converted into voting securities of the surviving entity) more than 50% of the combined voting power of the voting securities of the surviving entity outstanding immediately after such merger or consolidation and with the power to elect at least a majority of the board of directors or other governing body of such surviving entity; and

(iv) Liquidation. The approval by the stockholders of the Company of a complete liquidation of the Company or an agreement or series of agreements for the sale or disposition by the Company of all or substantially all of the Company’s assets, or, if such approval is not required, the decision by the Board to proceed with such a liquidation, sale, or disposition in one transaction or a series of related transactions.

(c) “ Corporate Status ” describes the status of a person who is or was a director, officer, employee, agent or fiduciary of the Company, any direct or indirect subsidiary of the Company, or of any other corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other Enterprise that such person is or was serving at the express written request of the Company.

 

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(d) “ Disinterested Director ” means a director of the Company who is not and was not a party to the Proceeding in respect of which indemnification is sought by Indemnitee.

(e) “ Enterprise ” shall mean the Company and any other corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise that Indemnitee is or was serving at the request of the Company as a director, officer, employee, agent or fiduciary.

(f) “ Exchange Act ” shall mean the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

(g) “ Expenses ” shall include all reasonable court costs, transcript costs, fees of experts, witness fees, travel expenses, duplicating costs, printing and binding costs, telephone charges, postage, delivery service fees and all other disbursements or expenses of the types customarily incurred in connection with prosecuting, defending, preparing to prosecute or defend, investigating, participating, or being or preparing to be a witness in a Proceeding, or responding to, or objecting to, a request to provide discovery in any Proceeding. In addition, Expenses shall include the fees and expenses of counsel employed by the Indemnitee and any reasonable retainer required in connection with such Proceeding; provided that in no event shall the Company be liable for the fees and expenses of more than one counsel (in addition to any local counsel) for all Indemnitees in connection with any one action or separate but similar or related actions arising out of the same general allegations or circumstances; provided , however , that if any Indemnitee shall have reasonably concluded (based on the advice of counsel) that its representation by counsel for the Indemnitees creates a conflict of interest for such counsel, the Company shall be liable for the fees and expenses of a separate counsel for such Indemnitee. Expenses also shall include Expenses incurred in connection with any appeal resulting from any Proceeding and any federal, state, local or foreign taxes imposed on Indemnitee as a result of the actual or deemed receipt of any payments under this Agreement, including without limitation the premium, security for, and other costs relating to any cost bond, supersede as bond, or other appeal bond or its equivalent. Expenses, however, shall not include amounts paid in settlement by Indemnitee or the amount of judgments or fines against Indemnitee.

(h) “ Independent Counsel ” means a law firm, or a member of a law firm, that is experienced in matters of corporation law and neither presently is, nor in the past five (5) years has been, retained to represent: (i) the Company or Indemnitee in any matter material to either such party (other than with respect to matters concerning Indemnitee under this Agreement, or of other indemnitees under similar indemnification agreements), or (ii) any other party to the Proceeding giving rise to a claim for indemnification hereunder. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the term “Independent Counsel” shall not include any Person who, under the applicable standards of professional conduct then prevailing, would have a conflict of interest in representing either the Company or Indemnitee in an action to determine Indemnitee’s rights under this Agreement. The Company agrees to pay the reasonable fees of the Independent Counsel referred to above and to fully indemnify such counsel against any and all Expenses, claims, liabilities and damages arising out of or relating to this Agreement or its engagement pursuant hereto.

 

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(i) “ Person ” shall have the meaning as set forth in Sections 13(d) and 14(d) of the Exchange Act; provided , however , that Person shall exclude (i) the Company, (ii) any trustee or other fiduciary holding securities under an employee benefit plan of the Company, and (iii) any corporation owned, directly or indirectly, by the stockholders of the Company in substantially the same proportions as their ownership of stock of the Company.

(j) “ Proceeding ” includes any threatened, pending or completed action, suit, arbitration, alternate dispute resolution mechanism, investigation, inquiry, administrative hearing or any other actual, threatened or completed proceeding, whether brought by or in the right of the Company or otherwise and whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, in which Indemnitee was, is or will be involved as a party or otherwise, by reason of the fact that Indemnitee is or was an officer or director of the Company, by reason of any action taken by his or of any inaction on his part while acting as an officer or director of the Company, or by reason of the fact that he is or was serving at the request of the Company as a director, officer, employee, agent or fiduciary of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise; in each case whether or not he is acting or serving in any such capacity at the time any liability or expense is incurred for which indemnification can be provided under this Agreement; including one pending on or before the date of this Agreement, but excluding one initiated by an Indemnitee pursuant to Section 7 of this Agreement to enforce his rights under this Agreement.

14. Severability . If any provision or provisions of this Agreement shall be held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable for any reason whatsoever: (i) the validity, legality, and enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Agreement (including, without limitation, each portion of any Section, paragraph or sentence of this Agreement containing any such provision held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, that is not itself invalid, illegal or unenforceable) shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby and shall remain enforceable to the fullest extent permitted by law; (ii) such provision or provisions shall be deemed reformed to the fullest extent necessary to conform to applicable law and to give the maximum effect to the intent of the parties hereto; and (iii) to the fullest extent possible, the provisions of this Agreement (including, without limitation, each portion of any Section, paragraph or sentence of this Agreement containing any such provision held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, that is not itself invalid, illegal or unenforceable) shall be construed so as to give effect to the intent manifested thereby. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, this Agreement is intended to confer upon Indemnitee indemnification rights to the fullest extent permitted by applicable laws.

15. Enforcement and Binding Effect .

(a) The Company expressly confirms and agrees that it has entered into this Agreement and assumed the obligations imposed on it hereby in order to induce Indemnitee to serve as a director, officer or key employee of the Company, and the Company acknowledges that Indemnitee is relying upon this Agreement in serving as a director, officer or key employee of the Company.

 

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(b) Without limiting any of the rights of Indemnitee under the Charter or Bylaws of the Company as they may be amended from time to time, this Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings, oral, written and implied, between the parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof.

(c) The indemnification and advancement of expenses provided by, or granted pursuant to this Agreement shall be binding upon and be enforceable by the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns (including any direct or indirect successor by purchase, merger, consolidation or otherwise to all or substantially all of the business or assets of the Company), shall continue as to an Indemnitee who has ceased to be a director, officer, employee or agent of the Company or of any other Enterprise at the Company’s request, and shall inure to the benefit of Indemnitee and his spouse, assigns, heirs, devisees, executors and administrators and other legal representatives.

(d) The Company shall require and cause any successor (whether direct or indirect by purchase, merger, consolidation or otherwise) to all, substantially all or a substantial part, of the business and/or assets of the Company to expressly assume and agree to perform this Agreement in the same manner and to the same extent that the Company would be required to perform if no such succession had taken place.

(e) The Company and Indemnitee agree herein that a monetary remedy for breach of this Agreement, at some later date, may be inadequate, impracticable and difficult of proof, and further agree that such breach may cause Indemnitee irreparable harm. Accordingly, the parties hereto agree that Indemnitee may enforce this Agreement by seeking injunctive relief and/or specific performance hereof, without any necessity of showing actual damage or irreparable harm and that by seeking injunctive relief and/or specific performance, Indemnitee shall not be precluded from seeking or obtaining any other relief to which he may be entitled. The Company and Indemnitee further agree that Indemnitee shall be entitled to such specific performance and injunctive relief, including temporary restraining orders, preliminary injunctions and permanent injunctions, without the necessity of posting bonds or other undertaking in connection therewith. The Company acknowledges that in the absence of a waiver, a bond or undertaking may be required of Indemnitee by the court, and the Company hereby waives any such requirement of such a bond or undertaking.

16. Modification and Waiver . No supplement, modification, termination or amendment of this Agreement shall be binding unless executed in writing by both of the parties hereto. No waiver of any of the provisions of this Agreement shall be deemed or shall constitute a waiver of any other provisions hereof (whether or not similar) nor shall such waiver constitute a continuing waiver.

17. Notice By Indemnitee . Indemnitee agrees promptly to notify the Company in writing upon being served with or otherwise receiving any summons, citation, subpoena, complaint, indictment, information or other document relating to any Proceeding or matter which may be subject to indemnification covered hereunder. The failure to so notify the Company shall not relieve the Company of any obligation which it may have to Indemnitee under this Agreement or otherwise.

 

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18. Notices . All notices and other communications given or made pursuant to this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be deemed effectively given: (i) upon personal delivery to the party to be notified, (ii) when sent by confirmed electronic mail or facsimile if sent during normal business hours of the recipient, and if not so confirmed, then on the next business day, (iii) five (5) days after having been sent by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, postage prepaid, or (iv) one (1) day after deposit with a nationally recognized overnight courier, specifying next day delivery, with written verification of receipt. All communications shall be sent:

(a) To Indemnitee at the address set forth below Indemnitee’s signature hereto.

(b) To the Company at:

Vince Holding Corp.

1441 Broadway, 6th Floor

New York, NY 10018

Attention: Jay Dubiner

or to such other address as may have been furnished to Indemnitee by the Company or to the Company by Indemnitee, as the case may be.

19. Counterparts . This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same Agreement. This Agreement may also be executed and delivered by facsimile signature and in two or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument.

20. Headings . The headings of the paragraphs of this Agreement are inserted for convenience only and shall not be deemed to constitute part of this Agreement or to affect the construction thereof.

21. Usage of Pronouns . Use of the masculine pronoun shall be deemed to include usage of the feminine pronoun where appropriate.

22. Governing Law and Consent to Jurisdiction. This Agreement and the legal relations among the parties shall be governed by, and construed and enforced in accordance with, the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. The Company and Indemnitee hereby irrevocably and unconditionally (i) agree that any action or Proceeding arising out of or in connection with this Agreement shall be brought only in the Chancery Court of the State of Delaware (the “ Delaware Court ”), and not in any other state or federal court in the United States of America or any court in any other country, (ii) generally and unconditionally consent to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Delaware Court for purposes of any Proceeding arising out of or in connection with this Agreement, (iii) waive any objection to the laying of venue of any such Proceeding in the Delaware Court, and (iv) waive, and agree not to plead or to make, any claim that any such Proceeding brought in the Delaware Court has been brought in an improper or inconvenient forum. The foregoing consent to

 

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jurisdiction shall not constitute general consent to service of process in the state for any purpose except as provided above, and shall not be deemed to confer rights on any Person other than the parties to this Agreement.

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the parties hereto have executed this Agreement on and as of the day and year first written above.

 

VINCE HOLDING CORP.
By:  

 

Name:   Jay Dubiner
Title:  

Senior Vice President, General Counsel

and Secretary

INDEMNITEE

 

Name:   [                    ]
Address:  

 

 

 

 

S IGNATURE P AGE TO

I NDEMNIFICATION A GREEMENT

Exhibit 10.12

SECOND AMENDMENT TO GRANT AGREEMENT

THIS SECOND AMENDMENT TO GRANT AGREEMENT (this “ Amendment ”), is made this 26th day of November (the “ Effective Date ”), 2013 between KELLWOOD COMPANY (“ Company ”) and Jill Granoff (the “ Optionee ”).

WHEREAS, the Optionee holds certain options to acquire common stock of Company (the “ Options ”) pursuant to that Grant Agreement pursuant to the 2010 Stock Option Plan of Kellwood Company, dated as of May 4, 2012 and previous amended as of December 30, 2012 (the “ Option Agreement ”); and

WHEREAS, the Company and Optionee desire to further amend the Option Agreement on the terms and conditions set forth herein.

NOW, THEREFORE, for good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged by the parties hereto, the parties enter into this First Amendment to the Option Agreement (this “ Amendment ”).

1. This Amendment is effective immediately as of the Effective Date.

2. Section 7(b)(i)(B) of the Option Agreement is hereby amended by replacing the phrase “10 days” with the phrase “30 days”.

3. Section 9 of the Option Agreement is hereby amended and restated in its entirety as follows, with the “strike-through” provisions deleted as of the Effective Date and the italicized provisions added as of the Effective Date:

“9. IPO . Following an IPO, the Optionee shall be entitled to exercise a portion any or all of the Optionee’s then vested Options ; equal to the number of such then-vested Options multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the amount of cash realized by Sun in connection with such IPO and the denominator of which is the total amount of Sun’s investment in the Company (including, for the avoidance of doubt, both debt and equity) prior to such time, provided, however, that the number of vested Options that are exercisable on account of such IPO shall not exceed 100%, provided further that in the event that any of the events in Sections 7(a) or 7(b) occur following the IPO, the Options may be exercised, and will expire, in accordance with Section 7 or Section 10, whichever is applicable . For the avoidance of doubt, the Options that are not then-vested as of the IPO shall continue to vest in accordance with Section 6 hereof and shall become vested upon the first to occur of Sections 7(a) and 7(b) hereof . Following an IPO, in the event that the publicly traded entity is a successor to or parent or subsidiary of the Company, then the Options shall in good faith be adjusted to provide that (i) the Common Stock underlying such Options shall be the Common Stock of the entity that is publicly traded and (ii) that the aggregate spread value (i.e.,


the difference between the exercise price of the options and the fair market value of the stock covered by them immediately prior to such adjustment) is preserved, in each case consistent with the requirements of Section 12 of the Plan; provided however that no such adjustment shall be made or required in a manner that would cause the Optionee to become subject to the excise tax under Section 409A of the Code. For the avoidance of doubt, in no event shall the previous sentence modify the vesting or exercisability provisions of this Grant Agreement. Following an IPO, if any period following a termination of employment during which a vested option may be exercised pursuant to the terms of this Agreement occurs during a “black out period” under the Company’s Security Trading Policy which would be applicable to the Optionee if the Optionee remained an employee of the Company, such period shall not be counted for purposes of calculating such post termination exercise period, provided, however in no event shall the option remain exercisable following the date that is ten (10) years following the date of grant of the option.

4. This Amendment represents the complete and total understanding of the parties with respect to the content thereof, and cannot be modified or altered except if done so in writing, executed by all parties.

5. This Amendment shall in no way modify, alter, change or otherwise delete any provision of the Option Agreement, unless specifically done so by the terms of this Amendment, and all the remaining provisions of the Option Agreement shall remain in full force and effect. This Amendment may be executed in two (2) or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument.

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Amendment on the date written below and upon full execution by all parties, this First Amendment shall be effective as set forth in Section 1 above.

 

OPTIONEE

/s/ Jill Granoff

Date:  

November 26, 2013

COMPANY

/s/ Keith Grypp

By:   Keith Grypp
Its:  

Senior Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel

Date:  

November 26, 2013

Signature Page to Second Amendment to Grant Agreement

Exhibit 10.13

FIRST AMENDMENT TO GRANT AGREEMENT

THIS FIRST AMENDMENT TO GRANT AGREEMENT (this “ Amendment ”), is made this 26th day of November, 2013 (the “ Effective Date ”) between KELLWOOD COMPANY (“ Company ”) and Lisa Klinger (the “ Optionee ”).

WHEREAS, the Optionee holds certain options to acquire common stock of Company (the “ Options ”) pursuant to that Grant Agreement pursuant to the 2010 Stock Option Plan of Kellwood Company, dated as of December 10, 2012 (the “ Option Agreement ”); and

WHEREAS, the Company and Optionee desire to amend the Option Agreement on the terms and conditions set forth herein.

NOW, THEREFORE, for good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged by the parties hereto, the parties enter into this First Amendment to the Option Agreement (this “ Amendment ”).

1. This Amendment is effective immediately as of the Effective Date.

2. Section 7 of the Option Agreement is hereby amended by adding the following new paragraph to the end of such section:

Notwithstanding the foregoing, following the closing of an IPO (as defined below), the vested portion of the option may be exercised at any time prior to the expiration date that is provided in Section 9. For the avoidance of doubt, in no event shall the previous sentence modify the vesting provisions of this Grant Agreement. For purposes of this Grant Agreement, “ IPO ” shall mean a sale in an underwritten initial public offering registered under the Securities Act of 1933 (as amended) of equity securities of the Company or a parent or subsidiary of, or a successor to, the Company holding all or substantially all of the business of the Company that is comprised of the Vince label of clothing.

3. Section 9 of the Option Agreement is hereby amended by adding the following sentence to the end thereof:

Notwithstanding the foregoing, following the closing of an IPO, the option shall expire, if not exercised prior thereto, on the earlier to occur of (i) ten years following the date of grant of the option; (ii) the date that is one year following the termination of Optionee’s employment by the Company due to Optionee’s death or Disability, (iii) the date that is thirty (30) days following the termination of Optionee’s employment by the Company other than for Cause or by the Optionee for any reason; provided, however, any day that occurs during a “black out period” under the Company’s Security Trading Policy which would be applicable to the Optionee if the Optionee remained an employee of the


Company, shall not be counted for purposes of calculating such thirty (30) day period or (iv) immediately upon a termination of employment by the Company for Cause.”

4. This Amendment represents the complete and total understanding of the parties with respect to the content thereof, and cannot be modified or altered except if done so in writing, executed by all parties.

5. This Amendment shall in no way modify, alter, change or otherwise delete any provision of the Option Agreement, unless specifically done so by the terms of this Amendment, and all the remaining provisions of the Option Agreement shall remain in full force and effect. This Amendment may be executed in two (2) or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument.

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Amendment on the date written below and upon full execution by all parties, this First Amendment shall be effective as set forth in Section 1 above.

 

OPTIONEE

/s/ Lisa Klinger

Date:  

November 26, 2013

COMPANY

/s/ Keith Grypp

By:   Keith Grypp
Its:  

Senior Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel

Date:  

November 26, 2013

Signature Page to First Amendment to Grant Agreement

Exhibit 10.15

NONQUALIFIED STOCK OPTION AGREEMENT

PURSUANT TO THE

VINCE HOLDING CORP. 2013 OMNIBUS INCENTIVE PLAN

*  *  *  *  *

Participant:                    

Grant Date:                     

Per Share Exercise Price: $        

Number of Shares subject to this Option:                    

* * * * *

THIS NON-QUALIFIED STOCK OPTION AWARD AGREEMENT (this “ Agreement ”), dated as of the Grant Date specified above, is entered into by and between Vince Holding Corp., a corporation organized in the State of Delaware (the “ Company ”), and the Participant specified above, pursuant to the Vince Holding Corp. 2013 Omnibus Incentive Plan, as in effect and as amended from time to time (the “ Plan ”), which is administered by the Committee; and

WHEREAS, it has been determined under the Plan that it would be in the best interests of the Company to grant the Non-Qualified Stock Option provided for herein to the Participant.

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants and promises hereinafter set forth and for other good and valuable consideration, the parties hereto hereby mutually covenant and agree as follows:

1. Incorporation By Reference; Plan Document Receipt . This Agreement is subject in all respects to the terms and provisions of the Plan (including, without limitation, any amendments thereto adopted at any time and from time to time unless such amendments are expressly intended not to apply to the Award provided hereunder), all of which terms and provisions are made a part of and incorporated in this Agreement as if they were each expressly set forth herein. Any capitalized term not defined in this Agreement shall have the same meaning as is ascribed thereto in the Plan. The Participant hereby acknowledges receipt of a true copy of the Plan and that the Participant has read the Plan carefully and fully understands its content. In the event of any conflict between the terms of this Agreement and the terms of the Plan, the terms of the Plan shall control. No part of the Option granted hereby is intended to qualify as an “incentive stock option” under Section 422 of the Code.

2. Grant of Option . The Company hereby grants to the Participant, as of the Grant Date specified above, a Non-Qualified Stock Option (this “ Option ”) to acquire from the Company at the Per Share Exercise Price specified above, the aggregate number of shares of


Common Stock specified above (the “ Option Shares ”). Except as otherwise provided by the Plan, the Participant agrees and understands that nothing contained in this Agreement provides, or is intended to provide, the Participant with any protection against potential future dilution of the Participant’s interest in the Company for any reason. The Participant shall have no rights as a stockholder with respect to any shares of Common Stock covered by the Option unless and until the Participant has become the holder of record of such shares, and no adjustments shall be made for dividends in cash or other property, distributions or other rights in respect of any such shares, except as otherwise specifically provided for in the Plan or this Agreement.

3. Vesting and Exercise .

(a) Vesting . Subject to the remaining provisions of Sections 3 hereof, the Option shall vest and become exercisable as follows, provided that the Participant has not incurred a Termination prior to each such vesting date:

 

Vesting Date

   Number of Shares

[First anniversary of grant date]

   [—][25%]

[Second anniversary of grant date]

   [33.33%][25%]

[Third anniversary of grant date]

   [33.33%][25%]

[Fourth anniversary of grant date]

   [33.33%][25%]

There shall be no proportionate or partial vesting in the periods prior to each vesting date and all vesting shall occur only on the appropriate vesting date, subject to the Participant’s continued service with the Company or any of its Subsidiaries on each applicable vesting date. Upon expiration of the Option, the Option shall be cancelled and no longer exercisable.

(b) Committee Discretion to Accelerate Vesting . Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Committee may, in its sole discretion, provide for accelerated vesting of the Option at any time and for any reason.

(c) Change in Control . In the event of a Participant’s Termination by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries other than for Cause (and other than due to the Participant’s death, Disability or voluntary Termination) within a twelve (12) month period following a Change in Control, then the Option, to the extent unvested and outstanding as of such Termination, shall become fully vested upon the occurrence of such Termination.

(d) Employment Agreement . In the event that the Participant is a party to an employment agreement with the Company that is in effect as of the Grant Date (an “ Employment Agreement ”) and such Employment Agreement provides for the acceleration of all or any portion of the vesting of the Options upon certain specified Terminations, the Option will accelerate in accordance with the terms provided in the Employment Agreement.

(e) Expiration . Unless earlier terminated in accordance with the terms and provisions of the Plan and/or this Agreement, all portions of the Option (whether vested or not vested) shall expire and shall no longer be exercisable after the expiration of ten (10) years from the Grant Date.

 

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4. Termination . Subject to the terms of the Plan and this Agreement, the Option, to the extent vested at the time of the Participant’s Termination, shall remain exercisable as follows:

(a) Termination due to Death or Disability . In the event of the Participant’s Termination by reason of death or Disability, the vested portion of the Option shall remain exercisable until the earlier of (i) one (1) year from the date of such Termination, and (ii) the expiration of the stated term of the Option pursuant to Section 3(e) hereof; provided , however , that in the case of a Termination due to Disability, if the Participant dies within such one (1) year exercise period, any unexercised Option held by the Participant shall thereafter be exercisable by the legal representative of the Participant’s estate, to the extent to which it was exercisable at the time of death, for a period of one (1) year from the date of death, but in no event beyond the expiration of the stated term of the Option pursuant to Section 3(e) hereof.

(b) Involuntary Termination Without Cause . In the event of the Participant’s involuntary Termination by the Company without Cause, the vested portion of the Option shall remain exercisable until the earlier of (i) thirty (30) days from the date of such Termination, provided, however, any day during such thirty (30) day period that occurs during a “black out period” under the Company’s Security Trading Policy which would be applicable to the Participant if the Participant remained an employee of the Company, shall not be counted for purposes of calculating such 30 day period and (ii) the expiration of the stated term of the Option pursuant to Section 3(e) hereof.

(c) Voluntary Resignation . In the event of the Participant’s voluntary Termination (other than a voluntary Termination described in Section 4(d) hereof), the vested portion of the Option shall remain exercisable until the earlier of (i) thirty (30) days from the date of such Termination, provided, however, any day during such thirty (30) day period that occurs during a “black out period” under the Company’s Security Trading Policy which would be applicable to the Participant if the Participant remained an employee of the Company, shall not be counted for purposes of calculating such 30 day period and (ii) the expiration of the stated term of the Option pursuant to Section 3(e) hereof.

(d) Termination for Cause . Unless otherwise determined by the Committee, in the event of the Participant’s Termination for Cause or in the event of the Participant’s voluntary Termination (as provided in Section 4(c) hereof) after an event that would be grounds for a Termination for Cause, the Participant’s entire Option (whether or not vested) shall terminate and expire upon such Termination.

(e) Treatment of Unvested Options upon Termination . Any portion of the Option that is not vested as of the date of the Participant’s Termination for any reason shall terminate and expire as of the date of such Termination, after taking into account any accelerated vesting provided herein

 

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(f) Employment Agreement . In the event that the Participant is a party to an Employment Agreement the provides for a longer period to time to exercise the Options following a Termination, the Option shall remain outstanding as provided in the Employment Agreement, provided that in no circumstances shall the Option remain outstanding beyond the expiration of the stated term of the Option pursuant to Section 3(e) hereof.

5. Method of Exercise and Payment . Subject to Section 8 hereof, to the extent that the Option has become vested and exercisable with respect to a number of shares of Common Stock as provided herein, the Option may thereafter be exercised by the Participant, in whole or in part, at any time or from time to time prior to the expiration of the Option as provided herein and in accordance with Sections 6.4(c) and 6.4(d) of the Plan, including, without limitation, by the filing of any written form of exercise notice as may be required by the Committee and payment in full of the Per Share Exercise Price specified above multiplied by the number of shares of Common Stock underlying the portion of the Option exercised. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the payment of the Per Share Exercise Price may be made at the election of the Participant either (i) through a “broker-dealer assisted” exercise procedure, to the extent permitted by applicable law, whereby the Participant delivers irrevocable instructions to a broker reasonably acceptable to the Committee to deliver promptly to the Company an amount equal to the Per Share Exercise Price or (ii) through having the Company withhold shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Option based on the Fair Market Value of the Common Stock on the payment date.

6. Non-Transferability . The Option, and any rights and interests with respect thereto, issued under this Agreement and the Plan shall not be sold, exchanged, transferred, assigned or otherwise disposed of in any way by the Participant (or any beneficiary of the Participant), other than by testamentary disposition by the Participant or the laws of descent and distribution. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Committee may, in its sole discretion, permit the Option to be Transferred to a Family Member for no value, provided that such Transfer shall only be valid upon execution of a written instrument in form and substance acceptable to the Committee in its sole discretion evidencing such Transfer and the transferee’s acceptance thereof signed by the Participant and the transferee, and provided, further, that the Option may not be subsequently Transferred other than by will or by the laws of descent and distribution or to another Family Member (as permitted by the Committee in its sole discretion) in accordance with the terms of the Plan and this Agreement, and shall remain subject to the terms of the Plan and this Agreement. Any attempt to sell, exchange, transfer, assign, pledge, encumber or otherwise dispose of or hypothecate in any way the Option, or the levy of any execution, attachment or similar legal process upon the Option, contrary to the terms and provisions of this Agreement and/or the Plan shall be null and void and without legal force or effect.

7. Governing Law . All questions concerning the construction, validity and interpretation of this Agreement shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to the choice of law principles thereof.

8. Withholding of Tax . The Company shall have the power and the right to deduct or withhold, or require the Participant to remit to the Company, an amount sufficient to satisfy any federal, state, local and foreign taxes of any kind (including, but not limited to, the

 

4


Participant’s FICA and SDI obligations) which the Company, in its sole discretion, deems necessary to be withheld or remitted to comply with the Code and/or any other applicable law, rule or regulation with respect to the Option and, if the Participant fails to do so, the Company may otherwise refuse to issue or transfer any shares of Common Stock otherwise required to be issued pursuant to this Agreement. Any minimum statutorily required withholding obligation with regard to the Participant may be satisfied by reducing the amount of cash or shares of Common Stock otherwise deliverable upon exercise of the Option.

9. Entire Agreement; Amendment . This Agreement, together with the Plan, contains the entire agreement between the parties hereto with respect to the subject matter contained herein, and supersedes all prior agreements or prior understandings, whether written or oral, between the parties relating to such subject matter. The Committee shall have the right, in its sole discretion, to modify or amend this Agreement from time to time in accordance with and as provided in the Plan. This Agreement may also be modified or amended by a writing signed by both the Company and the Participant. The Company shall give written notice to the Participant of any such modification or amendment of this Agreement as soon as practicable after the adoption thereof.

10. Notices . Any notice hereunder by the Participant shall be given to the Company in writing and such notice shall be deemed duly given only upon receipt thereof by the General Counsel of the Company. Any notice hereunder by the Company shall be given to the Participant in writing and such notice shall be deemed duly given only upon receipt thereof at such address as the Participant may have on file with the Company.

11. No Right to Employment . Any questions as to whether and when there has been a Termination and the cause of such Termination shall be determined in the sole discretion of the Committee. Nothing in this Agreement shall interfere with or limit in any way the right of the Company, its Subsidiaries or its Affiliates to terminate the Participant’s employment or service at any time, for any reason and with or without Cause.

12. Transfer of Personal Data . The Participant authorizes, agrees and unambiguously consents to the transmission by the Company (or any Subsidiary) of any personal data information related to the Option awarded under this Agreement for legitimate business purposes (including, without limitation, the administration of the Plan). This authorization and consent is freely given by the Participant.

13. Compliance with Laws . The issuance of the Option (and the Option Shares upon exercise of the Option) pursuant to this Agreement shall be subject to, and shall comply with, any applicable requirements of any foreign and U.S. federal and state securities laws, rules and regulations (including, without limitation, the provisions of the Securities Act, the Exchange Act and in each case any respective rules and regulations promulgated thereunder) and any other law or regulation applicable thereto. The Company shall not be obligated to issue the Option or any of the Option Shares pursuant to this Agreement if any such issuance would violate any such requirements.

 

5


14. Section 409A . Notwithstanding anything herein or in the Plan to the contrary, the Option is intended to be exempt from the applicable requirements of Section 409A of the Code and shall be limited, construed and interpreted in accordance with such intent.

15. Binding Agreement; Assignment . This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of, be binding upon, and be enforceable by the Company and its successors and assigns. The Participant shall not assign (except in accordance with Section 6 hereof) any part of this Agreement without the prior express written consent of the Company.

16. Headings . The titles and headings of the various sections of this Agreement have been inserted for convenience of reference only and shall not be deemed to be a part of this Agreement.

17. Counterparts . This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original, but all of which shall constitute one and the same instrument.

18. Further Assurances . Each party hereto shall do and perform (or shall cause to be done and performed) all such further acts and shall execute and deliver all such other agreements, certificates, instruments and documents as either party hereto reasonably may request in order to carry out the intent and accomplish the purposes of this Agreement and the Plan and the consummation of the transactions contemplated thereunder.

19. Severability . The invalidity or unenforceability of any provisions of this Agreement in any jurisdiction shall not affect the validity, legality or enforceability of the remainder of this Agreement in such jurisdiction or the validity, legality or enforceability of any provision of this Agreement in any other jurisdiction, it being intended that all rights and obligations of the parties hereunder shall be enforceable to the fullest extent permitted by law.

20. Acquired Rights . The Participant acknowledges and agrees that: (a) the Company may terminate or amend the Plan at any time; (b) the award of the Option made under this Agreement is completely independent of any other award or grant and is made at the sole discretion of the Company; (c) no past grants or awards (including, without limitation, the Option awarded hereunder) give the Participant any right to any grants or awards in the future whatsoever; and (d) any benefits granted under this Agreement are not part of the Participant’s ordinary salary, and shall not be considered as part of such salary in the event of severance, redundancy or resignation.

[Remainder of Page Intentionally Left Blank]

 

6


IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the parties hereto have executed this Agreement as of the date first written above.

 

VINCE HOLDING CORP.

By:

 

 

Name:

 

 

Title:

 

 

PARTICIPANT

 

Name:

 

 

Signature Page to Non-Qualified Stock Option Agreement

Exhibit 10.16

RESTRICTED STOCK UNIT AGREEMENT

PURSUANT TO THE

VINCE HOLDING CORP. 2013 OMNIBUS INCENTIVE PLAN

*  *  *    *  *

Participant:                    

Grant Date:                     

Number of Restricted Stock Units Granted:                     

*  *  *  *  *

THIS RESTRICTED STOCK UNIT AWARD AGREEMENT (this “ Agreement ”), dated as of the Grant Date specified above, is entered into by and between Vince Holding Corp., a corporation organized in the State of Delaware (the “ Company ”), and the Participant specified above, pursuant to the Vince Holding Corp. 2013 Omnibus Incentive Plan, as in effect and as amended from time to time (the “ Plan ”), which is administered by the Committee; and

WHEREAS, it has been determined under the Plan that it would be in the best interests of the Company to grant the Restricted Stock Units (“ RSUs ”) provided herein to the Participant.

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants and promises hereinafter set forth and for other good and valuable consideration, the parties hereto hereby mutually covenant and agree as follows:

1. Incorporation By Reference; Plan Document Receipt . This Agreement is subject in all respects to the terms and provisions of the Plan (including, without limitation, any amendments thereto adopted at any time and from time to time unless such amendments are expressly intended not to apply to the Award provided hereunder), all of which terms and provisions are made a part of and incorporated in this Agreement as if they were each expressly set forth herein. Any capitalized term not defined in this Agreement shall have the same meaning as is ascribed thereto in the Plan. The Participant hereby acknowledges receipt of a true copy of the Plan and that the Participant has read the Plan carefully and fully understands its content. In the event of any conflict between the terms of this Agreement and the terms of the Plan, the terms of the Plan shall control.

2. Grant of Restricted Stock Unit Award . The Company hereby grants to the Participant, as of the Grant Date specified above, the number of RSUs specified above. Except as otherwise provided by the Plan, the Participant agrees and understands that nothing contained in this Agreement provides, or is intended to provide, the Participant with any protection against potential future dilution of the Participant’s interest in the Company for any reason, and no adjustments shall be made for dividends in cash or other property, distributions or other rights in respect of the shares of Common Stock underlying the RSUs, except as otherwise specifically provided for in the Plan or this Agreement.


3. Vesting .

(a) Subject to the remaining provisions of Section 3 hereof, the RSUs subject to this Award shall become vested as follows, provided that the Participant has not incurred a Termination prior to each such vesting date:

 

Vesting Date

   Number of RSUs  

[First anniversary of grant date]

     33.33

[Second anniversary of grant date]

     33.33

[Third anniversary of grant date]

     33.33

There shall be no proportionate or partial vesting in the periods prior to each vesting date and all vesting shall occur only on the appropriate vesting date, subject to the Participant’s continued service with the Company or any of its Subsidiaries on each applicable vesting date.

(b) Committee Discretion to Accelerate Vesting . Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Committee may, in its sole discretion, provide for accelerated vesting of the RSUs at any time and for any reason.

(c) Change in Control . In the event of a Participant’s Termination by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries other than for Cause (and other than due to the Participant’s death, Disability or voluntary Termination) within a twelve (12) month period following a Change in Control, then the RSU, to the extent unvested and outstanding as of such Termination, shall become fully vested upon the occurrence of such Termination.

(d) Forfeiture . Subject to the Committee’s discretion to accelerate vesting hereunder, all unvested RSUs shall be immediately forfeited upon the Participant’s Termination for any reason.

(e) Employment Agreement . In the event that the Participant is a party to an employment agreement with the Company that is in effect as of the Grant Date (an “ Employment Agreement ”) and such Employment Agreement provides for the acceleration of all or any portion the vesting of the RSUs upon certain specified Terminations, the RSUs will accelerate in accordance with the terms provided in the Employment Agreement.

4. Delivery of Shares .

(a) General . Subject to the provisions of Sections 4(b) and 4(c) hereof, within thirty (30) days following the vesting of the RSUs, the Participant shall receive the number of shares of Common Stock that correspond to the number of RSUs that have become vested on the applicable vesting date; provided that the Participant shall be obligated to pay to the Company the aggregate par value of the shares of Common Stock to be issued within ten (10) days following the issuance of such shares unless such shares have been issued by the Company from the Company’s treasury.

 

2


(b) Blackout Periods . If the Participant is subject to any Company “blackout” policy or other trading restriction imposed by the Company on the date such distribution would otherwise be made pursuant to Section 4(a) hereof, such distribution shall be instead made on the earlier of (i) the date that the Participant is not subject to any such policy or restriction and (ii) the later of (A) the end of the calendar year in which such distribution would otherwise have been made and (B) a date that is immediately prior to the expiration of two and one-half months following the date such distribution would otherwise have been made hereunder.

(c) Deferrals . If permitted by the Company, the Participant may elect, subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan and any other applicable written plan or procedure adopted by the Company from time to time for purposes of such election, to defer the distribution of all or any portion of the shares of Common Stock that would otherwise be distributed to the Participant hereunder (the “ Deferred Shares ”), consistent with the requirements of Section 409A of the Code. Upon the vesting of RSUs that have been so deferred, the applicable number of Deferred Shares shall be credited to a bookkeeping account established on the Participant’s behalf (the “ Account ”). Subject to Section 5 hereof, the number of shares of Common Stock equal to the number of Deferred Shares credited to the Participant’s Account shall be distributed to the Participant in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Plan and the other applicable written plans or procedures of the Company, consistent with the requirements of Section 409A of the Code.

5. Dividends; Rights as Stockholder . Cash dividends on shares of Common Stock issuable hereunder shall be credited to a dividend book entry account on behalf of the Participant with respect to each RSU granted to the Participant, provided that such cash dividends shall not be deemed to be reinvested in shares of Common Stock and shall be held uninvested and without interest and paid in cash at the same time that the shares of Common Stock underlying the RSUs are delivered to the Participant in accordance with the provisions hereof. Stock dividends on shares of Common Stock shall be credited to a dividend book entry account on behalf of the Participant with respect to each RSU granted to the Participant, provided that such stock dividends shall be paid in shares of Common Stock at the same time that the shares of Common Stock underlying the RSUs are delivered to the Participant in accordance with the provisions hereof. Except as otherwise provided herein, the Participant shall have no rights as a stockholder with respect to any shares of Common Stock covered by any RSU unless and until the Participant has become the holder of record of such shares.

6. Non-Transferability . No portion of the RSUs may be sold, assigned, transferred, encumbered, hypothecated or pledged by the Participant, other than to the Company as a result of forfeiture of the RSUs as provided herein, unless and until payment is made in respect of vested RSUs in accordance with the provisions hereof and the Participant has become the holder of record of the vested shares of Common Stock issuable hereunder.

7. Governing Law . All questions concerning the construction, validity and interpretation of this Agreement shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to the choice of law principles thereof.

 

3


8. Withholding of Tax . The Company shall have the power and the right to deduct or withhold, or require the Participant to remit to the Company, an amount sufficient to satisfy any federal, state, local and foreign taxes of any kind (including, but not limited to, the Participant’s FICA and SDI obligations) which the Company, in its sole discretion, deems necessary to be withheld or remitted to comply with the Code and/or any other applicable law, rule or regulation with respect to the RSUs and, if the Participant fails to do so, the Company may otherwise refuse to issue or transfer any shares of Common Stock otherwise required to be issued pursuant to this Agreement. Any minimum statutorily required withholding obligation with regard to the Participant may be satisfied by reducing the amount of cash or shares of Common Stock otherwise deliverable to the Participant hereunder.

9. Legend . The Company may at any time place legends referencing any applicable federal, state or foreign securities law restrictions on all certificates representing shares of Common Stock issued pursuant to this Agreement. The Participant shall, at the request of the Company, promptly present to the Company any and all certificates representing shares of Common Stock acquired pursuant to this Agreement in the possession of the Participant in order to carry out the provisions of this Section 9.

10. Securities Representations . This Agreement is being entered into by the Company in reliance upon the following express representations and warranties of the Participant. The Participant hereby acknowledges, represents and warrants that:

(a) The Participant has been advised that the Participant may be an “affiliate” within the meaning of Rule 144 under the Securities Act and in this connection the Company is relying in part on the Participant’s representations set forth in this Section 10.

(b) If the Participant is deemed an affiliate within the meaning of Rule 144 of the Securities Act, the shares of Common Stock issuable hereunder must be held indefinitely unless an exemption from any applicable resale restrictions is available or the Company files an additional registration statement (or a “re-offer prospectus”) with regard to such shares of Common Stock and the Company is under no obligation to register such shares of Common Stock (or to file a “re-offer prospectus”).

(c) If the Participant is deemed an affiliate within the meaning of Rule 144 of the Securities Act, the Participant understands that (i) the exemption from registration under Rule 144 will not be available unless (A) a public trading market then exists for the Common Stock of the Company, (B) adequate information concerning the Company is then available to the public, and (C) other terms and conditions of Rule 144 or any exemption therefrom are complied with, and (ii) any sale of the shares of Common Stock issuable hereunder may be made only in limited amounts in accordance with the terms and conditions of Rule 144 or any exemption therefrom.

11. Entire Agreement; Amendment . This Agreement, together with the Plan, contains the entire agreement between the parties hereto with respect to the subject matter contained herein, and supersedes all prior agreements or prior understandings, whether written or oral, between the parties relating to such subject matter. The Committee shall have the right, in its sole discretion, to modify or amend this Agreement from time to time in accordance with and as provided in the Plan. This Agreement may also be modified or amended by a writing signed by both the Company and the Participant. The Company shall give written notice to the Participant of any such modification or amendment of this Agreement as soon as practicable after the adoption thereof.

 

4


12. Notices . Any notice hereunder by the Participant shall be given to the Company in writing and such notice shall be deemed duly given only upon receipt thereof by the General Counsel of the Company. Any notice hereunder by the Company shall be given to the Participant in writing and such notice shall be deemed duly given only upon receipt thereof at such address as the Participant may have on file with the Company.

13. No Right to Employment . Any questions as to whether and when there has been a Termination and the cause of such Termination shall be determined in the sole discretion of the Committee. Nothing in this Agreement shall interfere with or limit in any way the right of the Company, its Subsidiaries or its Affiliates to terminate the Participant’s employment or service at any time, for any reason and with or without Cause.

14. Transfer of Personal Data . The Participant authorizes, agrees and unambiguously consents to the transmission by the Company (or any Subsidiary) of any personal data information related to the RSUs awarded under this Agreement for legitimate business purposes (including, without limitation, the administration of the Plan). This authorization and consent is freely given by the Participant.

15. Compliance with Laws . The grant of RSUs and the issuance of shares of Common Stock hereunder shall be subject to, and shall comply with, any applicable requirements of any foreign and U.S. federal and state securities laws, rules and regulations (including, without limitation, the provisions of the Securities Act, the Exchange Act and in each case any respective rules and regulations promulgated thereunder) and any other law, rule regulation or exchange requirement applicable thereto. The Company shall not be obligated to issue the RSUs or any shares of Common Stock pursuant to this Agreement if any such issuance would violate any such requirements. As a condition to the settlement of the RSUs, the Company may require the Participant to satisfy any qualifications that may be necessary or appropriate to evidence compliance with any applicable law or regulation.

16. Binding Agreement; Assignment . This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of, be binding upon, and be enforceable by the Company and its successors and assigns. The Participant shall not assign (except in accordance with Section 6 hereof) any part of this Agreement without the prior express written consent of the Company.

17. Headings . The titles and headings of the various sections of this Agreement have been inserted for convenience of reference only and shall not be deemed to be a part of this Agreement.

18. Counterparts . This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original, but all of which shall constitute one and the same instrument.

19. Further Assurances . Each party hereto shall do and perform (or shall cause to be done and performed) all such further acts and shall execute and deliver all such other agreements, certificates, instruments and documents as either party hereto reasonably may request in order to carry out the intent and accomplish the purposes of this Agreement and the Plan and the consummation of the transactions contemplated thereunder.

 

5


20. Severability . The invalidity or unenforceability of any provisions of this Agreement in any jurisdiction shall not affect the validity, legality or enforceability of the remainder of this Agreement in such jurisdiction or the validity, legality or enforceability of any provision of this Agreement in any other jurisdiction, it being intended that all rights and obligations of the parties hereunder shall be enforceable to the fullest extent permitted by law.

21. Acquired Rights . The Participant acknowledges and agrees that: (a) the Company may terminate or amend the Plan at any time; (b) the Award of RSUs made under this Agreement is completely independent of any other award or grant and is made at the sole discretion of the Company; (c) no past grants or awards (including, without limitation, the RSUs awarded hereunder) give the Participant any right to any grants or awards in the future whatsoever; and (d) any benefits granted under this Agreement are not part of the Participant’s ordinary salary, and shall not be considered as part of such salary in the event of severance, redundancy or resignation.

*  *  *  *  *

 

6


IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the parties hereto have executed this Agreement as of the date first written above.

 

VINCE HOLDING CORP.
By:  

 

Name:  

 

Title:  

 

PARTICIPANT

 

Name:  

 

 

7

Exhibit 99.1

 

LOGO

VINCE HOLDING CORP. ANNOUNCES CLOSING OF ITS INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING AND EXERCISE OF UNDERWRITERS’ OPTION TO PURCHASE ADDITIONAL SHARES

New York, NY (November 27, 2013) — Vince Holding Corp., previously known as Apparel Holding Corp., today announced that it has closed its previously reported initial public offering of 10,000,000 shares of its common stock at a price of $20.00 per share. In connection with the initial public offering, the underwriters exercised in full their option to purchase an additional 1,500,000 shares of common stock from affiliates of Sun Capital Partners, Inc. (the “Selling Stockholders”). As a result, the total initial public offering size was 11,500,000 shares. Vince Holding Corp. is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “VNCE.”

Vince received proceeds, net of underwriters’ discount and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by Vince, of approximately $177 million from the offering. Vince retained approximately $5.0 million of such net proceeds for general corporate purposes and used the remaining net proceeds, together with net borrowings under its new term loan facility to repay a promissory note (the “Kellwood Note Receivable’) issued to Kellwood Company in connection with the restructuring which occurred immediately prior to the consummation of the initial public offering. Proceeds from the repayment of the Kellwood Note Receivable were used, to repay or discharge certain existing debt of Kellwood Company. Vince did not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares by the Selling Stockholders.

Jill Granoff, Chief Executive Officer of Vince, said, “Our entire team looks forward to this new and exciting chapter in the brand’s evolution. We intend to continue to build upon Vince’s reputation as a leader in contemporary fashion by capitalizing on our strong customer loyalty, growing our customer base and introducing new and compelling product assortments and categories.”

Concurrently with the closing of the initial public offering, Vince entered into a $175 million term loan, net borrowings from which were used to repay the Kellwood Note Receivable, and a $50 million revolving credit facility.

Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated acted as joint book-running managers of the offering, and Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated are the representatives of the underwriters. In addition, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, Barclays Capital Inc., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC acted as joint bookrunning managers in the offering.

The offering of common stock was made only by means of a final prospectus. Copies of the final prospectus related to the offering may be obtained from Goldman, Sachs & Co., Prospectus Department, 200 West Street, New York, NY, 10282, by calling (866) 471-2526, or by e-mailing prospectus-ny@ny.email.gs.com , or Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated at 777 East Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202, Attention: Syndicate Department, telephone: (800) 792-2473 or email: syndicate@rwbaird.com .

A registration statement relating to these securities was declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 21, 2013. The registration statement can be accessed through the Commission’s website at www.sec.gov. These


securities may not be sold nor may offers to buy be accepted prior to the time the registration statement becomes effective. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

ABOUT VINCE

Founded in 2002, Vince is a prominent contemporary fashion brand known for its modern effortless style and everyday luxury essentials. The company offers a broad range of women’s and men’s ready-to-wear including its signature cashmere sweaters, leather jackets, luxe leggings, dresses, silk and woven tops, denim and footwear. Vince is carried in over 2,100 stores across 43 countries and operates 21 full-price retail locations, 6 outlet stores and its e-commerce site, Vince.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains forward-looking statements, which are subject to substantial risks, uncertainties and assumptions. You should not place reliance on these statements. Forward-looking statements relate to expectations, beliefs, projections, future plans and strategies, anticipated events or trends and similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts or present facts or conditions, such as statements regarding our future financial condition or results of operations, our prospects and strategies for future growth, the introduction of new merchandise, and the implementation of our marketing and branding strategies. In many cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. All such statements speak only as of the date made, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

MEDIA CONTACT

Lori Rhodes

Partner

Lividini & Co.

(212) 252-8881

lori@lividini.com